Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39990451›Full record

ArticlebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology2025

Small molecules reveal differential shifts in stability and protein binding for G-quadruplex RNA.

Justin G Martyr, Martina Zafferani, Morgan A Bailey, Marek D Zorawski, Nadeska I Montalvan, Dhanasheel Muralidharan, Michael C Fitzgerald, Amanda E Hargrove

Abstract readPreprint
In one paragraph

Article in bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Justin G MartyrDepartment of Biochemistry, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0057-5387
Martina ZafferaniDepartment of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-4586-1843
Morgan A BaileyDepartment of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.ORCID 0009-0001-3426-4421
Marek D ZorawskiDepartment of Biochemistry, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3582-6641
Nadeska I MontalvanDepartment of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0924-1014
Dhanasheel MuralidharanDepartment of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0958-0542
Michael C FitzgeraldDepartment of Biochemistry, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6719-4722
Amanda E HargroveDepartment of Biochemistry, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1536-6753

Funding

Medical Scientist Training Program Training GrantT32GM145449 · NIGMS · DUKE UNIVERSITY · PI Christopher D Kontos · 2022 to 2026
$6.6M
Harnessing Small Molecules to Probe the Structure and Function of Regulatory RNAsR35GM124785 · NIGMS · DUKE UNIVERSITY · PI HARGROVE, AMANDA E · 2017 to 2023
$2.8M
Global Measurements of Protein Folding Stability for Characterization of Aging and DiseaseR01GM134716 · NIGMS · DUKE UNIVERSITY · PI FITZGERALD, MICHAEL C · 2019 to 2022
$1.2M
NIGMS NIH HHS R01 GM134716NIGMS NIH HHS R35 GM124785NIGMS NIH HHS T32 GM145449
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The potential of therapeutically targeting RNA with small molecules continues to grow yet progress is hindered by difficulties in determining specific mechanisms of action, including impacts on RNA-protein binding. RNA G-quadruplexes (rGQs) are a particularly promising target due to their range of biological functions, structural stability, and hydrophobic surfaces, which promote small molecule and protein interactions alike. Challenges arise due to 1) the low structural diversity among rGQs, thereby limiting binding selectivity, and 2) a lack of knowledge regarding how small molecules can manipulate rGQ-protein binding on a global scale. We first leveraged a small molecule library privileged for RNA tertiary structures that displayed differential binding to rGQs based on loop length, consistent with computational predictions for DNA GQs. We next utilized an RT-qPCR-based assay to measure stability against enzymatic readthrough, expected to be a common mechanism in rGQ function. We discovered small molecules with significant, bidirectional impacts on rGQ stability, even within the same scaffold. Using Stability of Proteins from Rates of Oxidation (SPROX), a stability-based proteomics method, we then elucidated proteome level impacts of both stabilizing and destabilizing rGQ-targeting molecules on rGQ-protein interactions. This technique revealed small molecule-induced impacts on a unique subset of rGQ-binding proteins, along with proteins that exhibited differential changes based on the identity of the small molecule. The domain and peptide-level insights resulting from SPROX allow for the generation of specific hypotheses for both rGQ function and small molecule modulation thereof. Taken altogether, this methodology helps bridge the gap between small molecule-RNA targeting and RNA-protein interactions, providing insight into how small molecules can influence protein binding partners through modulation of target RNA structures.

Identifiers

PMID39990451
PMCPMC11844376

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.