Small molecule-induced trinucleotide repeat contractions during in vitro DNA synthesis

We demonstrated that a synthetic ligand NA, which selectively binds to a 5 '-CAG-3 '/5 '-CAG-3 ' triad, induced repeat contractions during DNA polymerase-mediated primer extension through the CAG repeat template. A thorough capillary electrophoresis and sequencing analysis revealed that the d(CAG)(20) template gave shortened nascent strands mainly containing 3-6 CTG units in the presence of NA.

Automated summary

It was demonstrated that a synthetic ligand NA selectively binding to a 5'-CAG-3'/5'-CAG-3' triad induced repeat contractions during DNA polymerase-mediated primer extension through the CAG repeat template. Analysis using capillary electrophoresis and sequencing showed that the d(CAG)(20) template generated shortened nascent strands mainly containing 3-6 CTG units in the presence of NA.