Circular dichroism spectroscopic studies on structures formed by telomeric DNA sequences in vitro

Telomere plays an important role in cellular processes, such as cell aging, death and carcinogenisis. Having special sequences, it can form quadruplex structure in vitro. Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopic studies show that TTAGGG, (TTAGGG)(2) and (TTAGGG)(4) can all form quadruplex in vitro and exist mainly as parallel quadruplex without metal ions. Both K+ and Na+ can stabilize the tetrameric structure and facilitate the forming of anti-parallel conformation. Furthermore, the conformations of quadruplex can also be affected by sequence length, the nature and concentration of metal ions.