eprintid: 10106330 rev_number: 14 eprint_status: archive userid: 608 dir: disk0/10/10/63/30 datestamp: 2020-08-05 09:37:12 lastmod: 2021-09-19 22:22:06 status_changed: 2020-08-05 09:37:12 type: article metadata_visibility: show creators_name: Yang, T creators_name: Low, JJA creators_name: Woon, ECY title: A general strategy exploiting m⁵C duplex-remodelling effect for selective detection of RNA and DNA m⁵C methyltransferase activity in cells ispublished: pub divisions: UCL divisions: B02 divisions: C08 divisions: D10 divisions: G09 keywords: methyltransferase activity in cells. note: © The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). abstract: RNA:5-methylcytosine (m⁵C) methyltransferases are currently the focus of intense research following a series of high-profile reports documenting their physiological links to several diseases. However, no methods exist which permit the specific analysis of RNA:m⁵C methyltransferases in cells. Herein, we described how a combination of biophysical studies led us to identify distinct duplex-remodelling effects of m5C on RNA and DNA duplexes. Specifically, m⁵C induces a C3′-endo to C2′-endo sugar-pucker switch in CpG RNA duplex but triggers a B-to-Z transformation in CpG DNA duplex. Inspired by these different ‘structural signatures’, we developed a m⁵C-sensitive probe which fluoresces spontaneously in response to m5C-induced sugar-pucker switch, hence useful for sensing RNA:m⁵C methyltransferase activity. Through the use of this probe, we achieved real-time imaging and flow cytometry analysis of NOP2/Sun RNA methyltransferase 2 (NSUN2) activity in HeLa cells. We further applied the probe to the cell-based screening of NSUN2 inhibitors. The developed strategy could also be adapted for the detection of DNA:m⁵C methyltransferases. This was demonstrated by the development of DNA m⁵C-probe which permits the screening of DNA methyltransferase 3A inhibitors. To our knowledge, this study represents not only the first examples of m⁵C-responsive probes, but also a new strategy for discriminating RNA and DNA m⁵C methyltransferase activity in cells. date: 2020-01-10 date_type: published publisher: OXFORD UNIV PRESS official_url: https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkz1047 oa_status: green full_text_type: pub language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green verified: verified_manual elements_id: 1800363 doi: 10.1093/nar/gkz1047 lyricists_name: Woon, Esther lyricists_id: ECYWO60 actors_name: Woon, Esther actors_id: ECYWO60 actors_role: owner full_text_status: public publication: Nucleic Acids Research volume: 48 number: 1 article_number: e5 pages: 17 issn: 0305-1048 citation: Yang, T; Low, JJA; Woon, ECY; (2020) A general strategy exploiting m⁵C duplex-remodelling effect for selective detection of RNA and DNA m⁵C methyltransferase activity in cells. Nucleic Acids Research , 48 (1) , Article e5. 10.1093/nar/gkz1047 <https://doi.org/10.1093/nar%2Fgkz1047>. Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10106330/1/A%20general%20strategy%20exploiting%20m5C%20duplex-remodelling%20effect%20for%20selective%20detection%20of%20RNA%20and%20DNA%20m5C%20methyltransferase%20act.pdf