{"id":{"repo_id":"duquesne","oai_identifier":"oai:dsc.duq.edu:etd-1028"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/duquesne/oai:dsc.duq.edu:etd-1028","repository":{"repo_id":"duquesne","name":"Duquesne","base_url":"https://dsc.duq.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Gene Regulation Through Artificially Induced DNA Conformational Changes","abstract":"The conformation of DNA has been shown to play an important role in the regulation of gene expression. A consequence of this finding is that agents that alter the conformation of DNA should also affect the regulation of gene expression. To explore this, we used tethered-triple helix oligonucleotides (TFO) to bend DNA. We show that the expression of a luciferase gene is regulated by the presence of an induced DNA bend. Bends occurring in the same orientation as RNA polymerase binding result in a 93% increase in expression. In contrast, bends induced in that opposite direction resulted in a 51% decrease in expression. These results prompted us to investigate the synthesis of three small molecules with the potential to induce a sequence selective bend in DNA. These studies revealed that the compounds were able to induce a DNA bend counter to an intrinsic bend present in a target DNA fragment.","abstract_html":"The conformation of DNA has been shown to play an important role in the regulation of gene expression. A consequence of this finding is that agents that alter the conformation of DNA should also affect the regulation of gene expression. To explore this, we used tethered-triple helix oligonucleotides (TFO) to bend DNA. We show that the expression of a luciferase gene is regulated by the presence of an induced DNA bend. Bends occurring in the same orientation as RNA polymerase binding result in a 93% increase in expression. In contrast, bends induced in that opposite direction resulted in a 51% decrease in expression. These results prompted us to investigate the synthesis of three small molecules with the potential to induce a sequence selective bend in DNA. These studies revealed that the compounds were able to induce a DNA bend counter to an intrinsic bend present in a target DNA fragment.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Bednarski, David"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MS","degree_level":"Worldwide Access","degree_discipline":"Medicinal Chemistry","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Steven Firestine","Aleem Gangjee","David A. Johnson","Marc W. Harrold"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2008,"date_issued":"2008-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2008-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:09:07Z","subjects":["DNA bending","TFO","transcription regulation"],"languages":["English"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/29","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Steven Firestine","Aleem Gangjee","David A. Johnson","Marc W. 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A consequence of this finding is that agents that alter the conformation of DNA should also affect the regulation of gene expression. To explore this, we used tethered-triple helix oligonucleotides (TFO) to bend DNA. We show that the expression of a luciferase gene is regulated by the presence of an induced DNA bend. Bends occurring in the same orientation as RNA polymerase binding result in a 93% increase in expression. In contrast, bends induced in that opposite direction resulted in a 51% decrease in expression. These results prompted us to investigate the synthesis of three small molecules with the potential to induce a sequence selective bend in DNA. These studies revealed that the compounds were able to induce a DNA bend counter to an intrinsic bend present in a target DNA fragment."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Gene Regulation Through Artificially Induced DNA Conformational Changes"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Steven Firestine","Aleem Gangjee","David A. Johnson","Marc W. Harrold"],"dc:creator":["Bednarski, David"],"dc:date.available":["2017-05-12T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The conformation of DNA has been shown to play an important role in the regulation of gene expression. A consequence of this finding is that agents that alter the conformation of DNA should also affect the regulation of gene expression. To explore this, we used tethered-triple helix oligonucleotides (TFO) to bend DNA. We show that the expression of a luciferase gene is regulated by the presence of an induced DNA bend. Bends occurring in the same orientation as RNA polymerase binding result in a 93% increase in expression. In contrast, bends induced in that opposite direction resulted in a 51% decrease in expression. These results prompted us to investigate the synthesis of three small molecules with the potential to induce a sequence selective bend in DNA. These studies revealed that the compounds were able to induce a DNA bend counter to an intrinsic bend present in a target DNA fragment."],"dc:identifier":["https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/29"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:subject":["DNA bending","TFO","transcription regulation"],"dc:title":["Gene Regulation Through Artificially Induced DNA Conformational Changes"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Medicinal Chemistry"],"thesis:degree_level":["Worldwide Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["MS"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:09:07Z"}