Artificial molecules that mimic DNA

Not only can synthetic molecules imitate the structures of their biological counterparts, they can also assume their functions and even outcompete them. This has recently been demonstrated by researchers from the CNRS, Inserm and Bordeaux University, who have developed an artificial sequence mimicking the surface features of DNA for the first time. This artificial molecule is able to inhibit the activity of several DNA-binding enzymes, including the one used by HIV to insert its genome into that of its host cell. These results, published on April 2, 2018 , pave the way for new pharmacological tools based on inhibiting DNA–protein interactions. DNA, the central molecule of life, carries genetic information organized in the two complementary strands of its double helix. In order for this genetic information to be read and executed, or on the contrary to prevent or regulate its expression, a number of proteins interact with DNA, for example by “binding” to the negative charges located on its surface. This is the case for HIV integrase, which enables the insertion of the viral DNA into human DNA and topoisomerase, an enzyme that acts to release tensions within the DNA molecule when it is supercoiled.