Mol Biol Int. 2011;2011:562849. doi: 10.4061/2011/562849. Epub 2011 Sep 14.
Molecular biology international
Patrick P Lestienne
PMID: 22229092 PMCID: PMC3200174 DOI: 10.4061/2011/562849
Triplex associate with a duplex DNA presenting the same polypurine or polypyrimidine-rich sequence in an antiparallel orientation. So far, triplex forming oligonucleotides (TFOs) are known to inhibit transcription, replication, and to induce mutations. A new property of TFO is reviewed here upon analysis of DNA breakpoint yielding DNA rearrangements; the synthesized sequence of the first direct repeat displays a skewed polypurine- rich sequence. This synthesized sequence can bind the second homologous duplex sequence through the formation of a triple helix, which is able to prime further DNA replication. In these case, the d(G)-rich Triple Helix Primers (THP) bind the homologous strand in a parallel manner, possibly via a RecA-like mechanism. This novel property is shared by all tested DNA polymerases: phage, retrovirus, bacteria, and human. These features may account for illegitimate initiation of replication upon single-strand breakage and annealing to a homologous sequence where priming may occur. Our experiments suggest that DNA polymerases can bind three instead of two polynucleotide strands in their catalytic centre.