Mechanisms of gene expression regulated by non-canonical structures of nucleic acids

Abstract

The structure of nucleic acids is a double helix structure (duplex) consisting of Watson-Crick base pairs. Recently, it has become clear that nucleic acids can also form non-canonical structures such as triplexes and Gquadruplexes depending on surrounding environments. Interestingly, nucleic acid sequences that can form noncanonical structures are often found on genes associated with cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, it has been reported that the formation of non-canonical structures can induce mutations in gene expression, such as transcription and translation. The role of non-canonical structures in the onset and progression of disease has therefore attracted attention, and research to clarify the correlation between the formation of non-canonical structures and changes in disease gene expression is being conducted worldwide. These findings may help to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of disease onset and progression. This review outlines the non-canonical structures formed on disease-related genes (particularly oncogenes) and the effects of nucleic acid structures on gene expression.