In silico screening of G-Quadruplex Structures in Wilms tumor 1 Gene Promoter

Introduction: X-ray diffraction studies have revealed that guanines in a DNA stands may be arranged in quartet and form a structure called G-quadruplexs. Bioinformatics studies suggested the formation of G-quadruplex structure in human crucial genes, including Wilms tumor 1 (WT1). The aim of this study was to in silico analysis of the guanine-rich sequence in the promoter region of the WT1 gene which have potential to form G-quadruplex structures. Methods: To identify the presence of repetitive guanosine-rich sequences prone to form G-quadruplex structures in the regulatory region of the WT1 gene, the promoter sequence was extracted from the NCBI gene bank. The sequence was evaluated by the QGRS mapper software. Results: According to the data obtained from the software, and the G-scores, three appropriate sequences in the promoter region of the WT1 gene were identified with the highest probability for the formation of G-quadruplex structures. A valuable point in this study was the presence of recognition sites of large number of transcription factors in these three areas. Conclusions: The majority of these G-quadruplex forming sequences were located in the promoter regions of the oncogenes. These discoveries have led scientists to point out that these structures may play a significant physiological role under in vivo conditions. Therefore, by identifying and targeting these sequences in the regulatory regions of the genes, it is possible to control the expression of the genes.