Short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are promising drug candidates for a wide range of targets including those previously considered “undruggable”. However, properties associated with the native RNA structure limit drug development and chemical modifications are necessary. Here we describe the structure-guided discovery of functional modifications for the guide strand 5’ end using computational screening with the high resolution structure of human Ago2, the key nuclease on the RNA interference pathway. Our results indicate the guide strand 5’-end nucleotide need not engage in Watson-Crick (W/C) H-bonding but must fit the general shape of the 5’-end binding site in MID/PIWI domains of hAgo2 for efficient knockdown. 1,2,3-Triazol-4-yl bases formed from the CuAAC reaction of azides and 1-ethynylribose, which is readily incorporated into RNA via the phosphoramidite, perform well at the guide strand 5’-end. In contrast, purine derivatives with modified Hoogsteen faces or N2 substituents are poor choices for 5’-end modifications. Finally, we identified a 1,2,3-triazol-4-yl base incapable of W/C H-bonding that performs well at guide strand position 12, where base pairing to target was expected to be important. This work expands the repertoire of functional nucleotide analogs for siRNAs.

Short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are promising therapeutics that make use of the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway, but liabilities arising from the native RNA structure necessitate chemical modification for drug development. Advances in the structural characterization of components of the human RNAi pathway have enabled structure-guided optimization of siRNA properties. Here we report the 2.3 Å resolution crystal structure of human Argonaute 2 (hAgo2), a key nuclease in the RNAi pathway, bound to an siRNA guide strand bearing an unnatural triazolyl nucleotide at position 1 (g1). Unlike natural nucleotides, this analogue inserts deeply into hAgo2’s central RNA binding cleft and thus is able to modulate pairing between guide and target RNAs. The affinity of the hAgo2–siRNA complex for a seed-only matched target was significantly reduced by the triazolyl modification, while the affinity for a fully matched target was unchanged. In addition, siRNA potency for off-target repression was reduced (4-fold increase in IC50) by the modification, while on-target knockdown was improved (2-fold reduction in IC50). Controlling siRNA on-target versus microRNA (miRNA)-like off-target potency by projection of substituent groups into the hAgo2 central cleft from g1 is a new approach to enhance siRNA selectivity with a strong structural rationale.

The internal modification of RNA has been successfully achieved by the functionality transfer reaction (FTR) and following click chemistry with diverse azide compounds. The benefits of the FTR have been demonstrated by its specificity, rapidity, broad applicability, and procedure simplicity.

Efficient methods for the covalent modification of large RNA molecules should find significance utility as innovative biological tools as well as therapeutic methods. In this study, the development of a general method for site-specific RNA modification guided by the functional ODN template has been investigated. The ODN probe containing 6-thioguanosine was modified by the methylenediketone derivative to form the S-functionalized ODN. Site-specific and cytosine-selective RNA modifications were achieved by the functionality-transfer reaction from the sulfur atom of the functionalized probe to the amino group of the cytosine base of the target strand. It was shown that the base and site selectivity were due to the close proximity of the reactants in the DNA-RNA duplexes.