Telomeric DNA–RNA-hybrid G-quadruplex exists in environmental conditions of HeLa cells

Abstract

In the present study, we employed a ¹⁹F NMR approach to study the association of telomere RNA and DNA in vitro and in living human cells. We successfully characterized the DNA–RNA hybrid G-quadruplex (HQ) structure formed by telomeric DNA and RNA. We further demonstrated for the first time that an HQ conformation can exist in the environmental conditions of HeLa cells.