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中国物理学会期刊

RNA组装体对太赫兹外场的频率选择性响应

Frequency-selective responses of an RNA assembly to terahertz external fields

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  • GGGGCC(G4C2)六核苷酸重复序列的异常扩增是肌萎缩侧索硬化症和额颞叶痴呆最常见的遗传病因。该序列转录出的RNA可通多重碱基配对自组装为多链四级结构,这种自组装行为是其发生液-液相分离、形成病理性凝聚体的分子基础。本文以5xG4C2 RNA组装体为模型,应用分子动力学模拟,系统考察了0.5 V/nm太赫兹(Terahertz,THz)波扰动对链间相互作用与溶剂界面耦合关系的差异性影响。结果表明,不同频率选择性揭示了组装体在频率维度上的本征响应:3.0 THz和8.0 THz诱导了全局力学紧致化,溶剂可及表面积(SASA)显著下降而链间接触的置换效率未变;11.9 THz处链间接触的SASA掩埋和水分子置换效率同时显著提高,呈现协同开关特征;20.5 THz和37.3 THz则分别选择性增强了链间紧致度和氢键驱动的水分子释放通道。所有频率下组装体的链间氢键网络和主链堆积均保持完整。上述结果表明,不同的太赫兹频率可选择性揭示RNA组装体在不同物理维度上的本征响应特征。

     

    The hexanucleotide repeat expansion GGGGCC (G4C2) in the C9orf72 gene is the most common genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The transcribed RNA self-assembles into multi-chain quaternary structures through multivalent base pairing, and this assembly behavior constitutes the molecular basis for pathological liquid-liquid phase separation and the formation of pathological condensates. Here, using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate how terahertz (THz) frequencies modulate the physical coupling between interchain contacts and the solvent interface in a five-chain 5xG4C2 RNA assembly. Under a field strength of 0.5 V/nm, seven distinct frequencies spanning 0-37.3 THz were examined, each with 20 independent 200-ns replicates. Four structural parameters covering two orthogonal dimensions, interchain contacts and the solvent interface, were analyzed using Student’s t-test, three linear displacement models, and bootstrap resampling (1000 iterations). Across the entire frequency range, neither the interchain hydrogen-bond network nor backbone stacking was significantly affected. In contrast, solvent-accessible surface area (SASA) exhibited a marked frequency-selective decrease, whereas the number of interfacial water molecules dropped only at the frequency of maximal compaction (3.0 THz), indicating that compaction is not simply due to interfacial water expulsion. Linear permutation model analysis revealed a cooperative switch at 11.9 THz, where the signs of three core coefficients flipped simultaneously and the coefficient of determination rose sharply, demonstrating that interchain contacts become effective drivers of surface burial and water release. At 20.5 THz, the compactness-driven water-release channel was selectively activated; this channel subsided at 32.2 THz, where a hydrogen-bond-driven channel began to emerge, and became fully activated at 37.3 THz. Interfacial hydration density showed no statistically significant change at any frequency, and global regression confirmed that changes in interfacial water are dominated by SASA compression rather than altered surface chemical affinity. Collectively, these findings establish that THz frequency provides a continuously tunable means of resolving interactions within the assembly: different frequencies selectively elicit responses along distinct physical dimensions, mechanical compaction, cooperative switching of surface burial and water-release efficiency, and channel-selective activation, while the interfacial hydration density remains conserved. This frequency-encoding framework offers a physical basis for understanding terahertz-nucleic-acid supramolecular interactions at the molecular level.

     

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