Nucleotide recognition by protonated aminoglycosides

Interactions of protonated forms of kanamycin A with nucleotides and several simple phosphate anions have been studied by potentiometric and NMR titrations. The affinity of kanamycin A to anions is comparable to that observed with other aliphatic polyammonium receptors of similar charge, but it discriminates triphosphate nucleotides with different nucleobases with binding constants following the order GTP?CTP ≈ ATP. Kanamycin A also binds the respective uncharged nucleosides with the same selectivity. Binding of ATP is exothermic with a negative entropic contribution in contrast to what is expected for simple ion pairing. Other tested aminoglycosides, amikacin and streptomycin, bind ATP less efficiently than kanamycin A. Models of structures of kanamycin A complexes with ATP and GTP obtained by molecular mechanics (OPLS-2005) calculations based on ¹H and ³¹P NMR data confirm the possibility of nucleotide discrimination by simultaneous ion pairing of terminal nucleotide phosphate groups with ammonium sites of rings B and C and hydrogen bonding of the nucleobase at the ring A of the aminoglycoside.