Conformational design optimization of transcription factor beacon DNA biosensors

Widespread application of promising DNA-based transcription factor protein (TF) biosensors is limited by our ability to control their binding properties. Because the binding properties of this class of biosensors are affected by how well the biosensor switches between binding and non-binding conformations, we investigated the effects of varying conformational stability on the ability of biosensors to detect the oncologically-relevant Myc/Max TF dimer complex. To do this, we employed a custom algorithm that designed and evaluated possible biosensors based on the Myc/Max TF recognition sequence, choosing algorithmic parameters that selected for biosensors with varied conformational stability due to changes in stem length. Biosensors with recognition stem lengths of 8 base pairs (bp), 12 bp, or 21 bp were selected and synthesized. Biosensor binding affinity changes and kinetic association rates were found to be significantly affected by changes in conformational stability (with binding affinity increasing with stem length, from 80 ± 20 nM to 440 ± 80 nM, and kinetic switching rate being tenfold impacted in the longer biosensors). These results show that increased stability can have significant inverse effects on overall biosensor performance, providing important implications for effective biosensor designs. We applied these design insights to generate a biosensor that tested and confirmed a predicted in vivo interaction between two TFs (ATF3 and Max), illustrating the potential for rationally-designed, TF-detecting biosensors as a routine analytical tool.