Polyadenosine diphosphate (ADP)—ribose polymerases (PARPs) are a family of enzymes that modulate diverse biological processes through covalent transfer of ADP-ribose from the oxidized form of ...nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺) onto substrate proteins. Here we report a robust NAD⁺ analog—sensitive approach for PARPs, which allows PARP-specific ADP-ribosylation of substrates that is suitable for subsequent coppercatalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition reactions. Using this approach, we mapped hundreds of sites of ADP-ribosylation for PARPs 1, 2, and 3 across the proteome, as well as thousands of PARP-1—mediated ADP-ribosylation sites across the genome. We found that PARP-1 ADP-ribosylates and inhibits negative elongation factor (NELF), a protein complex that regulates promoter-proximal pausing by RNA polymerase II (Pol II). Depletion or inhibition of PARP-1 or mutation of the ADP-ribosylation sites on NELF-E promotes Pol II pausing, providing a clear functional link between PARP-1, ADP-ribosylation, and NELF. This analog-sensitive approach should be broadly applicable across the PARP family and has the potential to illuminate the ADP-ribosylated proteome and the molecular mechanisms used by individual PARPs to mediate their responses to cellular signals.
Many compounds with potentially reactive chemical motifs and poor physicochemical properties are published as selective modulators of biomolecules without sufficient validation and then propagated in ...the scientific literature as useful chemical probes. Several histone acetyltransferase (HAT) inhibitors with these liabilities are now routinely used to probe epigenetic pathways. We profile the most commonly used HAT inhibitors and confirm that the majority of them are nonselective interference compounds. Most (15 out of 23, 65%) of the inhibitors are flagged by ALARM NMR, an industry-developed counter-screen for promiscuous compounds. Biochemical counter-screens confirm that most of these compounds are either thiol-reactive or aggregators. Selectivity panels show many of these compounds modulate unrelated targets in vitro, while several also demonstrate nonspecific effects in cell assays. These data demonstrate the usefulness of performing counter-screens for bioassay promiscuity and assay interference, and raise caution about the utility of many widely used, but insufficiently validated, compounds employed in chemical biology.
Mammalian sirtuin 6 (SIRT6) exhibits many pivotal functions and multiple enzymatic activities, but the contribution of each activity to the various functions is unclear. We identified a SIRT6 mutant ...(G60A) that possesses efficient defatty-acylase activity but has substantially decreased deacetylase activity in vitro and no detectable deacetylase activity in cells. The G60A mutant has a decreased ability to bind NAD(+), but the presence of fatty-acyl lysine peptides restores NAD(+) binding, explaining the retention of the defatty-acylase activity. Using this mutant, we found that the defatty-acylase activity of SIRT6 regulates the secretion of numerous proteins. Notably, many ribosomal proteins were secreted via exosomes from Sirt6 knockout mouse embryonic fibroblasts, and these exosomes increased NIH 3T3 cell proliferation compared with control exosomes. Our data indicate that distinct activities of SIRT6 regulate different pathways and that the G60A mutant is a useful tool to study the contribution of defatty-acylase activity to SIRT6's various functions.
The reliance of many cancers on aerobic glycolysis has stimulated efforts to develop lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) inhibitors. However, despite significant efforts, LDH inhibitors (LDHi) with ...sufficient specificity and in vivo activity to determine whether LDH is a feasible drug target are lacking. We describe an LDHi with potent, on-target, in vivo activity. Using hyperpolarized magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (HP-MRSI), we demonstrate in vivo LDH inhibition in two glycolytic cancer models, MIA PaCa-2 and HT29, and we correlate depth and duration of LDH inhibition with direct anti-tumor activity. HP-MRSI also reveals a metabolic rewiring that occurs in vivo within 30 min of LDH inhibition, wherein pyruvate in a tumor is redirected toward mitochondrial metabolism. Using HP-MRSI, we show that inhibition of mitochondrial complex 1 rapidly redirects tumor pyruvate toward lactate. Inhibition of both mitochondrial complex 1 and LDH suppresses metabolic plasticity, causing metabolic quiescence in vitro and tumor growth inhibition in vivo.
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•Specific LDH inhibition in vivo reduces growth rate of glycolytic tumors•Depth and duration of tumor LDH inhibition can be monitored in real time by HP-MRSI•LDH inhibition in vivo redirects pyruvate to support oxidative phosphorylation•Inhibiting mitochondrial complex 1 and LDH enhances durability of anti-tumor response
Oshima et al. use hyperpolarized magnetic resonance spectroscopy to dynamically monitor tumor glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation. LDH inhibition slows tumor growth but rapidly redirects pyruvate to support mitochondrial metabolism. Inhibiting both mitochondrial complex 1 and LDH suppresses metabolic plasticity of glycolytic tumors in vivo, significantly prolonging tumor growth inhibition.
Mutations in epigenetic regulators are common in relapsed pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Here, we uncovered the mechanism underlying the relapse of ALL driven by an activating mutation ...of the
histone methyltransferase (p.E1099K). Using high-throughput drug screening, we found that
-mutant cells were specifically resistant to glucocorticoids. Correction of this mutation restored glucocorticoid sensitivity. The transcriptional response to glucocorticoids was blocked in
-mutant cells due to depressed glucocorticoid receptor (GR) levels and the failure of glucocorticoids to autoactivate GR expression. Although H3K27me3 was globally decreased by
p.E1099K, H3K27me3 accumulated at the
(GR) promoter. Pretreatment of
p.E1099K cell lines and patient-derived xenograft samples with PRC2 inhibitors reversed glucocorticoid resistance
and
. PRC2 inhibitors restored
autoactivation by glucocorticoids, increasing GR levels and allowing GR binding and activation of proapoptotic genes. These findings suggest a new therapeutic approach to relapsed ALL associated with
mutation. SIGNIFICANCE: NSD2 histone methyltransferase mutations observed in relapsed pediatric ALL drove glucocorticoid resistance by repression of the GR and abrogation of GR gene autoactivation due to accumulation of K3K27me3 at its promoter. Pretreatment with PRC2 inhibitors reversed resistance, suggesting a new therapeutic approach to these patients with ALL.
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Non-enzymatic protein modification driven by thioester reactivity is thought to play a major role in the establishment of cellular lysine acylation. However, the specific protein targets of this ...process are largely unknown. Here we report an experimental strategy to investigate non-enzymatic acylation in cells. Specifically, we develop a chemoproteomic method that separates thioester reactivity from enzymatic utilization, allowing selective enrichment of non-enzymatic acylation targets. Applying this method to cancer cell lines identifies numerous candidate targets of non-enzymatic acylation, including several enzymes in lower glycolysis. Functional studies highlight malonyl-CoA as a reactive thioester metabolite that can modify and inhibit glycolytic enzyme activity. Finally, we show that synthetic thioesters can be used as novel reagents to probe non-enzymatic acylation in living cells. Our studies provide new insights into the targets and drivers of non-enzymatic acylation, and demonstrate the utility of reactivity-based methods to experimentally investigate this phenomenon in biology and disease.
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•Non-enzymatic reactivity is an important input into cellular protein acylation•Minimal thioesters can mechanistically resolve enzymatic and non-enzymatic acylation•Thioester probes can identify candidate proteomic targets of non-enzymatic acylation•Malonyl-CoA is a hyperreactive thioester that acylates and inhibits glycolytic enzymes
Kulkarni et al. describe a reactivity-based method to track targets of non-enzymatic acylation. This approach leads to the discovery that malonyl-CoA is a hyperreactive thioester metabolite that can covalently antagonize glycolytic enzyme activity.
SARS-CoV-2 is the viral pathogen causing the COVID19 global pandemic. Consequently, much research has gone into the development of preclinical assays for the discovery of new or repurposing of ...FDA-approved therapies. Preventing viral entry into a host cell would be an effective antiviral strategy. One mechanism for SARS-CoV-2 entry occurs when the spike protein on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 binds to an ACE2 receptor followed by cleavage at two cut sites (“priming”) that causes a conformational change allowing for viral and host membrane fusion. TMPRSS2 has an extracellular protease domain capable of cleaving the spike protein to initiate membrane fusion. A validated inhibitor of TMPRSS2 protease activity would be a valuable tool for studying the impact TMPRSS2 has in viral entry and potentially be an effective antiviral therapeutic. To enable inhibitor discovery and profiling of FDA-approved therapeutics, we describe an assay for the biochemical screening of recombinant TMPRSS2 suitable for high throughput application. We demonstrate effectiveness to quantify inhibition down to subnanomolar concentrations by assessing the inhibition of camostat, nafamostat, and gabexate, clinically approved agents in Japan. Also, we profiled a camostat metabolite, FOY-251, and bromhexine hydrochloride, an FDA-approved mucolytic cough suppressant. The rank order potency for the compounds tested are nafamostat (IC50 = 0.27 nM), camostat (IC50 = 6.2 nM), FOY-251 (IC50 = 33.3 nM), and gabexate (IC50 = 130 nM). Bromhexine hydrochloride showed no inhibition of TMPRSS2. Further profiling of camostat, nafamostat, and gabexate against a panel of recombinant proteases provides insight into selectivity and potency.
Robust, generalizable approaches to identify compounds efficiently with undesirable mechanisms of action in complex cellular assays remain elusive. Such a process would be useful for hit triage ...during high-throughput screening and, ultimately, predictive toxicology during drug development. Here we generate cell painting and cellular health profiles for 218 prototypical cytotoxic and nuisance compounds in U-2 OS cells in a concentration-response format. A diversity of compounds that cause cellular damage produces bioactive cell painting morphologies, including cytoskeletal poisons, genotoxins, nonspecific electrophiles, and redox-active compounds. Further, we show that lower quality lysine acetyltransferase inhibitors and nonspecific electrophiles can be distinguished from more selective counterparts. We propose that the purposeful inclusion of cytotoxic and nuisance reference compounds such as those profiled in this resource will help with assay optimization and compound prioritization in complex cellular assays like cell painting.
Hereditary cancer disorders often provide an important window into novel mechanisms supporting tumor growth. Understanding these mechanisms thus represents a vital goal. Toward this goal, here we ...report a chemoproteomic map of fumarate, a covalent oncometabolite whose accumulation marks the genetic cancer syndrome hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell carcinoma (HLRCC). We applied a fumarate-competitive chemoproteomic probe in concert with LC-MS/MS to discover new cysteines sensitive to fumarate hydratase (FH) mutation in HLRCC cell models. Analysis of this dataset revealed an unexpected influence of local environment and pH on fumarate reactivity, and enabled the characterization of a novel FH-regulated cysteine residue that lies at a key protein-protein interface in the SWI-SNF tumor-suppressor complex. Our studies provide a powerful resource for understanding the covalent imprint of fumarate on the proteome and lay the foundation for future efforts to exploit this distinct aspect of oncometabolism for cancer diagnosis and therapy.
Lysine acetyltransferases (KATs) play a critical role in the regulation of transcription and other genomic functions. However, a persistent challenge is the development of assays capable of defining ...KAT activity directly in living cells. Toward this goal, here we report the application of a previously reported dCas9-p300 fusion as a transcriptional reporter of KAT activity. First, we benchmark the activity of dCas9-p300 relative to other dCas9-based transcriptional activators and demonstrate its compatibility with second generation short guide RNA architectures. Next, we repurpose this technology to rapidly identify small molecule inhibitors of acetylation-dependent gene expression. These studies validate a recently reported p300 inhibitor chemotype and reveal a role for p300s bromodomain in dCas9-p300-mediated transcriptional activation. Comparison with other CRISPR-Cas9 transcriptional activators highlights the inherent ligand tunable nature of dCas9-p300 fusions, suggesting new opportunities for orthogonal gene expression control. Overall, our studies highlight dCas9-p300 as a powerful tool for studying gene expression mechanisms in which acetylation plays a causal role and provide a foundation for future applications requiring spatiotemporal control over acetylation at specific genomic loci.
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