Over half of new therapeutic approaches fail in clinical trials due to a lack of target validation. As such, the development of new methods to improve and accelerate the identification of cellular ...targets, broadly known as target ID, remains a fundamental goal in drug discovery. While advances in sequencing and mass spectrometry technologies have revolutionized drug target ID in recent decades, the corresponding chemical-based approaches have not changed in over 50 y. Consigned to outdated stoichiometric activation modes, modern target ID campaigns are regularly confounded by poor signal-to-noise resulting from limited receptor occupancy and low crosslinking yields, especially when targeting low abundance membrane proteins or multiple protein target engagement. Here, we describe a broadly general platform for photocatalytic small molecule target ID, which is founded upon the catalytic amplification of target-tag crosslinking through the continuous generation of high-energy carbene intermediates via visible light-mediated Dexter energy transfer. By decoupling the reactive warhead tag from the small molecule ligand, catalytic signal amplification results in unprecedented levels of target enrichment, enabling the quantitative target and off target ID of several drugs including (+)-JQ1, paclitaxel (Taxol), dasatinib (Sprycel), as well as two G-protein-coupled receptors-ADORA2A and GPR40.
A long-standing challenge within radical chemistry is that of controlling the absolute stereochemistry of the products. Here, we report the stereocontrolled addition of α-amino radicals reductively ...generated from imines via visible-light-mediated photoredox-catalysis to alkenes, giving rise to enantioenriched α-trialkyl-α-tertiary amines. This process exploits a commercially available phenylglycinol derivative as a source of both nitrogen and chiral information. DFT studies support a stereochemical model whereby an intramolecular H-bond rigidifies the transition state of the enantiodetermining step.
The characterization of ligand binding modes is a crucial step in the drug discovery process and is especially important in campaigns arising from phenotypic screening, where the protein target and ...binding mode are unknown at the outset. Elucidation of target binding regions is typically achieved by X-ray crystallography or photoaffinity labeling (PAL) approaches; yet, these methods present significant challenges. X-ray crystallography is a mainstay technique that has revolutionized drug discovery, but in many cases structural characterization is challenging or impossible. PAL has also enabled binding site mapping with peptide- and amino-acid-level resolution; however, the stoichiometric activation mode can lead to poor signal and coverage of the resident binding pocket. Additionally, each PAL probe can have its own fragmentation pattern, complicating the analysis by mass spectrometry. Here, we establish a robust and general photocatalytic approach toward the mapping of protein binding sites, which we define as identification of residues proximal to the ligand binding pocket. By utilizing a catalytic mode of activation, we obtain sets of labeled amino acids in the proximity of the target protein binding site. We use this methodology to map, in vitro, the binding sites of six protein targets, including several kinases and molecular glue targets, and furthermore to investigate the binding site of the STAT3 inhibitor MM-206, a ligand with no known crystal structure. Finally, we demonstrate the successful mapping of drug binding sites in live cells. These results establish μMap as a powerful method for the generation of amino-acid- and peptide-level target engagement data.
The interactions of biomolecules underpin all cellular processes, and the understanding of their dynamic interplay can lead to significant advances in the treatment of disease through the ...identification of novel therapeutic strategies. Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) in particular play a vital role within this arena, providing the basis for the majority of cellular signalling pathways. Despite their great importance, the elucidation of weak or transient PPIs that cannot be identified by immunoprecipitation remains a significant challenge, particularly in a disease relevant cellular environment. Recent approaches towards this goal have utilized the
in situ
generation of high energy intermediates that cross-link with neighboring proteins, providing a snapshot of the biomolecular makeup of the local area or microenvironment, termed the interactome. In this tutorial review, we discuss these reactive intermediates, how they are generated, and the impact they have had on the discovery of new biology. Broadly, we believe this strategy has the potential to significantly accelerate our understanding of PPIs and how they affect cellular physiology.
This tutorial review describes enabling methods for determining biomolecular interactions in live cells through the use of
in situ
generated reactive intermediates.
The preparation of C-iodo-N-Ts-aziridines with excellent cis-diastereoselectivity has been achieved in high yields by the addition of diiodomethyllithium to N-tosylimines and N-tosylimine–HSO2Tol ...adducts. This addition-cyclization protocol successfully provided a wide range of cis-iodoaziridines, including the first examples of alkyl-substituted iodoaziridines, with the reaction tolerating both aryl imines and alkyl imines. An ortho-chlorophenyl imine afforded a β-amino gem-diiodide under the optimized reaction conditions due to a postulated coordinated intermediate preventing cyclization. An effective protocol to assess the stability of the sensitive iodoaziridine functional group to chromatography was also developed. As a result of the judicious choice of stationary phase, the iodoaziridines could be purified by column chromatography; the use of deactivated basic alumina (activity IV) afforded high yield and purity. Rearrangements of electron-rich aryl-iodoaziridines have been promoted, selectively affording either novel α-iodo-N-Ts-imines or α-iodo-aldehydes in high yield.
C9ORF72 mutations are found in a significant fraction of patients suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia, yet the function of the C9ORF72 gene product remains poorly ...understood. We show that mice harboring loss-of-function mutations in the ortholog of C9ORF72 develop splenomegaly, neutrophilia, thrombocytopenia, increased expression of inflammatory cytokines, and severe autoimmunity, ultimately leading to a high mortality rate. Transplantation of mutant mouse bone marrow into wild-type recipients was sufficient to recapitulate the phenotypes observed in the mutant animals, including autoimmunity and premature mortality. Reciprocally, transplantation of wild-type mouse bone marrow into mutant mice improved their phenotype. We conclude that C9ORF72 serves an important function within the hematopoietic system to restrict inflammation and the development of autoimmunity.
The American Academy of Neurology believes that doctors have the right to do tests to evaluate whether a patient is brain dead even if the family does not consent. They argue that physicians have ..."both the moral authority and professional responsibility" to do such evaluations, just as they have the authority and responsibility to declare someone dead by circulatory criteria. Not everyone agrees. Truog and Tasker argue that apnea testing to confirm brain death has risks and that, for some families, those risks may outweigh the benefits. So, what should doctors do when caring for a patient whom they believe to be brain dead but whose parents refuse to allow testing to confirm that the patient meets neurologic criteria for death? In this article, we analyze the issues that arise when parents refuse such testing.
Dynamic surface anneal: activation without diffusion Jennings, D.; Mayur, A.; Parihar, V. ...
12th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Thermal Processing of Semiconductors, 2004. RTP 2004,
2004
Conference Proceeding
The continued scaling of devices in accordance with Moore's law requires activation of some implants such as the source-drain extensions, SDEs, with as little diffusion as possible. New options in ...thermal processing are described and compared. Thermal flux annealing is the regime where power density is high enough to cause local heating but not so high as to eliminate heat transfer entirely. If energy is delivered fast enough, i.e.: the power density is high enough, the surface of the wafer can reach useful annealing temperatures before the bulk temperature rises appreciably. Limited heat transfer enables the substrate as a heat sink for rapid device region cool down. Thermal homogenization on the device scale also occurs when the thermal diffusion length is a few tens of microns. Wavelengths for scanning laser are compared as well as broadband flash lamp annealing