The bromodomain‐containing protein BRD9, a subunit of the human BAF (SWI/SNF) nucleosome remodeling complex, has emerged as an attractive therapeutic target in cancer. Despite the development of ...chemical probes targeting the BRD9 bromodomain, there is a limited understanding of BRD9 function beyond acetyl‐lysine recognition. We have therefore created the first BRD9‐directed chemical degraders, through iterative design and testing of heterobifunctional ligands that bridge the BRD9 bromodomain and the cereblon E3 ubiquitin ligase complex. Degraders of BRD9 exhibit markedly enhanced potency compared to parental ligands (10‐ to 100‐fold). Parallel study of degraders with divergent BRD9‐binding chemotypes in models of acute myeloid leukemia resolves bromodomain polypharmacology in this emerging drug class. Together, these findings reveal the tractability of non‐BET bromodomain containing proteins to chemical degradation, and highlight lead compound dBRD9 as a tool for the study of BRD9.
With structural guidance alongside comparative biochemical and biological assays, an iterative design strategy resulted in the development of small‐molecule protein degraders that rapidly, potently, and selectively eliminate bromodomain‐containing protein BRD9 from the BAF complex. These first in class non‐BET bromodomain degraders show significant potency improvements over existing BRD9 probes in models of acute myeloid leukemia.
Alterations in non-driver genes represent an emerging class of potential therapeutic targets in cancer. Hundreds to thousands of non-driver genes undergo loss of heterozygosity (LOH) events per ...tumor, generating discrete differences between tumor and normal cells. Here we interrogate LOH of polymorphisms in essential genes as a novel class of therapeutic targets. We hypothesized that monoallelic inactivation of the allele retained in tumors can selectively kill cancer cells but not somatic cells, which retain both alleles. We identified 5664 variants in 1278 essential genes that undergo LOH in cancer and evaluated the potential for each to be targeted using allele-specific gene-editing, RNAi, or small-molecule approaches. We further show that allele-specific inactivation of either of two essential genes (PRIM1 and EXOSC8) reduces growth of cells harboring that allele, while cells harboring the non-targeted allele remain intact. We conclude that LOH of essential genes represents a rich class of non-driver cancer vulnerabilities.
Thorough preclinical target validation is essential for the success of drug discovery efforts. In this study, we combined chemical and genetic perturbants, including the development of a novel ...selective maternal embryonic leucine zipper kinase (MELK) inhibitor HTH-01-091, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated MELK knockout, a novel chemical-induced protein degradation strategy, RNA interference and CRISPR interference to validate MELK as a therapeutic target in basal-like breast cancers (BBC). In common culture conditions, we found that small molecule inhibition, genetic deletion, or acute depletion of MELK did not significantly affect cellular growth. This discrepancy to previous findings illuminated selectivity issues of the widely used MELK inhibitor OTSSP167, and potential off-target effects of MELK-targeting short hairpins. The different genetic and chemical tools developed here allow for the identification and validation of any causal roles MELK may play in cancer biology, which will be required to guide future MELK drug discovery efforts. Furthermore, our study provides a general framework for preclinical target validation.
The transcription factor TEAD, together with its coactivator YAP/TAZ, is a key transcriptional modulator of the Hippo pathway. Activation of TEAD transcription by YAP has been implicated in a number ...of malignancies, and this complex represents a promising target for drug discovery. However, both YAP and its extensive binding interfaces to TEAD have been difficult to address using small molecules, mainly due to a lack of druggable pockets. TEAD is post-translationally modified by palmitoylation that targets a conserved cysteine at a central pocket, which provides an opportunity to develop cysteine-directed covalent small molecules for TEAD inhibition. Here, we employed covalent fragment screening approach followed by structure-based design to develop an irreversible TEAD inhibitor MYF-03-69. Using a range of in vitro and cell-based assays we demonstrated that through a covalent binding with TEAD palmitate pocket, MYF-03-69 disrupts YAP-TEAD association, suppresses TEAD transcriptional activity and inhibits cell growth of Hippo signaling defective malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Further, a cell viability screening with a panel of 903 cancer cell lines indicated a high correlation between TEAD-YAP dependency and the sensitivity to MYF-03-69. Transcription profiling identified the upregulation of proapoptotic
gene in cancer cells that are sensitive to TEAD inhibition. Further optimization of MYF-03-69 led to an in vivo compatible compound MYF-03-176, which shows strong antitumor efficacy in MPM mouse xenograft model via oral administration. Taken together, we disclosed a story of the development of covalent TEAD inhibitors and its high therapeutic potential for clinic treatment for the cancers that are driven by TEAD-YAP alteration.
The development of effective pharmacological inhibitors of multidomain scaffold proteins, notably transcription factors, is a particularly challenging problem. In part, this is because many ...small-molecule antagonists disrupt the activity of only one domain in the target protein. We devised a chemical strategy that promotes ligand-dependent target protein degradation using as an example the transcriptional coactivator BRD4, a protein critical for cancer cell growth and survival. We appended a competitive antagonist of BET bromodomains to a phthalimide moiety to hijack the cereblon E3 ubiquitin ligase complex. The resultant compound, dBET1, induced highly selective cereblon-dependent BET protein degradation in vitro and in vivo and delayed leukemia progression in mice. A second series of probes resulted in selective degradation of the cytosolic protein FKBP12. This chemical strategy for controlling target protein stability may have implications for therapeutically targeting previously intractable proteins.
The ryanodine receptor (RyR) is a large, homotetrameric sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane protein that is essential for Ca2+ cycling in both skeletal and cardiac muscle. Genetic mutations in RyR1 are ...associated with severe conditions including malignant hyperthermia (MH) and central core disease. One phosphorylation site (Ser 2843) has been identified in a segment of RyR1 flanked by two RyR motifs, which are found exclusively in all RyR isoforms as closely associated tandem (or paired) motifs, and are named after the protein itself. These motifs also contain six known MH mutations. In this study, we designed, expressed and purified the tandem RyR motifs, and show that this domain contains a putative binding site for the Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase β isoform. We present a 2.2 Å resolution crystal structure of the RyR domain revealing a two‐fold, symmetric, extended four‐helix bundle stabilized by a β sheet. Using mathematical modelling, we fit our crystal structure within a tetrameric electron microscopy (EM) structure of native RyR1, and propose that this domain is localized in the RyR clamp region, which is absent in its cousin protein inositol 1,4,5‐trisphosphate receptor.
Database
The crystal structure of the RyR1 phosphorylation domain (amino acid residues 2734–2940) has been submitted to the Protein Data Bank under accession number 3RQR.
Structured digital
RyR1 C3 physically interacts with CaMKIIβ by pull down (View interaction)
RyR1 C3 binds to CaMKIIβ by pull down (View interaction)
CaMKIIβ physically interacts with RyR1 C3 by anti tag coimmunoprecipitation (View Interaction: 1, 2)
The ryanodine receptor (RyR1) is an essential protein for calcium cycling in both skeletal and cardiac muscle. We present a 2.2Å resolution crystal structure of the phosphorylation domain of RyR1 revealing a two‐fold symmetric, four‐helix bundle structure stabilized by two β‐sheets. Modelling localized this structure into the dynamic clamp region of RyR1, a region absent from the inositol 1,4,5‐trisphosphate receptor
Abstract
Hyper-activated STAT5B variants are high value oncology targets for pharmacologic intervention. STAT5B
N642H
, a frequently-occurring oncogenic driver mutation, promotes aggressive T-cell ...leukemia/lymphoma in patient carriers, although the molecular origins remain unclear. Herein, we emphasize the aggressive nature of STAT5B
N642H
in driving T-cell neoplasia upon hematopoietic expression in transgenic mice, revealing evidence of multiple T-cell subset organ infiltration. Notably, we demonstrate STAT5B
N642H
-driven transformation of γδ T-cells in in vivo syngeneic transplant models, comparable to STAT5B
N642H
patient γδ T-cell entities. Importantly, we present human STAT5B and STAT5B
N642H
crystal structures, which propose alternative mutation-mediated SH2 domain conformations. Our biophysical data suggests STAT5B
N642H
can adopt a hyper-activated and hyper-inactivated state with resistance to dephosphorylation. MD simulations support sustained interchain cross-domain interactions in STAT5B
N642H
, conferring kinetic stability to the mutant anti-parallel dimer. This study provides a molecular explanation for the STAT5B
N642H
activating potential, and insights into pre-clinical models for targeted intervention of hyper-activated STAT5B.
Cellular signaling is often propagated by multivalent interactions. Multivalency creates avidity, allowing stable biophysical recognition. Multivalency is an attractive strategy for achieving potent ...binding to protein targets, as the affinity of bivalent ligands is often greater than the sum of monovalent affinities. The bromodomain and extraterminal domain (BET) family of transcriptional coactivators features tandem bromodomains through which BET proteins bind acetylated histones and transcription factors. All reported antagonists of the BET protein BRD4 bind in a monovalent fashion. Here we describe, to our knowledge for the first time, a bivalent BET bromodomain inhibitor-MT1-which has unprecedented potency. Biophysical and biochemical studies suggest MT1 is an intramolecular bivalent BRD4 binder that is more than 100-fold more potent, in cellular assays, than the corresponding monovalent antagonist, JQ1. MT1 significantly (P < 0.05) delayed leukemia progression in mice, as compared to JQ1. These data qualify a powerful chemical probe for BET bromodomains and a rationale for further development of multidomain inhibitors of epigenetic reader proteins.
Arsenic trioxide (ATO) and all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) combination safely cures fatal acute promyelocytic leukemia, but their mechanisms of action and efficacy are not fully understood. ATRA ...inhibits leukemia, breast, and liver cancer by targeting isomerase Pin1, a master regulator of oncogenic signaling networks. Here we show that ATO targets Pin1 and cooperates with ATRA to exert potent anticancer activity. ATO inhibits and degrades Pin1, and suppresses its oncogenic function by noncovalent binding to Pin1's active site. ATRA increases cellular ATO uptake through upregulating aquaporin-9. ATO and ATRA, at clinically safe doses, cooperatively ablate Pin1 to block numerous cancer-driving pathways and inhibit the growth of triple-negative breast cancer cells and tumor-initiating cells in cell and animal models including patient-derived orthotopic xenografts, like Pin1 knockout, which is substantiated by comprehensive protein and microRNA analyses. Thus, synergistic targeting of Pin1 by ATO and ATRA offers an attractive approach to combating breast and other cancers.
Epigenetic inheritance in mammals is characterized by high-fidelity replication of CpG methylation patterns during development. UHRF1 (also known as ICBP90 in humans and Np95 in mouse) is an E3 ...ligase important for the maintenance of global and local DNA methylation in vivo. The preferential affinity of UHRF1 for hemi-methylated DNA over symmetrically methylated DNA by means of its SET and RING-associated (SRA) domain and its association with the maintenance DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) suggests a role in replication of the epigenetic code. Here we report the 1.7 Å crystal structure of the apo SRA domain of human UHRF1 and a 2.2 Å structure of its complex with hemi-methylated DNA, revealing a previously unknown reading mechanism for methylated CpG sites (mCpG). The SRA-DNA complex has several notable structural features including a binding pocket that accommodates the 5-methylcytosine that is flipped out of the duplex DNA. Two specialized loops reach through the resulting gap in the DNA from both the major and the minor grooves to read the other three bases of the CpG duplex. The major groove loop confers both specificity for the CpG dinucleotide and discrimination against methylation of deoxycytidine of the complementary strand. The structure, along with mutagenesis data, suggests how UHRF1 acts as a key factor for DNMT1 maintenance methylation through recognition of a fundamental unit of epigenetic inheritance, mCpG.
PDF
