SHP2 is a nonreceptor protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) encoded by the PTPN11 gene involved in cell growth and differentiation via the MAPK signaling pathway. SHP2 also purportedly plays an ...important role in the programmed cell death pathway (PD-1/PD-L1). Because it is an oncoprotein associated with multiple cancer-related diseases, as well as a potential immunomodulator, controlling SHP2 activity is of significant therapeutic interest. Recently in our laboratories, a small molecule inhibitor of SHP2 was identified as an allosteric modulator that stabilizes the autoinhibited conformation of SHP2. A high throughput screen was performed to identify progressable chemical matter, and X-ray crystallography revealed the location of binding in a previously undisclosed allosteric binding pocket. Structure-based drug design was employed to optimize for SHP2 inhibition, and several new protein–ligand interactions were characterized. These studies culminated in the discovery of 6-(4-amino-4-methylpiperidin-1-yl)-3-(2,3-dichlorophenyl)pyrazin-2-amine (SHP099, 1), a potent, selective, orally bioavailable, and efficacious SHP2 inhibitor.
The interleukin-1 receptor-activated kinase 4 (IRAK4) belongs to the IRAK family of serine/threonine kinases and plays a central role in the innate immune response. However, the function of IRAK4 in ...tumor growth and progression remains elusive. Here we sought to determine the enzymatic and scaffolding functions of IRAK4 in activated B-cell-like diffuse large B cell lymphoma (ABC DLBCL). We chose a highly selective IRAK4 kinase inhibitor to probe the biological effects of kinase inhibition and developed a series of IRAK4 degraders to evaluate the effects of protein degradation in ABC DLBCL cells. Interestingly, the results demonstrated that neither IRAK4 kinase inhibition nor protein degradation led to cell death or growth inhibition, suggesting a redundant role for IRAK4 in ABC DLBCL cell survival. IRAK4 degraders characterized in this study provide useful tools for understanding IRAK4 protein scaffolding function, which was previously unachievable using pharmacological perturbation.
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•Development of a series of highly selective IRAK4 degraders•Deconvolution of IRAK4 kinase and scaffolding functions in ABC DLBCL•Evaluation of the consequences of IRAK4 degradation on key signaling pathways
Zhang and Fu et al. developed a series of IRAK4 degraders designed from an IRAK4-selective kinase inhibitor to deconvolute IRAK4 kinase and scaffolding functions in ABC DLBCL cells. Interestingly, neither kinase inhibition nor protein degradation affected cell proliferation or apoptosis, suggesting a redundant role of IRAK4 in ABC DLBCL.
The non-receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP2, encoded by PTPN11, has an important role in signal transduction downstream of growth factor receptor signalling and was the first reported ...oncogenic tyrosine phosphatase. Activating mutations of SHP2 have been associated with developmental pathologies such as Noonan syndrome and are found in multiple cancer types, including leukaemia, lung and breast cancer and neuroblastoma. SHP2 is ubiquitously expressed and regulates cell survival and proliferation primarily through activation of the RAS–ERK signalling pathway. It is also a key mediator of the programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and B- and T-lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA) immune checkpoint pathways. Reduction of SHP2 activity suppresses tumour cell growth and is a potential target of cancer therapy. Here we report the discovery of a highly potent (IC50 = 0.071 μM), selective and orally bioavailable small-molecule SHP2 inhibitor, SHP099, that stabilizes SHP2 in an auto-inhibited conformation. SHP099 concurrently binds to the interface of the N-terminal SH2, C-terminal SH2, and protein tyrosine phosphatase domains, thus inhibiting SHP2 activity through an allosteric mechanism. SHP099 suppresses RAS–ERK signalling to inhibit the proliferation of receptor-tyrosine-kinase-driven human cancer cells in vitro and is efficacious in mouse tumour xenograft models. Together, these data demonstrate that pharmacological inhibition of SHP2 is a valid therapeutic approach for the treatment of cancers.
Key molecular lesions in colorectal and other cancers cause β-catenin-dependent transactivation of T cell factor (Tcf)-dependent genes. Disruption of this signal represents an opportunity for ...rational cancer therapy. To identify compounds that inhibit association between Tcf4 and β-catenin, we screened libraries of natural compounds in a high-throughput assay for immunoenzymatic detection of the protein-protein interaction. Selected compounds disrupt Tcf/β-catenin complexes in several independent in vitro assays and potently antagonize cellular effects of β-catenin-dependent activities, including reporter gene activation,
c-myc or
cyclin D1 expression, cell proliferation, and duplication of the
Xenopus embryonic dorsal axis. These compounds thus meet predicted criteria for disrupting Tcf/β-catenin complexes and define a general standard to establish mechanism-based activity of small molecule inhibitors of this pathogenic protein-protein interaction.
Validating cancer drug targets Benson, John D; Chen, Ying-Nan P; Cornell-Kennon, Susan A ...
Nature,
05/2006, Letnik:
441, Številka:
7092
Journal Article
Recenzirano
A cancer drug target is only truly validated by demonstrating that a given therapeutic agent is clinically effective and acts through the target against which it was designed. Nevertheless, it is ...desirable to declare an early-stage drug target as 'validated' before investing in a full-scale drug discovery programme dedicated to it. Although the outcome of validation studies can guide cancer research programmes, strictly defined universal validation criteria have not been established.
Recent studies identified a short peptide motif that serves as a docking site for cyclin/cyclin-dependent kinase (cdk) 2 complexes. Peptides containing this motif block the phosphorylation of ...substrates by cyclin A/cdk2 or cyclin E/cdk2. Here we report that cell membrane-permeable forms of such peptides preferentially induced transformed cells to undergo apoptosis relative to nontransformed cells. Deregulation of E2F family transcription factors is a common event during transformation and was sufficient to sensitize cells to the cyclin/cdk2 inhibitory peptides. These results suggest that deregulation of E2F and inhibition of cdk2 are synthetically lethal and provide a rationale for the development of cdk2 antagonists as antineoplastic agents.
The synthesis of three potent new antitumor agents is described: the A83586C−citropeptin hybrid (1), the A83586C−GE3 hybrid (2), and l-Pro-A83586C (3). Significantly, compounds 1 and 2 function as ...highly potent inhibitors of β-catenin/TCF4 signaling within cancer cells, while simultaneously downregulating osteopontin (Opn) expression. A83586C antitumor cyclodepsipeptides also inhibit E2F-mediated transcription by downregulating E2F1 expression and inducing dephosphorylation of the oncogenic hyperphosphorylated retinoblastoma protein (pRb).
Identification of E2F-1/Cyclin A antagonists Sharma, Sushil K.; Ramsey, Timothy M.; Chen, Ying-Nan P. ...
Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry letters,
09/2001, Letnik:
11, Številka:
18
Journal Article
Recenzirano
A simple method for the synthesis of a rationally designed (
S,S)-Pro-Leu-spirolactam scaffold is described. This was expanded to a small biased library of compounds mimicking the ‘ZRXL’ motif in ...order to identify E2F-1/Cyclin A antagonists. The synthesized compounds were evaluated in an E2F-1/Cyclin A binding assay and moderately active analogues were identified. In addition, the critical roles of Phe, Leu, Lys, and Arg residues of the identified motif were determined.
A small biased library of compounds was prepared in order to identify E2F-1/Cyclin A antagonists using a rationally designed (
S,S)-Pro-Leu-spirolactam scaffold.
The testis isozyme of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE; EC 3.4.15.1) is a membrane-bound protein that, apart from the first 35 N-terminal residues, is identical to the C-terminal half of somatic ...ACE and contains the same putative C-terminal membrane anchor. Stable transfection of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells with an expression vector containing the full-length human testis ACE cDNA results in the expression of two forms of recombinant human testis ACE (hTACE): membrane-bound ACE and, surprisingly, large quantities (up to 3 mg/liter) of soluble hTACE in the conditioned medium. Both forms are fully active and are physicochemically similar. However, by phase separation in Triton X-114, the soluble enzyme is hydrophilic, as is an anchor-minus mutant hTACE recovered from the medium of CHO cells transfected with a vector that contains a 3'-truncated testis ACE cDNA lacking the sequence encoding the membrane anchor. In contrast, the membrane-bound hTACE is amphipathic but is converted to a hydrophilic form on treatment with trypsin. The data establish that in ACE the hydrophobic sequence near the C terminus is necessary for membrane anchoring. Moreover, in CHO cells, membrane-bound hTACE is apparently solubilized by proteolytic cleavage of this anchor. A similar mechanism may account for the release of endothelial ACE in vivo to generate serum ACE and more generally for the constitutive processing and solubilization of analogously anchored proteins such as the amyloid precursor protein, among others. The release of membrane-bound ACE in CHO cells may, therefore, provide a useful system for the study of membrane-protein-solubilizing proteases.
Legionellosis (Legionnaires' disease; LD) is a form of severe pneumonia caused by species of Legionella bacteria. Because inhalation of Legionella-contaminated aerosol is considered the major ...infection route, routine assessments of potential infection sources such as hot water systems, air-conditioner cooling water, and municipal fountains are of great importance. In this study, we utilized in vitro culture and multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) targeting 16S rRNA, mip, rpoB, and mip-rpoB concatenation to isolate and identify Legionella spp. from 5 municipal fountains in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, China. Our results demonstrated that 16S rRNA was useful for initial identification, as it could recognize isolates robustly at the genus level, while the genes mip, rpoB, and mip-rpoB concatenation could confidently discriminate Legionella species. Notably, the three subspecies of L. pneumophila could be distinguished by the analysis based on rpoB. The serotyping result of strain CD-1 was consistent with genetic analysis based on the concatenation of mip and rpoB. Despite regular maintenance and sanitizing methods, 4 of the 5 municipal fountains investigated in this study were positive for Legionella contamination. Thus, regularly scheduled monitoring of municipal fountains is urgently needed as well as vigilant disinfection. Although the application of MLSA for inspection of potential sites of infection in public areas is not standard procedure, further investigations may prove its usefulness.
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