The Effect of Mutations on Drug Sensitivity and Kinase Activity of Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptors: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of 3-vinyl-quinoxalin-2(1H)-one derivatives as novel antitumor inhibitors of FGFR1

FGFR1 is well known as a molecular target in anticancer drug design. TKI258 plays an important role in RTK inhibitors. Utilizing TKI258 as a lead compound that contains a quinazolinone nucleus, we synthesized four series of 3-vinyl-quinoxalin-2(1H)-one derivatives, a total of 27 compounds. We further evaluated these compounds for FGFR1 inhibition ability as well as cytotoxicity against four cancer cell lines (H460, B16-F10, Hela229, and Hct116) in vitro. Some compounds displayed good-to-excellent potency against the four tested cancer cell lines compared with TKI258. Structure–activity relationship analyses indicated that small substituents at the side chain of the 3-vinyl-quinoxalin-2(1H)-one were more effective than large substituents. Lastly, we used molecular docking to obtain further insight into the interactions between the compounds and FGFR1.

Landscape of activating cancer mutations in FGFR kinases and their differential responses to inhibitors in clinical use

Frequent genetic alterations discovered in FGFRs and evidence implicating some as drivers in diverse tumors has been accompanied by rapid progress in targeting FGFRs for anticancer treatments. Wider assessment of the impact of genetic changes on the activation state and drug responses is needed to better link the genomic data and treatment options. We here apply a direct comparative and comprehensive analysis of FGFR3 kinase domain variants representing the diversity of point-mutations reported in this domain. We reinforce the importance of N540K and K650E and establish that not all highly activating mutations (for example R669G) occur at high-frequency and conversely, that some "hotspots" may not be linked to activation. Further structural characterization consolidates a mechanistic view of FGFR kinase activation and extends insights into drug binding. Importantly, using several inhibitors of particular clinical interest (AZD4547, BGJ-398, TKI258, JNJ42756493 and AP24534), we find that some activating mutations (including different replacements of the same residue) result in distinct changes in their efficacy. Considering that there is no approved inhibitor for anticancer treatments based on FGFR-targeting, this information will be immediately translatable to ongoing clinical trials.

Time-resolved FRET reports FGFR1 dimerization and formation of a complex with its effector PLCγ1

In vitro and in vivo imaging of protein tyrosine kinase activity requires minimally invasive, molecularly precise optical probes to provide spatiotemporal mechanistic information of dimerization and complex formation with downstream effectors. We present here a construct with genetically encoded, site-specifically incorporated, bioorthogonal reporter that can be selectively labelled with exogenous fluorogenic probes to monitor the structure and function of fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR). GyrB.FGFR1KD.TC contains a coumermycin-induced artificial dimerizer (GyrB), FGFR1 kinase domain (KD) and a tetracysteine (TC) motif that enables fluorescent labelling with biarsenical dyes FlAsH-EDT2 and ReAsH-EDT2. We generated bimolecular system for time-resolved FRET (TR-FRET) studies, which pairs FlAsH-tagged GyrB.FGFR1KD.TC and N-terminal Src homology 2 (nSH2) domain of phospholipase Cγ (PLCγ), a downstream effector of FGFR1, fused to mTurquoise fluorescent protein (mTFP). We demonstrated phosphorylation-dependent TR-FRET readout of complex formation between mTFP.nSH2 and GyrB.FGFR1KD.TC. By further application of TR-FRET, we also demonstrated formation of the GyrB.FGFR1KD.TC homodimer by coumermycin-induced dimerization. Herein, we present a spectroscopic FRET approach to facilitate and propagate studies that would provide structural and functional insights for FGFR and other tyrosine kinases.

Towards a Molecular Understanding of the Link between Imatinib Resistance and Kinase Conformational Dynamics

Due to its inhibition of the Abl kinase domain in the BCR-ABL fusion protein, imatinib is strikingly effective in the initial stage of chronic myeloid leukemia with more than 90% of the patients showing complete remission. However, as in the case of most targeted anti-cancer therapies, the emergence of drug resistance is a serious concern. Several drug-resistant mutations affecting the catalytic domain of Abl and other tyrosine kinases are now known. But, despite their importance and the adverse effect that they have on the prognosis of the cancer patients harboring them, the molecular mechanism of these mutations is still debated. Here by using long molecular dynamics simulations and large-scale free energy calculations complemented by in vitro mutagenesis and microcalorimetry experiments, we model the effect of several widespread drug-resistant mutations of Abl. By comparing the conformational free energy landscape of the mutants with those of the wild-type tyrosine kinases we clarify their mode of action. It involves significant and complex changes in the inactive-to-active dynamics and entropy/enthalpy balance of two functional elements: the activation-loop and the conserved DFG motif. What is more the T315I gatekeeper mutant has a significant impact on the binding mechanism itself and on the binding kinetics.

The effect of a widespread cancer-causing mutation on the inactive to active dynamics of the B-Raf kinase

Protein kinases play a key role in regulating cellular processes. Kinase dysfunction can lead to disease, making them an attractive target for drug design. The B-Raf kinase is a key target for the treatment of melanoma since a single mutation (V600E) is found in more than 50% of all malignant melanomas. Despite the importance of B-Raf in melanoma treatment, the molecular mechanism by which the mutation increases kinase activity remains elusive. Since kinases are tightly regulated by a conformational transition between an active and inactive state, which is difficult to capture experimentally, large-scale enhanced-sampling simulations are performed to examine the mechanism by which the V600E mutation enhances the activity of the B-Raf monomer. The results reveal that the mutation has a twofold effect. First, the mutation increases the barrier of the active to inactive transition trapping B-Raf in the active state. The mutation also increases the flexibility of the activation loop which might speed-up the rate-limiting step of phosphorylation. Both effects can be explained by the formation of salt-bridges with the Glu600 residue.