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Shao KM, Shao WH. Transcription Factors in the Pathogenesis of Lupus Nephritis and Their Targeted Therapy. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:1084. [PMID: 38256157 PMCID: PMC10816397 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25021084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2023] [Revised: 01/07/2024] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a prototype inflammatory autoimmune disease, characterized by breakdown of immunotolerance to self-antigens. Renal involvement, known as lupus nephritis (LN), is one of the leading causes of morbidity and a significant contributor to mortality in SLE. Despite current pathophysiological advances, further studies are needed to fully understand complex mechanisms underlying the development and progression of LN. Transcription factors (TFs) are proteins that regulate the expression of genes and play a crucial role in the development and progression of LN. The mechanisms of TF promoting or inhibiting gene expression are complex, and studies have just begun to reveal the pathological roles of TFs in LN. Understanding TFs in the pathogenesis of LN can provide valuable insights into this disease's mechanisms and potentially lead to the development of targeted therapies for its management. This review will focus on recent findings on TFs in the pathogenesis of LN and newly developed TF-targeted therapy in renal inflammation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kasey M. Shao
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Wen-Hai Shao
- Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA
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2
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Abdelhafez OH, Abdel-Rahman IM, Alaaeldin E, Refaat H, El-Sayed R, Al-Harbi SA, Shawky AM, Hegazy MEF, Moustafa AY, Shady NH. Pro-Apoptotic Activity of Epi-Obtusane against Cervical Cancer: Nano Formulation, In Silico Molecular Docking, and Pharmacological Network Analysis. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 16:1578. [PMID: 38004443 PMCID: PMC10674245 DOI: 10.3390/ph16111578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Revised: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer is a major disease that threatens human health all over the world. Intervention and prevention in premalignant processes are successful ways to prevent cancer from striking. On the other hand, the marine ecosystem is a treasure storehouse of promising bioactive metabolites. The use of such marine products can be optimized by selecting a suitable nanocarrier. Therefore, epi-obtusane, previously isolated from Aplysia oculifera, was investigated for its potential anticancer effects toward cervical cancer through a series of in vitro assays in HeLa cells using the MTT assay method. Additionally, the sesquiterpene was encapsulated within a liposomal formulation (size = 130.8 ± 50.3, PDI = 0.462, zeta potential -12.3 ± 2.3), and the antiproliferative potential of epi-obtusane was investigated against the human cervical cancer cell line HeLa before and after encapsulation with liposomes. Epi-obtusane exhibited a potent effect against the HeLa cell line, while the formulated molecule with liposomes increased the in vitro antiproliferative activity. Additionally, cell cycle arrest analysis, as well as the apoptosis assay, performed via FITC-Annexin-V/propidium iodide double staining (flow cytofluorimetry), were carried out. The pharmacological network enabled us to deliver further insights into the mechanism of epi-obtusane, suggesting that STAT3 might be targeted by the compound. Moreover, molecular docking showed a comparable binding score of the isolated compound towards the STAT3 SH2 domain. The targets possess an anticancer effect through the endometrial cancer pathway, regulation of DNA templated transcription, and nitric oxide synthase, as mentioned by the KEGG and ShinyGo 7.1 databases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omnia Hesham Abdelhafez
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Deraya University, Universities Zone, New Minia 61111, Egypt
| | - Islam M. Abdel-Rahman
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Deraya University, New-Minia 61111, Egypt;
| | - Eman Alaaeldin
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Minia University, Minia 61519, Egypt;
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Deraya University, Universities Zone, New Minia 61111, Egypt
| | - Hesham Refaat
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA;
| | - Refat El-Sayed
- Department of Chemistry, University College in Al-Jamoum, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 24231, Saudi Arabia; (R.E.-S.); (S.A.A.-H.)
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Benha University, Benha 13518, Egypt
| | - Sami A. Al-Harbi
- Department of Chemistry, University College in Al-Jamoum, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 24231, Saudi Arabia; (R.E.-S.); (S.A.A.-H.)
| | - Ahmed M. Shawky
- Science and Technology Unit (STU), Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Mohamed-Elamir F. Hegazy
- Chemistry of Medicinal Plants Department, National Research Centre, El-Tahrir Street, Dokki, Giza 12622, Egypt;
| | - Alaa Y. Moustafa
- Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Sohag University, Sohag 82524, Egypt;
| | - Nourhan Hisham Shady
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Deraya University, Universities Zone, New Minia 61111, Egypt
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Huang H, Chang YH, Xu J, Ni HY, Zhao H, Zhai BW, Efferth T, Gu CB, Fu YJ. Aucubin as a natural potential anti-acute hepatitis candidate: Inhibitory potency and hepatoprotective mechanism. PHYTOMEDICINE : INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHYTOTHERAPY AND PHYTOPHARMACOLOGY 2022; 102:154170. [PMID: 35609387 DOI: 10.1016/j.phymed.2022.154170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2021] [Revised: 04/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hepatic inflammation can substantially impact the development of acute hepatitis. It is a pressing need to identify and exploit novel therapeutic targets as well as effective drug therapies against acute hepatitis. Aucubin (AU) is one of the main active components extracted from the leaves of Eucommia ulmoides and possesses significant anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. However, the protective effect and mechanism of AU on acute hepatitis have not been reported yet. PURPOSE This study aims to investigate the protective effect of AU on LPS-induced acute hepatitis and the mechanism of action. METHODS The limma package was used to analyze differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between LPS-induced acute hepatitis and normal groups based on Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) microarray data. Network pharmacology predicted targets for AU therapy against acute hepatitis, and Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis of the biological processes involved in these targets. The key pathways were analyzed by protein-protein interaction, KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes), and GSEA (Gene Set Enrichment Analysis) enrichment. The important interaction targets between AU and key pathways were evaluated by molecular simulation. The in silico predicted mechanism was verified based on in vitro and in vivo experiments. RESULTS A total of 116 intersection targets between AU prediction targets and differentially expressed genes were identified. They were functionally involved in the imbalance of "inflammation-anti-inflammation" and "oxidation-antioxidation" systems in the process of LPS-induced cases. In vitro experiments revealed that AU reduced inflammation in LPS-induced HepG2 cells by reducing the inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-6, as well as iNOS enzyme activity levels. In addition, LPS-induced oxidative stress can be alleviated by AU via adjusting the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), Malone dialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Protein-protein interaction and GSEA results showed that AU might exert anti-inflammatory effects mainly through the STAT3/NF-κB signal pathway. Molecular dynamics simulation as well as in vivo tests further demonstrated AU restrained nuclear transfer of NF-κB (P65), probably through reducing phosphorylation of STAT3. In addition, AU appears to reduce oxidative stress by upregulating NRF2/HO-1. CONCLUSION We explored potential targets and signal pathways of AU in inhibiting acute hepatitis. AU exerted anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities and may be a useful candidate drug for the treatment of acute hepatitis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han Huang
- Key Laboratory of Forest Plant Ecology, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China; Engineering Research Center of Forest Bio-Preparation, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, PR China; College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Resource Utilization, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
| | - Yuan-Hang Chang
- Key Laboratory of Forest Plant Ecology, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China; Engineering Research Center of Forest Bio-Preparation, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, PR China; College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Resource Utilization, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
| | - Jian Xu
- Key Laboratory of Forest Plant Ecology, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China; Engineering Research Center of Forest Bio-Preparation, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, PR China; College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Resource Utilization, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
| | - Hai-Yan Ni
- Key Laboratory of Forest Plant Ecology, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China; Engineering Research Center of Forest Bio-Preparation, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, PR China; College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Resource Utilization, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
| | - Heng Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Forest Plant Ecology, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China; Engineering Research Center of Forest Bio-Preparation, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, PR China; College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Resource Utilization, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
| | - Bo-Wen Zhai
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Institute of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, University of Mainz, 55128, Mainz, Germany
| | - Thomas Efferth
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Institute of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, University of Mainz, 55128, Mainz, Germany
| | - Cheng-Bo Gu
- Key Laboratory of Forest Plant Ecology, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China; Engineering Research Center of Forest Bio-Preparation, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, PR China; College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Resource Utilization, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China.
| | - Yu-Jie Fu
- The College of Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China.
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Tan J, Liu H, Huang M, Li N, Tang S, Meng J, Tang S, Zhou H, Kijlstra A, Yang P, Hou S. Small molecules targeting RORγt inhibit autoimmune disease by suppressing Th17 cell differentiation. Cell Death Dis 2020; 11:697. [PMID: 32829384 PMCID: PMC7443190 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-020-02891-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2020] [Revised: 08/01/2020] [Accepted: 08/03/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Th17 cells, a lymphocyte subpopulation that is characterized by the expression of the transcription factor "retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor gamma-t" (RORγt), plays an important role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune disease. The current study was set up to discover novel and non-steroidal small-molecule inverse agonists of RORγt and to determine their effects on autoimmune disease. Structure-based virtual screening (SBVS) was used to find compounds targeting RORγt. Flow cytometry was used to detect the Th17 cell differentiation. Inverse agonists were intraperitoneally administered to mice undergoing experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU), experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) or type 1 diabetes. The effects of the inverse agonists were evaluated by clinical or histopathological scoring. Among 1.3 million compounds screened, CQMU151 and CQMU152 were found to inhibit Th17 cell differentiation without affecting the differentiation of Th1 and Treg lineages (both P = 0.001). These compounds also reduced the severity of EAU (P = 0.01 and 0.013) and functional studies showed that they reduced the number of Th17 cell and the expression of IL-17(Th17), but not IFN-γ(Th1) and TGF-β(Treg) in mouse retinas. Further studies showed that these compounds may reduce the expression of p-STAT3 by reducing the positive feedback loop of IL-17/IL-6/STAT3. These compounds also reduced the impaired blood-retinal barrier function by upregulating the expression of tight junction proteins. These compounds were also found to reduce the severity of EAE and type 1 diabetes. Our results showed that RORγt inverse agonists may inhibit the development of autoimmune diseases and may provide new clues for the treatment of Th17-mediated immune diseases.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Autoimmune Diseases/metabolism
- Autoimmune Diseases/physiopathology
- Cell Differentiation/drug effects
- China
- Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental/immunology
- Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental/immunology
- Female
- Flow Cytometry/methods
- Interleukin-17/metabolism
- Lymphocyte Activation
- Lymphocytes/metabolism
- Mice, Inbred C57BL
- Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 1, Group F, Member 3/agonists
- Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 1, Group F, Member 3/metabolism
- Receptors, Retinoic Acid/metabolism
- STAT3 Transcription Factor/metabolism
- T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory/immunology
- Th17 Cells/immunology
- Th17 Cells/metabolism
- Transforming Growth Factor beta/metabolism
- Retinoic Acid Receptor gamma
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Tan
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Chongqing, P. R. China
| | - Huan Liu
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Chongqing, P. R. China
| | - Minhao Huang
- Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510530, China
| | - Na Li
- College of Basic Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, P. R. China
| | - Shibing Tang
- Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510530, China
| | - Jiayu Meng
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Chongqing, P. R. China
| | - Shiyun Tang
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Chongqing, P. R. China
| | - Hongxiu Zhou
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Chongqing, P. R. China
| | - Aize Kijlstra
- Eye Research Institute Maastricht, Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Peizeng Yang
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Chongqing, P. R. China
| | - Shengping Hou
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Chongqing, P. R. China.
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Yu X, Liu C, Yang W, Stojkoska A, Cheng G, Yang H, Yue R, Wang J, Liao Y, Sun X, Zhou X, Xie J. Global quantitative phosphoproteome reveals phosphorylation network of bovine lung tissue altered by Mycobacterium bovis. Microb Pathog 2020; 147:104402. [PMID: 32712114 DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2020.104402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2020] [Revised: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 07/15/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Bovine tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis remains a major cause of economic loss in cattle industries worldwide. However, the pathogenic mechanisms remain poorly understood. Post-translation modifications (PTM) such as phosphorylation play a crucial role in pathogenesis. While the change of transcriptome and proteome during the interaction between M. bovis and cattle were studied, there are no reports on the phosphoproteome change. We apply Tandem Mass Tag-based (TMT) quantitative proteomics coupled with immobilized metal-chelated affinity chromatography (IMAC) enrichment to obtain the quantified phosphorylation in vivo of M. bovis infected cattle lung tissue. The phosphorylated proteins are widespread in the nucleus, cytoplasm and plasma membrane. By using a change fold of 1.2, 165 phosphosites from 147 proteins were enriched, with 88 upregulated and 77 downregulated sites respectively. We further constructed the protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks of STAT3, SRRM2 and IRS-1 based on their number of differential phosphorylation sites and KEGG pathways. Similar patterns of gene expression dynamics of selected genes were observed in Mycobacterium tuberculosis infected human sample GEO dataset, implicating crucial roles of these genes in pathogenic Mycobacteria - host interaction. The first phosphorproteome reveals the relationship between bovine tuberculosis and glucose metabolism, and will help further refinement of target proteins for mechanistic study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xi Yu
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Eco-Environment and Bio-Resource of the Three Gorges Area, Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Institute of Modern Biopharmaceuticals, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Chunfa Liu
- Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory, Changping, 102206, Beijing, China
| | - Wenmin Yang
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Eco-Environment and Bio-Resource of the Three Gorges Area, Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Institute of Modern Biopharmaceuticals, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Andrea Stojkoska
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Eco-Environment and Bio-Resource of the Three Gorges Area, Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Institute of Modern Biopharmaceuticals, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Guangyu Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology of the Ministry of Agriculture, National Animal Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Haidian District, 100193, Beijing, China
| | - Hongjun Yang
- Dairy Cattle Research Center, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan, 250100, China
| | - Ruichao Yue
- State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology of the Ministry of Agriculture, National Animal Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Haidian District, 100193, Beijing, China
| | - Jie Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology of the Ministry of Agriculture, National Animal Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Haidian District, 100193, Beijing, China
| | - Yi Liao
- State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology of the Ministry of Agriculture, National Animal Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Haidian District, 100193, Beijing, China
| | - Xin Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology of the Ministry of Agriculture, National Animal Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Haidian District, 100193, Beijing, China
| | - Xiangmei Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology of the Ministry of Agriculture, National Animal Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Haidian District, 100193, Beijing, China.
| | - Jianping Xie
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Eco-Environment and Bio-Resource of the Three Gorges Area, Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Institute of Modern Biopharmaceuticals, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China.
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Sabanés Zariquiey F, da Souza JV, Estrada-Tejedor R, Bronowska AK. If You Cannot Win Them, Join Them: Understanding New Ways to Target STAT3 by Small Molecules. ACS OMEGA 2019; 4:13913-13921. [PMID: 31497709 PMCID: PMC6714540 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.9b01601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2019] [Accepted: 07/25/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Signal transducer activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is among the most investigated oncogenic transcription factors, as it is highly associated with cancer initiation, progression, metastasis, chemoresistance, and immune evasion. Evidences from both preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated that STAT3 plays a critical role in several malignancies associated with poor prognosis such as glioblastoma and triple-negative breast cancer, and STAT3 inhibitors have shown efficacy in inhibiting cancer growth and metastasis. Constitutive activation of STAT3 by mutations occurs frequently in tumor cells and directly contributes to many malignant phenotypes. Unfortunately, detailed structural biology studies on STAT3 as well as target-based drug discovery efforts have been hampered by difficulties in the expression and purification of the full-length STAT3 and a lack of ligand-bound crystal structures. Considering these, molecular modeling and simulations offer an attractive strategy for the assessment of the "druggability" of STAT3 dimers and allow investigations of reported activating and inhibiting STAT3 mutants at the atomistic level of detail. In the present study, we focused on the effects exerted by reported STAT3 mutations on the protein structure, dynamics, DNA-binding, and dimerization, thus linking structure, dynamics, energetics, and the biological function. By employing atomistic molecular dynamics and umbrella-sampling simulations to a series of human STAT3 dimers, which comprised wild-type protein and four mutations, we explained the modulation of STAT3 activity by these mutations. Counter-intuitively, our results show that the D570K inhibitory mutation exerts its effect by enhancing rather than weakening STAT3-DNA interactions, which interfere with the DNA release by the protein dimer and thus inhibit STAT3 function as a transcription factor. We mapped the binding site and characterized the binding mode of a clinical candidate napabucasin/BBI-608 at STAT3, which resembles the effect of a D570K mutation. Our results contribute to understanding the activation/inhibition mechanism of STAT3, to explain the molecular mechanism of STAT3 inhibition by BBI-608. Alongside the characterization of the BBI-608 binding mode, we also discovered a novel binding site amenable to bind small-molecule ligands, which may pave the way to design novel STAT3 inhibitors and to suggest new strategies for pharmacological interventions to combat cancers associated with poor prognosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesc Sabanés Zariquiey
- Chemistry,
School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, NE1 7RU Newcastle, United Kingdom
| | - João V. da Souza
- Chemistry,
School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, NE1 7RU Newcastle, United Kingdom
| | - Roger Estrada-Tejedor
- IQS
School of Engineering(IQS)—Universitat
Ramon Llull (URL), 08017 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Agnieszka K. Bronowska
- Chemistry,
School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, NE1 7RU Newcastle, United Kingdom
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