3
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Torielli L, Serapian SA, Mussolin L, Moroni E, Colombo G. Integrating Protein Interaction Surface Prediction with a Fragment-Based Drug Design: Automatic Design of New Leads with Fragments on Energy Surfaces. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:343-353. [PMID: 36574607 PMCID: PMC9832486 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c01408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) have emerged in the past years as significant pharmacological targets in the development of new therapeutics due to their key roles in determining pathological pathways. Herein, we present fragments on energy surfaces, a simple and general design strategy that integrates the analysis of the dynamic and energetic signatures of proteins to unveil the substructures involved in PPIs, with docking, selection, and combination of drug-like fragments to generate new PPI inhibitor candidates. Specifically, structural representatives of the target protein are used as inputs for the blind physics-based prediction of potential protein interaction surfaces using the matrix of low coupling energy decomposition method. The predicted interaction surfaces are subdivided into overlapping windows that are used as templates to direct the docking and combination of fragments representative of moieties typically found in active drugs. This protocol is then applied and validated using structurally diverse, important PPI targets as test systems. We demonstrate that our approach facilitates the exploration of the molecular diversity space of potential ligands, with no requirement of prior information on the location and properties of interaction surfaces or on the structures of potential lead compounds. Importantly, the hit molecules that emerge from our ab initio design share high chemical similarity with experimentally tested active PPI inhibitors. We propose that the protocol we describe here represents a valuable means of generating initial leads against difficult targets for further development and refinement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Torielli
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Pavia, Via Taramelli 12, Pavia27100, Italy
| | - Stefano A. Serapian
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Pavia, Via Taramelli 12, Pavia27100, Italy
| | - Lara Mussolin
- Department
of Woman’s and Child’s Health, Pediatric Hematology,
Oncology and Stem Cell Transplant Center, University of Padua, Via Giustiniani, 3, Padua35128, Italy,Istituto
di Ricerca Pediatrica Città della Speranza, Corso Stati Uniti, 4 F, Padova35127, Italy
| | | | - Giorgio Colombo
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Pavia, Via Taramelli 12, Pavia27100, Italy,
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4
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Stachowski TR, Fischer M. Large-Scale Ligand Perturbations of the Protein Conformational Landscape Reveal State-Specific Interaction Hotspots. J Med Chem 2022; 65:13692-13704. [PMID: 35970514 PMCID: PMC9619398 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c00708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
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Protein flexibility is important for ligand binding but
often ignored
in drug design. Considering proteins as ensembles rather than static
snapshots creates opportunities to target dynamic proteins that lack
FDA-approved drugs, such as the human chaperone, heat shock protein
90 (Hsp90). Hsp90α accommodates ligands with a dynamic lid domain,
yet no comprehensive analysis relating lid conformations to ligand
properties is available. To date, ∼300 ligand-bound Hsp90α
crystal structures are deposited in the Protein Data Bank, which enables
us to consider ligand binding as a perturbation of the protein conformational
landscape. By estimating binding site volumes, we classified structures
into distinct major and minor lid conformations. Supported by retrospective
docking, each conformation creates unique hotspots that bind chemically
distinguishable ligands. Clustering revealed insightful exceptions
and the impact of crystal packing. Overall, Hsp90α’s
plasticity provides a cautionary tale of overinterpreting individual
crystal structures and motivates an ensemble-based view of drug design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy R Stachowski
- Department of Chemical Biology & Therapeutics, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee 38105, United States
| | - Marcus Fischer
- Department of Chemical Biology & Therapeutics, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee 38105, United States.,Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee 38105, United States
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6
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Meli M, Morra G, Colombo G. Simple Model of Protein Energetics To Identify Ab Initio Folding Transitions from All-Atom MD Simulations of Proteins. J Chem Theory Comput 2020; 16:5960-5971. [PMID: 32693598 PMCID: PMC8009504 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.0c00524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
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A fundamental
requirement to predict the native conformation, address
questions of sequence design and optimization, and gain insights into
the folding mechanisms of proteins lies in the definition of an unbiased
reaction coordinate that reports on the folding state without the
need to compare it to reference values, which might be unavailable
for new (designed) sequences. Here, we introduce such a reaction coordinate,
which does not depend on previous structural knowledge of the native
state but relies solely on the energy partition within the protein:
the spectral gap of the pair nonbonded energy matrix (ENergy Gap,
ENG). This quantity can be simply calculated along unbiased MD trajectories.
We show that upon folding the gap increases significantly, while its
fluctuations are reduced to a minimum. This is consistently observed
for a diverse set of systems and trajectories. Our approach allows
one to promptly identify residues that belong to the folding core
as well as residues involved in non-native contacts that need to be
disrupted to guide polypeptides to the folded state. The energy gap
and fluctuations criteria are then used to develop an automatic detection
system which allows us to extract and analyze folding transitions
from a generic MD trajectory. We speculate that our method can be
used to detect conformational ensembles in dynamic and intrinsically
disordered proteins, revealing potential preorganization for binding.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Giulia Morra
- SCITEC-CNR, Via Mario Bianco 9, Milano 20131, Italy.,Weill-Cornell Medicine, 1300 York Avenue, New York, New York 10065, United States
| | - Giorgio Colombo
- SCITEC-CNR, Via Mario Bianco 9, Milano 20131, Italy.,University of Pavia, Department of Chemistry, Viale Taramelli 12, Pavia 27100, Italy
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7
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Paladino A, Woodford MR, Backe SJ, Sager RA, Kancherla P, Daneshvar MA, Chen VZ, Bourboulia D, Ahanin EF, Prodromou C, Bergamaschi G, Strada A, Cretich M, Gori A, Veronesi M, Bandiera T, Vanna R, Bratslavsky G, Serapian SA, Mollapour M, Colombo G. Chemical Perturbation of Oncogenic Protein Folding: from the Prediction of Locally Unstable Structures to the Design of Disruptors of Hsp90-Client Interactions. Chemistry 2020; 26:9459-9465. [PMID: 32167602 PMCID: PMC7415569 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202000615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Protein folding quality control in cells requires the activity of a class of proteins known as molecular chaperones. Heat shock protein-90 (Hsp90), a multidomain ATP driven molecular machine, is a prime representative of this family of proteins. Interactions between Hsp90, its co-chaperones, and client proteins have been shown to be important in facilitating the correct folding and activation of clients. Hsp90 levels and functions are elevated in tumor cells. Here, we computationally predict the regions on the native structures of clients c-Abl, c-Src, Cdk4, B-Raf and Glucocorticoid Receptor, that have the highest probability of undergoing local unfolding, despite being ordered in their native structures. Such regions represent potential ideal interaction points with the Hsp90-system. We synthesize mimics spanning these regions and confirm their interaction with partners of the Hsp90 complex (Hsp90, Cdc37 and Aha1) by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). Designed mimics selectively disrupt the association of their respective clients with the Hsp90 machinery, leaving unrelated clients unperturbed and causing apoptosis in cancer cells. Overall, selective targeting of Hsp90 protein-protein interactions is achieved without causing indiscriminate degradation of all clients, setting the stage for the development of therapeutics based on specific chaperone:client perturbation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mark R Woodford
- Department of Urology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
- Upstate Cancer Center, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
| | - Sarah J Backe
- Department of Urology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
- Upstate Cancer Center, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
| | - Rebecca A Sager
- Department of Urology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
- Upstate Cancer Center, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
- College of Medicine, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
| | - Priyanka Kancherla
- Department of Urology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
- Upstate Cancer Center, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
| | - Michael A Daneshvar
- Department of Urology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
- Upstate Cancer Center, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
| | - Victor Z Chen
- Department of Urology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
- Upstate Cancer Center, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
| | - Dimitra Bourboulia
- Department of Urology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
- Upstate Cancer Center, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
| | - Elham F Ahanin
- Department of Urology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
- Upstate Cancer Center, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Marina Veronesi
- D3-PharmaChemistry, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Genova, Italy
| | - Tiziano Bandiera
- D3-PharmaChemistry, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Genova, Italy
| | - Renzo Vanna
- Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies, IFN-CNR, c/o Dept. of Physics, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza L. Da Vinci 32, 20133, Milano, Italy
| | - Gennady Bratslavsky
- Department of Urology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
- Upstate Cancer Center, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
| | - Stefano A Serapian
- University of Pavia, Department of Chemistry, Viale Taramelli 10, 27100, Pavia, Italy
| | - Mehdi Mollapour
- Department of Urology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
- Upstate Cancer Center, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
| | - Giorgio Colombo
- SCITEC-CNR, via Mario Bianco 9, 20131, Milano, Italy
- University of Pavia, Department of Chemistry, Viale Taramelli 10, 27100, Pavia, Italy
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8
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Montefiori M, Pilotto S, Marabelli C, Moroni E, Ferraro M, Serapian SA, Mattevi A, Colombo G. Impact of Mutations on NPAC Structural Dynamics: Mechanistic Insights from MD Simulations. J Chem Inf Model 2019; 59:3927-3937. [PMID: 31408337 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.9b00588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
NPAC is a cytokine-like nuclear factor involved in chromatin modification and regulation of gene expression. In humans, the C-terminal domain of NPAC has the conserved structure of the β-hydroxyacid dehydrogenases (β-HAD) protein superfamily, which forms a stable tetrameric core scaffold for demethylase enzymes and organizes multiple sites for chromatin interactions. In spite of the close structural resemblance to other β-HAD family members, the human NPAC dehydrogenase domain lacks a highly conserved catalytic lysine, substituted by a methionine. The reintroduction of the catalytic lysine by M437 K mutation results in a significant decrease of stability of the tetramer. Here, we have computationally investigated the molecular determinants of the functional differences between methionine and lysine-containing NPAC proteins. We find that the single mutation can determine strong consequences in terms of dynamics, stability, and ultimately ability to assemble in supramolecular complexes: the higher stability and lower flexibility of the methionine variant structurally preorganizes the monomer for tetramerization, whereas lysine increases flexibility and favors conformations that, while catalytically active, are not optimal for tetrameric assembly. We combine structure-dynamics analysis to an evolutionary study of NPAC sequences, showing that the methionine mutation occurs in a specifically flexible region of the lysine-containing protein, flanked by two domains that concentrate most of the stabilizing interactions. In our model, such separation of stability nuclei and flexible regions appears to favor the functional innovability of the protein.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Simona Pilotto
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology , University of Pavia , Via Ferrata 9 , 27100 Pavia , Italy
| | - Chiara Marabelli
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology , University of Pavia , Via Ferrata 9 , 27100 Pavia , Italy
| | | | | | - Stefano A Serapian
- University of Pavia , Department of Chemistry , V.le Taramelli 12 , 27100 Pavia , Italy
| | - Andrea Mattevi
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology , University of Pavia , Via Ferrata 9 , 27100 Pavia , Italy
| | - Giorgio Colombo
- ICRM-CNR , Via Mario Bianco 9 , 20131 Milano , Italy.,University of Pavia , Department of Chemistry , V.le Taramelli 12 , 27100 Pavia , Italy
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