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Wang J, Zheng P, Yu J, Yang X, Zhang J. Rational design of small-sized peptidomimetic inhibitors disrupting protein-protein interaction. RSC Med Chem 2024; 15:2212-2225. [PMID: 39026653 PMCID: PMC11253864 DOI: 10.1039/d4md00202d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 05/04/2024] [Indexed: 07/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Protein-protein interactions are fundamental to nearly all biological processes. Due to their structural flexibility, peptides have emerged as promising candidates for developing inhibitors targeting large and planar PPI interfaces. However, their limited drug-like properties pose challenges. Hence, rational modifications based on peptide structures are anticipated to expedite the innovation of peptide-based therapeutics. This review comprehensively examines the design strategies for developing small-sized peptidomimetic inhibitors targeting PPI interfaces, which predominantly encompass two primary categories: peptidomimetics with abbreviated sequences and low molecular weights and peptidomimetics mimicking secondary structural conformations. We have also meticulously detailed several instances of designing and optimizing small-sized peptidomimetics targeting PPIs, including MLL1-WDR5, PD-1/PD-L1, and Bak/Bcl-xL, among others, to elucidate the potential application prospects of these design strategies. Hopefully, this review will provide valuable insights and inspiration for the future development of PPI small-sized peptidomimetic inhibitors in pharmaceutical research endeavors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junyuan Wang
- School of Pharmacy, Ningxia Medical University Yinchuan 750004 China
| | - Ping Zheng
- School of Pharmacy, Ningxia Medical University Yinchuan 750004 China
| | - Jianqiang Yu
- School of Pharmacy, Ningxia Medical University Yinchuan 750004 China
| | - Xiuyan Yang
- Medicinal Chemistry and Bioinformatics Center, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai 200025 China
| | - Jian Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Protection, Development and Utilization of Medicinal Resources in Liupanshan Area, Ministry of Education, Peptide & Protein Drug Research Center, School of Pharmacy, Ningxia Medical University Yinchuan 750004 China
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2
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Domenichini M, Ravelli C, Corsini M, Codenotti S, Moreschi E, Gogna A, Capoferri D, Zizioli D, Bresciani R, Grillo E, Mitola S. The D647N mutation of FGFR1 induces ligand-independent receptor activation. Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj 2023; 1867:130470. [PMID: 37778450 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagen.2023.130470] [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: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023]
Abstract
The activation loop (A-loop) of kinases, a key regulatory region, is recurrently mutated in several kinase proteins in cancer resulting in dysregulated kinase activity and response to kinase inhibitors. FGFR1 receptor tyrosine kinase represents an important oncogene and therapeutic target for solid and hematological tumors. Here we investigate the biochemical and molecular effects of D647N mutation lying in the A-loop of FGFR1. When expressed in normal and tumoral in vitro cell models, FGFR1D647N is phosphorylated also in the absence of ligands, and this is accompanied by the activation of intracellular signaling. The expression of FGFR1D647N significantly increases single and collective migration of cancer cells in vitro and in vivo, when compared to FGFR1WT. FGFR1D647N expression exacerbates the aggressiveness of cancer cells, increasing their invasiveness in vitro and augmenting their pro-angiogenic capacity in vivo. Remarkably, the D647N mutation significantly increases the sensitivity of FGFR1 to the ATP-competitive inhibitor Erdafitinib suggesting the possibility that this mutation could become a specific target for the development of new inhibitors. Although further efforts are warranted for an exhaustive description of the activation mechanisms, for the identification of more specific inhibitors and for confirming the clinical significance of mutated FGFR1D647N, overall our data demonstrate that the D647N substitution of FGFR1 is a novel pro-oncogenic activating mutation of the receptor that, when found in cancer patients, may anticipate good response to erdafitinib treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mattia Domenichini
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Brescia 25123, Italy
| | - Cosetta Ravelli
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Brescia 25123, Italy
| | - Michela Corsini
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Brescia 25123, Italy
| | - Silvia Codenotti
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Brescia 25123, Italy
| | - Elisa Moreschi
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Brescia 25123, Italy
| | - Anna Gogna
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Brescia 25123, Italy
| | - Davide Capoferri
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Brescia 25123, Italy
| | - Daniela Zizioli
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Brescia 25123, Italy
| | - Roberto Bresciani
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Brescia 25123, Italy; Highly Specialized Laboratory, Diagnostic Department, ASST Spedali Civili of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Elisabetta Grillo
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Brescia 25123, Italy.
| | - Stefania Mitola
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Brescia 25123, Italy.
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3
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Anderson B, Rosston P, Ong HW, Hossain MA, Davis-Gilbert ZW, Drewry DH. How many kinases are druggable? A review of our current understanding. Biochem J 2023; 480:1331-1363. [PMID: 37642371 PMCID: PMC10586788 DOI: 10.1042/bcj20220217] [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: 05/04/2023] [Revised: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
There are over 500 human kinases ranging from very well-studied to almost completely ignored. Kinases are tractable and implicated in many diseases, making them ideal targets for medicinal chemistry campaigns, but is it possible to discover a drug for each individual kinase? For every human kinase, we gathered data on their citation count, availability of chemical probes, approved and investigational drugs, PDB structures, and biochemical and cellular assays. Analysis of these factors highlights which kinase groups have a wealth of information available, and which groups still have room for progress. The data suggest a disproportionate focus on the more well characterized kinases while much of the kinome remains comparatively understudied. It is noteworthy that tool compounds for understudied kinases have already been developed, and there is still untapped potential for further development in this chemical space. Finally, this review discusses many of the different strategies employed to generate selectivity between kinases. Given the large volume of information available and the progress made over the past 20 years when it comes to drugging kinases, we believe it is possible to develop a tool compound for every human kinase. We hope this review will prove to be both a useful resource as well as inspire the discovery of a tool for every kinase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian Anderson
- Structural Genomics Consortium, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, U.S.A
| | - Peter Rosston
- Structural Genomics Consortium, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, U.S.A
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, U.S.A
| | - Han Wee Ong
- Structural Genomics Consortium, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, U.S.A
| | - Mohammad Anwar Hossain
- Structural Genomics Consortium, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, U.S.A
| | - Zachary W. Davis-Gilbert
- Structural Genomics Consortium, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, U.S.A
| | - David H. Drewry
- Structural Genomics Consortium, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, U.S.A
- UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, U.S.A
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4
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Nitulescu GM, Stancov G, Seremet OC, Nitulescu G, Mihai DP, Duta-Bratu CG, Barbuceanu SF, Olaru OT. The Importance of the Pyrazole Scaffold in the Design of Protein Kinases Inhibitors as Targeted Anticancer Therapies. Molecules 2023; 28:5359. [PMID: 37513232 PMCID: PMC10385367 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28145359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2023] [Revised: 07/08/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The altered activation or overexpression of protein kinases (PKs) is a major subject of research in oncology and their inhibition using small molecules, protein kinases inhibitors (PKI) is the best available option for the cure of cancer. The pyrazole ring is extensively employed in the field of medicinal chemistry and drug development strategies, playing a vital role as a fundamental framework in the structure of various PKIs. This scaffold holds major importance and is considered a privileged structure based on its synthetic accessibility, drug-like properties, and its versatile bioisosteric replacement function. It has proven to play a key role in many PKI, such as the inhibitors of Akt, Aurora kinases, MAPK, B-raf, JAK, Bcr-Abl, c-Met, PDGFR, FGFRT, and RET. Of the 74 small molecule PKI approved by the US FDA, 8 contain a pyrazole ring: Avapritinib, Asciminib, Crizotinib, Encorafenib, Erdafitinib, Pralsetinib, Pirtobrutinib, and Ruxolitinib. The focus of this review is on the importance of the unfused pyrazole ring within the clinically tested PKI and on the additional required elements of their chemical structures. Related important pyrazole fused scaffolds like indazole, pyrrolo[1,2-b]pyrazole, pyrazolo[4,3-b]pyridine, pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine, or pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine are beyond the subject of this work.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Georgiana Nitulescu
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Traian Vuia 6, 020956 Bucharest, Romania; (G.M.N.)
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5
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Guo J, Zhou Y, Lu X. Advances in protein kinase drug discovery through targeting gatekeeper mutations. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2023; 18:1349-1366. [PMID: 37811637 DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2023.2265303] [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: 05/11/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Acquired resistance caused by gatekeeper mutations has become a major challenge for approved kinase inhibitors used in the clinic. Consequently, the development of new-generation inhibitors or degraders to overcome clinical resistance has become an important research focus for the field. AREAS COVERED This review summarizes the common gatekeeper mutations in druggable kinases and the constantly evolving inhibitors or degraders designed to overcome single or double mutations of gatekeeper residues. Furthermore, the authors provide their perspectives on the medicinal chemistry strategies for addressing clinical resistance with gatekeeper mutations. EXPERT OPINION The authors suggest optimizing kinase inhibitors to interact effectively with gatekeeper residues, altering the binding mode or binding pocket to avoid steric clashes, improving binding affinity with the target, utilizing protein degraders, and developing combination therapy. These approaches have the potential to be effective in overcoming resistance due to gatekeeper residues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Guo
- International Cooperative Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Modernization and Innovative Drug Discovery of Chinese Ministry of Education (MOE), Guangzhou City Key Laboratory of Precision Chemical Drug Development, School of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yang Zhou
- International Cooperative Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Modernization and Innovative Drug Discovery of Chinese Ministry of Education (MOE), Guangzhou City Key Laboratory of Precision Chemical Drug Development, School of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoyun Lu
- International Cooperative Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Modernization and Innovative Drug Discovery of Chinese Ministry of Education (MOE), Guangzhou City Key Laboratory of Precision Chemical Drug Development, School of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
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6
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Nussinov R, Zhang M, Liu Y, Jang H. AlphaFold, allosteric, and orthosteric drug discovery: Ways forward. Drug Discov Today 2023; 28:103551. [PMID: 36907321 PMCID: PMC10238671 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2023.103551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2022] [Revised: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 03/13/2023]
Abstract
Drug discovery is arguably a highly challenging and significant interdisciplinary aim. The stunning success of the artificial intelligence-powered AlphaFold, whose latest version is buttressed by an innovative machine-learning approach that integrates physical and biological knowledge about protein structures, raised drug discovery hopes that unsurprisingly, have not come to bear. Even though accurate, the models are rigid, including the drug pockets. AlphaFold's mixed performance poses the question of how its power can be harnessed in drug discovery. Here we discuss possible ways of going forward wielding its strengths, while bearing in mind what AlphaFold can and cannot do. For kinases and receptors, an input enriched in active (ON) state models can better AlphaFold's chance of rational drug design success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Nussinov
- Computational Structural Biology Section, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD 21702, USA; Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel.
| | - Mingzhen Zhang
- Computational Structural Biology Section, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Yonglan Liu
- Cancer Innovation Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Hyunbum Jang
- Computational Structural Biology Section, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
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7
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Zhang M, Liu Y, Jang H, Nussinov R. Strategy toward Kinase-Selective Drug Discovery. J Chem Theory Comput 2023; 19:1615-1628. [PMID: 36815703 PMCID: PMC10018734 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.2c01171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/24/2023]
Abstract
Kinase drug selectivity is the ground challenge in cancer research. Due to the structurally similar kinase drug pockets, off-target inhibitor toxicity has been a major cause for clinical trial failures. The pockets are similar but not identical. Here, we describe a transformation invariant protocol to identify distinct geometric features in the drug pocket that can distinguish one kinase from all others. We integrate available experimental structures with the artificial intelligence-based structural kinome, performing a kinome-wide structural bioinformatic analysis to establish the structural principles of kinase drug selectivity. We generate the structural landscape from the experimental kinase-ligand complexes and propose a binary network that encapsulates the information. The results show that all kinases contain binary units that are shared by less than seven other kinases in the kinome. 331 kinases contain unique binary units that may distinguish them from all others. The structural features encoded by these binary units in the network represent the inhibitor-accessible geometric space that may capture the kinome-wide selectivity. Our proposed binary network with the unsupervised clustering can serve as a general structural bioinformatic protocol for extracting the distinguishing structural features for any protein from their families. We apply the binary network to epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor selectivity by targeting the gate area and the AKT1 serine/threonine kinase selectivity by binding to the αC-helix region and the allosteric pocket. Finally, we develop the cross-platform software, KDS (Kinase Drug Selectivity), for customized visualization and analysis of the binary networks in the human kinome (https://github.com/CBIIT/KDS).
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingzhen Zhang
- Computational Structural Biology Section, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - Yonglan Liu
- Cancer Innovation Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - Hyunbum Jang
- Computational Structural Biology Section, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - Ruth Nussinov
- Computational Structural Biology Section, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States.,Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
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8
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Gao YY, Yang WC, Ashby CR, Hao GF. Mapping cryptic binding sites of drug targets to overcome drug resistance. Drug Resist Updat 2023; 67:100934. [PMID: 36736042 DOI: 10.1016/j.drup.2023.100934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Revised: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
The emergence of drug resistance is a primary obstacle for successful chemotherapy. Drugs that target cryptic binding sites (CBSs) represent a novel strategy for overcoming drug resistance. In this short communication, we explain and discuss how the discovery of CBSs and their inhibitors can overcome drug resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang-Yang Gao
- National Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Center for Research and Development of Fine Chemicals, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, PR China
| | - Wei-Cheng Yang
- National Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Center for Research and Development of Fine Chemicals, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, PR China
| | - Charles R Ashby
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, St. John's University, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Ge-Fei Hao
- National Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Center for Research and Development of Fine Chemicals, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, PR China; Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, PR China.
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9
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Pan-cancer clinical impact of latent drivers from double mutations. Commun Biol 2023; 6:202. [PMID: 36808143 PMCID: PMC9941481 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04519-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Here, we discover potential 'latent driver' mutations in cancer genomes. Latent drivers have low frequencies and minor observable translational potential. As such, to date they have escaped identification. Their discovery is important, since when paired in cis, latent driver mutations can drive cancer. Our comprehensive statistical analysis of the pan-cancer mutation profiles of ~60,000 tumor sequences from the TCGA and AACR-GENIE cohorts identifies significantly co-occurring potential latent drivers. We observe 155 same gene double mutations of which 140 individual components are cataloged as latent drivers. Evaluation of cell lines and patient-derived xenograft response data to drug treatment indicate that in certain genes double mutations may have a prominent role in increasing oncogenic activity, hence obtaining a better drug response, as in PIK3CA. Taken together, our comprehensive analyses indicate that same-gene double mutations are exceedingly rare phenomena but are a signature for some cancer types, e.g., breast, and lung cancers. The relative rarity of doublets can be explained by the likelihood of strong signals resulting in oncogene-induced senescence, and by doublets consisting of non-identical single residue components populating the background mutational load, thus not identified.
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10
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Blanco MJ, Gardinier KM, Namchuk MN. Advancing New Chemical Modalities into Clinical Studies. ACS Med Chem Lett 2022; 13:1691-1698. [PMID: 36385931 PMCID: PMC9661701 DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.2c00375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Drug discovery and development has experienced an incredible paradigm shift in the past two decades. What once was considered a predominant R&D landscape of small molecules within a prescribed properties and mechanism space now includes an innovative wave of new chemical modalities. Scientists in the pharmaceutical industry can now strategize across a variety of modalities to find the best option to modulate a given target and provide treatment for a specific disease. We have witnessed a remarkable change not only in molecular design but also in creative approaches to drug delivery that have enabled advancement of novel modalities to clinical studies. In this Microperspective, we evaluate the critical differences between traditional small molecules and beyond rule of 5 compounds, peptides, oligonucleotides, and biologics for advancing into development, particularly their pharmacokinetic profiles and drug delivery strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria-Jesus Blanco
- Chemical
Sciences, Atavistik Bio, 75 Sidney Street, Cambridge Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Kevin M. Gardinier
- Discovery
Research, Karuna Therapeutics, 99 High Street Boston, Massachusetts 02110, United States
| | - Mark N. Namchuk
- Department
of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck Street Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
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11
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Teng M, Young DW, Tan Z. The Pursuit of Enzyme Activation: A Snapshot of the Gold Rush. J Med Chem 2022; 65:14289-14304. [PMID: 36265019 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c01291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
A range of enzymes drive human physiology, and their activities are tightly regulated through numerous signaling pathways. Depending on the context, these pathways may activate or inhibit an enzyme as a way to ensure proper execution of cellular functions. From a drug discovery and development perspective, pharmacological inhibition of enzymes has been a focus of interest, as many diseases are associated with the upregulation of enzyme function. On the other hand, however, pharmacological activation of enzymes such as kinases and phosphatases has been of increasing interest. In this review, we discuss seven case studies that highlight pharmacological activation strategy, describe the binding modes and pharmacology of the activators, and comment on how this on-demand activation strategy complements the commonly pursued inhibition strategy, thus jointly enabling bidirectional modulation of specific target of interest. Going forward, we expect activators to play important roles as chemical probes and drug leads.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingxing Teng
- Department of Pathology & Immunology, and Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Damian W Young
- Department of Pathology & Immunology, and Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Zhi Tan
- Department of Pathology & Immunology, and Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
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12
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Allosteric regulation of autoinhibition and activation of c-Abl. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2022; 20:4257-4270. [PMID: 36051879 PMCID: PMC9399898 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2022.08.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Revised: 08/07/2022] [Accepted: 08/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
c-Abl, a non-receptor tyrosine kinase, regulates cell growth and survival in healthy cells and causes chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) when fused by Bcr. Its activity is blocked in the assembled inactive state, where the SH3 and SH2 domains dock into the kinase domain, reducing its conformational flexibility, resulting in the autoinhibited state. It is active in an extended ‘open’ conformation. Allostery governs the transitions between the autoinhibited and active states. Even though experiments revealed the structural hallmarks of the two states, a detailed grasp of the determinants of c-Abl autoinhibition and activation at the atomic level, which may help innovative drug discovery, is still lacking. Here, using extensive molecular dynamics simulations, we decipher exactly how these determinants regulate it. Our simulations confirm and extend experimental data that the myristoyl group serves as the switch for c-Abl inhibition/activation. Its dissociation from the kinase domain promotes the SH2-SH3 release, initiating c-Abl activation. We show that the precise SH2/N-lobe interaction is required for full activation of c-Abl. It stabilizes a catalysis-favored conformation, priming it for catalytic action. Bcr-Abl allosteric drugs elegantly mimic the endogenous myristoyl-mediated autoinhibition state of c-Abl 1b. Allosteric activating mutations shift the ensemble to the active state, blocking ATP-competitive drugs. Allosteric drugs alter the active-site conformation, shifting the ensemble to re-favor ATP-competitive drugs. Our work provides a complete mechanism of c-Abl activation and insights into critical parameters controlling at the atomic level c-Abl inactivation, leading us to propose possible strategies to counter reemergence of drug resistance.
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