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Application of In Silico Filtering and Isothermal Titration Calorimetry for the Discovery of Small Molecule Inhibitors of MDM2. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2022; 15:ph15060752. [PMID: 35745671 PMCID: PMC9230431 DOI: 10.3390/ph15060752] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2022] [Revised: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/14/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The initial discovery phase of protein modulators, which consists of filtering molecular libraries and in vitro direct binding validation, is central in drug discovery. Thus, virtual screening of large molecular libraries, together with the evaluation of binding affinity by isothermal calorimetry, generates an efficient experimental setup. Herein, we applied virtual screening for discovering small molecule inhibitors of MDM2, a major negative regulator of the tumor suppressor p53, and thus a promising therapeutic target. A library of 20 million small molecules was screened against an averaged model derived from multiple structural conformations of MDM2 based on published structures. Selected molecules originating from the computational filtering were tested in vitro for their direct binding to MDM2 via isothermal titration calorimetry. Three new molecules, representing distinct chemical scaffolds, showed binding to MDM2. These were further evaluated by exploring structure-similar chemical analogues. Two scaffolds were further evaluated by de novo synthesis of molecules derived from the initial molecules that bound MDM2, one with a central oxoazetidine acetamide and one with benzene sulfonamide. Several molecules derived from these scaffolds increased wild-type p53 activity in MCF7 cancer cells. These set a basis for further chemical optimization and the development of new chemical entities as anticancer drugs.
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Progress in the development of small molecular inhibitors of the Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) as a promising cancer therapy. Bioorg Med Chem 2021; 47:116358. [PMID: 34479103 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2021.116358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Revised: 07/24/2021] [Accepted: 07/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) is a key kinase in the B cell antigen receptor signal transduction pathway, which is involved in the regulation of the proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis of B cells. BTK has become a significant target for the treatment of hematological malignancies and autoimmune diseases. Ibrutinib, the first-generation BTK inhibitor, has made a great contribution to the treatment of B cell malignant tumors, but there are still some problems such as resistance or miss target of site mutation. Therefore, there is an imperative need to develop novel BTK inhibitors to overcome these problems. Besides, proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) technology has been successfully applied to the development of BTK degradation agents, which has opened a fresh way for the BTK targeted treatment. This paper reviews the biological function of BTK, the discovery and development of BTK targeted drugs as a promising cancer therapy. It mainly reviews the binding sites and structural characteristics of BTK, structure-activity relationships, activity and drug resistance of BTK inhibitors, as well as potential treatment strategies to overcome the resistance of BTK, which provides a reference for the rational design and development of new powerful BTK inhibitors.
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Rogawski R, Rogel A, Bloch I, Gal M, Horovitz A, London N, Sharon M. Intracellular Protein–Drug Interactions Probed by Direct Mass Spectrometry of Cell Lysates. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.202104947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rivkah Rogawski
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences Weizmann Institute of Science Rehovot 7610001 Israel
| | - Adi Rogel
- Department of Chemical and Structural Biology Weizmann Institute of Science Rehovot 7610001 Israel
| | - Itai Bloch
- Biotechnology Department MIGAL-Galilee Research Institute Kiryat-Shmona 11016 Israel
| | - Maayan Gal
- Department of Oral Biology The Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine Sackler Faculty of Medicine Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv 6997801 Israel
| | - Amnon Horovitz
- Department of Chemical and Structural Biology Weizmann Institute of Science Rehovot 7610001 Israel
| | - Nir London
- Department of Chemical and Structural Biology Weizmann Institute of Science Rehovot 7610001 Israel
| | - Michal Sharon
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences Weizmann Institute of Science Rehovot 7610001 Israel
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Rogawski R, Rogel A, Bloch I, Gal M, Horovitz A, London N, Sharon M. Intracellular Protein-Drug Interactions Probed by Direct Mass Spectrometry of Cell Lysates. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2021; 60:19637-19642. [PMID: 34101963 PMCID: PMC8457057 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202104947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2021] [Revised: 05/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Understanding protein–ligand interactions in a cellular context is an important goal in molecular biology and biochemistry, and particularly for drug development. Investigators must demonstrate that drugs penetrate cells and specifically bind their targets. Towards that end, we present a native mass spectrometry (MS)‐based method for analyzing drug uptake and target engagement in eukaryotic cells. This method is based on our previously introduced direct‐MS method for rapid analysis of proteins directly from crude samples. Here, direct‐MS enables label‐free studies of protein–drug binding in human cells and is used to determine binding affinities of lead compounds in crude samples. We anticipate that this method will enable the application of native MS to a range of problems where cellular context is important, including protein–protein interactions, drug uptake and binding, and characterization of therapeutic proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rivkah Rogawski
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Adi Rogel
- Department of Chemical and Structural Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Itai Bloch
- Biotechnology Department, MIGAL-Galilee Research Institute, Kiryat-Shmona, 11016, Israel
| | - Maayan Gal
- Department of Oral Biology, The Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 6997801, Israel
| | - Amnon Horovitz
- Department of Chemical and Structural Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Nir London
- Department of Chemical and Structural Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Michal Sharon
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
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New 2,6,9-trisubstituted purine derivatives as Bcr-Abl and Btk inhibitors and as promising agents against leukemia. Bioorg Chem 2019; 94:103361. [PMID: 31699386 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2019.103361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2019] [Accepted: 10/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Bcr-Abl and Btk kinases are among the targets that have been considered for the treatment of leukemia. Therefore, several strategies have focused on the use of inhibitors as chemotherapeutic tools to treat these types of leukemia, such as imatinib (for Bcr-Abl) or ibrutinib (for Btk). However, the efficacy of these drugs has been reduced due to resistance mechanisms, which have motivated the development of new and more effective compounds. In this study, we designed, synthesized and evaluated 2,6,9-trisubstituted purine derivatives as novel Bcr-Abl and Btk inhibitors. We identified 5c and 5d as potent inhibitors of both kinases (IC50 values of 40 nM and 0.58/0.66 μM for Abl and Btk, respectively). From docking and QSAR analyses, we concluded that fluorination of the arylpiperazine system is detrimental to the activity against two kinases, and we also validated our hypothesis that the substitution on the 6-phenylamino ring is important for the inhibition of both kinases. In addition, our studies indicated that most compounds could suppress the proliferation of leukemia and lymphoma cells (HL60, MV4-11, CEM, K562 and Ramos cells) at low micromolar concentrations in vitro. Finally, we preliminarily demonstrated that 5c inhibited the downstream signaling of both kinases in the respective cell models. Therefore, 5c or 5d possessed potency to be further optimized as anti-leukemia drugs by simultaneously inhibiting the Bcr-Abl and Btk kinases.
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Sterlin Y, Pri-Tal O, Zimran G, Park SY, Ben-Ari J, Kourelis J, Verstraeten I, Gal M, Cutler SR, Mosquna A. Optimized small-molecule pull-downs define MLBP1 as an acyl-lipid-binding protein. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2019; 98:928-941. [PMID: 30735592 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.14272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2018] [Revised: 01/02/2019] [Accepted: 01/29/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Abscisic acid (ABA) receptors belong to the START domain superfamily, which encompasses ligand-binding proteins present in all kingdoms of life. START domain proteins contain a central binding pocket that, depending on the protein, can couple ligand binding to catalytic, transport or signaling functions. In Arabidopsis, the best characterized START domain proteins are the 14 PYR/PYL/RCAR ABA receptors, while the other members of the superfamily do not have assigned ligands. To address this, we used affinity purification of biotinylated proteins expressed transiently in Nicotiana benthamiana coupled to untargeted LC-MS to identify candidate binding ligands. We optimized this method using ABA-PYL interactions and show that ABA co-purifies with wild-type PYL5 but not a binding site mutant. The Kd of PYL5 for ABA is 1.1 μm, which suggests that the method has sufficient sensitivity for many ligand-protein interactions. Using this method, we surveyed a set of 37 START domain-related proteins, which resulted in the identification of ligands that co-purified with MLBP1 (At4G01883) or MLP165 (At1G35260). Metabolite identification and the use of authentic standards revealed that MLBP1 binds to monolinolenin, which we confirmed using recombinant MLBP1. Monolinolenin also co-purified with MLBP1 purified from transgenic Arabidopsis, demonstrating that the interaction occurs in a native context. Thus, deployment of this relatively simple method allowed us to define a protein-metabolite interaction and better understand protein-ligand interactions in plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yelena Sterlin
- The Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Oded Pri-Tal
- The Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Gil Zimran
- The Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Sang-Youl Park
- Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, Center for Plant Cell Biology and Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
| | - Julius Ben-Ari
- The Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Jiorgos Kourelis
- Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, Center for Plant Cell Biology and Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
| | - Inge Verstraeten
- Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, Center for Plant Cell Biology and Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
| | - Maayan Gal
- Biochemistry Department, MIGAL-Galilee Research Institute, Kiryat-Shmona , 11016, Israel
- Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Tel-Hai Academic College, Upper Galilee, 1220800, Israel
| | - Sean R Cutler
- Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, Center for Plant Cell Biology and Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
| | - Assaf Mosquna
- The Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
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