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Heidary DK, Kriger SM, Hachey AC, Glazer EC. A Fluorometric CYP19A1 (Aromatase) Activity Assay in Live Cells. ChemMedChem 2021; 16:2845-2850. [PMID: 34224206 DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.202100326] [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: 05/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Inhibition of estrogen synthesis is an integral component of the frontline pharmacologic therapy for the treatment of estrogen receptor positive cancers. However, there is currently no direct, high-throughput-ready assay for aromatase (also known as CYP19A1) that can be performed in live cells. Herein we present a cell-based assay that allows for multiplexed assessment of enzyme activity, protein half-life, cell viability, and identification of inhibitors with slow off-rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- David K Heidary
- Department of Chemistry, University of Kentucky, 505 Rose St., Lexington, KY 40506, USA
| | - Sarah M Kriger
- Department of Chemistry, University of Kentucky, 505 Rose St., Lexington, KY 40506, USA
| | - Austin C Hachey
- Department of Chemistry, University of Kentucky, 505 Rose St., Lexington, KY 40506, USA
| | - Edith C Glazer
- Department of Chemistry, University of Kentucky, 505 Rose St., Lexington, KY 40506, USA
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Stacey P, Lithgow H, Lewell X, Konopacka A, Besley S, Green G, Whatling R, Law R, Röth S, Sapkota GP, Smith IED, Burley GA, Harling J, Benowitz AB, Queisser MA, Muelbaier M. A Phenotypic Approach for the Identification of New Molecules for Targeted Protein Degradation Applications. SLAS DISCOVERY 2021; 26:885-895. [PMID: 34041938 DOI: 10.1177/24725552211017517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Targeted protein degradation is an emerging new strategy for the modulation of intracellular protein levels with applications in chemical biology and drug discovery. One approach to enable this strategy is to redirect the ubiquitin-proteasome system to mark and degrade target proteins of interest (POIs) through the use of proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs). Although great progress has been made in enabling PROTACs as a platform, there are still a limited number of E3 ligases that have been employed for PROTAC design. Herein we report a novel phenotypic screening approach for the identification of E3 ligase binders. The key concept underlying this approach is the high-throughput modification of screening compounds with a chloroalkane moiety to generate HaloPROTACs in situ, which were then evaluated for their ability to degrade a GFP-HaloTag fusion protein in a cellular context. As proof of concept, we demonstrated that we could generate and detect functional HaloPROTACs in situ, using a validated Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) binder that successfully degraded the GFP-HaloTag fusion protein in living cells. We then used this method to prepare and screen a library of approximately 2000 prospective E3 ligase-recruiting molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hannah Lithgow
- Medicine Design, GlaxoSmithKline, Stevenage, UK.,Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, WestCHEM, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
| | - Xiao Lewell
- Medicine Design, GlaxoSmithKline, Stevenage, UK
| | | | | | | | | | - Robert Law
- Medicine Design, GlaxoSmithKline, Stevenage, UK
| | - Sascha Röth
- MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit (PPU), University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
| | - Gopal P Sapkota
- MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit (PPU), University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
| | | | - Glenn A Burley
- Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, WestCHEM, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
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Havrylyuk D, Heidary DK, Sun Y, Parkin S, Glazer EC. Photochemical and Photobiological Properties of Pyridyl-pyrazol(in)e-Based Ruthenium(II) Complexes with Sub-micromolar Cytotoxicity for Phototherapy. ACS OMEGA 2020; 5:18894-18906. [PMID: 32775891 PMCID: PMC7408248 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.0c02079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2020] [Accepted: 07/10/2020] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
The discovery of new light-triggered prodrugs based on ruthenium (II) complexes is a promising approach for photoactivated chemotherapy (PACT). The light-mediated activation of "strained" Ru(II) polypyridyl complexes resulted in ligand release and produced a ligand-deficient metal center capable of forming covalent adducts with biomolecules such as DNA. Based on the strategy of exploiting structural distortion to activate photochemistry, biologically active small molecules were coordinated to a Ru(II) scaffold to create light-triggered dual-action agents. Thirteen new Ru(II) complexes with pyridyl-pyrazol(in)e ligands were synthesized, and their photochemical reactivity and anticancer properties were investigated. Isomeric bidentate ligands were investigated, where "regular" ligands (where the coordinated nitrogens in the heterocycles are linked by C-C atoms) were compared to "inverse" isomers (where the coordinated nitrogens in the heterocycles are linked by C-N atoms). Coordination of the regular 3-(pyrid-2-yl)-pyrazol(in)es to a Ru(II) bis-dimethylphenanthroline scaffold yielded photoresponsive compounds with promising photochemical and biological properties, in contrast to the inverse 1-(pyrid-2-yl)-pyrazolines. The introduction of a phenyl ring to the 1N-pyrazoline cycle increased the distortion in complexes and improved ligand release upon light irradiation (470 nm) up to 5-fold in aqueous media. Compounds 1-8, containing pyridyl-pyrazol(in)e ligands, were at least 20-80-fold more potent than the parent pyridyl-pyrazol(in)es, and exhibited biological activity in the dark, with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values ranging from 0.2 to 7.6 μM in the HL60 cell line, with complete growth inhibition upon light irradiation. The diversification of coligands and introduction of a carboxylic acid into the Ru(II) complex resulted in compounds 9-12, with up to 146-fold improved phototoxicity indices compared with complexes 1-8.
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Zhang Z, Heidary DK, Richards CI. High resolution measurement of membrane receptor endocytosis. J Biol Methods 2018; 5:e105. [PMID: 31453255 PMCID: PMC6706155 DOI: 10.14440/jbm.2018.266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2018] [Revised: 07/26/2018] [Accepted: 08/03/2018] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
We present a new approach to quantify the half-life of membrane proteins on the cell surface, through tagging the protein with the photoconvertible fluorescent protein, Dendra2. Upon exposure to 405 nm light, Dendra2 is photoconverted from green to red emission. Total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRF) is applied to limit visualization of fluorescence to proteins located on the plasma membrane. Conversion of Dendra2 works as a pulse chase experiment through monitoring only the population of protein that has been photoconverted. As the protein is endocytosed the red emission decreases due to the protein leaving the TIRF field of view. This method is not impacted by the insertion of new protein into the plasma membrane as newly synthesized protein only exhibits green emission. We used this approach to determine the half-life of ENaC on the plasma membrane illustrating the high temporal resolution capability of this technique compared to current methods.
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Havrylyuk D, Howerton BS, Nease L, Parkin S, Heidary DK, Glazer EC. Structure-activity relationships of anticancer ruthenium(II) complexes with substituted hydroxyquinolines. Eur J Med Chem 2018; 156:790-799. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2018.04.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2018] [Revised: 04/16/2018] [Accepted: 04/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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Sun Y, Heidary DK, Zhang Z, Richards CI, Glazer EC. Bacterial Cytological Profiling Reveals the Mechanism of Action of Anticancer Metal Complexes. Mol Pharm 2018; 15:3404-3416. [PMID: 29865789 PMCID: PMC6083414 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.8b00407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
![]()
Target
identification and mechanistic studies of cytotoxic agents
are challenging processes that are both time-consuming and costly.
Here we describe an approach to mechanism of action studies for potential
anticancer compounds by utilizing the simple prokaryotic system, E. coli, and we demonstrate its utility with the characterization
of a ruthenium polypyridyl complex [Ru(bpy)2dmbpy2+]. Expression of the photoconvertible fluorescent protein Dendra2
facilitated both high throughput studies and single-cell imaging.
This allowed for simultaneous ratiometric analysis of inhibition of
protein production and phenotypic investigations. The profile of protein
production, filament size and population, and nucleoid morphology
revealed important differences between inorganic agents that damage
DNA vs more selective inhibitors of transcription and translation.
Trace metal analysis demonstrated that DNA is the preferred nucleic
acid target of the ruthenium complex, but further studies in human
cancer cells revealed altered cell signaling pathways compared to
the commonly administrated anticancer agent cisplatin. This study
demonstrates E. coli can be used to rapidly distinguish
between compounds with disparate mechanisms of action and also for
more subtle distinctions within in studies in mammalian cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Sun
- Department of Chemistry , University of Kentucky , Lexington , Kentucky 40506 , United States
| | - David K Heidary
- Department of Chemistry , University of Kentucky , Lexington , Kentucky 40506 , United States
| | - Zhihui Zhang
- Department of Chemistry , University of Kentucky , Lexington , Kentucky 40506 , United States
| | - Christopher I Richards
- Department of Chemistry , University of Kentucky , Lexington , Kentucky 40506 , United States
| | - Edith C Glazer
- Department of Chemistry , University of Kentucky , Lexington , Kentucky 40506 , United States
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Kohler L, Nease L, Vo P, Garofolo J, Heidary DK, Thummel RP, Glazer EC. Photochemical and Photobiological Activity of Ru(II) Homoleptic and Heteroleptic Complexes Containing Methylated Bipyridyl-type Ligands. Inorg Chem 2017; 56:12214-12223. [PMID: 28949518 DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.7b01642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Light-activated compounds are powerful tools and potential agents for medical applications, as biological effects can be controlled in space and time. Ruthenium polypyridyl complexes can induce cytotoxic effects through multiple mechanisms, including acting as photosensitizers for singlet oxygen (1O2) production, generating other reactive oxygen species (ROS), releasing biologically active ligands, and creating reactive intermediates that form covalent bonds to biological molecules. A structure-activity relationship (SAR) study was performed on a series of Ru(II) complexes containing isomeric tetramethyl-substituted bipyridyl-type ligands. Three of the ligand systems studied contained strain-inducing methyl groups and created photolabile metal complexes, which can form covalent bonds to biomolecules upon light activation, while the fourth was unstrained and resulted in photostable complexes, which can generate 1O2. The compounds studied included both bis-heteroleptic complexes containing two bipyridine ligands and a third, substituted ligand and tris-homoleptic complexes containing only the substituted ligand. The photophysics, electrochemistry, photochemistry, and photobiology were assessed. Strained heteroleptic complexes were found to be more photoactive and cytotoxic then tris-homoleptic complexes, and bipyridine ligands were superior to bipyrimidine. However, the homoleptic complexes exhibited an enhanced ability to inhibit protein production in live cells. Specific methylation patterns were associated with improved activation with red light, and photolabile complexes were generally more potent cytotoxic agents than the photostable 1O2-generating compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lars Kohler
- Department of Chemistry, University of Houston , 112 Fleming Building, Houston, Texas 77204-5003, United States
| | - Leona Nease
- Department of Chemistry, University of Kentucky , Lexington, Kentucky 40506, United States
| | - Pascal Vo
- Department of Chemistry, University of Houston , 112 Fleming Building, Houston, Texas 77204-5003, United States
| | - Jenna Garofolo
- Department of Chemistry, University of Kentucky , Lexington, Kentucky 40506, United States
| | - David K Heidary
- Department of Chemistry, University of Houston , 112 Fleming Building, Houston, Texas 77204-5003, United States
| | - Randolph P Thummel
- Department of Chemistry, University of Houston , 112 Fleming Building, Houston, Texas 77204-5003, United States
| | - Edith C Glazer
- Department of Chemistry, University of Kentucky , Lexington, Kentucky 40506, United States
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