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Groner AC, Brown M. Role of steroid receptor and coregulator mutations in hormone-dependent cancers. J Clin Invest 2017; 127:1126-1135. [PMID: 28368289 PMCID: PMC5373886 DOI: 10.1172/jci88885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Steroid hormones mediate critical lineage-specific developmental and physiologic responses. They function by binding their cognate receptors, which are transcription factors that drive specific gene expression programs. The requirement of most prostate cancers for androgen and most breast cancers for estrogen has led to the development of endocrine therapies that block the action of these hormones in these tumors. While initial endocrine interventions are successful, resistance to therapy often arises. We will review how steroid receptor-dependent genomic signaling is affected by genetic alterations in endocrine therapy resistance. The detailed understanding of these interactions will not only provide improved treatment options to overcome resistance, but, in the future, will also be the basis for implementing precision cancer medicine approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna C. Groner
- Department of Medical Oncology and
- Center for Functional Cancer Epigenetics, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Myles Brown
- Department of Medical Oncology and
- Center for Functional Cancer Epigenetics, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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2
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Biron E, Bédard F. Recent progress in the development of protein-protein interaction inhibitors targeting androgen receptor-coactivator binding in prostate cancer. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 2016. [PMID: 26196120 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2015.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The androgen receptor (AR) is a key regulator for the growth, differentiation and survival of prostate cancer cells. Identified as a primary target for the treatment of prostate cancer, many therapeutic strategies have been developed to attenuate AR signaling in prostate cancer cells. While frontline androgen-deprivation therapies targeting either the production or action of androgens usually yield favorable responses in prostate cancer patients, a significant number acquire treatment resistance. Known as the castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), the treatment options are limited for this advanced stage. It has been shown that AR signaling is restored in CRPC due to many aberrant mechanisms such as AR mutations, amplification or expression of constitutively active splice-variants. Coregulator recruitment is a crucial regulatory step in AR signaling and the direct blockade of coactivator binding to AR offers the opportunity to develop therapeutic agents that would remain effective in prostate cancer cells resistant to conventional endocrine therapies. Structural analyses of the AR have identified key surfaces involved in protein-protein interaction with coregulators that have been recently used to design and develop promising AR-coactivator binding inhibitors. In this review we will discuss the design and development of small-molecule inhibitors targeting the AR-coactivator interactions for the treatment of prostate cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Biron
- Faculty of Pharmacy and Centre de recherche en endocrinologie moléculaire et oncologique et génomique humaine, Université Laval, Canada; Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry, CHU de Québec Research Centre, G1 V 4G2, Québec, QC, Canada.
| | - François Bédard
- Faculty of Pharmacy and Centre de recherche en endocrinologie moléculaire et oncologique et génomique humaine, Université Laval, Canada; Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry, CHU de Québec Research Centre, G1 V 4G2, Québec, QC, Canada
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3
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Mackinnon JAG, Gallastegui N, Osguthorpe DJ, Hagler AT, Estébanez-Perpiñá E. Allosteric mechanisms of nuclear receptors: insights from computational simulations. Mol Cell Endocrinol 2014; 393:75-82. [PMID: 24911885 DOI: 10.1016/j.mce.2014.05.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2014] [Revised: 05/15/2014] [Accepted: 05/19/2014] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
The traditional structural view of allostery defines this key regulatory mechanism as the ability of one conformational event (allosteric site) to initiate another in a separate location (active site). In recent years computational simulations conducted to understand how this phenomenon occurs in nuclear receptors (NRs) has gained significant traction. These results have yield insights into allosteric changes and communication mechanisms that underpin ligand binding, coactivator binding site formation, post-translational modifications, and oncogenic mutations. Moreover, substantial efforts have been made in understanding the dynamic processes involved in ligand binding and coregulator recruitment to different NR conformations in order to predict cell/tissue-selective pharmacological outcomes of drugs. They also have improved the accuracy of in silico screening protocols so that nowadays they are becoming part of optimisation protocols for novel therapeutics. Here we summarise the important contributions that computational simulations have made towards understanding the structure/function relationships of NRs and how these can be exploited for rational drug design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan A G Mackinnon
- Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona (IBUB), Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Barcelona (UB), Baldiri-Reixac 15-21, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Nerea Gallastegui
- Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona (IBUB), Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Barcelona (UB), Baldiri-Reixac 15-21, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - David J Osguthorpe
- Shifa Biomedical, 1 Great Valley Parkway, Suite 8, Malvern, PA 19355, USA
| | - Arnold T Hagler
- Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts, 701 Lederle, Graduate Research Tower, 710 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA 01003-9336, USA.
| | - Eva Estébanez-Perpiñá
- Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona (IBUB), Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Barcelona (UB), Baldiri-Reixac 15-21, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
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4
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Caboni L, Egan B, Kelly B, Blanco F, Fayne D, Meegan MJ, Lloyd DG. Structure–Activity Relationships in Non-Ligand Binding Pocket (Non-LBP) Diarylhydrazide Antiandrogens. J Chem Inf Model 2013; 53:2116-30. [DOI: 10.1021/ci400189m] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Caboni
- Molecular Design Group, School
of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Billy Egan
- School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical
Sciences, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Brendan Kelly
- Molecular Design Group, School
of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Fernando Blanco
- Molecular Design Group, School
of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Darren Fayne
- Molecular Design Group, School
of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Mary J. Meegan
- School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical
Sciences, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - David G. Lloyd
- Molecular Design Group, School
of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
- Division of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide SA5000, Australia
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5
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Caboni L, Lloyd DG. Beyond the ligand-binding pocket: targeting alternate sites in nuclear receptors. Med Res Rev 2012; 33:1081-118. [PMID: 23344935 DOI: 10.1002/med.21275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Nuclear receptors (NRs) are a family of ligand-modulated transcription factors with significant therapeutic relevance from metabolic disorders and inflammation to cancer, neurodegenerative, and psychiatric disorders. Drug discovery efforts are typically concentrated on modulating the natural ligand action within the ligand-binding pocket (LBP) in the C-terminal ligand-binding domain (LBD). Drawbacks of LBP-based strategies include physiological alterations due to disruption of ligand binding and difficulties in achieving tissue specificity. Furthermore, the lack of a "pure" and predictable mechanism of action predisposes such intervention toward drug resistance. Recent outstanding progress in our understanding of NR biology has shifted the focus of drug discovery efforts from inside to outside the LBP, affording consideration to the interaction between NRs and coactivator proteins, the interaction between NRs and DNA and the NRs' ligand-independent functions. This review encompasses such currently available NR non-LBP-based interventions and their potential application in therapy or as specific tools to probe NR biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Caboni
- School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
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6
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Grosdidier S, Carbó LR, Buzón V, Brooke G, Nguyen P, Baxter JD, Bevan C, Webb P, Estébanez-Perpiñá E, Fernández-Recio J. Allosteric conversation in the androgen receptor ligand-binding domain surfaces. Mol Endocrinol 2012; 26:1078-90. [PMID: 22653923 DOI: 10.1210/me.2011-1281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Androgen receptor (AR) is a major therapeutic target that plays pivotal roles in prostate cancer (PCa) and androgen insensitivity syndromes. We previously proposed that compounds recruited to ligand-binding domain (LBD) surfaces could regulate AR activity in hormone-refractory PCa and discovered several surface modulators of AR function. Surprisingly, the most effective compounds bound preferentially to a surface of unknown function [binding function 3 (BF-3)] instead of the coactivator-binding site [activation function 2 (AF-2)]. Different BF-3 mutations have been identified in PCa or androgen insensitivity syndrome patients, and they can strongly affect AR activity. Further, comparison of AR x-ray structures with and without bound ligands at BF-3 and AF-2 showed structural coupling between both pockets. Here, we combine experimental evidence and molecular dynamic simulations to investigate whether BF-3 mutations affect AR LBD function and dynamics possibly via allosteric conversation between surface sites. Our data indicate that AF-2 conformation is indeed closely coupled to BF-3 and provide mechanistic proof of their structural interconnection. BF-3 mutations may function as allosteric elicitors, probably shifting the AR LBD conformational ensemble toward conformations that alter AF-2 propensity to reorganize into subpockets that accommodate N-terminal domain and coactivator peptides. The induced conformation may result in either increased or decreased AR activity. Activating BF-3 mutations also favor the formation of another pocket (BF-4) in the vicinity of AF-2 and BF-3, which we also previously identified as a hot spot for a small compound. We discuss the possibility that BF-3 may be a protein-docking site that binds to the N-terminal domain and corepressors. AR surface sites are attractive pharmacological targets to develop allosteric modulators that might be alternative lead compounds for drug design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Solène Grosdidier
- Joint BSC-IRB Research Programme in Computational Biology, Life Sciences Department, Barcelona Supercomputing Center, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
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7
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Caboni L, Kinsella GK, Blanco F, Fayne D, Jagoe WN, Carr M, Williams DC, Meegan MJ, Lloyd DG. "True" antiandrogens-selective non-ligand-binding pocket disruptors of androgen receptor-coactivator interactions: novel tools for prostate cancer. J Med Chem 2012; 55:1635-44. [PMID: 22280402 PMCID: PMC3295204 DOI: 10.1021/jm201438f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
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Prostate cancer (PCa) therapy typically involves administration
of “classical” antiandrogens, competitive inhibitors
of androgen receptor (AR) ligands, dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and testosterone
(tes), for the ligand-binding pocket (LBP) in the ligand-binding domain
(LBD) of AR. Prolonged LBP-targeting leads to resistance, and alternative
therapies are urgently required. We report the identification and
characterization of a novel series of diarylhydrazides as selective
disruptors of AR interaction with coactivators through application
of structure and ligand-based virtual screening. Compounds demonstrate
full (“true”) antagonism in AR with low micromolar potency,
selectivity over estrogen receptors α and β and glucocorticoid
receptor, and partial antagonism of the progesterone receptor. MDG506
(5) demonstrates low cellular toxicity in PCa models
and dose responsive reduction of classical antiandrogen-induced prostate
specific antigen expression. These data provide compelling evidence
for such non-LBP intervention as an alternative approach or in combination
with classical PCa therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Caboni
- Molecular Design Group, School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
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Seco J, Luque FJ, Barril X. Binding site detection and druggability index from first principles. J Med Chem 2009; 52:2363-71. [PMID: 19296650 DOI: 10.1021/jm801385d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 174] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
In drug discovery, it is essential to identify binding sites on protein surfaces that drug-like molecules could exploit to exert a biological effect. Both X-ray crystallography and NMR experiments have demonstrated that organic solvents bind precisely at these locations. We show that this effect is reproduced using molecular dynamics with a binary solvent. Furthermore, analysis of the simulations give direct access to interaction free energies between the protein and small organic molecules, which can be used to detect binding sites and to predict the maximal affinity that a drug-like molecule could attain for them. On a set of pharmacologically relevant proteins, we obtain good predictions for druggable sites as well as for protein-protein and low affinity binding sites. This is the first druggability index not based on surface descriptors and, being independent of a training set, is particularly indicated to study unconventional targets such as protein-protein interactions or allosteric binding sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesus Seco
- Institucio Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avancats (ICREA), Institut de Biomedicina de la Universitat de Barcelona (IBUB), Barcelona, Spain
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