1
|
Hussain M, Zhou Y, Song Y, Hameed HMA, Jiang H, Tu Y, Zhang J. ATAD2 in cancer: a pharmacologically challenging but tractable target. Expert Opin Ther Targets 2017; 22:85-96. [PMID: 29148850 DOI: 10.1080/14728222.2018.1406921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION ATAD2 protein is an emerging oncogene that has strongly been linked to the etiology of multiple advanced human cancers. Therapeutically, despite the fact that genetic suppression/knockdown studies have validated it as a compelling drug target for future therapeutic development, recent druggability assessment data suggest that direct targeting of ATAD2's bromodomain (BRD) may be a very challenging task. ATAD2's BRD has been predicted as a 'difficult to drug' or 'least druggable' target due to the concern that its binding pocket, and the areas around it, seem to be unfeasible for ligand binding. Areas covered: In this review, after shedding light on the multifaceted roles of ATAD2 in normal physiology as well as in cancer-etiology, we discuss technical challenges rendered by ATAD2's BRD active site and the recent drug discovery efforts to find small molecule inhibitors against it. Expert opinion: The identification of a novel low-nanomolar semi-permeable chemical probe against ATAD2's BRD by recent drug discovery campaign has demonstrated it to be a pharmacologically tractable target. Nevertheless, the development of high quality bioavailable inhibitors against ATAD2 is still a pending task. Moreover, ATAD2 may also potentially be utilized as a promising target for future development of RNAi-based therapy to treat cancers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Muzammal Hussain
- a State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease , Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Heath, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Guangzhou , PR China.,b Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biocomputing, Institute of Chemical Biology , Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Guangzhou China.,c University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , PR China
| | - Yang Zhou
- d Division of Theoretical Chemistry and Biology, School of Biotechnology , Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), AlbaNova University Center , Stockholm , Sweden
| | - Yu Song
- e Basic Medical College of Beihua University , Jilin , China
| | - H M Adnan Hameed
- a State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease , Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Heath, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Guangzhou , PR China.,c University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , PR China
| | - Hao Jiang
- a State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease , Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Heath, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Guangzhou , PR China.,b Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biocomputing, Institute of Chemical Biology , Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Guangzhou China
| | - Yaoquan Tu
- d Division of Theoretical Chemistry and Biology, School of Biotechnology , Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), AlbaNova University Center , Stockholm , Sweden
| | - Jiancun Zhang
- a State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease , Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Heath, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Guangzhou , PR China.,b Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biocomputing, Institute of Chemical Biology , Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Guangzhou China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Nag S, Qin J, Srivenugopal KS, Wang M, Zhang R. The MDM2-p53 pathway revisited. J Biomed Res 2013; 27:254-71. [PMID: 23885265 PMCID: PMC3721034 DOI: 10.7555/jbr.27.20130030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 208] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2013] [Accepted: 04/12/2013] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The p53 tumor suppressor is a key transcription factor regulating cellular pathways such as DNA repair, cell cycle, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and senescence. It acts as an important defense mechanism against cancer onset and progression, and is negatively regulated by interaction with the oncoprotein MDM2. In human cancers, the TP53 gene is frequently mutated or deleted, or the wild-type p53 function is inhibited by high levels of MDM2, leading to downregulation of tumor suppressive p53 pathways. Thus, the inhibition of MDM2-p53 interaction presents an appealing therapeutic strategy for the treatment of cancer. However, recent studies have revealed the MDM2-p53 interaction to be more complex involving multiple levels of regulation by numerous cellular proteins and epigenetic mechanisms, making it imperative to reexamine this intricate interplay from a holistic viewpoint. This review aims to highlight the multifaceted network of molecules regulating the MDM2-p53 axis to better understand the pathway and exploit it for anticancer therapy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Subhasree Nag
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Amarillo, TX 79106, USA
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
3
|
Lu D, Wu Y, Wang Y, Ren F, Wang D, Su F, Zhang Y, Yang X, Jin G, Hao X, He D, Zhai Y, Irwin DM, Hu J, Sung JJY, Yu J, Jia B, Chang Z. CREPT accelerates tumorigenesis by regulating the transcription of cell-cycle-related genes. Cancer Cell 2012; 21:92-104. [PMID: 22264791 DOI: 10.1016/j.ccr.2011.12.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2011] [Revised: 11/17/2011] [Accepted: 12/16/2011] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Tumorigenesis is caused by an uncontrolled cell cycle and the altered expression of many genes. Here, we report a gene CREPT that is preferentially expressed in diverse human tumors. Overexpression of CREPT accelerates tumor growth, whereas depletion of CREPT demonstrates a reversed effect. CREPT regulates cyclin D1 expression by binding to its promoter, enhancing its transcription both in vivo and in vitro, and interacting with RNA polymerase II (RNAPII). Interestingly, CREPT promotes the formation of a chromatin loop and prevents RNAPII from reading through the 3' end termination site of the gene. Our findings reveal a mechanism where CREPT increases cyclin D1 transcription during tumorigenesis, through enhancing the recruitment of RNAPII to the promoter region, possibly, as well as chromatin looping.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dongdong Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Biomembrane and Membrane Biotechnology, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
4
|
Gu Y, Zhao W, Xia J, Zhang Y, Wu R, Wang C, Guo Z. Analysis of pathway mutation profiles highlights collaboration between cancer-associated superpathways. Hum Mutat 2011; 32:1028-35. [PMID: 21618647 DOI: 10.1002/humu.21541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2010] [Accepted: 05/16/2011] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The biological interpretation of the complexity of cancer somatic mutation profiles is a major challenge in current cancer research. It has been suggested that mutations in multiple genes that participate in different pathways are collaborative in conferring growth advantage to tumor cells. Here, we propose a powerful pathway-based approach to study the functional collaboration of gene mutations in carcinogenesis. We successfully identify many pairs of significantly comutated pathways for a large-scale somatic mutation profile of lung adenocarcinoma. We find that the coordinated pathway pairs detected by comutations are also likely to be coaltered by other molecular changes, such as alterations in multifunctional genes in cancer. Then, we cluster comutated pathways into comutated superpathways and show that the derived superpathways also tend to be significantly coaltered by DNA copy number alterations. Our results support the hypothesis that comprehensive cooperation among a few basic functions is required for inducing cancer. The results also suggest biologically plausible models for understanding the heterogeneous mechanisms of cancers. Finally, we suggest an approach to identify candidate cancer genes from the derived comutated pathways. Together, our results provide guidelines to distill the pathway collaboration in carcinogenesis from the complexity of cancer somatic mutation profiles.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yunyan Gu
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, People's Republic of China
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
5
|
Geng CD, Vedeckis WV. Use of recombinant cell-permeable small peptides to modulate glucocorticoid sensitivity of acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells. Biochemistry 2010; 49:8892-901. [PMID: 20831260 DOI: 10.1021/bi1007723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Glucocorticoid (GC) hormones induce apoptosis in T-cell and pre-B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells. Steroid-mediated apoptosis requires a threshold level of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) protein, and increasing the intracellular GR levels in ALL cells would augment their hormone sensitivity. A protein transduction domain (PTD) approach was used to accomplish this. We produced an HIV Tat PTD domain fusion protein (Tat-GR(554-777)) that potentially competes for the degradation of GR protein by the ubiquitin-proteasome system and should thus increase its intracellular levels by "stabilizing" the GR. We also designed a fusion peptide for the c-Myb DNA binding domain, Tat-c-Myb DBD, since the biological function of this peptide as a dominant negative inhibitor of the c-Myb protein was already known. Purified, bacterially expressed Tat-c-Myb DBD and Tat-GR(554-777) exhibited highly efficient transduction into cultured ALL cell lines including 697 (pre-B-ALL) and CEM-C7 (T-ALL) cells. As expected, the transduced Tat-c-Myb DBD peptide inhibited steroid-mediated stimulation of a GR promoter-luciferase reporter gene. Significantly, transduced Tat-GR(554-777) effectively increased intracellular GR levels in the GC-resistant T-ALL cell line, CEM-C1, and in the pre-B-ALL 697 cell line. Furthermore, transduction of Tat-GR(554-777) rendered GC-resistant CEM-C1 cells sensitive to steroid killing and further sensitized 697 cells to steroid. The use of Tat-fusion peptide transduction may eventually lead to innovative therapeutic modalities to improve the clinical response of patients suffering from T-cell and pre-B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia by increasing steroid responsiveness and perhaps converting steroid-resistant leukemia to a hormone-responsive phenotype.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chuan-dong Geng
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
| | | |
Collapse
|
6
|
Li H, Ung CY, Ma XH, Liu XH, Li BW, Low BC, Chen YZ. Pathway sensitivity analysis for detecting pro-proliferation activities of oncogenes and tumor suppressors of epidermal growth factor receptor-extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase pathway at altered protein levels. Cancer 2009; 115:4246-63. [PMID: 19551902 DOI: 10.1002/cncr.24485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mathematic models and sensitivity analyses of biologic pathways have been used for exploring the dynamics and for detecting the key components of signaling pathways. METHODS The authors previously developed a mathematic model of the epidermal growth factor receptor-extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (EGFR-ERK) pathway using ordinary differential equations from existing EGFR-ERK pathway models. By using prolonged ERK activation as an indicator that may lead to cell proliferation under certain circumstances, in the current study, a pathway sensitivity analysis was performed to test its capability of detecting pro-proliferative activities through altered protein levels to examine the effects on ERK activation. RESULTS The analysis revealed that 12 of 20 oncoproteins and 4 of 5 tumor suppressors were detected, consistent with reported experimental works. Because pathway dynamics depend on many factors, some of which were not included in the current models, failure to detect all known oncogenes and tumor suppressors can be because of the failure to include relevant crosstalk to other pathway components. CONCLUSIONS Overall, the current results indicated that pathway sensitivity analysis is a useful approach for detecting and distinguishing pro-proliferation activities of oncoproteins and suppressed proliferative activities of tumor suppressors at altered protein levels at least in the EGFR-ERK model.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hu Li
- Bioinformatics and Drug Design Group, Department of Pharmacy, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
7
|
Rayburn ER, Ezell SJ, Zhang R. Recent advances in validating MDM2 as a cancer target. Anticancer Agents Med Chem 2009; 9:882-903. [PMID: 19538162 PMCID: PMC6728151 DOI: 10.2174/187152009789124628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2008] [Accepted: 05/14/2008] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
The MDM2 oncogene is overexpressed in various human cancers. Its expression correlates with the phenotypes of high-grade, late-stage, and more resistant tumors. The auto-regulatory loop between MDM2 and the tumor suppressor p53 has long been considered the epitome of a rational target for cancer therapy. As such, many novel agents have been generated to interfere with the interaction of the two proteins, which results in the activation of p53. Among these agents are several small molecule inhibitors synthesized based upon the crystal structures of the MDM2-p53 complex. With use of high-throughput screening, several specific and effective agents for inhibition of the protein-protein interaction were discovered. Recent investigations, however, have demonstrated that many proteins regulate the MDM2-p53 interaction, and that MDM2 may have p53-independent oncogenic functions. In order for novel MDM2 inhibitors to be translated to the clinic, it is necessary to obtain a better understanding of the regulation of MDM2 and of the MDM2-p53 interaction. In particular, the implications of various interactions between certain regulator(s) and MDM2/p53 under different circumstances need to be elucidated to determine which pathway(s) represent the best targets for therapy. Targeting both MDM2 itself and regulators of MDM2 and the MDM2-p53 interaction, or use of MDM2 inhibitors in combination with conventional treatments, may improve prospects for tumor eradication.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth R. Rayburn
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Division of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA
| | - Scharri J. Ezell
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Division of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA
| | - Ruiwen Zhang
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Division of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Mundinger GS, Espina V, Liotta LA, Petricoin EF, Calvo KR. Clinical phosphoproteomic profiling for personalized targeted medicine using reverse phase protein microarray. Target Oncol 2006. [DOI: 10.1007/s11523-006-0025-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
|
9
|
Zhang Z, Li M, Rayburn ER, Hill DL, Zhang R, Wang H. Oncogenes as Novel Targets for Cancer Therapy (Part IV). ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2005; 5:397-407. [PMID: 16336004 DOI: 10.2165/00129785-200505060-00006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
This is the final part of a four-part serial review on oncogenes and their potential use as targets for cancer therapy. Previous sections discussed various categories of oncogenes (growth factors, tyrosine kinases, intermediate signaling molecules, and transcription factors) and the advances made in various strategies being used to alter their actions. This part describes four oncogenes, MDM2, BCL2, XIAP, and Survivin, that are involved in regulation of the cell cycle and apoptosis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhuo Zhang
- Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama 35294-0019, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|