1
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Ellenbroek BD, Kahler JP, Evers SR, Pomplun SJ. Synthetic Peptides: Promising Modalities for the Targeting of Disease-Related Nucleic Acids. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024; 63:e202401704. [PMID: 38456368 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202401704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2024] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
DNA and RNA play pivotal roles in life processes by storing and transferring genetic information, modulating gene expression, and contributing to essential cellular machinery such as ribosomes. Dysregulation and mutations in nucleic acid-related processes are implicated in numerous diseases. Despite the critical impact on health of nucleic acid mutations or dysregulation, therapeutic compounds addressing these biomolecules remain limited. Peptides have emerged as a promising class of molecules for biomedical research, offering potential solutions for challenging drug targets. This review focuses on the use of synthetic peptides to target disease-related nucleic acids. We discuss examples of peptides targeting double-stranded DNA, including the clinical candidate Omomyc, and compounds designed for regulatory G-quadruplexes. Further, we provide insights into both library-based screenings and the rational design of peptides to target regulatory human RNA scaffolds and viral RNAs, emphasizing the potential of peptides in addressing nucleic acid-related diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Sophie R Evers
- Leiden University, 2333 CC, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Present address, Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich, Wintherthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
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2
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Yang L, Du YE, Liao F, Huang T, Liu Y, Liu J, Wang C, Zhan Z, Cao Y, Wang Z, Chen W. A novel combined therapeutic strategy of Nano-EN-IR@Lip mediated photothermal therapy and stem cell inhibition for gastric cancer. Biomed Pharmacother 2024; 174:116486. [PMID: 38520865 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2024.116486] [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: 12/19/2023] [Revised: 03/07/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Recurrence and metastasis of gastric cancer is a major therapeutic challenge for treatment. The presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) is a major obstacle to the success of current cancer therapy, often leading to treatment resistance and tumor recurrence and metastasis. Therefore, it is important to develop effective strategies to eradicate CSCs. In this study, we developed a combined therapeutic strategy of photothermal therapy (PTT) and gastric cancer stem cells (GCSCs) inhibition by successfully synthesizing nanoliposomes loaded with IR780 (photosensitizer) and EN4 (c-Myc inhibitor). The nanocomposites are biocompatible and exhibit superior photoacoustic (PA) imaging properties. Under laser irradiation, IR780-mediated PTT effectively and rapidly killed tumor cells, while EN4 synergistically inhibited the self-renewal and stemness of GCSCs by suppressing the expression and activity of the pluripotent transcription factor c-Myc, preventing the tumor progression of gastric cancer. This Nano-EN-IR@Lip is expected to be a novel clinical nanomedicine for the integration of gastric cancer diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liping Yang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400010, China
| | - Yan-E Du
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400010, China
| | - Fangli Liao
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400010, China
| | - Tong Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Ultrasound in Medicine and Engineering, Institute of Ultrasound Imaging, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yadong Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Ultrasound in Medicine and Engineering, Institute of Ultrasound Imaging, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Junzhao Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Ultrasound in Medicine and Engineering, Institute of Ultrasound Imaging, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Can Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Ultrasound in Medicine and Engineering, Institute of Ultrasound Imaging, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Zhu Zhan
- Department of Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yang Cao
- State Key Laboratory of Ultrasound in Medicine and Engineering, Institute of Ultrasound Imaging, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Zhigang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Ultrasound in Medicine and Engineering, Institute of Ultrasound Imaging, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
| | - Weixian Chen
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400010, China.
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3
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Chan KI, Zhang S, Li G, Xu Y, Cui L, Wang Y, Su H, Tan W, Zhong Z. MYC Oncogene: A Druggable Target for Treating Cancers with Natural Products. Aging Dis 2024; 15:640-697. [PMID: 37450923 PMCID: PMC10917530 DOI: 10.14336/ad.2023.0520] [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: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Various diseases, including cancers, age-associated disorders, and acute liver failure, have been linked to the oncogene, MYC. Animal testing and clinical trials have shown that sustained tumor volume reduction can be achieved when MYC is inactivated, and different combinations of therapeutic agents including MYC inhibitors are currently being developed. In this review, we first provide a summary of the multiple biological functions of the MYC oncoprotein in cancer treatment, highlighting that the equilibrium points of the MYC/MAX, MIZ1/MYC/MAX, and MAD (MNT)/MAX complexes have further potential in cancer treatment that could be used to restrain MYC oncogene expression and its functions in tumorigenesis. We also discuss the multifunctional capacity of MYC in various cellular cancer processes, including its influences on immune response, metabolism, cell cycle, apoptosis, autophagy, pyroptosis, metastasis, angiogenesis, multidrug resistance, and intestinal flora. Moreover, we summarize the MYC therapy patent landscape and emphasize the potential of MYC as a druggable target, using herbal medicine modulators. Finally, we describe pending challenges and future perspectives in biomedical research, involving the development of therapeutic approaches to modulate MYC or its targeted genes. Patients with cancers driven by MYC signaling may benefit from therapies targeting these pathways, which could delay cancerous growth and recover antitumor immune responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ka Iong Chan
- Macao Centre for Research and Development in Chinese Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macao SAR 999078, China
| | - Siyuan Zhang
- Macao Centre for Research and Development in Chinese Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macao SAR 999078, China
| | - Guodong Li
- Macao Centre for Research and Development in Chinese Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macao SAR 999078, China
| | - Yida Xu
- Macao Centre for Research and Development in Chinese Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macao SAR 999078, China
| | - Liao Cui
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Research and Development of Natural Drugs, School of Pharmacy, Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang 524000, China
| | - Yitao Wang
- Macao Centre for Research and Development in Chinese Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macao SAR 999078, China
| | - Huanxing Su
- Macao Centre for Research and Development in Chinese Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macao SAR 999078, China
| | - Wen Tan
- School of Pharmacy, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Zhangfeng Zhong
- Macao Centre for Research and Development in Chinese Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macao SAR 999078, China
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4
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Zacarías-Fluck MF, Soucek L, Whitfield JR. MYC: there is more to it than cancer. Front Cell Dev Biol 2024; 12:1342872. [PMID: 38510176 PMCID: PMC10952043 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2024.1342872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024] Open
Abstract
MYC is a pleiotropic transcription factor involved in multiple cellular processes. While its mechanism of action and targets are not completely elucidated, it has a fundamental role in cellular proliferation, differentiation, metabolism, ribogenesis, and bone and vascular development. Over 4 decades of research and some 10,000 publications linking it to tumorigenesis (by searching PubMed for "MYC oncogene") have led to MYC becoming a most-wanted target for the treatment of cancer, where many of MYC's physiological functions become co-opted for tumour initiation and maintenance. In this context, an abundance of reviews describes strategies for potentially targeting MYC in the oncology field. However, its multiple roles in different aspects of cellular biology suggest that it may also play a role in many additional diseases, and other publications are indeed linking MYC to pathologies beyond cancer. Here, we review these physiological functions and the current literature linking MYC to non-oncological diseases. The intense efforts towards developing MYC inhibitors as a cancer therapy will potentially have huge implications for the treatment of other diseases. In addition, with a complementary approach, we discuss some diseases and conditions where MYC appears to play a protective role and hence its increased expression or activation could be therapeutic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariano F. Zacarías-Fluck
- Models of Cancer Therapies Laboratory, Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Laura Soucek
- Models of Cancer Therapies Laboratory, Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
- Peptomyc S.L., Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jonathan R. Whitfield
- Models of Cancer Therapies Laboratory, Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, Barcelona, Spain
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5
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Papadimitropoulou A, Makri M, Zoidis G. MYC the oncogene from hell: Novel opportunities for cancer therapy. Eur J Med Chem 2024; 267:116194. [PMID: 38340508 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2024.116194] [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: 10/30/2023] [Revised: 01/24/2024] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
Cancer comprises a heterogeneous disease, characterized by diverse features such as constitutive expression of oncogenes and/or downregulation of tumor suppressor genes. MYC constitutes a master transcriptional regulator, involved in many cellular functions and is aberrantly expressed in more than 70 % of human cancers. The Myc protein belongs to a family of transcription factors whose structural pattern is referred to as basic helix-loop-helix-leucine zipper. Myc binds to its partner, a smaller protein called Max, forming an Myc:Max heterodimeric complex that interacts with specific DNA recognition sequences (E-boxes) and regulates the expression of downstream target genes. Myc protein plays a fundamental role for the life of a cell, as it is involved in many physiological functions such as proliferation, growth and development since it controls the expression of a very large percentage of genes (∼15 %). However, despite the strict control of MYC expression in normal cells, MYC is often deregulated in cancer, exhibiting a key role in stimulating oncogenic process affecting features such as aberrant proliferation, differentiation, angiogenesis, genomic instability and oncogenic transformation. In this review we aim to meticulously describe the fundamental role of MYC in tumorigenesis and highlight its importance as an anticancer drug target. We focus mainly on the different categories of novel small molecules that act as inhibitors of Myc function in diverse ways hence offering great opportunities for an efficient cancer therapy. This knowledge will provide significant information for the development of novel Myc inhibitors and assist to the design of treatments that would effectively act against Myc-dependent cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana Papadimitropoulou
- Center for Basic Research, Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, Athens, 11527, Greece
| | - Maria Makri
- Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis-Zografou, GR-15771, Athens, Greece
| | - Grigoris Zoidis
- Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis-Zografou, GR-15771, Athens, Greece.
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6
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Garralda E, Beaulieu ME, Moreno V, Casacuberta-Serra S, Martínez-Martín S, Foradada L, Alonso G, Massó-Vallés D, López-Estévez S, Jauset T, Corral de la Fuente E, Doger B, Hernández T, Perez-Lopez R, Arqués O, Castillo Cano V, Morales J, Whitfield JR, Niewel M, Soucek L, Calvo E. MYC targeting by OMO-103 in solid tumors: a phase 1 trial. Nat Med 2024; 30:762-771. [PMID: 38321218 PMCID: PMC10957469 DOI: 10.1038/s41591-024-02805-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2024] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
Among the 'most wanted' targets in cancer therapy is the oncogene MYC, which coordinates key transcriptional programs in tumor development and maintenance. It has, however, long been considered undruggable. OMO-103 is a MYC inhibitor consisting of a 91-amino acid miniprotein. Here we present results from a phase 1 study of OMO-103 in advanced solid tumors, established to examine safety and tolerability as primary outcomes and pharmacokinetics, recommended phase 2 dose and preliminary signs of activity as secondary ones. A classical 3 + 3 design was used for dose escalation of weekly intravenous, single-agent OMO-103 administration in 21-day cycles, encompassing six dose levels (DLs). A total of 22 patients were enrolled, with treatment maintained until disease progression. The most common adverse events were grade 1 infusion-related reactions, occurring in ten patients. One dose-limiting toxicity occurred at DL5. Pharmacokinetics showed nonlinearity, with tissue saturation signs at DL5 and a terminal half-life in serum of 40 h. Of the 19 patients evaluable for response, 12 reached the predefined 9-week time point for assessment of drug antitumor activity, eight of those showing stable disease by computed tomography. One patient defined as stable disease by response evaluation criteria in solid tumors showed a 49% reduction in total tumor volume at best response. Transcriptomic analysis supported target engagement in tumor biopsies. In addition, we identified soluble factors that are potential pharmacodynamic and predictive response markers. Based on all these data, the recommended phase 2 dose was determined as DL5 (6.48 mg kg-1).ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04808362 .
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Víctor Moreno
- START Madrid-FJD-Hospital Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | | | - Guzman Alonso
- Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | | | | | | | - Bernard Doger
- START Madrid-FJD-Hospital Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | - Oriol Arqués
- Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | | | | | | | - Laura Soucek
- Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, Spain.
- Peptomyc S.L., Barcelona, Spain.
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Barcelona, Spain.
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain.
| | - Emiliano Calvo
- START Madrid-CIOCC-Centro Integral Oncológico Clara Campal, Madrid, Spain
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7
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Sepulveda GP, Gushchanskaia ES, Mora-Martin A, Esse R, Nikorich I, Ceballos A, Kwan J, Blum BC, Dholiya P, Emili A, Perissi V, Cardamone MD, Grishok A. DOT1L stimulates MYC/Mondo transcription factor activity by promoting its degradation cycle on chromatin. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.02.06.579191. [PMID: 38370658 PMCID: PMC10871221 DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.06.579191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
The proto-oncogene c-MYC is a key representative of the MYC transcription factor network regulating growth and metabolism. MML-1 (Myc- and Mondo-like) is its homolog in C. elegans. The functional and molecular cooperation between c-MYC and H3 lysine 79 methyltransferase DOT1L was demonstrated in several human cancer types, and we have earlier discovered the connection between C. elegans MML-1 and DOT-1.1. Here, we demonstrate the critical role of DOT1L/DOT-1.1 in regulating c-MYC/MML-1 target genes genome-wide by ensuring the removal of "spent" transcription factors from chromatin by the nuclear proteasome. Moreover, we uncover a previously unrecognized proteolytic activity of DOT1L, which may facilitate c-MYC turnover. This new mechanism of c-MYC regulation by DOT1L may lead to the development of new approaches for cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gian P. Sepulveda
- Department of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
- Graduate Program in Genetics and Genomics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
| | - Ekaterina S. Gushchanskaia
- Department of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
- Present address: Tessera Therapeutics, Somerville, MA, 02143, USA
| | - Alexandra Mora-Martin
- Department of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
- Present address: Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO), 28029, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ruben Esse
- Department of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
- Present address: Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, Guy’s Hospital, Great Maze Pond, London SE1 9RT, UK
| | - Iana Nikorich
- Department of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
| | - Ainhoa Ceballos
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
- Present address: Research Unit, Diagnostica Longwood S.L. 50011 Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Julian Kwan
- Center for Network Systems Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
| | - Benjamin C. Blum
- Center for Network Systems Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
| | - Prakruti Dholiya
- Department of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
| | - Andrew Emili
- Department of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
- Center for Network Systems Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
- Division of Computational Biology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
- Present address: OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, School of Medicine, Portland, OR, 97239, USA
| | - Valentina Perissi
- Department of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
| | - Maria D. Cardamone
- Department of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
- Present address: Korro Bio Inc., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Alla Grishok
- Department of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
- Genome Science Institute, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
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8
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Schütz S, Bergsdorf C, Hänni-Holzinger S, Lingel A, Renatus M, Gossert AD, Jahnke W. Intrinsically Disordered Regions in the Transcription Factor MYC:MAX Modulate DNA Binding via Intramolecular Interactions. Biochemistry 2024. [PMID: 38264995 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.3c00608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
The basic helix-loop-helix leucine zipper (bHLH-LZ) transcription factor (TF) MYC is in large part an intrinsically disordered oncoprotein. In complex with its obligate heterodimerization partner MAX, MYC preferentially binds E-Box DNA sequences (CANNTG). At promoters containing these sequence motifs, MYC controls fundamental cellular processes such as cell cycle progression, metabolism, and apoptosis. A vast network of proteins in turn regulates MYC function via intermolecular interactions. In this work, we establish another layer of MYC regulation by intramolecular interactions. We used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to identify and map multiple binding sites for the C-terminal MYC:MAX DNA-binding domain (DBD) on the intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) in the MYC N-terminus. We find that these binding events in trans are driven by electrostatic attraction, that they have distinct affinities, and that they are competitive with DNA binding. Thereby, we observe the strongest effects for the N-terminal MYC box 0 (Mb0), a conserved motif involved in MYC transactivation and target gene induction. We prepared recombinant full-length MYC:MAX complex and demonstrate that the interactions identified in this work are also relevant in cis, i.e., as intramolecular interactions. These findings are supported by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) experiments, which revealed that intramolecular IDR:DBD interactions in MYC decelerate the association of MYC:MAX complexes to DNA. Our work offers new insights into how bHLH-LZ TFs are regulated by intramolecular interactions, which open up new possibilities for drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Schütz
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Novartis Campus, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Christian Bergsdorf
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Novartis Campus, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Sandra Hänni-Holzinger
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Novartis Campus, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Andreas Lingel
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Novartis Campus, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Martin Renatus
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Novartis Campus, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | | | - Wolfgang Jahnke
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Novartis Campus, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland
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9
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Li Z, Huang Y, Hung TI, Sun J, Aispuro D, Chen B, Guevara N, Ji F, Cong X, Zhu L, Wang S, Guo Z, Chang CE, Xue M. MYC-Targeting Inhibitors Generated from a Stereodiversified Bicyclic Peptide Library. J Am Chem Soc 2024; 146:1356-1363. [PMID: 38170904 PMCID: PMC10797614 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c09615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2023] [Revised: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Here, we present the second generation of our bicyclic peptide library (NTB), featuring a stereodiversified structure and a simplified construction strategy. We utilized a tandem ring-opening metathesis and ring-closing metathesis reaction (ROM-RCM) to cyclize the linear peptide library in a single step, representing the first reported instance of this reaction being applied to the preparation of macrocyclic peptides. Moreover, the resulting bicyclic peptide can be easily linearized for MS/MS sequencing with a one-step deallylation process. We employed this library to screen against the E363-R378 epitope of MYC and identified several MYC-targeting bicyclic peptides. Subsequent in vitro cell studies demonstrated that one candidate, NT-B2R, effectively suppressed MYC transcription activities and cell proliferation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhonghan Li
- Department
of Chemistry, University of California,
Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Yi Huang
- Department
of Chemistry, University of California,
Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Ta I Hung
- Department
of Chemistry, University of California,
Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Jianan Sun
- Environmental
Toxicology Graduate Program, University
of California, Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Desiree Aispuro
- Environmental
Toxicology Graduate Program, University
of California, Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Boxi Chen
- Department
of Chemistry, University of California,
Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Nathan Guevara
- Department
of Chemistry, University of California,
Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Fei Ji
- Department
of Chemistry, University of California,
Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Xu Cong
- Department
of Chemistry, University of California,
Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Lingchao Zhu
- Department
of Chemistry, University of California,
Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Siwen Wang
- Environmental
Toxicology Graduate Program, University
of California, Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Zhili Guo
- Department
of Chemistry, University of California,
Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Chia-en Chang
- Department
of Chemistry, University of California,
Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
- Environmental
Toxicology Graduate Program, University
of California, Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Min Xue
- Department
of Chemistry, University of California,
Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
- Environmental
Toxicology Graduate Program, University
of California, Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
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10
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Martinsen E, Jinnurine T, Subramani S, Rogne M. Advances in RNA therapeutics for modulation of 'undruggable' targets. PROGRESS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE 2024; 204:249-294. [PMID: 38458740 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pmbts.2023.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/10/2024]
Abstract
Over the past decades, drug discovery utilizing small pharmacological compounds, fragment-based therapeutics, and antibody therapy have significantly advanced treatment options for many human diseases. However, a major bottleneck has been that>70% of human proteins/genomic regions are 'undruggable' by the above-mentioned approaches. Many of these proteins constitute essential drug targets against complex multifactorial diseases like cancer, immunological disorders, and neurological diseases. Therefore, alternative approaches are required to target these proteins or genomic regions in human cells. RNA therapeutics is a promising approach for many of the traditionally 'undruggable' targets by utilizing methods such as antisense oligonucleotides, RNA interference, CRISPR/Cas-based genome editing, aptamers, and the development of mRNA therapeutics. In the following chapter, we will put emphasis on recent advancements utilizing these approaches against challenging drug targets, such as intranuclear proteins, intrinsically disordered proteins, untranslated genomic regions, and targets expressed in inaccessible tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Saranya Subramani
- Pioneer Research AS, Oslo Science Park, Oslo, Norway; Department of Pharmacy, Section for Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Marie Rogne
- Pioneer Research AS, Oslo Science Park, Oslo, Norway; Department of Molecular Medicine, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
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11
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Malik S, Pradeep SP, Kumar V, Xiao Y, Deng Y, Fan R, Vasquez JC, Singh V, Bahal R. Antitumor efficacy of a sequence-specific DNA-targeted γPNA-based c-Myc inhibitor. Cell Rep Med 2024; 5:101354. [PMID: 38183981 PMCID: PMC10829792 DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.101354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Revised: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/08/2024]
Abstract
Targeting oncogenes at the genomic DNA level can open new avenues for precision medicine. Significant efforts are ongoing to target oncogenes using RNA-targeted and protein-targeted platforms, but no progress has been made to target genomic DNA for cancer therapy. Here, we introduce a gamma peptide nucleic acid (γPNA)-based genomic DNA-targeted platform to silence oncogenes in vivo. γPNAs efficiently invade the mixed sequences of genomic DNA with high affinity and specificity. As a proof of concept, we establish that γPNA can inhibit c-Myc transcription in multiple cell lines. We evaluate the in vivo efficacy and safety of genomic DNA targeting in three pre-clinical models. We also establish that anti-transcription γPNA in combination with histone deacetylase inhibitors and chemotherapeutic drugs results in robust antitumor activity in cell-line- and patient-derived xenografts. Overall, this strategy offers a unique therapeutic platform to target genomic DNA to inhibit oncogenes for cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shipra Malik
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
| | - Sai Pallavi Pradeep
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
| | - Vikas Kumar
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
| | - Yong Xiao
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Department of Neurosurgery, Nanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yanxiang Deng
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Yale Stem Cell Center and Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Rong Fan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Yale Stem Cell Center and Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA; Human and Translational Immunology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA; Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Juan C Vasquez
- Department of Pediatrics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Vijender Singh
- Institute for Systems Genomics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
| | - Raman Bahal
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA.
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12
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Zhang E, Chen Z, Liu W, Lin L, Wu L, Guan J, Wang J, Kong C, Bi J, Zhang M. NCAPG2 promotes prostate cancer malignancy and stemness via STAT3/c-MYC signaling. J Transl Med 2024; 22:12. [PMID: 38166947 PMCID: PMC10763290 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-023-04834-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men worldwide, and its incidence has risen substantially in recent years. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify novel biomarkers and precise therapeutic targets for managing PCa progression and recurrence. METHODS We investigated the clinical significance of NCAPG2 in PCa by exploring public datasets and our tissue microarray. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and survival analyses were performed to evaluate the correlation between NCAPG2 and PCa progression. Cell proliferation, wound healing, transwell, flow cytometry, cell cycle, tumor sphere formation, immunofluorescence (IF), co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP), and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays were conducted to further elucidate the molecular mechanism of NCAPG2 in PCa. Subcutaneous and orthotopic xenograft models were applied to investigate the effects of NCAPG2 on PCa proliferation in vivo. Tandem mass tag (TMT) quantitative proteomics was utilized to detect proteomic changes under NCAPG2 overexpression. RESULTS NCAPG2 was significantly upregulated in PCa, and its overexpression was associated with PCa progression and unfavorable prognosis. Knockdown of NCAPG2 inhibited the malignant behavior of PCa cells, whereas its overexpression promoted PCa aggressiveness. NCAPG2 depletion attenuated the development and growth of PCa in vivo. TMT quantitative proteomics analyses indicated that c-MYC activity was strongly correlated with NCAPG2 expression. The malignancy-promoting effect of NCAPG2 in PCa was mediated via c-MYC. NCAPG2 could directly bind to STAT3 and induce STAT3 occupancy on the MYC promoter, thus to transcriptionally activate c-MYC expression. Finally, we identified that NCAPG2 was positively correlated with cancer stem cell (CSC) markers and enhanced self-renewal capacity of PCa cells. CONCLUSIONS NCAPG2 is highly expressed in PCa, and its level is significantly associated with PCa prognosis. NCAPG2 promotes PCa malignancy and drives cancer stemness via the STAT3/c-MYC signaling axis, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic target for PCa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enchong Zhang
- Department of Urology, Shenjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Zhengjie Chen
- Department of Urology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
- Institute of Urology, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Wangmin Liu
- Department of Urology, Shenjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Lin Lin
- Department of Urology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Lina Wu
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Johnny Guan
- Department of Urology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jianfeng Wang
- Department of Urology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
- Institute of Urology, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Chuize Kong
- Department of Urology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
- Institute of Urology, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Jianbin Bi
- Department of Urology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
- Institute of Urology, China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
| | - Mo Zhang
- Department of Urology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
- Institute of Urology, China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
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13
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Ramal M, Corral S, Kalisz M, Lapi E, Real FX. The urothelial gene regulatory network: understanding biology to improve bladder cancer management. Oncogene 2024; 43:1-21. [PMID: 37996699 DOI: 10.1038/s41388-023-02876-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Revised: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023]
Abstract
The urothelium is a stratified epithelium composed of basal cells, one or more layers of intermediate cells, and an upper layer of differentiated umbrella cells. Most bladder cancers (BLCA) are urothelial carcinomas. Loss of urothelial lineage fidelity results in altered differentiation, highlighted by the taxonomic classification into basal and luminal tumors. There is a need to better understand the urothelial transcriptional networks. To systematically identify transcription factors (TFs) relevant for urothelial identity, we defined highly expressed TFs in normal human bladder using RNA-Seq data and inferred their genomic binding using ATAC-Seq data. To focus on epithelial TFs, we analyzed RNA-Seq data from patient-derived organoids recapitulating features of basal/luminal tumors. We classified TFs as "luminal-enriched", "basal-enriched" or "common" according to expression in organoids. We validated our classification by differential gene expression analysis in Luminal Papillary vs. Basal/Squamous tumors. Genomic analyses revealed well-known TFs associated with luminal (e.g., PPARG, GATA3, FOXA1) and basal (e.g., TP63, TFAP2) phenotypes and novel candidates to play a role in urothelial differentiation or BLCA (e.g., MECOM, TBX3). We also identified TF families (e.g., KLFs, AP1, circadian clock, sex hormone receptors) for which there is suggestive evidence of their involvement in urothelial differentiation and/or BLCA. Genomic alterations in these TFs are associated with BLCA. We uncover a TF network involved in urothelial cell identity and BLCA. We identify novel candidate TFs involved in differentiation and cancer that provide opportunities for a better understanding of the underlying biology and therapeutic intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Ramal
- Epithelial Carcinogenesis Group, Molecular Oncology Programme, Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), Madrid, Spain
| | - Sonia Corral
- Epithelial Carcinogenesis Group, Molecular Oncology Programme, Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), Madrid, Spain
| | - Mark Kalisz
- Epithelial Carcinogenesis Group, Molecular Oncology Programme, Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), Madrid, Spain
- CIBERONC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Eleonora Lapi
- Epithelial Carcinogenesis Group, Molecular Oncology Programme, Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), Madrid, Spain
- CIBERONC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco X Real
- Epithelial Carcinogenesis Group, Molecular Oncology Programme, Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), Madrid, Spain.
- CIBERONC, Madrid, Spain.
- Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.
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14
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Lopina OD, Sidorenko SV, Fedorov DA, Klimanova EA. G-Quadruplexes as Sensors of Intracellular Na+/K + Ratio: Potential Role in Regulation of Transcription and Translation. BIOCHEMISTRY. BIOKHIMIIA 2024; 89:S262-S277. [PMID: 38621755 DOI: 10.1134/s0006297924140153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2023] [Revised: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 11/11/2023] [Indexed: 04/17/2024]
Abstract
Data on the structure of G-quadruplexes, noncanonical nucleic acid forms, supporting an idea of their potential participation in regulation of gene expression in response to the change in intracellular Na+i/K+i ratio are considered in the review. Structural variety of G-quadruplexes, role of monovalent cations in formation of this structure, and thermodynamic stability of G-quadruplexes are described. Data on the methods of their identification in the cells and biological functions of these structures are presented. Analysis of information about specific interactions of G-quadruplexes with some proteins was conducted, and their potential participation in the development of some pathological conditions, in particular, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, is considered. Special attention is given to the plausible role of G-quadruplexes as sensors of intracellular Na+i/K+i ratio, because alteration of this parameter affects folding of G-quadruplexes changing their stability and, thereby, organization of the regulatory elements of nucleic acids. The data presented in the conclusion section demonstrate significant change in the expression of some early response genes under certain physiological conditions of cells and tissues depending on the intracellular Na+i/K+i ratio.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga D Lopina
- Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119234, Russia.
| | | | - Dmitry A Fedorov
- Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119234, Russia
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15
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Li F, Yu J, Pan T, Feng H, Li J, Yu B, Fan Z, Sang Q, Chen M, Zang M, Hou J, Wu X, Yu Y, Li YY, Yan C, Zhu Z, Su L, Liu B. BPTF Drives Gastric Cancer Resistance to EGFR Inhibitor by Epigenetically Regulating the C-MYC/PLCG1/Perk Axis. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2023; 10:e2303091. [PMID: 37863665 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202303091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2023] [Revised: 08/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/22/2023]
Abstract
Erlotinib, an EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is used for treating patients with cancer exhibiting EGFR overexpression or mutation. However, the response rate of erlotinib is low among patients with gastric cancer (GC). The findings of this study illustrated that the overexpression of bromodomain PHD finger transcription factor (BPTF) is partially responsible for erlotinib resistance in GC, and the combination of the BPTF inhibitor AU-1 with erlotinib synergistically inhibited tumor growth both in vivo and in vitro. AU-1 inhibited the epigenetic function of BPTF and decreased the transcriptional activity of c-MYC on PLCG1 by attenuating chromosome accessibility of the PLCG1 promoter region, thus decreasing the expression of p-PLCG1 and p-Erk and eventually improving the sensitivity of GC cells to erlotinib. In patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models, AU-1 monotherapy exhibited remarkable tumor-inhibiting activity and is synergistic anti-tumor effects when combined with erlotinib. Altogether, the findings illustrate that BPTF affects the responsiveness of GC to erlotinib by epigenetically regulating the c-MYC/PLCG1/pErk axis, and the combination of BPTF inhibitors and erlotinib is a viable therapeutic approach for GC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangyuan Li
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Gastric Neoplasms, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, P. R. China
| | - Junxian Yu
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Gastric Neoplasms, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, P. R. China
| | - Tao Pan
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Gastric Neoplasms, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, P. R. China
| | - Haoran Feng
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Gastric Neoplasms, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, P. R. China
| | - Jianfang Li
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Gastric Neoplasms, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, P. R. China
| | - Beiqin Yu
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Gastric Neoplasms, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, P. R. China
| | - Zhiyuan Fan
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Gastric Neoplasms, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, P. R. China
| | - Qingqing Sang
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Gastric Neoplasms, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, P. R. China
| | - Mengdi Chen
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Gastric Neoplasms, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, P. R. China
| | - Mingde Zang
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Gastric Neoplasms, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, P. R. China
- Department of Gastric Cancer Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, P. R. China
| | - Junyi Hou
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Gastric Neoplasms, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, P. R. China
| | - Xiongyan Wu
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Gastric Neoplasms, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, P. R. China
| | - Yingyan Yu
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Gastric Neoplasms, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, P. R. China
| | - Yuan-Yuan Li
- Shanghai Center for Bioinformation Technology, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Pharmaceutical Translation & Shanghai Industrial Technology Institute, Shanghai, 202163, P. R. China
| | - Chao Yan
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Gastric Neoplasms, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, P. R. China
| | - Zhenggang Zhu
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Gastric Neoplasms, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, P. R. China
| | - Liping Su
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Gastric Neoplasms, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, P. R. China
| | - Bingya Liu
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Gastric Neoplasms, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, P. R. China
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16
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Frigault MM, Mithal A, Wong H, Stelte-Ludwig B, Mandava V, Huang X, Birkett J, Johnson AJ, Izumi R, Hamdy A. Enitociclib, a Selective CDK9 Inhibitor, Induces Complete Regression of MYC+ Lymphoma by Downregulation of RNA Polymerase II Mediated Transcription. CANCER RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS 2023; 3:2268-2279. [PMID: 37882668 PMCID: PMC10634346 DOI: 10.1158/2767-9764.crc-23-0219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023]
Abstract
Double-hit diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DH-DLBCL) is an aggressive, and often refractory, type of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) characterized by rearrangements in MYC and BCL2. Cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK9) regulates transcriptional elongation and activation of transcription factors, including MYC, making it a potential targeted approach for the treatment of MYC+ lymphomas. Enitociclib is a well-tolerated and clinically active CDK9 inhibitor leading to complete metabolic remissions in 2 of 7 patients with DH-DLBCL treated with once weekly 30 mg intravenous administration. Herein, we investigate the pharmacodynamic effect of CDK9 inhibition in preclinical models and in blood samples from patients [DH-DLBCL (n = 10) and MYC+ NHL (n = 5)] treated with 30 mg i.v. once weekly enitociclib. Enitociclib shows significant regulation of RNA polymerase II Ser2 phosphorylation in a MYC-amplified SU-DHL-4 cell line and depletion of MYC and antiapoptosis protein MCL1 in SU-DHL-4 and MYC-overexpressing SU-DHL-10 cell lines in vitro. Tumor growth inhibition reaching 0.5% of control treated SU-DHL-10 xenografts is achieved in vivo and MYC and MCL1 depletion as well as evidence of apoptosis activation after enitociclib treatment is demonstrated. An unbiased analysis of the genes affected by CDK9 inhibition in both cell lines demonstrates that RNA polymerase II and transcription pathways are primarily affected and novel enitociclib targets such as PHF23 and TP53RK are discovered. These findings are recapitulated in blood samples from enitociclib-treated patients; while MYC downregulation is most robust with enitociclib treatment, other CDK9-regulated targets may be MYC independent delivering a transcriptional downregulation via RNA polymerase II. SIGNIFICANCE MYC+ lymphomas are refractory to standard of care and novel treatments that downregulate MYC are needed. The utility of enitociclib, a selective CDK9 inhibitor in this patient population, is demonstrated in preclinical models and patients. Enitociclib inhibits RNA polymerase II function conferring a transcriptional shift and depletion of MYC and MCL1. Enitociclib intermittent dosing downregulates transcription factors including MYC, providing a therapeutic window for durable responses in patients with MYC+ lymphoma.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Xin Huang
- Vincerx Pharma, Inc., Palo Alto, California
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17
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Hamilton G, Stickler S, Rath B. Integration of signaling pathway and bromodomain and extra-terminal domain inhibition for the treatment of mutant Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog cancer. EXPLORATION OF TARGETED ANTI-TUMOR THERAPY 2023; 4:1027-1038. [PMID: 38023987 PMCID: PMC10651355 DOI: 10.37349/etat.2023.00178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Mutant Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) is now a drugable oncogenic driver and the KRAS G12C variant responds clinically to sotorasib and adagrasib that covalently block the cysteine of the active center and inhibit downstream signaling and proliferation. Unfortunately, progression-free survival (PFS) of lung cancer patients is only 5-6 months and no survival advantage has been found for sotorasib in comparison to docetaxel chemotherapy. Increased responses to KRAS inhibitors are tested in combination with the son of sevenless 1 (SOS1) inhibitors, upstream and downstream signaling modulators as well as chemotherapeutics. Some of these approaches are limited by toxicity to normal tissues and by diverse mechanisms of resistance. In essence, most of these attempts are directed to the inhibition of proliferation by impairment of the signal transduction pathways. The final target of KRAS-mediated growth stimulation is MYC in the cell nucleus that stimulates transcription of a host of genes. In detail, MYC alters genomic enhancer and super-enhancers of transcription that are frequently deregulated in cancer. Such enhancers can be targeted by bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) inhibitors (BETi) or degraders and this review discusses whether integrated SOS1 inhibition and BET targeting of MYC synergizes against mutant KRAS tumor growth. BET degraders in the form of proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs) combined with BAY-293-mediated SOS1 inhibition revealed marked cytotoxic synergy against mutant KRAS cancer cells and may constitute a promising option for clinical treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerhard Hamilton
- Department of Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, A-1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Sandra Stickler
- Department of Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, A-1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Barbara Rath
- Department of Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, A-1090 Vienna, Austria
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18
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Doha ZO, Sears RC. Unraveling MYC's Role in Orchestrating Tumor Intrinsic and Tumor Microenvironment Interactions Driving Tumorigenesis and Drug Resistance. PATHOPHYSIOLOGY 2023; 30:400-419. [PMID: 37755397 PMCID: PMC10537413 DOI: 10.3390/pathophysiology30030031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2023] [Revised: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The transcription factor MYC plays a pivotal role in regulating various cellular processes and has been implicated in tumorigenesis across multiple cancer types. MYC has emerged as a master regulator governing tumor intrinsic and tumor microenvironment interactions, supporting tumor progression and driving drug resistance. This review paper aims to provide an overview and discussion of the intricate mechanisms through which MYC influences tumorigenesis and therapeutic resistance in cancer. We delve into the signaling pathways and molecular networks orchestrated by MYC in the context of tumor intrinsic characteristics, such as proliferation, replication stress and DNA repair. Furthermore, we explore the impact of MYC on the tumor microenvironment, including immune evasion, angiogenesis and cancer-associated fibroblast remodeling. Understanding MYC's multifaceted role in driving drug resistance and tumor progression is crucial for developing targeted therapies and combination treatments that may effectively combat this devastating disease. Through an analysis of the current literature, this review's goal is to shed light on the complexities of MYC-driven oncogenesis and its potential as a promising therapeutic target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zinab O. Doha
- Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA;
- Department of Medical Laboratories Technology, Taibah University, Al-Madinah 42353, Saudi Arabia
| | - Rosalie C. Sears
- Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA;
- Brenden-Colson Center for Pancreatic Care, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97201, USA
- Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97201, USA
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19
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El Moukhtari SH, Garbayo E, Amundarain A, Pascual-Gil S, Carrasco-León A, Prosper F, Agirre X, Blanco-Prieto MJ. Lipid nanoparticles for siRNA delivery in cancer treatment. J Control Release 2023; 361:130-146. [PMID: 37532145 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2023.07.054] [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: 03/16/2023] [Revised: 07/08/2023] [Accepted: 07/30/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
RNA-based therapies, and siRNAs in particular, have attractive therapeutic potential for cancer treatment due to their ability to silence genes that are imperative for tumor progression. To be effective and solve issues related to their poor half-life and poor pharmacokinetic properties, siRNAs require adequate drug delivery systems that protect them from degradation and allow intracellular delivery. Among the various delivery vehicles available, lipid nanoparticles have emerged as the leading choice. These nanoparticles consist of cholesterol, phospholipids, PEG-lipids and most importantly ionizable cationic lipids. These ionizable lipids enable the binding of negatively charged siRNA, resulting in the formation of stable and neutral lipid nanoparticles with exceptionally high encapsulation efficiency. Lipid nanoparticles have demonstrated their effectiveness and versatility in delivering not only siRNAs but also multiple RNA molecules, contributing to their remarkable success. Furthermore, the advancement of efficient manufacturing techniques such as microfluidics, enables the rapid mixing of two miscible solvents without the need for shear forces. This facilitates the reproducible production of lipid nanoparticles and holds enormous potential for scalability. This is shown by the increasing number of preclinical and clinical trials evaluating the potential use of siRNA-LNPs for the treatment of solid and hematological tumors as well as in cancer immunotherapy. In this review, we provide an overview of the progress made on siRNA-LNP development for cancer treatment and outline the current preclinical and clinical landscape in this area. Finally, the translational challenges required to bring siRNA-LNPs further into the clinic are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Souhaila H El Moukhtari
- Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Chemistry, School of Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Navarra, C/Irunlarrea 1, 31008 Pamplona, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra, IdiSNA, C/Irunlarrea 3, 31008 Pamplona, Spain
| | - Elisa Garbayo
- Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Chemistry, School of Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Navarra, C/Irunlarrea 1, 31008 Pamplona, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra, IdiSNA, C/Irunlarrea 3, 31008 Pamplona, Spain
| | - Ane Amundarain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra, IdiSNA, C/Irunlarrea 3, 31008 Pamplona, Spain; Hemato-Oncology Program, Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), University of Navarra, Avenida Pío XII 55, 31008 Pamplona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Cáncer (CIBERONC), 28029, Madrid, Spain
| | - Simón Pascual-Gil
- Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Chemistry, School of Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Navarra, C/Irunlarrea 1, 31008 Pamplona, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra, IdiSNA, C/Irunlarrea 3, 31008 Pamplona, Spain
| | - Arantxa Carrasco-León
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra, IdiSNA, C/Irunlarrea 3, 31008 Pamplona, Spain; Hemato-Oncology Program, Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), University of Navarra, Avenida Pío XII 55, 31008 Pamplona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Cáncer (CIBERONC), 28029, Madrid, Spain
| | - Felipe Prosper
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra, IdiSNA, C/Irunlarrea 3, 31008 Pamplona, Spain; Hemato-Oncology Program, Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), University of Navarra, Avenida Pío XII 55, 31008 Pamplona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Cáncer (CIBERONC), 28029, Madrid, Spain; Departmento de Hematología and CCUN, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, University of Navarra, Avenida Pío XII 36, 31008 Pamplona, Spain
| | - Xabier Agirre
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra, IdiSNA, C/Irunlarrea 3, 31008 Pamplona, Spain; Hemato-Oncology Program, Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), University of Navarra, Avenida Pío XII 55, 31008 Pamplona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Cáncer (CIBERONC), 28029, Madrid, Spain
| | - María J Blanco-Prieto
- Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Chemistry, School of Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Navarra, C/Irunlarrea 1, 31008 Pamplona, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra, IdiSNA, C/Irunlarrea 3, 31008 Pamplona, Spain.
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20
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Schmidt AV, Monga SP, Prochownik EV, Goetzman ES. A Novel Transgenic Mouse Model Implicates Sirt2 as a Promoter of Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:12618. [PMID: 37628798 PMCID: PMC10454864 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241612618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2023] [Revised: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths globally. Incidence rates are steadily increasing, creating an unmet need for new therapeutic options. Recently, the inhibition of sirtuin-2 (Sirt2) was proposed as a potential treatment for HCC, despite contradictory findings of its role as both a tumor promoter and suppressor in vitro. Sirt2 functions as a lysine deacetylase enzyme. However, little is known about its biological influence, despite its implication in several age-related diseases. This study evaluated Sirt2's role in HCC in vivo using an inducible c-MYC transgene in Sirt2+/+ and Sirt2-/- mice. Sirt2-/- HCC mice had smaller, less proliferative, and more differentiated liver tumors, suggesting that Sirt2 functions as a tumor promoter in this context. Furthermore, Sirt2-/- HCCs had significantly less c-MYC oncoprotein and reduction in c-MYC nuclear localization. The RNA-seq showed that only three genes were significantly dysregulated due to loss of Sirt2, suggesting the underlying mechanism is due to Sirt2-mediated changes in the acetylome, and that the therapeutic inhibition of Sirt2 would not perturb the oncogenic transcriptome. The findings of this study suggest that Sirt2 inhibition could be a promising molecular target for slowing HCC growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra V. Schmidt
- Division of Genetic and Genomic Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Satdarshan P. Monga
- Pittsburgh Liver Research Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Division of Experimental Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Edward V. Prochownik
- Pittsburgh Liver Research Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Eric S. Goetzman
- Division of Genetic and Genomic Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Pittsburgh Liver Research Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
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21
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Illi B, Nasi S. Myc beyond Cancer: Regulation of Mammalian Tissue Regeneration. PATHOPHYSIOLOGY 2023; 30:346-365. [PMID: 37606389 PMCID: PMC10443299 DOI: 10.3390/pathophysiology30030027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2023] [Revised: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Myc is one of the most well-known oncogenes driving tumorigenesis in a wide variety of tissues. From the brain to blood, its deregulation derails physiological pathways that grant the correct functioning of the cell. Its action is carried out at the gene expression level, where Myc governs basically every aspect of transcription. Indeed, in addition to its role as a canonical, chromatin-bound transcription factor, Myc rules RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) transcriptional pause-release, elongation and termination and mRNA capping. For this reason, it is evident that minimal perturbations of Myc function mirror malignant cell behavior and, consistently, a large body of literature mainly focuses on Myc malfunctioning. In healthy cells, Myc controls molecular mechanisms involved in pivotal functions, such as cell cycle (and proliferation thereof), apoptosis, metabolism and cell size, angiogenesis, differentiation and stem cell self-renewal. In this latter regard, Myc has been found to also regulate tissue regeneration, a hot topic in the research fields of aging and regenerative medicine. Indeed, Myc appears to have a role in wound healing, in peripheral nerves and in liver, pancreas and even heart recovery. Herein, we discuss the state of the art of Myc's role in tissue regeneration, giving an overview of its potent action beyond cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Illi
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology, National Research Council, c/o Department of Biology and Biotechnology “Charles Darwin”, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Sergio Nasi
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology, National Research Council, c/o Department of Biology and Biotechnology “Charles Darwin”, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
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22
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Peat TJ, Gaikwad SM, Dubois W, Gyabaah-Kessie N, Zhang S, Gorjifard S, Phyo Z, Andres M, Hughitt VK, Simpson RM, Miller MA, Girvin AT, Taylor A, Williams D, D'Antonio N, Zhang Y, Rajagopalan A, Flietner E, Wilson K, Zhang X, Shinn P, Klumpp-Thomas C, McKnight C, Itkin Z, Chen L, Kazandijian D, Zhang J, Michalowski AM, Simmons JK, Keats J, Thomas CJ, Mock BA. Drug combinations identified by high-throughput screening promote cell cycle transition and upregulate Smad pathways in myeloma. Cancer Lett 2023; 568:216284. [PMID: 37356470 PMCID: PMC10408729 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2023.216284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Revised: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/27/2023]
Abstract
Drug resistance and disease progression are common in multiple myeloma (MM) patients, underscoring the need for new therapeutic combinations. A high-throughput drug screen in 47 MM cell lines and in silico Huber robust regression analysis of drug responses revealed 43 potentially synergistic combinations. We hypothesized that effective combinations would reduce MYC expression and enhance p16 activity. Six combinations cooperatively reduced MYC protein, frequently over-expressed in MM and also cooperatively increased p16 expression, frequently downregulated in MM. Synergistic reductions in viability were observed with top combinations in proteasome inhibitor-resistant and sensitive MM cell lines, while sparing fibroblasts. Three combinations significantly prolonged survival in a transplantable Ras-driven allograft model of advanced MM closely recapitulating high-risk/refractory myeloma in humans and reduced viability of ex vivo treated patient cells. Common genetic pathways similarly downregulated by these combinations promoted cell cycle transition, whereas pathways most upregulated were involved in TGFβ/SMAD signaling. These preclinical data identify potentially useful drug combinations for evaluation in drug-resistant MM and reveal potential mechanisms of combined drug sensitivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler J Peat
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA; Department of Comparative Pathobiology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
| | - Snehal M Gaikwad
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Wendy Dubois
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Nana Gyabaah-Kessie
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Shuling Zhang
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Sayeh Gorjifard
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA; University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Zaw Phyo
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA; Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Megan Andres
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA; Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - V Keith Hughitt
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - R Mark Simpson
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Margaret A Miller
- Department of Comparative Pathobiology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Yong Zhang
- Lymphoid Malignancies Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA; Office of Oncologic Diseases, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA
| | | | - Evan Flietner
- McArdle Research Labs, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Kelli Wilson
- Chemical Genomics Center, Division of Preclinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Xiaohu Zhang
- Chemical Genomics Center, Division of Preclinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Paul Shinn
- Chemical Genomics Center, Division of Preclinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Carleen Klumpp-Thomas
- Chemical Genomics Center, Division of Preclinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Crystal McKnight
- Chemical Genomics Center, Division of Preclinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Zina Itkin
- Chemical Genomics Center, Division of Preclinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Lu Chen
- Chemical Genomics Center, Division of Preclinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Dickran Kazandijian
- Lymphoid Malignancies Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA; Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Jing Zhang
- McArdle Research Labs, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Aleksandra M Michalowski
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | | | - Jonathan Keats
- Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, AZ, USA
| | - Craig J Thomas
- Lymphoid Malignancies Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA; Chemical Genomics Center, Division of Preclinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Beverly A Mock
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA.
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23
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Shukla S, Riveros C, Al-Toubat M, Chardon-Robles J, Osumi T, Serrano S, Kase AM, Petit JL, Meurice N, Gleba J, Copland JA, Chauhan J, Fletcher S, Balaji KC. The Bivalent Bromodomain Inhibitor MT-1 Inhibits Prostate Cancer Growth. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:3851. [PMID: 37568667 PMCID: PMC10416835 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15153851] [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: 06/21/2023] [Revised: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Bromodomains (BD) are epigenetic readers of histone acetylation involved in chromatin remodeling and transcriptional regulation of several genes including protooncogene cellular myelocytomatosis (c-Myc). c-Myc is difficult to target directly by agents due to its disordered alpha helical protein structure and predominant nuclear localization. The epigenetic targeting of c-Myc by BD inhibitors is an attractive therapeutic strategy for prostate cancer (PC) associated with increased c-Myc upregulation with advancing disease. MT-1 is a bivalent BD inhibitor that is 100-fold more potent than the first-in-class BD inhibitor JQ1. MT-1 decreased cell viability and causes cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 phase in castration-sensitive and resistant PC cell lines in a dose-dependent fashion. The inhibition of c-Myc function by MT-1 was molecularly corroborated by the de-repression of Protein Kinase D1 (PrKD) and increased phosphorylation of PrKD substrate proteins: threonine 120, serine 11, and serine 216 amino acid residues in β-Catenin, snail, and cell division cycle 25c (CDC25c) proteins, respectively. The treatment of 3D cell cultures derived from three unique clinically annotated heavily pretreated patient-derived PC xenografts (PDX) mice models with increasing doses of MT-1 demonstrated the lowest IC50 in tumors with c-Myc amplification and clinically resistant to Docetaxel, Cabazitaxel, Abiraterone, and Enzalutamide. An intraperitoneal injection of either MT-1 or in combination with 3jc48-3, an inhibitor of obligate heterodimerization with MYC-associated protein X (MAX), in mice implanted with orthotopic PC PDX, decreased tumor growth. This is the first pre-clinical study demonstrating potential utility of MT-1 in the treatment of PC with c-Myc dysregulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanjeev Shukla
- Department of Urology, University of Florida Health, Jacksonville, FL 32209, USA
| | - Carlos Riveros
- Department of Urology, University of Florida Health, Jacksonville, FL 32209, USA
| | - Mohammed Al-Toubat
- Department of Urology, University of Florida Health, Jacksonville, FL 32209, USA
| | - Jonathan Chardon-Robles
- Department of Urology, University of Florida Health, Jacksonville, FL 32209, USA
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Teruko Osumi
- Department of Urology, University of Florida Health, Jacksonville, FL 32209, USA
| | - Samuel Serrano
- Department of Urology, University of Florida Health, Jacksonville, FL 32209, USA
| | - Adam M. Kase
- Department of Hematology Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - Joachim L. Petit
- Department of Hematology Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - Nathalie Meurice
- Department of Hematology Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - Justyna Gleba
- Cancer Biology Department, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - John A. Copland
- Cancer Biology Department, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - Jay Chauhan
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Steven Fletcher
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - K. C. Balaji
- Department of Urology, University of Florida Health, Jacksonville, FL 32209, USA
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24
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Ma TP, Izrael-Tomasevic A, Mroue R, Budayeva H, Malhotra S, Raisner R, Evangelista M, Rose CM, Kirkpatrick DS, Yu K. AzidoTMT Enables Direct Enrichment and Highly Multiplexed Quantitation of Proteome-Wide Functional Residues. J Proteome Res 2023. [PMID: 37285454 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.2c00703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Recent advances in targeted covalent inhibitors have aroused significant interest for their potential in drug development for difficult therapeutic targets. Proteome-wide profiling of functional residues is an integral step of covalent drug discovery aimed at defining actionable sites and evaluating compound selectivity in cells. A classical workflow for this purpose is called IsoTOP-ABPP, which employs an activity-based probe and two isotopically labeled azide-TEV-biotin tags to mark, enrich, and quantify proteome from two samples. Here we report a novel isobaric 11plex-AzidoTMT reagent and a new workflow, named AT-MAPP, that significantly expands multiplexing power as compared to the original isoTOP-ABPP. We demonstrate its application in identifying cysteine on- and off-targets using a KRAS G12C covalent inhibitor ARS-1620. However, changes in some of these hits can be explained by modulation at the protein and post-translational levels. Thus, it would be crucial to interrogate site-level bona fide changes in concurrence to proteome-level changes for corroboration. In addition, we perform a multiplexed covalent fragment screening using four acrylamide-based compounds as a proof-of-concept. This study identifies a diverse set of liganded cysteine residues in a compound-dependent manner with an average hit rate of 0.07% in intact cell. Lastly, we screened 20 sulfonyl fluoride-based compounds to demonstrate that the AT-MAPP assay is flexible for noncysteine functional residues such as tyrosine and lysine. Overall, we envision that 11plex-AzidoTMT will be a useful addition to the current toolbox for activity-based protein profiling and covalent drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taylur P Ma
- Department of Microchemistry, Proteomics and Lipidomics, Genentech, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | | | - Rana Mroue
- Department of Discovery Oncology, Genentech, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Hanna Budayeva
- Department of Microchemistry, Proteomics and Lipidomics, Genentech, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | | | - Ryan Raisner
- Department of Discovery Oncology, Genentech, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Marie Evangelista
- Department of Discovery Oncology, Genentech, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Christopher M Rose
- Department of Microchemistry, Proteomics and Lipidomics, Genentech, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Donald S Kirkpatrick
- Interline Therapeutics, Inc., South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Kebing Yu
- Fuhong Biopharma, Inc., Shanghai 201206, China
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25
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D’Avola A, Kluckova K, Finch AJ, Riches JC. Spotlight on New Therapeutic Opportunities for MYC-Driven Cancers. Onco Targets Ther 2023; 16:371-383. [PMID: 37309471 PMCID: PMC10257908 DOI: 10.2147/ott.s366627] [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: 03/04/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/14/2023] Open
Abstract
MYC can be considered to be one of the most pressing and important targets for the development of novel anti-cancer therapies. This is due to its frequent dysregulation in tumors and due to the wide-ranging impact this dysregulation has on gene expression and cellular behavior. As a result, there have been numerous attempts to target MYC over the last few decades, both directly and indirectly, with mixed results. This article reviews the biology of MYC in the context of cancers and drug development. It discusses strategies aimed at targeting MYC directly, including those aimed at reducing its expression and blocking its function. In addition, the impact of MYC dysregulation on cellular biology is outlined, and how understanding this can underpin the development of approaches aimed at molecules and pathways regulated by MYC. In particular, the review focuses on the role that MYC plays in the regulation of metabolism, and the therapeutic avenues offered by inhibiting the metabolic pathways that are essential for the survival of MYC-transformed cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annalisa D’Avola
- Centre for Haemato-Oncology, Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London, EC1M 6BQ, UK
| | - Katarina Kluckova
- Centre for Haemato-Oncology, Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London, EC1M 6BQ, UK
| | - Andrew J Finch
- Centre for Tumour Biology, Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London, EC1M 6BQ, UK
| | - John C Riches
- Centre for Haemato-Oncology, Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London, EC1M 6BQ, UK
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26
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Vijay Kumar MJ, Morales R, Tsvetkov AS. G-quadruplexes and associated proteins in aging and Alzheimer's disease. FRONTIERS IN AGING 2023; 4:1164057. [PMID: 37323535 PMCID: PMC10267416 DOI: 10.3389/fragi.2023.1164057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Aging is a prominent risk factor for many neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Alzheimer's disease is characterized by progressive cognitive decline, memory loss, and neuropsychiatric and behavioral symptoms, accounting for most of the reported dementia cases. This disease is now becoming a major challenge and burden on modern society, especially with the aging population. Over the last few decades, a significant understanding of the pathophysiology of AD has been gained by studying amyloid deposition, hyperphosphorylated tau, synaptic dysfunction, oxidative stress, calcium dysregulation, and neuroinflammation. This review focuses on the role of non-canonical secondary structures of DNA/RNA G-quadruplexes (G4s, G4-DNA, and G4-RNA), G4-binding proteins (G4BPs), and helicases, and their roles in aging and AD. Being critically important for cellular function, G4s are involved in the regulation of DNA and RNA processes, such as replication, transcription, translation, RNA localization, and degradation. Recent studies have also highlighted G4-DNA's roles in inducing DNA double-strand breaks that cause genomic instability and G4-RNA's participation in regulating stress granule formation. This review emphasizes the significance of G4s in aging processes and how their homeostatic imbalance may contribute to the pathophysiology of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. J. Vijay Kumar
- The Department of Neurology, The University of Texas McGovern Medical School at Houston, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Rodrigo Morales
- The Department of Neurology, The University of Texas McGovern Medical School at Houston, Houston, TX, United States
- Centro Integrativo de Biologia y Quimica Aplicada (CIBQA), Universidad Bernardo O’Higgins, Santiago, Chile
| | - Andrey S. Tsvetkov
- The Department of Neurology, The University of Texas McGovern Medical School at Houston, Houston, TX, United States
- The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX, United States
- UTHealth Consortium on Aging, The University of Texas McGovern Medical School, Houston, TX, United States
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27
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Agarwal P, Glowacka A, Mahmoud L, Bazzar W, Larsson LG, Alzrigat M. MYCN Amplification Is Associated with Reduced Expression of Genes Encoding γ-Secretase Complex and NOTCH Signaling Components in Neuroblastoma. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:8141. [PMID: 37175848 PMCID: PMC10179553 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24098141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2023] [Revised: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Amplification of the MYCN oncogene is found in ~20% of neuroblastoma (NB) cases and correlates with high-risk disease and poor prognosis. Despite the plethora of studies describing the role of MYCN in NB, the exact molecular mechanisms underlying MYCN's contribution to high-risk disease are not completely understood. Herein, we implemented an integrative approach combining publicly available RNA-Seq and MYCN ChIP-Seq datasets derived from human NB cell lines to define biological processes directly regulated by MYCN in NB. Our approach revealed that MYCN-amplified NB cell lines, when compared to non-MYCN-amplified cell lines, are characterized by reduced expression of genes involved in NOTCH receptor processing, axoneme assembly, and membrane protein proteolysis. More specifically, we found genes encoding members of the γ-secretase complex, which is known for its ability to liberate several intracellular signaling molecules from membrane-bound proteins such as NOTCH receptors, to be down-regulated in MYCN-amplified NB cell lines. Analysis of MYCN ChIP-Seq data revealed an enrichment of MYCN binding at the transcription start sites of genes encoding γ-secretase complex subunits. Notably, using publicly available gene expression data from NB primary tumors, we revealed that the expression of γ-secretase subunits encoding genes and other components of the NOTCH signaling pathway was also reduced in MYCN-amplified tumors and correlated with worse overall survival in NB patients. Genetic or pharmacological depletion of MYCN in NB cell lines induced the expression of γ-secretase genes and NOTCH-target genes. Chemical inhibition of γ-secretase activity dampened the expression of NOTCH-target genes upon MYCN depletion in NB cells. In conclusion, this study defines a set of MYCN-regulated pathways that are specific to MYCN-amplified NB tumors, and it suggests a novel role for MYCN in the suppression of genes of the γ-secretase complex, with an impact on the NOTCH-target gene expression in MYCN-amplified NB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prasoon Agarwal
- National Bioinformatics Infrastructure Sweden (NBIS), Science for Life Laboratory, Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, 22362 Lund, Sweden
| | - Aleksandra Glowacka
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, 17165 Solna, Sweden
| | - Loay Mahmoud
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Wesam Bazzar
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, 17165 Solna, Sweden
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Biomedical Center, Uppsala University, 75124 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Lars-Gunnar Larsson
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, 17165 Solna, Sweden
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Biomedical Center, Uppsala University, 75124 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Mohammad Alzrigat
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, 17165 Solna, Sweden
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Biomedical Center, Uppsala University, 75124 Uppsala, Sweden
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28
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Bloom SMK, O’Hare N, Forbes NS. Bacterial delivery of therapeutic proteins to the nuclei of cancer cells. Biotechnol Bioeng 2023; 120:1437-1448. [PMID: 36710503 PMCID: PMC10101893 DOI: 10.1002/bit.28340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2022] [Revised: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Targeting nucleic targets with therapeutic proteins would enhance the treatment of hard-to-treat cancers. However, exogenous proteins are excluded from the nucleus by both the cellular and nuclear membranes. We have recently developed Salmonella that deliver active proteins into the cytoplasm of cancer cells. Here, we hypothesized that bacterially delivered proteins accumulate within nuclei, nuclear localization sequences (NLSs) increase delivery, and bacterially delivered proteins kill cancer cells. To test this hypothesis, we developed intranuclear delivering (IND) Salmonella and quantified the delivery of three model proteins. IND Salmonella delivered both ovalbumin and green fluorescent protein to nuclei of MCF7 cancer cells. The amount of protein in nuclei was linearly dependent on the amount delivered to the cytoplasm. The addition of a NLSs increased both the amount of protein in each nucleus and the number of nuclei that received protein. Delivery of Omomyc, a protein inhibitor of the nuclear transcript factor, Myc, altered cell physiology, and significantly induced cell death. These results show that IND Salmonella deliver functional proteins to the nucleus of cancerous cells. Extending this method to other transcription factors will increase the number of accessible targets for cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nicholas O’Hare
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
| | - Neil S. Forbes
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
- Molecular and Cellular Biology Graduate Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
- Institute for Applied Life Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
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29
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Long H, Hou Y, Li J, Song C, Ge Z. Azacitidine Is Synergistically Lethal with XPO1 Inhibitor Selinexor in Acute Myeloid Leukemia by Targeting XPO1/eIF4E/c-MYC Signaling. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24076816. [PMID: 37047788 PMCID: PMC10094826 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24076816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2023] [Revised: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 04/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a high-mortality malignancy with poor outcomes. Azacitidine induces cell death and demonstrates treatment effectiveness against AML. Selinexor (KPT-330) exhibited significant benefits in combination with typical induction treatment for AML patients. Here, we explore the antitumor effect of KPT-330 combined with AZA in AML through CCK-8, flow cytometry, RT-qPCR, western blot, and RNA-seq. Our results showed that KPT-330 combined with AZA synergistically reduced cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in AML primary cells and cell lines. Compared to the control, the KPT-330 plus AZA down-regulates the expression of XPO1, eIF4E, and c-MYC in AML. Moreover, the knockdown of c-MYC could sensitize the synergy of the combination on suppression of cell proliferation and promotion of apoptosis in AML. Moreover, the expression of XPO1 and eIF4E was elevated in AML patient cohorts, respectively. XPO1 and elF4E overexpression was associated with poor prognosis. In summary, KPT-330 with AZA exerted synergistic effects by suppressing XPO1/eIF4E/c-MYC signaling, which provided preclinical evidence for further clinical application of the novel combination in AML.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huideng Long
- Department of Hematology, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Institute of Hematology Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Yue Hou
- Department of Hematology, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Institute of Hematology Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Jun Li
- Department of Hematology, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Institute of Hematology Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Chunhua Song
- Hershey Medical Center, Pennsylvania State University Medical College, Hershey, PA 17033, USA
- Division of Hematology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, The James Cancer Hospital, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Zheng Ge
- Department of Hematology, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Institute of Hematology Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China
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Pang Y, Lu T, Xu-Monette ZY, Young KH. Metabolic Reprogramming and Potential Therapeutic Targets in Lymphoma. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24065493. [PMID: 36982568 PMCID: PMC10052731 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24065493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2023] [Revised: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/10/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Lymphoma is a heterogeneous group of diseases that often require their metabolism program to fulfill the demand of cell proliferation. Features of metabolism in lymphoma cells include high glucose uptake, deregulated expression of enzymes related to glycolysis, dual capacity for glycolytic and oxidative metabolism, elevated glutamine metabolism, and fatty acid synthesis. These aberrant metabolic changes lead to tumorigenesis, disease progression, and resistance to lymphoma chemotherapy. This metabolic reprogramming, including glucose, nucleic acid, fatty acid, and amino acid metabolism, is a dynamic process caused not only by genetic and epigenetic changes, but also by changes in the microenvironment affected by viral infections. Notably, some critical metabolic enzymes and metabolites may play vital roles in lymphomagenesis and progression. Recent studies have uncovered that metabolic pathways might have clinical impacts on the diagnosis, characterization, and treatment of lymphoma subtypes. However, determining the clinical relevance of biomarkers and therapeutic targets related to lymphoma metabolism is still challenging. In this review, we systematically summarize current studies on metabolism reprogramming in lymphoma, and we mainly focus on disorders of glucose, amino acids, and lipid metabolisms, as well as dysregulation of molecules in metabolic pathways, oncometabolites, and potential metabolic biomarkers. We then discuss strategies directly or indirectly for those potential therapeutic targets. Finally, we prospect the future directions of lymphoma treatment on metabolic reprogramming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuyang Pang
- Division of Hematopathology, Department of Pathology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA
- Department of Hematology, Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao-Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Tingxun Lu
- Division of Hematopathology, Department of Pathology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA
- Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Zijun Y. Xu-Monette
- Division of Hematopathology, Department of Pathology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA
- Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Ken H. Young
- Division of Hematopathology, Department of Pathology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA
- Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC 27710, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-919-668-7568; Fax: +1-919-684-1856
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Yao J, Takenaga K, Koshikawa N, Kida Y, Lin J, Watanabe T, Maru Y, Hippo Y, Yamamoto S, Zhu Y, Nagase H. Anticancer effect of a pyrrole-imidazole polyamide-triphenylphosphonium conjugate selectively targeting a common mitochondrial DNA cancer risk variant in cervical cancer cells. Int J Cancer 2023; 152:962-976. [PMID: 36214789 DOI: 10.1002/ijc.34319] [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: 04/20/2022] [Revised: 09/28/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Cervical cancer remains a major threat to women's health, especially in countries with limited medical resources, and new drugs are needed to improve patient survival and minimize adverse effects. Here, we examine the effects of a triphenylphosphonium (TPP)-conjugated pyrrole-imidazole polyamide (CCC-h1005) targeting the common homoplasmic mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cancer risk variant (ATP6 8860A>G) on the survival of cervical cancer cell lines, cisplatin-resistant HeLa cells and patient-derived cervical clear cell carcinoma cells as models of cervical cancer treatment. We found that CCC-h1005 induced death in these cells and suppressed the growth of xenografted HeLa tumors with no severe adverse effects. These results suggest that PIP-TPP designed to target mtDNA cancer risk variants can be used to treat many cervical cancers harboring high copies of the target variant, providing a foundation for clinical trials of this class of molecules for treating cervical cancer and other types of cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jihang Yao
- Division of Cancer Genetics, Chiba Cancer Center Research Institute, Chiba, Japan.,Department of Gynecology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Keizo Takenaga
- Division of Cancer Genetics, Chiba Cancer Center Research Institute, Chiba, Japan
| | - Nobuko Koshikawa
- Division of Cancer Genetics, Chiba Cancer Center Research Institute, Chiba, Japan
| | - Yuki Kida
- Division of Cancer Genetics, Chiba Cancer Center Research Institute, Chiba, Japan
| | - Jason Lin
- Division of Cancer Genetics, Chiba Cancer Center Research Institute, Chiba, Japan
| | - Takayoshi Watanabe
- Division of Innovative Cancer Therapeutics, Chiba Cancer Center Research Institute, Chiba, Japan
| | - Yoshiaki Maru
- Department of Molecular Carcinogenesis, Chiba Cancer Center Research Institute, Chiba, Japan
| | - Yoshitaka Hippo
- Department of Molecular Carcinogenesis, Chiba Cancer Center Research Institute, Chiba, Japan
| | - Seigi Yamamoto
- Division of Cancer Genetics, Chiba Cancer Center Research Institute, Chiba, Japan
| | - Yuyan Zhu
- Department of Urology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Hiroki Nagase
- Division of Cancer Genetics, Chiba Cancer Center Research Institute, Chiba, Japan
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Sufian MA, Ilies MA. Lipid-based nucleic acid therapeutics with in vivo efficacy. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. NANOMEDICINE AND NANOBIOTECHNOLOGY 2023; 15:e1856. [PMID: 36180107 PMCID: PMC10023279 DOI: 10.1002/wnan.1856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Revised: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 03/09/2023]
Abstract
Synthetic vectors for therapeutic nucleic acid delivery are currently competing significantly with their viral counter parts due to their reduced immunogenicity, large payload capacity, and ease of manufacture under GMP-compliant norms. The approval of Onpattro, a lipid-based siRNA therapeutic, and the proven clinical success of two lipid-based COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, and Moderna heralded the specific advantages of lipid-based systems among all other synthetic nucleic acid carriers. Lipid-based systems with diverse payloads-plasmid DNA (pDNA), antisense oligonucleotide (ASO), small interfering RNA (siRNA), microRNA (miRNA), small activating RNA (saRNA), and messenger RNA (mRNA)-are now becoming a mature technology, with growing impact in the clinic. Research over four decades identified the key factors determining the therapeutic success of these multi-component systems. Here, we discuss the main nucleic acid-based technologies, presenting their mechanism of action, delivery barriers facing them, the structural properties of the payload as well as the component lipids that regulate physicochemical properties, pharmacokinetics and biodistribution, efficacy, and toxicity of the resultant nanoparticles. We further detail on the formulation parameters, evolution of the manufacturing techniques that generate reproducible and scalable outputs, and key manufacturing aspects that enable control over physicochemical properties of the resultant particles. Preclinical applications of some of these formulations that were successfully translated from in vitro studies to animal models are subsequently discussed. Finally, clinical success and failure of these systems starting from 1993 to present are highlighted, in a holistic literature review focused on lipid-based nucleic acid delivery systems. This article is categorized under: Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Emerging Technologies Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Oncologic Disease Toxicology and Regulatory Issues in Nanomedicine > Toxicology of Nanomaterials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Md Abu Sufian
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Moulder Center for Drug Discovery Research, School of Pharmacy, Temple University, 3307 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA
| | - Marc A. Ilies
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Moulder Center for Drug Discovery Research, School of Pharmacy, Temple University, 3307 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA
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The effect of side chain variations on quinazoline-pyrimidine G-quadruplex DNA ligands. Eur J Med Chem 2023; 248:115103. [PMID: 36645982 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2022] [Revised: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
G-quadruplex (G4) DNA structures are involved in central biological processes such as DNA replication and transcription. These DNA structures are enriched in promotor regions of oncogenes and are thus promising as novel gene silencing therapeutic targets that can be used to regulate expression of oncoproteins and in particular those that has proven hard to drug with conventional strategies. G4 DNA structures in general have a well-defined and hydrophobic binding area that also is very flat and featureless and there are ample examples of G4 ligands but their further progression towards drug development is limited. In this study, we use synthetic organic chemistry to equip a drug-like and low molecular weight central fragment with different side chains and evaluate how this affect the compound's selectivity and ability to bind and stabilize G4 DNA. Furthermore, we study the binding interactions of the compounds and connect the experimental observations with the compound's structural conformations and electrostatic potentials to understand the basis for the observed improvements. Finally, we evaluate the top candidates' ability to selectively reduce cancer cell growth in a 3D co-culture model of pancreatic cancer which show that this is a powerful approach to generate highly active and selective low molecular weight G4 ligands with a promising therapeutic window.
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Karadkhelkar NM, Lin M, Eubanks LM, Janda KD. Demystifying the Druggability of the MYC Family of Oncogenes. J Am Chem Soc 2023; 145:3259-3269. [PMID: 36734615 PMCID: PMC10182829 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c12732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
The MYC family of oncogenes (MYC, MYCN, and MYCL) encodes a basic helix-loop-helix leucine zipper (bHLHLZ) transcriptional regulator that is responsible for moving the cell through the restriction point. Through the HLHZIP domain, MYC heterodimerizes with the bHLHLZ protein MAX, which enables this MYC-MAX complex to bind to E-box regulatory DNA elements thereby controlling transcription of a large group of genes and their proteins. Translationally, MYC is one of the foremost oncogenic targets, and deregulation of expression of the MYC family gene/proteins occurs in over half of all human tumors and is recognized as a hallmark of cancer initiation and maintenance. Additionally, unexpected roles for this oncoprotein have been found in cancers that nominally have a non-MYC etiology. Although MYC is rarely mutated, its gain of function in cancer results from overexpression or from amplification. Moreover, MYC is a pleiotropic transcription factor possessing broad pathogenic prominence making it a coveted cancer target. A widely held notion within the biomedical research community is that the reliable modulation of MYC represents a tremendous therapeutic opportunity given its role in directly potentiating oncogenesis. However, the MYC-MAX heterodimer interaction contains a large surface area with a lack of well-defined binding sites creating the perception that targeting of MYC-MAX is forbidding. Here, we discuss the biochemistry behind MYC and MYC-MAX as it relates to cancer progression associated with these transcription factors. We also discuss the notion that MYC should no longer be regarded as undruggable, providing examples that a therapeutic window is achievable despite global MYC inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nishant M. Karadkhelkar
- Departments of Chemistry and Immunology, The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, Worm Institute of Research and Medicine (WIRM), The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Mingliang Lin
- Departments of Chemistry and Immunology, The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, Worm Institute of Research and Medicine (WIRM), The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Lisa M. Eubanks
- Departments of Chemistry and Immunology, The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, Worm Institute of Research and Medicine (WIRM), The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Kim D. Janda
- Departments of Chemistry and Immunology, The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, Worm Institute of Research and Medicine (WIRM), The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
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Gao FY, Li XT, Xu K, Wang RT, Guan XX. c-MYC mediates the crosstalk between breast cancer cells and tumor microenvironment. Cell Commun Signal 2023; 21:28. [PMID: 36721232 PMCID: PMC9887805 DOI: 10.1186/s12964-023-01043-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/08/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The MYC oncogenic family is dysregulated in diverse tumors which is generally linked to the poor prognosis of tumors. The members in MYC family are transcription factors which are responsible for the regulation of various genes expression. Among them, c-MYC is closely related to the progression of tumors. Furthermore, c-MYC aberrations is tightly associated with the prevalence of breast cancer. Tumor microenvironment (TME) is composed of many different types of cellular and non-cellular factors, mainly including cancer-associated fibroblasts, tumor-associated macrophages, vascular endothelial cells, myeloid-derived suppressor cells and immune cells, all of which can affect the diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic efficacy of breast cancer. Importantly, the biological processes occurred in TME, such as angiogenesis, immune evasion, invasion, migration, and the recruition of stromal and tumor-infiltrating cells are under the modulation of c-MYC. These findings indicated that c-MYC serves as a critical regulator of TME. Here, we aimed to summarize and review the relevant research, thus to clarify c-MYC is a key mediator between breast cancer cells and TME. Video Abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fang-yan Gao
- grid.412676.00000 0004 1799 0784Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029 China
| | - Xin-tong Li
- grid.412676.00000 0004 1799 0784Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029 China
| | - Kun Xu
- grid.412676.00000 0004 1799 0784Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029 China
| | - Run-tian Wang
- grid.412676.00000 0004 1799 0784Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029 China
| | - Xiao-xiang Guan
- grid.412676.00000 0004 1799 0784Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029 China
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C-MYC Inhibited Ferroptosis and Promoted Immune Evasion in Ovarian Cancer Cells through NCOA4 Mediated Ferritin Autophagy. Cells 2022; 11:cells11244127. [PMID: 36552889 PMCID: PMC9776536 DOI: 10.3390/cells11244127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Revised: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We aimed to construct the ferritin autophagy regulatory network and illustrate its mechanism in ferroptosis, TME immunity and malignant phenotypes of ovarian cancer. METHODS First, we used Western blot assays and immunohistochemistry to detect the pathway expression in ovarian cancer samples (C-MYC, NCOA4). Then, we performed RIP and FISH analysis to verify the targeted binding of these factors after which we constructed ovarian cancer cell models and detected pathway regulator expression (NCOA4). Co-localization and Western blot assays were used to detect ferritin autophagy in different experimental groups. We selected corresponding kits to assess ROS contents in ovarian cancer cells. MMP was measured using flow cytometry and mitochondrial morphology was observed through TEM. Then, we chose Clone, EdU and Transwell to evaluate the proliferation and invasion abilities of ovarian cancer cells. We used Western blot assays to measure the DAMP content in ovarian cancer cell supernatants. Finally, we constructed tumor bearing models to study the effect of the C-MYC pathway on ovarian cancer tumorigenesis and TME immune infiltration in in vivo conditions. RESULTS Through pathway expression detection, we confirmed that C-MYC was obviously up-regulated and NCOA4 was obviously down-regulated in ovarian cancer samples, while their expression levels were closely related to the malignancy degree of ovarian cancer. RIP, FISH and cell model detection revealed that C-MYC could down-regulate NCOA4 expression through directly targeted binding with its mRNA. Ferritin autophagy and ferroptosis detection showed that C-MYC could inhibit ferroptosis through NCOA4-mediated ferritin autophagy, thus reducing ROS and inhibiting mitophagy in ovarian cancer cells. Cell function tests showed that C-MYC could promote the proliferation and invasion of ovarian cancer cells through the NCOA4 axis. The Western blot assay revealed that C-MYC could reduce HMGB1 release in ovarian cancer cells through the NCOA4 axis. In vivo experiments showed that C-MYC could promote tumorigenesis and immune evasion in ovarian cancer cells through inhibiting HMGB1 release induced by NCOA4-mediated ferroptosis. CONCLUSION According to these results, we concluded that C-MYC could down-regulate NCOA4 expression through directly targeted binding, thus inhibiting ferroptosis and promoting malignant phenotype/immune evasion in ovarian cancer cells through inhibiting ferritin autophagy.
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Gola C, Licenziato L, Accornero P, Iussich S, Morello E, Buracco P, Modesto P, Aresu L, De Maria R. The mitotic regulator polo-like kinase 1 as a potential therapeutic target for c-Myc-overexpressing canine osteosarcomas. Vet Comp Oncol 2022; 20:890-900. [PMID: 36054794 PMCID: PMC9804590 DOI: 10.1111/vco.12854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Revised: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignant bone tumour in dogs, characterized by a locally aggressive and highly metastatic behaviour. Despite the current standards of care, most dogs succumb to the disease, indicating the need for novel treatment strategies. Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) is dysregulated in a variety of human cancer types, including osteosarcoma, and induces c-Myc accumulation. The crosstalk between the two molecules coordinates cell proliferation, differentiation, self-renewal and apoptosis. Therefore, PLK1 has recently emerged as a potential therapeutic target, mainly in tumours overexpressing c-Myc. BI 2536 is a selective PLK1 inhibitor promoting mitotic arrest and apoptosis in a variety of cancer cells. This research aimed at evaluating PLK1 and c-Myc protein expression in 53 appendicular canine osteosarcoma (cOSA) samples and the in vitro effects of BI 2536 on a c-Myc and PLK1-overexpressing cOSA cell line (D17). PLK1 and c-Myc expression in cOSA samples showed no correlation with clinicopathological data. However, c-Myc overexpression was associated with a significantly reduced overall survival (p = .003). Western Blot and RT-qPCR assays revealed that D17 expressed high protein and transcript levels of both PLK1 and MYC. When treated with BI 2536 (range 2.5-15 nM) for 24 h, D17 showed a substantial decrease in cell growth, inducing apoptosis and G2 /M cell cycle arrest. Interestingly, under BI 2536 treatment, D17 showed decreased c-Myc protein levels. Consistent with human OSA, these preliminary data outline the prognostic value of c-Myc expression in cOSA and highlight the potential role of PLK1 as an antiproliferative therapeutic target for tumours overexpressing c-Myc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia Gola
- Department of Veterinary SciencesUniversity of TurinGrugliascoTOItaly
| | - Luca Licenziato
- Department of Veterinary SciencesUniversity of TurinGrugliascoTOItaly
| | - Paolo Accornero
- Department of Veterinary SciencesUniversity of TurinGrugliascoTOItaly
| | - Selina Iussich
- Department of Veterinary SciencesUniversity of TurinGrugliascoTOItaly
| | - Emanuela Morello
- Department of Veterinary SciencesUniversity of TurinGrugliascoTOItaly
| | - Paolo Buracco
- Department of Veterinary SciencesUniversity of TurinGrugliascoTOItaly
| | - Paola Modesto
- SC Diagnostica SpecialisticaIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte Liguria e Valle d'AostaTurinTOItaly
| | - Luca Aresu
- Department of Veterinary SciencesUniversity of TurinGrugliascoTOItaly
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Andréasson M, Bhuma N, Pemberton N, Chorell E. Using Macrocyclic G-Quadruplex Ligands to Decipher the Interactions Between Small Molecules and G-Quadruplex DNA. Chemistry 2022; 28:e202202020. [PMID: 35997141 PMCID: PMC9826068 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202202020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
This study aims to deepen the knowledge of the current state of rational G4-ligand design through the design and synthesis of a novel set of compounds based on indoles, quinolines, and benzofurans and their comparisons with well-known G4-ligands. This resulted in novel synthetic methods and G4-ligands that bind and stabilize G4 DNA with high selectivity. Furthermore, the study corroborates previous studies on the design of G4-ligands and adds deeper explanations to why a) macrocycles offer advantages in terms of G4-binding and -selectivity, b) molecular pre-organization is of key importance in the development of strong novel binders, c) an electron-deficient aromatic core is essential to engage in strong arene-arene interactions with the G4-surface, and d) aliphatic amines can strengthen interactions indirectly through changing the arene electrostatic nature of the compound. Finally, fundamental physicochemical properties of selected G4-binders are evaluated, underscoring the complexity of aligning the properties required for efficient G4 binding and stabilization with feasible pharmacokinetic properties.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Naresh Bhuma
- Department of ChemistryUmeå University90187UmeåSweden
| | - Nils Pemberton
- AstraZenecaPepparedsleden 1431 50MölndalGothenburgSweden
| | - Erik Chorell
- Department of ChemistryUmeå University90187UmeåSweden
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Dual Targeting Topoisomerase/G-Quadruplex Agents in Cancer Therapy-An Overview. Biomedicines 2022; 10:biomedicines10112932. [PMID: 36428499 PMCID: PMC9687504 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10112932] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Revised: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 11/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Topoisomerase (Topo) inhibitors have long been known as clinically effective drugs, while G-quadruplex (G4)-targeting compounds are emerging as a promising new strategy to target tumor cells and could support personalized treatment approaches in the near future. G-quadruplex (G4) is a secondary four-stranded DNA helical structure constituted of guanine-rich nucleic acids, and its stabilization impairs telomere replication, triggering the activation of several protein factors at telomere levels, including Topos. Thus, the pharmacological intervention through the simultaneous G4 stabilization and Topos inhibition offers a new opportunity to achieve greater antiproliferative activity and circumvent cellular insensitivity and resistance. In this line, dual ligands targeting both Topos and G4 emerge as innovative, efficient agents in cancer therapy. Although the research in this field is still limited, to date, some chemotypes have been identified, showing this dual activity and an interesting pharmacological profile. This paper reviews the available literature on dual Topo inhibitors/G4 stabilizing agents, with particular attention to the structure-activity relationship studies correlating the dual activity with the cytotoxic activity.
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Sodir NM, Pellegrinet L, Kortlever RM, Campos T, Kwon YW, Kim S, Garcia D, Perfetto A, Anastasiou P, Swigart LB, Arends MJ, Littlewood TD, Evan GI. Reversible Myc hypomorphism identifies a key Myc-dependency in early cancer evolution. Nat Commun 2022; 13:6782. [PMID: 36351945 PMCID: PMC9646778 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34079-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Germ-line hypomorphism of the pleiotropic transcription factor Myc in mice, either through Myc gene haploinsufficiency or deletion of Myc enhancers, delays onset of various cancers while mice remain viable and exhibit only relatively mild pathologies. Using a genetically engineered mouse model in which Myc expression may be systemically and reversibly hypomorphed at will, we asked whether this resistance to tumour progression is also emplaced when Myc hypomorphism is acutely imposed in adult mice. Indeed, adult Myc hypomorphism profoundly blocked KRasG12D-driven lung and pancreatic cancers, arresting their evolution at the early transition from indolent pre-tumour to invasive cancer. We show that such arrest is due to the incapacity of hypomorphic levels of Myc to drive release of signals that instruct the microenvironmental remodelling necessary to support invasive cancer. The cancer protection afforded by long-term adult imposition of Myc hypomorphism is accompanied by only mild collateral side effects, principally in haematopoiesis, but even these are circumvented if Myc hypomorphism is imposed metronomically whereas potent cancer protection is retained.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole M Sodir
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1GA, UK.
- Genentech, Department of Translational Oncology, South San Francisco, CA, 94080, USA.
| | - Luca Pellegrinet
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1GA, UK
| | | | - Tania Campos
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1GA, UK
| | | | - Shinseog Kim
- Center for Genomic Integrity, Institute for Basic Science, Ulsan, 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - Daniel Garcia
- Oncogenesis Thematic Research Center at Bristol Myers Squibb, San Diego, CA, 92121, USA
| | | | | | - Lamorna Brown Swigart
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, 94115, USA
| | - Mark J Arends
- Division of Pathology, Cancer Research UK Edinburgh Centre, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
| | | | - Gerard I Evan
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1GA, UK.
- The Francis Crick Institute, NW1 1AT, London, UK.
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Johnson LT, Zhang D, Zhou K, Lee SM, Liu S, Dilliard SA, Farbiak L, Chatterjee S, Lin YH, Siegwart DJ. Lipid Nanoparticle (LNP) Chemistry Can Endow Unique In Vivo RNA Delivery Fates within the Liver That Alter Therapeutic Outcomes in a Cancer Model. Mol Pharm 2022; 19:3973-3986. [PMID: 36154076 PMCID: PMC9888001 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.2c00442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Within the field of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) for RNA delivery, the focus has been mainly placed on organ level delivery, which can mask cellular level effects consequential to therapeutic applications. Here, we studied a pair of LNPs with similar physical properties and discovered how the chemistry of the ionizable amino lipid can control the endogenous LNP identity, affecting cellular uptake in the liver and altering therapeutic outcomes in a model of liver cancer. Although most LNPs accumulate in the liver after intravenous administration (suggesting that liver delivery is straightforward), we observed an unexpected behavior when comparing two similar LNP formulations (5A2-SC8 and 3A5-SC14 LNPs) that resulted in distinct RNA delivery within the organ. Despite both LNPs possessing similar physical properties, ability to silence gene expression in vitro, strong accumulation within the liver, and a shared pKa of 6.5, only 5A2-SC8 LNPs were able to functionally deliver RNA to hepatocytes. Factor VII (FVII) activity was reduced by 87%, with 5A2-SC8 LNPs carrying FVII siRNA (siFVII), while 3A5-SC14 LNPs carrying siFVII produced baseline FVII activity levels comparable to the nontreatment control at a dosage of 0.5 mg/kg. Protein corona analysis indicated that 5A2-SC8 LNPs bind apolipoprotein E (ApoE), which can drive LDL-R receptor-mediated endocytosis in hepatocytes. In contrast, the surface of 3A5-SC14 LNPs was enriched in albumin but depleted in ApoE, which likely led to Kupffer cell delivery and detargeting of hepatocytes. In an aggressive MYC-driven liver cancer model relevant to hepatocytes, 5A2-SC8 LNPs carrying let-7g miRNA were able to significantly extend survival up to 121 days. Since disease targets exist in an organ- and cell-specific manner, the clinical development of RNA LNP therapeutics will require an improved understanding of LNP cellular tropism within organs. The results from our work illustrate the importance of understanding the cellular localization of RNA delivery and incorporating further checkpoints when choosing nanoparticles beyond biochemical and physical characterization, as small changes in the chemical composition of LNPs can have an impact on both the biofate of LNPs and therapeutic outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsay T Johnson
- Department of Biochemistry, Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75390, Texas, United States
| | - Di Zhang
- Department of Biochemistry, Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75390, Texas, United States
| | - Kejin Zhou
- Department of Biochemistry, Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75390, Texas, United States
| | - Sang M Lee
- Department of Biochemistry, Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75390, Texas, United States
| | - Shuai Liu
- Department of Biochemistry, Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75390, Texas, United States
| | - Sean A Dilliard
- Department of Biochemistry, Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75390, Texas, United States
| | - Lukas Farbiak
- Department of Biochemistry, Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75390, Texas, United States
| | - Sumanta Chatterjee
- Department of Biochemistry, Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75390, Texas, United States
| | - Yu-Hsuan Lin
- Children's Research Institute, Departments of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine, Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine, Children's Research Institute Mouse Genome Engineering Core, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75390, Texas, United States
| | - Daniel J Siegwart
- Department of Biochemistry, Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75390, Texas, United States
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42
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Urbanski L, Brugiolo M, Park S, Angarola BL, Leclair NK, Yurieva M, Palmer P, Sahu SK, Anczuków O. MYC regulates a pan-cancer network of co-expressed oncogenic splicing factors. Cell Rep 2022; 41:111704. [DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Revised: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
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Zhuang JJ, Liu Q, Wu DL, Tie L. Current strategies and progress for targeting the "undruggable" transcription factors. Acta Pharmacol Sin 2022; 43:2474-2481. [PMID: 35132191 PMCID: PMC9525275 DOI: 10.1038/s41401-021-00852-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2021] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Transcription factors (TFs) specifically bind to DNA, recruit cofactor proteins and modulate target gene expression, rendering them essential roles in the regulation of numerous biological processes. Meanwhile, mutated or dysregulated TFs are involved in a variety of human diseases. As multiple signaling pathways ultimately converge at TFs, targeting these TFs directly may prove to be more specific and cause fewer side effects, than targeting the upfront conventional targets in these pathways. All these features together endue TFs with great potential and high selectivity as therapeutic drug targets. However, TFs have been historically considered "undruggable", mainly due to their lack of structural information, especially about the appropriate ligand-binding sites and protein-protein interactions, leading to relatively limited choices in the TF-targeting drug design. In this review, we summarize the recent progress of TF-targeting drugs and highlight certain strategies used for targeting TFs, with a number of representative drugs that have been approved or in the clinical trials as examples. Various approaches in targeting TFs directly or indirectly have been developed. Common direct strategies include aiming at defined binding pockets, proteolysis-targeting chimaera (PROTAC), and mutant protein reactivation. In contrast, the indirect ones comprise inhibition of protein-protein interactions between TF and other proteins, blockade of TF expression, targeting the post-translational modifications, and targeting the TF-DNA interactions. With more comprehensive structural information about TFs revealed by the powerful cryo-electron microscopy technology and predicted by machine-learning algorithms, plus more efficient compound screening platforms and a deeper understanding of TF-disease relationships, the development of TF-targeting drugs will certainly be accelerated in the near future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing-Jing Zhuang
- Marine College, Shandong University, Weihai, 264209, China
- Helmholtz International Lab, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, China
| | - Qian Liu
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University and Beijing Key Laboratory of Tumor Systems Biology, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Da-Lei Wu
- Helmholtz International Lab, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, China.
| | - Lu Tie
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University and Beijing Key Laboratory of Tumor Systems Biology, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China.
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44
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Shen M, Demers LK, Bailey SD, Labbé DP. To bind or not to bind: Cistromic reprogramming in prostate cancer. Front Oncol 2022; 12:963007. [PMID: 36212399 PMCID: PMC9539323 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.963007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The term “cistrome” refers to the genome-wide location of regulatory elements associated with transcription factor binding-sites. The cistrome of key regulatory factors in prostate cancer etiology are substantially reprogrammed and altered during prostatic transformation and disease progression. For instance, the cistrome of the androgen receptor (AR), a ligand-inducible transcription factor central in normal prostate epithelium biology, is directly impacted and substantially reprogrammed during malignant transformation. Accumulating evidence demonstrates that additional transcription factors that are frequently mutated, or aberrantly expressed in prostate cancer, such as the pioneer transcription factors Forkhead Box A1 (FOXA1), the homeobox protein HOXB13, and the GATA binding protein 2 (GATA2), and the ETS-related gene (ERG), and the MYC proto-oncogene, contribute to the reprogramming of the AR cistrome. In addition, recent findings have highlighted key roles for the SWI/SNF complex and the chromatin-modifying helicase CHD1 in remodeling the epigenome and altering the AR cistrome during disease progression. In this review, we will cover the role of cistromic reprogramming in prostate cancer initiation and progression. Specifically, we will discuss the impact of key prostate cancer regulators, as well as the role of epigenetic and chromatin regulators in relation to the AR cistrome and the transformation of normal prostate epithelium. Given the importance of chromatin-transcription factor dynamics in normal cellular differentiation and cancer, an in-depth assessment of the factors involved in producing these altered cistromes is of great relevance and provides insight into new therapeutic strategies for prostate cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Shen
- Cancer Research Program, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montréal, QC, Canada
- Division of Experimental Surgery, Department of Surgery, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Léa-Kristine Demers
- Cancer Research Program, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montréal, QC, Canada
- Division of Experimental Medicine, Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Swneke D. Bailey
- Cancer Research Program, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montréal, QC, Canada
- Division of Experimental Surgery, Department of Surgery, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
- Division of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - David P. Labbé
- Cancer Research Program, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montréal, QC, Canada
- Division of Experimental Surgery, Department of Surgery, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
- Division of Experimental Medicine, Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
- Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
- *Correspondence: David P. Labbé,
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45
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Lam L, Tien T, Wildung M, White L, Sellon RK, Fidel JL, Shelden EA. Comparative whole transcriptome analysis of gene expression in three canine soft tissue sarcoma types. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0273705. [PMID: 36099287 PMCID: PMC9469979 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Soft tissue sarcomas are pleiotropic tumors of mesenchymal cell origin. These tumors are rare in humans but common in veterinary practice, where they comprise up to 15% of canine skin and subcutaneous cancers. Because they present similar morphologies, primary sites, and growth characteristics, they are treated similarly, generally by surgical resection followed by radiation therapy. Previous studies have examined a variety of genetic changes as potential drivers of tumorigenesis and progression in soft tissue sarcomas as well as their use as markers for soft tissue sarcoma subtypes. However, few studies employing next generation sequencing approaches have been published. Here, we have examined gene expression patterns in canine soft tissue sarcomas using RNA-seq analysis of samples obtained from archived formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tumors. We provide a computational framework for using resulting data to categorize tumors, perform cross species comparisons and identify genetic changes associated with tumorigenesis. Functional overrepresentation analysis of differentially expressed genes further implicate both common and tumor-type specific transcription factors as potential mediators of tumorigenesis and aggression. Implications for tumor-type specific therapies are discussed. Our results illustrate the potential utility of this approach for the discovery of new therapeutic approaches to the management of canine soft tissue sarcomas and support the view that both common and tumor-type specific mechanisms drive the development of these tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lydia Lam
- School of Molecular Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States of America
| | - Tien Tien
- Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States of America
| | - Mark Wildung
- School of Molecular Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States of America
| | - Laura White
- Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States of America
| | - Rance K. Sellon
- Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States of America
| | - Janean L. Fidel
- Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States of America
| | - Eric A. Shelden
- School of Molecular Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States of America
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46
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Synthesis and biological evaluation of a novel c-Myc inhibitor against colorectal cancer via blocking c-Myc/Max heterodimerization and disturbing its DNA binding. Eur J Med Chem 2022; 243:114779. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.114779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Revised: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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47
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Yang C, Liu Y, Hu Y, Fang L, Huang Z, Cui H, Xie J, Hong Y, Chen W, Xiao N, Li Q, Liu WH, Xiao C. Myc inhibition tips the immune balance to promote antitumor immunity. Cell Mol Immunol 2022; 19:1030-1041. [PMID: 35962189 PMCID: PMC9424194 DOI: 10.1038/s41423-022-00898-7] [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: 03/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Aberrant expression of Myc is one of the most common oncogenic events in human cancers. Scores of Myc inhibitors are currently under development for treating Myc-driven cancers. In addition to directly targeting tumor cells, Myc inhibition has been shown to modulate the tumor microenvironment to promote tumor regression. However, the effect of Myc inhibition on immune cells in the tumor microenvironment remains poorly understood. Here, we show that the adaptive immune system plays a vital role in the antitumor effect of pharmacologic inhibition of Myc. Combining genetic and pharmacologic approaches, we found that Myc inhibition enhanced CD8 T cell function by suppressing the homeostasis of regulatory T (Treg) cells and the differentiation of resting Treg (rTreg) cells to activated Treg (aTreg) cells in tumors. Importantly, we demonstrated that different Myc expression levels confer differential sensitivity of T cell subsets to pharmacologic inhibition of Myc. Although ablation of the Myc gene has been shown to suppress CD8 T cell function, Treg cells, which express much less Myc protein than CD8 T cells, are more sensitive to Myc inhibitors. The differential sensitivity of CD8 T and Treg cells to Myc inhibitors resulted in enhanced CD8 T cell function upon Myc inhibition. Our findings revealed that Myc inhibitors can induce an antitumor immune response during tumor progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, Fujian, China.
| | - Yun Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, Fujian, China
| | - Yudi Hu
- Institute of Hematology, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, Fujian, China
| | - Liang Fang
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Gene Regulation and Systems Biology, School of Life Sciences and Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518005, Guangdong, China
| | - Zhe Huang
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
- Sanofi Institute for Biomedical Research, Suzhou, 215123, Jiangsu, China
| | - Huanhuan Cui
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Gene Regulation and Systems Biology, School of Life Sciences and Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518005, Guangdong, China
| | - Jun Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, Fujian, China
| | - Yazhen Hong
- State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, Fujian, China
| | - Wei Chen
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Gene Regulation and Systems Biology, School of Life Sciences and Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518005, Guangdong, China
| | - Nengming Xiao
- State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, Fujian, China
| | - Qiyuan Li
- Institute of Hematology, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, Fujian, China.
| | - Wen-Hsien Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, Fujian, China.
| | - Changchun Xiao
- State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, Fujian, China.
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA.
- Sanofi Institute for Biomedical Research, Suzhou, 215123, Jiangsu, China.
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48
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Chen P, Yang W, Hong T, Miyazaki T, Dirisala A, Kataoka K, Cabral H. Nanocarriers escaping from hyperacidified endo/lysosomes in cancer cells allow tumor-targeted intracellular delivery of antibodies to therapeutically inhibit c-MYC. Biomaterials 2022; 288:121748. [PMID: 36038419 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2022.121748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Revised: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 08/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Intracellular protein delivery is a powerful strategy for developing innovative therapeutics. Nanocarriers present great potential to deliver proteins inside cells by promoting cellular uptake and overcoming entrapment and degradation in acidic endo/lysosomal compartments. Thus, because cytosolic access is essential for eliciting the function of proteins, significant efforts have been dedicated to engineering nanocarriers with maximal endosomal escape regardless of the cell type. On the other hand, controlling the ability of nanocarriers to escape from the endo/lysosomal compartments of particular cells may offer the opportunity for enhancing delivery precision. To test this hypothesis, we developed pH-sensitive polymeric nanocarriers with adjustable endosomal escape potency for selectively reaching the cytosol of defined cancer cells with dysregulated endo/lysosomal acidification. By loading antibodies against nuclear pore complex in the nanocarriers, we demonstrated the selective delivery into the cytosol and subsequent nucleus targeting of cancer cells rather than non-cancerous cells both in vitro and in vivo. Systemically injected nanocarriers loading anti-c-MYC antibodies suppressed c-MYC in solid tumors and inhibit tumor growth without side effects, confirming the therapeutic potential of our approach. These results indicated that regulating the ability of nanocarriers to escape from endo/lysosomal compartments in particular cells is a practical approach for gaining delivery specificity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pengwen Chen
- Department of Bioengineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
| | - Wenqian Yang
- Department of Bioengineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
| | - Taehun Hong
- Department of Bioengineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
| | - Takuya Miyazaki
- Kanagawa Institute of Industrial Science and Technology, 705-1 Shimoimaizumi, Ebina City, Kanagawa, 243-0435, Japan
| | - Anjaneyulu Dirisala
- Innovation Center of Nanomedicine (iCONM), Kawasaki Institute of Industrial Promotion, 3-25-14 Tonomachi, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki, 210-0821, Japan
| | - Kazunori Kataoka
- Innovation Center of Nanomedicine (iCONM), Kawasaki Institute of Industrial Promotion, 3-25-14 Tonomachi, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki, 210-0821, Japan.
| | - Horacio Cabral
- Department of Bioengineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.
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49
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Wang W, He S, Dong G, Sheng C. Nucleic-Acid-Based Targeted Degradation in Drug Discovery. J Med Chem 2022; 65:10217-10232. [PMID: 35916496 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c00875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Targeted protein degradation (TPD), represented by proteolysis-targeting chimera (PROTAC), has emerged as a novel therapeutic modality in drug discovery. However, the application of conventional PROTACs is limited to protein targets containing cytosolic domains with ligandable sites. Recently, nucleic-acid-based modalities, such as modified oligonucleotide mimics and aptamers, opened new avenues to degrade protein targets and greatly expanded the scope of TPD. Beyond constructing protein-degrading chimeras, nucleic acid motifs can also serve as substrates for targeted degradation. Particularly, the new type of chimeric RNA degrader termed ribonuclease-targeting chimera (RIBOTAC) has shown promising features in drug discovery. Here, we provide an overview of the newly emerging TPD strategies based on nucleic acids as well as new strategies for targeted degradation of nucleic acid (RNA) targets. The design strategies, case studies, potential applications, and challenges are focused on.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Wang
- School of Pharmacy, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Shipeng He
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
| | - Guoqiang Dong
- School of Pharmacy, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Chunquan Sheng
- School of Pharmacy, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China
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50
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Bartolucci D, Pession A, Hrelia P, Tonelli R. Precision Anti-Cancer Medicines by Oligonucleotide Therapeutics in Clinical Research Targeting Undruggable Proteins and Non-Coding RNAs. Pharmaceutics 2022; 14:pharmaceutics14071453. [PMID: 35890348 PMCID: PMC9315662 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14071453] [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: 05/30/2022] [Revised: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer incidence and mortality continue to increase, while the conventional chemotherapeutic drugs confer limited efficacy and relevant toxic side effects. Novel strategies are urgently needed for more effective and safe therapeutics in oncology. However, a large number of proteins are considered undruggable by conventional drugs, such as the small molecules. Moreover, the mRNA itself retains oncological functions, and its targeting offers the double advantage of blocking the tumorigenic activities of the mRNA and the translation into protein. Finally, a large family of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) has recently emerged that are also dysregulated in cancer, but they could not be targeted by drugs directed against the proteins. In this context, this review describes how the oligonucleotide therapeutics targeting RNA or DNA sequences, are emerging as a new class of drugs, able to tackle the limitations described above. Numerous clinical trials are evaluating oligonucleotides for tumor treatment, and in the next few years some of them are expected to reach the market. We describe the oligonucleotide therapeutics targeting undruggable proteins (focusing on the most relevant, such as those originating from the MYC and RAS gene families), and for ncRNAs, in particular on those that are under clinical trial evaluation in oncology. We highlight the challenges and solutions for the clinical success of oligonucleotide therapeutics, with particular emphasis on the peculiar challenges that render it arduous to treat tumors, such as heterogeneity and the high mutation rate. In the review are presented these and other advantages offered by the oligonucleotide as an emerging class of biotherapeutics for a new era of precision anti-cancer medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrea Pession
- Pediatric Unit, IRCCS, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy;
| | - Patrizia Hrelia
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy;
| | - Roberto Tonelli
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy;
- Correspondence:
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