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Mabonga L, Ikwegbue PC, Masamba P, Kappo AP. Molecular interaction between small nuclear ribonucleoprotein polypeptide G and heat shock protein 70.14: a microscale thermophoresis exposition towards developing anti-cancer drugs. Am J Transl Res 2022; 14:6150-6162. [PMID: 36247303 PMCID: PMC9556510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Targeting protein-protein interactions (PPIs) linked to protein quality control (PQC) pathways as potential anti-cancer drug targets have unanimously widened biological insights and the therapeutic potential of PPIs as smart-drug discovery tools in cancer. PPIs between disease-relevant proteins associated with protein homeostasis in PQC pathways have been linked to improved mechanistic understanding associated with conformational abnormalities and impairment, cellular proteotoxicity, induced apoptosis, and pathogenesis in different types of cancers. In this context, PPIs between small nuclear ribonucleoprotein polypeptide G (SNRPG) and heat shock protein 70.14 (Hsp70.14) have attracted attention as potential smart drug discovery tools in cancer diagnostics and therapeutics. Validated evidence of high-quality biological data has shown the presence of the two proteins in different types of cancers including breast cancer. The links between SNRPG and Hsp70.14 in cancer-cell networks remain elusive, overlooked, and uncharacterized. METHODOLOGY In this study, we explored the interaction between the two oncogenic proteins using the MST-based assays. RESULTS The results revealed a low KD in the nanomolar concentration range of 2.4673 × 10-7 demonstrating a great affinity for SNRPG binding to Hsp70.14. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest a possible involvement between the two proteins in hostile tumour microenvironments. Furthermore, these findings offer a different therapeutic perspective that could pave the way for the creation of novel small molecule inhibitors as drugs for the treatment of cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lloyd Mabonga
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of ZululandKwaDlangezwa 3886, South Africa
| | - Paul Chukwudi Ikwegbue
- Division of Immunology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape TownCape Town, South Africa
| | - Priscilla Masamba
- Molecular Biophysics and Structural Biology (MBSB) Group, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park Kingsway CampusSouth Africa
| | - Abidemi Paul Kappo
- Molecular Biophysics and Structural Biology (MBSB) Group, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park Kingsway CampusSouth Africa
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Mabonga L, Masamba P, Basson AK, Kappo AP. Microscale thermophoresis analysis of the molecular interaction between small nuclear ribonucleoprotein polypeptide G and the RING finger domain of RBBP6 towards anti-cancer drug discovery. Am J Transl Res 2021; 13:12775-12785. [PMID: 34956492 PMCID: PMC8661184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2021] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Regulatory core-splicing proteins are now becoming highly promising therapeutic targets for the development of anti-cancer drugs. SNRPG and RBBP6 are two good examples of regulatory core-splicing proteins involved in tumorigenesis and tumor development whose multi-functional role is primarily mediated by protein-protein interactions. Over the years, skepticism abutting from the two onco-proteins has been mounting. Suggestive evidence using yeast 2-hybrid technique observed possible involvement between SNRPG and the RING finger domain of RBBP6. However, the putative interaction remains elusive and yet to be characterized. In this study, we developed the first MST-based assay to confirm the interaction between SNRPG and the RING finger domain of RBBP6. The results demonstrated a strong binding affinity between SNRPG and the RING finger domain of RBBP6 with a KD in the low nanomolar concentration range of 3.1596 nM. The results are congruent with previous findings suggesting possible involvement between the two proteins in cancer-cell networks, thereby providing a new mechanistic insight into the interaction between SNRPG and the RING finger domain of RBBP6. The interaction is therapeutically relevant and represents a great milestone in the anti-cancer drug discovery space. Identification of small molecule inhibitors to modulate the binding affinity between the two proteins would therefore be a major breakthrough in the development of new PPI-focused anti-cancer drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lloyd Mabonga
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of ZululandKwaDlangezwa 3886, South Africa
| | - Priscilla Masamba
- Molecular Biophysics and Structural Biology (MBSB) Group, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Johannesburg, Kingsway CampusAuckland Park 2006, South Africa
| | - Albertus Kotze Basson
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of ZululandKwaDlangezwa 3886, South Africa
| | - Abidemi Paul Kappo
- Molecular Biophysics and Structural Biology (MBSB) Group, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Johannesburg, Kingsway CampusAuckland Park 2006, South Africa
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Lakkaniga NR, Gunaganti N, Zhang L, Belachew B, Frett B, Leung YK, Li HY. Pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives as inhibitors of RET: Design, synthesis and biological evaluation. Eur J Med Chem 2020; 206:112691. [PMID: 32823007 PMCID: PMC10536156 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2020.112691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2020] [Revised: 07/20/2020] [Accepted: 07/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Gene fusions and point mutations of RET kinase are crucial for driving thoracic cancers, including thyroid cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. Various scaffolds based on different heterocycles have been synthesized and evaluated as RET inhibitors. In this work, we investigate pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives for inhibition of RET-wt, drug resistant mutant RET V804M and RET gene fusion driven cell lines. Several compounds were synthesized and the structure activity relationship was extensively studied to optimize the scaffold. Thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidine, a bioisostere of pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine, was also explored for the effect on RET inhibition. We identified a lead compound, 59, which shows low nanomolar potency against RET-wt and RET V804M. Further 59 shows growth inhibition of LC-2/ad cells which RET-CCDC6 driven. We also determined that 59 is a type 2 inhibitor of RET and demonstrated its ability to inhibit migration of tumor cells. Based on computational studies, we proposed a binding pose of 59 in RET pocket and have quantified the contributions of individual residues for its binding. Together, 59 is an important lead compound which needs further evaluation in biological studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naga Rajiv Lakkaniga
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
| | - Naresh Gunaganti
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
| | - Lingtian Zhang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
| | - Binyam Belachew
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
| | - Brendan Frett
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
| | - Yuet-Kin Leung
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
| | - Hong-Yu Li
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA.
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Iglesias-Figueroa BF, Siqueiros-Cendón TS, Gutierrez DA, Aguilera RJ, Espinoza-Sánchez EA, Arévalo-Gallegos S, Varela-Ramirez A, Rascón-Cruz Q. Recombinant human lactoferrin induces apoptosis, disruption of F-actin structure and cell cycle arrest with selective cytotoxicity on human triple negative breast cancer cells. Apoptosis 2019; 24:562-77. [PMID: 30941553 DOI: 10.1007/s10495-019-01539-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women worldwide. Here, recombinant human lactoferrin (rhLf) expressed in Pichia pastoris was tested for its potential cytotoxic activity on a panel of six human breast cancer cell lines. The rhLf cytotoxic effect was determined via a live-cell HTS imaging assay. Also, confocal microscopy and flow cytometry protocols were employed to investigate the rhLf mode of action. The rhLf revealed an effective CC50 of 91.4 and 109.46 µg/ml on non-metastatic and metastatic MDA-MB-231 cells, with favorable selective cytotoxicity index values, 11.68 and 13.99, respectively. Moreover, rhLf displayed satisfactory SCI values on four additional cell lines, MDA-MB-468, HCC70, MCF-7 and T-47D (1.55-3.34). Also, rhLf provoked plasma membrane blebbing, chromatin condensation and cell shrinkage in MDA-MB-231 cells, being all three apoptosis-related morphological changes. Also, rhLf was able to shrink the microfilaments, forming a punctuated cytoplasmic pattern in both the MDA-MB-231 and Hs-27 cells, as visualized in confocal photomicrographs. Moreover, performing flow cytometric analysis, rhLf provoked significant phosphatidylserine externalization, cell cycle arrest in the S phase and apoptosis-induced DNA fragmentation in MDA-MB-231 cells. Hence, rhLf possesses selective cytotoxicity on breast cancer cells. Also, rhLf caused apoptosis-associated morphologic changes, disruption of F-actin cytoskeleton organization, phosphatidylserine externalization, DNA fragmentation, and arrest of the cell cycle progression on triple-negative breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells. Overall results suggest that rhLf is using the apoptosis pathway as its mechanism to inflict cell death. Findings warranty further evaluation of rhLf as a potential anti-breast cancer drug option.
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Robles-Escajeda E, Das U, Ortega NM, Parra K, Francia G, Dimmock JR, Varela-Ramirez A, Aguilera RJ. A novel curcumin-like dienone induces apoptosis in triple-negative breast cancer cells. Cell Oncol (Dordr) 2016; 39:265-77. [PMID: 26920032 DOI: 10.1007/s13402-016-0272-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/11/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE According to the World Health Organization (WHO), breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women worldwide. In the USA ~12.3 % of all women are expected to be diagnosed with various types of breast cancer, exhibiting varying degrees of therapeutic response rates. Therefore, the identification of novel anti-breast cancer drugs is of paramount importance. METHODS The 1,5-diaryl-3-oxo-1,4-pentadienyl pharmacophore was incorporated into a number of cytotoxins. Three of the resulting dienones, 2a, 2b and 2c, were tested for their anti-neoplastic potencies in a variety of human breast cancer-derived cell lines, including the triple negative MDA-MB-231 cell line and its metastatic variant, using a live-cell bio-imaging method. Special emphasis was put on dienone 2c, since its anti-cancer activity and its mode of inflicting cell death have so far not been reported. RESULTS We found that all three dienones exhibited potent cytotoxicities towards the breast cancer-derived cell lines tested, whereas significantly lower toxicities were observed towards the non-cancerous human breast cell line MCF-10A. The dienones 2b and 2c exhibited the greatest selective cytotoxicity at submicromolar concentration levels. We found that these two dienones induced phosphatidylserine externalization in MDA-MB-231 cells in a concentration-dependent manner, suggesting that their cytotoxic effect might be mediated by apoptosis. This possibility was confirmed by our observation that the dienone 2c can induce mitochondrial depolarization, caspase-3 activation, cell cycle disruption and DNA fragmentation in MDA-MB-231 cells. CONCLUSION Our findings indicate that dienone 2c uses the mitochondrial/intrinsic pathway to inflict apoptosis in triple negative MDA-MB-231 breast cancer-derived cells. This observation warrants further assessment of dienone 2c as a potential anti-breast cancer drug.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Robles-Escajeda
- Cytometry, Screening and Imaging Core Facility, Border Biomedical Research Center, Department of Biological Sciences, the University of Texas at El Paso, 500 West University Avenue, El Paso, TX, 79968-0519, USA
| | - Umashankar Das
- Drug Discovery & Development Research Group, College of Pharmacy & Nutrition, University of Saskatchewan, 110 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5C9, Canada
| | - Nora M Ortega
- Cytometry, Screening and Imaging Core Facility, Border Biomedical Research Center, Department of Biological Sciences, the University of Texas at El Paso, 500 West University Avenue, El Paso, TX, 79968-0519, USA
| | - Karla Parra
- Cytometry, Screening and Imaging Core Facility, Border Biomedical Research Center, Department of Biological Sciences, the University of Texas at El Paso, 500 West University Avenue, El Paso, TX, 79968-0519, USA
| | - Giulio Francia
- Cytometry, Screening and Imaging Core Facility, Border Biomedical Research Center, Department of Biological Sciences, the University of Texas at El Paso, 500 West University Avenue, El Paso, TX, 79968-0519, USA
| | - Jonathan R Dimmock
- Drug Discovery & Development Research Group, College of Pharmacy & Nutrition, University of Saskatchewan, 110 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5C9, Canada
| | - Armando Varela-Ramirez
- Cytometry, Screening and Imaging Core Facility, Border Biomedical Research Center, Department of Biological Sciences, the University of Texas at El Paso, 500 West University Avenue, El Paso, TX, 79968-0519, USA.
| | - Renato J Aguilera
- Cytometry, Screening and Imaging Core Facility, Border Biomedical Research Center, Department of Biological Sciences, the University of Texas at El Paso, 500 West University Avenue, El Paso, TX, 79968-0519, USA.
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Orlikova B, Schumacher M, Juncker T, Yan CC, Inayat-Hussain SH, Hajjouli S, Cerella C, Dicato M, Diederich M. Styryl-lactone goniothalamin inhibits TNF-α-induced NF-κB activation. Food Chem Toxicol 2013; 59:572-8. [PMID: 23845509 DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2013.06.051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2013] [Revised: 06/22/2013] [Accepted: 06/26/2013] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
(R)-(+)-Goniothalamin (GTN), a styryl-lactone isolated from the medicinal plant Goniothalamus macrophyllus, exhibits pharmacological activities including cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, GTN modulated TNF-α induced NF-κB activation. GTN concentrations up to 20 μM showed low cytotoxic effects in K562 chronic myelogenous leukemia and in Jurkat T cells. Importantly, at these concentrations, no cytotoxicity was observed in healthy peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Our results confirmed that GTN inhibited tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-induced NF-κB activation in Jurkat and K562 leukemia cells at concentrations as low as 5 μM as shown by reporter gene assays and western blots. Moreover, GTN down-regulated translocation of the p50/p65 heterodimer to the nucleus, prevented binding of NF-κB to its DNA response element and reduced TNF-α-activated interleukin-8 (IL-8) expression. In conclusion, GTN inhibits TNF-α-induced NF-κB activation at non-apoptogenic concentrations in different leukemia cell models without presenting toxicity towards healthy blood cells underlining the anti-leukemic potential of this natural compound.
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