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Thompson PE, Shortt J. Defeating MYC with drug combinations or dual-targeting drugs. Trends Pharmacol Sci 2024:S0165-6147(24)00085-3. [PMID: 38782688 DOI: 10.1016/j.tips.2024.04.008] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2024] [Revised: 04/16/2024] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
Members of the MYC family of proteins are a major target for cancer drug discovery, but the development of drugs that block MYC-driven cancers has not yet been successful. Approaches to achieve success may include the development of combination therapies or dual-acting drugs that target MYC at multiple nodes. Such treatments hold the possibility of additive or synergistic activity, potentially reducing side effect profiles and the emergence of resistance. In this review, we examine the prominent MYC-related targets and highlight those that have been targeted in combination and/or dual-target approaches. Finally, we explore the challenges of combination and dual-target approaches from a drug development perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip E Thompson
- Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia.
| | - Jake Shortt
- Blood Cancer Therapeutics Laboratory, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3168, Australia; Monash Hematology, Monash Health, Melbourne, Victoria 3168, Australia; Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia
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2
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Huang X, Chen Y, Xiao Q, Shang X, Liu Y. Chemical inhibitors targeting histone methylation readers. Pharmacol Ther 2024; 256:108614. [PMID: 38401773 DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2024.108614] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Revised: 02/01/2024] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/26/2024]
Abstract
Histone methylation reader domains are protein modules that recognize specific histone methylation marks, such as methylated or unmethylated lysine or arginine residues on histones. These reader proteins play crucial roles in the epigenetic regulation of gene expression, chromatin structure, and DNA damage repair. Dysregulation of these proteins has been linked to various diseases, including cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and developmental disorders. Therefore, targeting these proteins with chemical inhibitors has emerged as an attractive approach for therapeutic intervention, and significant progress has been made in this area. In this review, we will summarize the development of inhibitors targeting histone methylation readers, including MBT domains, chromodomains, Tudor domains, PWWP domains, PHD fingers, and WD40 repeat domains. For each domain, we will briefly discuss its identification and biological/biochemical functions, and then focus on the discovery of inhibitors tailored to target this domain, summarizing the property and potential application of most inhibitors. We will also discuss the structural basis for the potency and selectivity of these inhibitors, which will aid in further lead generation and optimization. Finally, we will also address the challenges and strategies involved in the development of these inhibitors. It should facilitate the rational design and development of novel chemical scaffolds and new targeting strategies for histone methylation reader domains with the help of this body of data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaolei Huang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuropsychiatric Diseases, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Precision Diagnostics and Therapeutics Development, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, PR China
| | - Yichang Chen
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuropsychiatric Diseases, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Precision Diagnostics and Therapeutics Development, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, PR China
| | - Qin Xiao
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuropsychiatric Diseases, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Precision Diagnostics and Therapeutics Development, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, PR China
| | - Xinci Shang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuropsychiatric Diseases, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Precision Diagnostics and Therapeutics Development, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, PR China
| | - Yanli Liu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuropsychiatric Diseases, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Precision Diagnostics and Therapeutics Development, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, PR China.
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Shen L, Fang J, Liu L, Yang F, Jenkins JL, Kutchukian PS, Wang H. Pocket Crafter: a 3D generative modeling based workflow for the rapid generation of hit molecules in drug discovery. J Cheminform 2024; 16:33. [PMID: 38515171 PMCID: PMC10958880 DOI: 10.1186/s13321-024-00829-w] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/16/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024] Open
Abstract
We present a user-friendly molecular generative pipeline called Pocket Crafter, specifically designed to facilitate hit finding activity in the drug discovery process. This workflow utilized a three-dimensional (3D) generative modeling method Pocket2Mol, for the de novo design of molecules in spatial perspective for the targeted protein structures, followed by filters for chemical-physical properties and drug-likeness, structure-activity relationship analysis, and clustering to generate top virtual hit scaffolds. In our WDR5 case study, we acquired a focused set of 2029 compounds after a targeted searching within Novartis archived library based on the virtual scaffolds. Subsequently, we experimentally profiled these compounds, resulting in a novel chemical scaffold series that demonstrated activity in biochemical and biophysical assays. Pocket Crafter successfully prototyped an effective end-to-end 3D generative chemistry-based workflow for the exploration of new chemical scaffolds, which represents a promising approach in early drug discovery for hit identification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingling Shen
- Novartis Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
| | - Jian Fang
- Novartis Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Lulu Liu
- Novartis Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Fei Yang
- Novartis Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | | | | | - He Wang
- Novartis Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
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Chang JY, Neugebauer C, Mues Genannt Koers A, 't Hart P. Small molecule WDR5 inhibitors down-regulate lncRNA expression. RSC Med Chem 2024; 15:636-640. [PMID: 38389889 PMCID: PMC10880924 DOI: 10.1039/d3md00605k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024] Open
Abstract
WD repeat domain 5 (WDR5) plays an important role as a scaffold protein in both protein-protein and RNA-protein complexes involved in epigenetic gene regulation. In particular, some of these lncRNAs were reported to regulate the expression of genes in cis as well as themselves through binding WDR5. In this report, we investigate the two known binding sites of WDR5 in relation to lncRNA binding and expression. The WBM binding site mediates both protein-protein and lncRNA-protein interactions while the WIN site, which is on the opposite side of the protein, is only known to mediate protein-protein interactions. To dissect the function of different binding sites on WDR5, we characterized them with selective peptide ligands using fluorescence polarization and used these to demonstrate the selectivity of small molecule inhibitors of these two major binding sites. RNA immunoprecipitation experiments were performed to show that lncRNA-WDR5 complex formation could be interrupted using a WBM site inhibitor. Finally, we demonstrated that WDR5 regulated lncRNAs are down regulated with different sensitivity toward the corresponding inhibitors, demonstrating the potential of targeting lncRNA-protein interactions to reduce oncogenic lncRNA expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jen-Yao Chang
- Chemical Genomics Centre of the Max Planck Society, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology Otto-Hahn-Strasse 11 44227 Dortmund Germany
| | - Cora Neugebauer
- Chemical Genomics Centre of the Max Planck Society, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology Otto-Hahn-Strasse 11 44227 Dortmund Germany
| | - Anne Mues Genannt Koers
- Chemical Genomics Centre of the Max Planck Society, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology Otto-Hahn-Strasse 11 44227 Dortmund Germany
| | - Peter 't Hart
- Chemical Genomics Centre of the Max Planck Society, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology Otto-Hahn-Strasse 11 44227 Dortmund Germany
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Nagar A, Dubey A, Sharma A, Singh M. Exploring promising natural compounds for breast cancer treatment: in silico molecular docking targeting WDR5-MYC protein interaction. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2024:1-15. [PMID: 38356140 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2024.2317975] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Cancer is an aberrant differentiation of normal cells, characterized by uncontrolled growth and the potential to acquire invasive and aggressive properties that ultimately lead to metastasis. In the realm of scientific exploration, a multitude of pathways has been investigated and targeted by researchers, among which one specific pathway is recognized as WDR5-MYC. Continuous investigations and research show that WDR5-MYC is a therapeutic target protein. Hence, the discovery of naturally occurring compounds with anticancer properties has been suggested as a rapid and efficient alternative for the development of anticancerous therapeutics. A virtual screening approach was used to identify the most potent compounds from the NP-lib database at the MTiOpenScreen webserver against WDR5-MYC. This process yielded a total of 304 identified compounds. Subsequently, after screening, four potent compounds, namely Estrone (ZINC000003869899), Ethyl-1,2-benzanthracene (ZINC000003157052), Strychnine (ZINC000000119434) and 7H-DIBENZO [C, G] CARBAZOLE (ZINC000001562130), along with a cocrystallized 5-[4-(trifluoromethyl) phenyl]-1H-tetrazole inhibitor (QBP) as a reference ligand, were considered for stringent molecular docking. Thus, each compound exhibited significant docking energy between -8.2 and -7.7 kcal/mol and molecular contacts with essential residue Asn225, Lys250, Ser267 and Lys272 in the active pocket of WDR5-MYC against the QBP inhibitor (the native ligand QBP serves as a reference in the comparative analysis of docked complexes). The results support the potent compounds for drug-likeness and strong binding affinity with WDR5-MYC protein. Further, the stability of the selected compounds was predicted by molecular dynamics simulation (100 ns) contributed by intermolecular hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions. This demonstrates the potential of the selected compounds to be used against breast cancer treatment.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amka Nagar
- Department of Life Sciences, Sharda School of Basic Sciences and Research, Sharda University, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Amit Dubey
- Department of Pharmacology, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
- Computational Chemistry and Drug Discovery Division, Quanta Calculus, India
| | - Ankur Sharma
- Strathclyde Institute of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
| | - Mohini Singh
- Department of Life Sciences, Sharda School of Basic Sciences and Research, Sharda University, Uttar Pradesh, India
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Weissmiller AM, Fesik SW, Tansey WP. WD Repeat Domain 5 Inhibitors for Cancer Therapy: Not What You Think. J Clin Med 2024; 13:274. [PMID: 38202281 PMCID: PMC10779565 DOI: 10.3390/jcm13010274] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 12/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
WDR5 is a conserved nuclear protein that scaffolds the assembly of epigenetic regulatory complexes and moonlights in functions ranging from recruiting MYC oncoproteins to chromatin to facilitating the integrity of mitosis. It is also a high-value target for anti-cancer therapies, with small molecule WDR5 inhibitors and degraders undergoing extensive preclinical assessment. WDR5 inhibitors were originally conceived as epigenetic modulators, proposed to inhibit cancer cells by reversing oncogenic patterns of histone H3 lysine 4 methylation-a notion that persists to this day. This premise, however, does not withstand contemporary inspection and establishes expectations for the mechanisms and utility of WDR5 inhibitors that can likely never be met. Here, we highlight salient misconceptions regarding WDR5 inhibitors as epigenetic modulators and provide a unified model for their action as a ribosome-directed anti-cancer therapy that helps focus understanding of when and how the tumor-inhibiting properties of these agents can best be understood and exploited.
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Affiliation(s)
- April M. Weissmiller
- Department of Biology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN 32132, USA;
| | - Stephen W. Fesik
- Department of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA;
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - William P. Tansey
- Department of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA;
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
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