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Liang J, Huang J, Yang J, Liang W, Li H, Wu Y, Liu B. Synthesis and in vitro evaluation of benzo[b]thiophene-3-carboxylic acid 1,1-dioxide derivatives as anticancer agents targeting the RhoA/ROCK pathway. J Enzyme Inhib Med Chem 2024; 39:2390911. [PMID: 39258708 PMCID: PMC11391881 DOI: 10.1080/14756366.2024.2390911] [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: 04/27/2024] [Revised: 06/24/2024] [Accepted: 07/18/2024] [Indexed: 09/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Rho family GTPases regulate cellular processes and promote tumour growth and metastasis; thus, RhoA is a potential target for tumour metastasis inhibition. However, limited progress has been made in the development of RhoA targeting anticancer drugs. Here, we synthesised benzo[b]thiophene-3-carboxylic acid 1,1-dioxide derivatives based on a covalent inhibitor of RhoA (DC-Rhoin), reported in our previous studies. The observed structure-activity relationship (contributed by carboxamide in C-3 and 1-methyl-1H-pyrazol in C-5) enhanced the anti-proliferative activity of the derivatives. Compound b19 significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells and promoted their apoptosis. The suppression of myosin light chain phosphorylation and the formation of stress fibres confirmed the inhibitory activity of b19 via the RhoA/ROCK pathway. b19 exhibited a different binding pattern from DC-Rhoin, as observed in molecular docking analysis. This study provides a reference for the development of anticancer agents targeting the RhoA/ROCK pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinhao Liang
- The Second Clinical Medical College, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Clinical Research on Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jin Huang
- The Second Clinical Medical College, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Clinical Research on Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jianzhan Yang
- The Second Clinical Medical College, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Clinical Research on Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Weihong Liang
- The Second Clinical Medical College, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Clinical Research on Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
- Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Chirality Research on Active Components of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Haoxiang Li
- The Second Clinical Medical College, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Clinical Research on Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yunshan Wu
- The Second Clinical Medical College, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Clinical Research on Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
- Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Chirality Research on Active Components of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Bo Liu
- The Second Clinical Medical College, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Clinical Research on Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
- Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Chirality Research on Active Components of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
- State Key Laboratory of Dampness Syndrome of Chinese Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
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Haspel N, Jang H, Nussinov R. Allosteric Activation of RhoA Complexed with p115-RhoGEF Deciphered by Conformational Dynamics. J Chem Inf Model 2024; 64:862-873. [PMID: 38215280 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c01412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2024]
Abstract
The Ras homologue family member A (RhoA) is a member of the Rho family, a subgroup of the Ras superfamily. RhoA interacts with the 115 kDa guanine nucleotide exchange factor (p115-RhoGEF), which assists in activation and binding with downstream effectors. Here, we use molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and essential dynamics analysis of the inactive RhoA-GDP and active RhoA-GTP, when bound to p115-RhoGEF to decipher the mechanism of RhoA activation at the structural level. We observe that inactive RhoA-GDP maintains its position near the catalytic site on the Dbl homology (DH) domain of p115-RhoGEF through the interaction of its Switch I region with the DH domain. We further show that the active RhoA-GTP is engaged in more interactions with the p115-RhoGEF membrane-bound Pleckstrin homology (PH) domain as compared to RhoA-GDP. We hypothesize that the role of the interactions between the active RhoA-GTP and the PH domain is to help release it from the DH domain upon activation. Our results support this premise, and our simulations uncover the beginning of this process and provide structural details. They also point to allosteric communication pathways that take part in RhoA activation to promote and strengthen the interaction between the active RhoA-GTP and the PH domain. Allosteric regulation also occurs among other members of the Rho superfamily. Collectively, we suggest that in the activation process, the role of the RhoA-GTP interaction with the PH domain is to release RhoA-GTP from the DH domain after activation, making it available to downstream effectors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nurit Haspel
- Department of Computer Science, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, Massachusetts 02125, United States
| | - Hyunbum Jang
- Computational Structural Biology Section, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research in the Cancer Innovation Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - Ruth Nussinov
- Computational Structural Biology Section, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research in the Cancer Innovation Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
- Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
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