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Coluccia A, La Regina G, Naccarato V, Nalli M, Orlando V, Biagioni S, De Angelis ML, Baiocchi M, Gautier C, Gianni S, Di Pastena F, Di Magno L, Canettieri G, Coluccia AML, Silvestri R. Drug Design and Synthesis of First in Class PDZ1 Targeting NHERF1 Inhibitors as Anticancer Agents. ACS Med Chem Lett 2019; 10:499-503. [PMID: 30996786 PMCID: PMC6466550 DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.8b00532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2018] [Accepted: 01/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
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Targeted
approaches aiming at modulating NHERF1 activity, rather
than its overall expression, would be preferred to preserve the normal
functions of this versatile protein. We focused our attention on the
NHERF1/PDZ1 domain that governs its membrane recruitment/displacement
through a transient phosphorylation switch. We herein report the design
and synthesis of novel NHERF1 PDZ1 domain inhibitors. These compounds
have potential therapeutic value when used in combination with antagonists
of β-catenin to augment apoptotic death of colorectal cancer
cells refractory to currently available Wnt/β-catenin-targeted
agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Coluccia
- Department of Drug Chemistry and Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Laboratory affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia − Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Giuseppe La Regina
- Department of Drug Chemistry and Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Laboratory affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia − Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Valentina Naccarato
- Department of Drug Chemistry and Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Laboratory affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia − Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Marianna Nalli
- Department of Drug Chemistry and Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Laboratory affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia − Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Viviana Orlando
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies “Charles Darwin”, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Stefano Biagioni
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies “Charles Darwin”, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Maria Laura De Angelis
- Department of Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Marta Baiocchi
- Department of Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Candice Gautier
- Department of Biochemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Laboratory affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia − Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Stefano Gianni
- Department of Biochemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Laboratory affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia − Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Fiorella Di Pastena
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Laboratory affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia − Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Viale Regina Elena, 291, I-00161 Roma, Italy
| | - Laura Di Magno
- Center for Life Nano Science@Sapienza, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Gianluca Canettieri
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Laboratory affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia − Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Viale Regina Elena, 291, I-00161 Roma, Italy
| | | | - Romano Silvestri
- Department of Drug Chemistry and Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Laboratory affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia − Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy
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Cysteine modifiers suggest an allosteric inhibitory site on the CAL PDZ domain. Biosci Rep 2018; 38:BSR20180231. [PMID: 29472314 PMCID: PMC6435542 DOI: 10.1042/bsr20180231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2018] [Revised: 02/17/2018] [Accepted: 02/22/2018] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Protein-protein interactions have become attractive targets for both experimental and therapeutic interventions. The PSD-95/Dlg1/ZO-1 (PDZ) domain is found in a large family of eukaryotic scaffold proteins that plays important roles in intracellular trafficking and localization of many target proteins. Here, we seek inhibitors of the PDZ protein that facilitates post-endocytic degradation of the cystic fibrosis (CF) transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR): the CFTR-associated ligand (CAL). We develop and validate biochemical screens and identify methyl-3,4-dephostatin (MD) and its analog ethyl-3,4-dephostatin (ED) as CAL PDZ inhibitors. Depending on conditions, MD can bind either covalently or non-covalently. Crystallographic and NMR data confirm that MD attacks a pocket at a site distinct from the canonical peptide-binding groove, and suggests an allosteric connection between target residue Cys319 and the conserved Leu291 in the GLGI motif. MD and ED thus appear to represent the first examples of small-molecule allosteric regulation of PDZ:peptide affinity. Their mechanism of action may exploit the known conformational plasticity of the PDZ domains and suggests that allosteric modulation may represent a strategy for targeting of this family of protein-protein binding modules.
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β-catenin knockdown promotes NHERF1-mediated survival of colorectal cancer cells: implications for a double-targeted therapy. Oncogene 2018; 37:3301-3316. [PMID: 29551770 PMCID: PMC6002344 DOI: 10.1038/s41388-018-0170-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2017] [Revised: 12/13/2017] [Accepted: 01/22/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Nuclear activated β-catenin plays a causative role in colorectal cancers (CRC) but remains an elusive therapeutic target. Using human CRC cells harboring different Wnt/β-catenin pathway mutations in APC/KRAS or β-catenin/KRAS genes, and both genetic and pharmacological knockdown approaches, we show that oncogenic β-catenin signaling negatively regulates the expression of NHERF1 (Na+/H+ exchanger 3 regulating factor 1), a PDZ-adaptor protein that is usually lost or downregulated in early dysplastic adenomas to exacerbate nuclear β-catenin activity. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays demonstrated that β-catenin represses NHERF1 via TCF4 directly, while the association between TCF1 and the Nherf1 promoter increased upon β-catenin knockdown. To note, the occurrence of a cytostatic survival response in settings of single β-catenin-depleted CRC cells was abrogated by combining NHERF1 inhibition via small hairpin RNA (shRNA) or RS5517, a novel PDZ1-domain ligand of NHERF1 that prevented its ectopic nuclear entry. Mechanistically, dual NHERF1/β-catenin targeting promoted an autophagy-to-apoptosis switch consistent with the activation of Caspase-3, the cleavage of PARP and reduced levels of phospho-ERK1/2, Beclin-1, and Rab7 autophagic proteins compared with β-catenin knockdown alone. Collectively, our data unveil novel β-catenin/TCF-dependent mechanisms of CRC carcinogenesis, also offering preclinical proof of concept for combining β-catenin and NHERF1 pharmacological inhibitors as a mechanism-based strategy to augment apoptotic death of CRC cells refractory to current Wnt/β-catenin-targeted therapeutics.
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Georgescu MM, Gagea M, Cote G. NHERF1/EBP50 Suppresses Wnt-β-Catenin Pathway-Driven Intestinal Neoplasia. Neoplasia 2017; 18:512-23. [PMID: 27566107 PMCID: PMC5018097 DOI: 10.1016/j.neo.2016.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2016] [Revised: 07/01/2016] [Accepted: 07/11/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
NHERF1/EBP50, an adaptor molecule that interacts with β-catenin, YAP, and PTEN, has been recently implicated in the progression of various human malignancies, including colorectal cancer. We report here that NHERF1 acts as a tumor suppressor in vivo for intestinal adenoma development. NHERF1 is highly expressed at the apical membrane of mucosa intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) and serosa mesothelial cells. NHERF1-deficient mice show overall longer small intestine and colon that most likely could be attributed to a combination of defects, including altered apical brush border of absorbtive IECs and increased number of secretory IECs. NHERF1 deficiency in Apc(Min/+) mice resulted in significantly shorter animal survival due to markedly increased tumor burden. This resulted from a moderate increase of the overall tumor density, more pronounced in females than males, and a massive increase in the number of large adenomas in both genders. The analysis of possible pathways controlling tumor size showed upregulation of Wnt-β-catenin pathway, higher expression of unphosphorylated YAP, and prominent nuclear expression of cyclin D1 in NHERF1-deficient tumors. Similar YAP changes, with relative decrease of phosphorylated YAP and increase of nuclear YAP expression, were observed as early as the adenoma stages in the progression of human colorectal cancer. This study discusses a complex role of NHERF1 for intestinal morphology and presents indisputable evidence for its in vivo tumor suppressor function upstream of Wnt-β-catenin and Hippo-YAP pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria-Magdalena Georgescu
- Department of Pathology and Translational Pathobiology, Louisiana State University, Shreveport, LA, 71103, USA.
| | - Mihai Gagea
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Gilbert Cote
- Department of Endocrine Neoplasia and Hormonal Disorders, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
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Georgescu MM, Mobley BC, Orr BA, Shang P, Lehman NL, Zhu X, O’Neill TJ, Rajaram V, Hatanpaa KJ, Timmons CF, Raisanen JM. NHERF1/EBP50 and NF2 as diagnostic markers for choroid plexus tumors. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2016; 4:55. [PMID: 27229317 PMCID: PMC4882843 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-016-0329-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2016] [Accepted: 05/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The adaptor protein NHERF1 (Na/H exchanger-3 regulatory factor-1) and its associated ezrin-radixin-moesin-merlin/neurofibromin-2 (ERM-NF2) family proteins are required for epithelial morphogenesis and have been implicated in cancer progression. NHERF1 is expressed in ependymal cells and constitutes a highly sensitive diagnostic marker for ependymoma, where it labels membrane polarity structures. Since NHERF1 and ERM-NF2 proteins show polarized expression in choroid plexus (CP) cells, we tested their diagnostic utility in CP neoplasms. NHERF1 immunohistochemistry in 43 adult and pediatric tumors with papillary morphology revealed strong apical plasma membrane staining in CP papilloma (WHO grade I) and cytoplasmic expression in CP carcinoma (WHO grade III). Ezrin and moesin showed similar but less distinctive staining. NHERF1 also labeled papillary tumors of the pineal region in a microlumen and focal apical membrane pattern, suggestive of a transitional morphology between CP papilloma and ependymoma. CP tumors of all grades could be differentiated from metastatic carcinomas with papillary architecture by NF2, which showed polarized membranous staining in CP tumors. NHERF1 and NF2 immunohistochemistry showed enhanced sensitivity and specificity for CP tumors compared to commonly used markers, including cytokeratins and Kir7.1, emerging as reliable diagnostic tools for the differential diagnosis of papillary tumors of the central nervous system.
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