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Zhou Y, Zhou F, Xu S, Shi D, Ding D, Wang S, Poongavanam V, Tang K, Liu X, Zhan P. Hydrophobic tagging of small molecules: an overview of the literature and future outlook. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2024:1-15. [PMID: 38825802 DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2024.2360416] [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: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/04/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Hydrophobic tagging (HyT) technology presents a distinct therapeutic strategy diverging from conventional small molecule drugs, providing an innovative approach to drug design. This review aims to provide an overview of the HyT literature and future outlook to offer guidance for drug design. AREAS COVERED In this review, the authors introduce the composition, mechanisms and advantages of HyT technology, as well as summarize the detailed applications of HyT technology in anti-cancer, neurodegenerative diseases (NDs), autoimmune disorders, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), and other fields. Furthermore, this review discusses key aspects of the future development of HyT molecules. EXPERT OPINION HyT emerges as a highly promising targeted protein degradation (TPD) strategy, following the successful development of proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTAC) and molecular glue. Based on exploring new avenues, modification of the HyT molecule itself potentially enhances the technology. Improved synthetic pathways and emphasis on pharmacokinetic (PK) properties will facilitate the development of HyT. Furthermore, elucidating the biochemical basis by which the compound's hydrophobic moiety recruits the protein homeostasis network will enable the development of more precise assays that can guide the optimization of the linker and hydrophobic moiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Zhou
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, PR China
| | - Fan Zhou
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, PR China
| | - Shujing Xu
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, PR China
| | - Dazhou Shi
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, PR China
| | - Dang Ding
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, PR China
| | - Shuo Wang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, PR China
| | | | - Kai Tang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, PR China
| | - Xinyong Liu
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, PR China
| | - Peng Zhan
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, PR China
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Voutsadakis IA. Mediator kinase module proteins, genetic alterations and expression of super-enhancer regulated genes in colorectal cancer. Pharmacol Rep 2024; 76:535-556. [PMID: 38602606 DOI: 10.1007/s43440-024-00589-2] [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: 01/08/2024] [Revised: 03/17/2024] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Genetic alterations are well characterized as contributors to the pathogenesis of cancers. Epigenetic abnormalities can lead to perturbations of the expression of genes in cancer cells without structural defects. Deregulation of proteins of the transcription machinery may result in perturbations of target genes. Mediator, a multiprotein component of the transcription machinery facilitates the function of RNA polymerase II, which transcribes most human genes. A part of the mediator with kinase activity, called the Mediator kinase module shows genetic alterations in a sub-set of colorectal cancers. METHODS Data from publicly available genomic series of colorectal cancer patients were examined to determine alterations of Mediator kinase module component genes, including MED12, MED12L, MED13, MED13L, CDK8, CDK19, and CCNC. The prevalence of alterations in genomically defined colorectal cancer sub-sets was also interrogated. The effect of Mediator kinase module member gene expression on colorectal cancer relapse-free survival was investigated. RESULTS Mutations in genes of the Mediator kinase module were present in a small percentage of colorectal cancers, ranging between 2 to 10% for MED12 and MED13 and alternative units MED12L and MED13L and below 2% for kinases CDK8 and CDK19 and cyclin C. Amplifications of the CDK8 gene were observed in 3% to 5% of colorectal cancers. The highest prevalence of mutations was observed in MSI cancers and the equivalent CMS1 group, with other genomic groups showing much lower frequency. An association of higher expression of MED12 with inferior relapse-free survival was observed. In contrast, higher expression of cyclin C was associated with improved survival. Colorectal cancer cell lines with CDK8 amplifications displayed sensitivity to several small molecule inhibitors of the KRAS/PI3K pathway but not to BET inhibitors. CONCLUSION The Mediator kinase module is deregulated in a sub-set of colorectal cancers with differences observed in genomically defined groups. These variations may result in differences in sensitivity to targeted therapies and may have to be taken into consideration as such therapies are developed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioannis A Voutsadakis
- Algoma District Cancer Program, Sault Area Hospital, Sault Ste Marie, ON, P6B 0A8, Canada.
- Division of Clinical Sciences, Section of Internal Medicine, Northern Ontario School of Medicine, 750 Great Northern Road, Sudbury, ON, Canada.
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Wang D, Ritz C, Pierce A, Brunt B, Luo Y, Dahl N, Venkataraman S, Danis E, Kuś K, Mazan M, Rzymski T, Veo B, Vibhakar R. Transcriptional Regulation of Protein Synthesis by Mediator Kinase in MYC-driven Medulloblastoma. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.08.584103. [PMID: 38559100 PMCID: PMC10979852 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.08.584103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
MYC-driven medulloblastoma (MB) is a highly aggressive cancer type with poor prognosis and limited treatment options. Through CRISPR-Cas9 screening across MB cell lines, we identified the Mediator-associated kinase CDK8 as the top dependence for MYC-driven MB. Loss of CDK8 markedly reduces MYC expression and impedes MB growth. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that CDK8 depletion suppresses ribosome biogenesis and mRNA translation. CDK8 regulates occupancy of phospho-Polymerase II at specific chromatin loci facilitating an epigenetic alteration that promotes transcriptional regulation of ribosome biogenesis. Additionally, CDK8-mediated phosphorylation of 4EBP1 plays a crucial role in initiating eIF4E-dependent translation. Targeting CDK8 effectively suppresses cancer stem and progenitor cells, characterized by increased ribosome biogenesis activity. We also report the synergistic inhibition of CDK8 and mTOR in vivo and in vitro . Overall, our findings establish a connection between transcription and translation regulation, suggesting a promising therapeutic approach targets multiple points in the protein synthesis network for MYC-driven MB.
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Wang M, Lin R, Li J, Suo Y, Gao J, Liu L, Zhou L, Ni Y, Yang Z, Zheng J, Lin J, Zhou H, Luo C, Lin H. Discovery of LL-K8-22: A Selective, Durable, and Small-Molecule Degrader of the CDK8-Cyclin C Complex. J Med Chem 2023; 66:4932-4951. [PMID: 36930701 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c02045] [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: 03/19/2023]
Abstract
The CDK8-cyclin C complex is an important anti-tumor target, but unlike CDK8, cyclin C remains undruggable. Modulators regulating cyclin C activity directly are still under development. Here, a series of hydrophobic tagging-based degraders of the CDK8-cyclin C complex were designed, synthesized, and evaluated to identify the first dual degrader, LL-K8-22, which induced selective and synchronous degradation of CDK8 and cyclin C. Proteomic and immunoblot studies exhibited that LL-K8-22 significantly degraded CDK8 without reducing CDK19 and did not degrade other cyclin proteins except cyclin C. Moreover, LL-K8-22 showed enhanced anti-proliferative effects over its parental molecule, BI-1347, with potency increased by 5-fold in MDA-MB-468 cells. LL-K8-22 exhibited more pronounced effects on CDK8-cyclin C downstream signaling than BI-1347, suppressing STAT1 phosphorylation more persistently. RNA-sequencing analysis revealed that LL-K8-22 inhibited E2F- and MYC-driven carcinogenic transcriptional programs. Overall, LL-K8-22 is the first-in-class degrader of cyclin C and would be useful for studying the unknown functions of cyclin C.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingyu Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Rongkun Lin
- School of Pharmacy, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350122, China
| | - Jiacheng Li
- State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yuying Suo
- State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Jing Gao
- Biomedical Research Center of South China, College of Life Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350117, China
| | - Liping Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Liyuan Zhou
- School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou 310024, China
| | - Yicheng Ni
- School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou 310024, China
| | - Ziqun Yang
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- Center of Immunological Diseases, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Jie Zheng
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- Center of Immunological Diseases, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Jin Lin
- School of Pharmacy, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350122, China
| | - Hu Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Cheng Luo
- School of Pharmacy, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350122, China
- State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- Zhongshan Institute for Drug Discovery, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhongshan 528437, China
- School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou 310024, China
| | - Hua Lin
- Biomedical Research Center of South China, College of Life Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350117, China
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Rathod S, Shinde K, Porlekar J, Choudhari P, Dhavale R, Mahuli D, Tamboli Y, Bhatia M, Haval KP, Al-Sehemi AG, Pannipara M. Computational Exploration of Anti-cancer Potential of Flavonoids against Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 8: An In Silico Molecular Docking and Dynamic Approach. ACS OMEGA 2023; 8:391-409. [PMID: 36643495 PMCID: PMC9835631 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c04837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2022] [Accepted: 12/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Over the centuries, cancer has been considered one of the significant health threats. It holds the position in the list of deadliest diseases over the globe. In women, breast cancer is the most common among many cancers and is the second most common cancer all over the world, while lung cancer is the first. Cyclin-dependent kinase 8 (CDK8) has been identified as a critical oncogenic driver that is found in breast cancer and associated with tumor progression. Flavonoids were virtually screened against CDK8 using molecular docking, drug-likeness, ADMET prediction, and a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation approach to determine the potential flavonoid structure against CDK8. The results indicated that ZINC000005854718 showed the highest negative binding affinity of -10.7 kcal/mol with the targeted protein and passed all the drug-likeness parameters. Performed molecular dynamics simulation showed that docked complex systems have good conformational stability over 100 ns in different temperatures (298, 300, 305, 310, and 320 K). The comparison between calculated binding free energy via MM/PB(GB)SA methods and binding affinity calculated via molecular docking suggested tight binding of ZINC000005854718 with targeted protein. The results concluded that ZINC000005854718 has drug-like properties with tight and stable binding with the targeted protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanket Rathod
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Bharati Vidyapeeth
College of Pharmacy, Kolhapur 416 013, Maharashtra, India
| | - Ketaki Shinde
- Department
of Quality Assurance Techniques, Poona College of Pharmacy, Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University, Pune 411 038, Maharashtra, India
| | - Jaykedar Porlekar
- Department
of Pharmaceutics, Bharati Vidyapeeth College
of Pharmacy, Kolhapur 416 013, Maharashtra, India
| | - Prafulla Choudhari
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Bharati Vidyapeeth
College of Pharmacy, Kolhapur 416 013, Maharashtra, India
| | - Rakesh Dhavale
- Department
of Pharmaceutics, Bharati Vidyapeeth College
of Pharmacy, Kolhapur 416 013, Maharashtra, India
| | - Deepak Mahuli
- Department
of Pharmacology, Bharati Vidyapeeth College
of Pharmacy, Kolhapur 416 013, Maharashtra, India
| | - Yasinalli Tamboli
- Wockhardt
Research Centre, D-4, MIDC, Chikalthana, Aurangabad 431 006, Maharashtra, India
| | - Manish Bhatia
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Bharati Vidyapeeth
College of Pharmacy, Kolhapur 416 013, Maharashtra, India
| | - Kishan P. Haval
- Department
of Chemistry, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada
University Sub Campus, Osmanabad 413501, Maharashtra, India
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Tong L, Jiménez-Cortegana C, Tay AH, Wickström S, Galluzzi L, Lundqvist A. NK cells and solid tumors: therapeutic potential and persisting obstacles. Mol Cancer 2022; 21:206. [PMID: 36319998 PMCID: PMC9623927 DOI: 10.1186/s12943-022-01672-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2022] [Revised: 09/10/2022] [Accepted: 09/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Natural killer (NK) cells, which are innate lymphocytes endowed with potent cytotoxic activity, have recently attracted attention as potential anticancer therapeutics. While NK cells mediate encouraging responses in patients with leukemia, the therapeutic effects of NK cell infusion in patients with solid tumors are limited. Preclinical and clinical data suggest that the efficacy of NK cell infusion against solid malignancies is hampered by several factors including inadequate tumor infiltration and persistence/activation in the tumor microenvironment (TME). A number of metabolic features of the TME including hypoxia as well as elevated levels of adenosine, reactive oxygen species, and prostaglandins negatively affect NK cell activity. Moreover, cancer-associated fibroblasts, tumor-associated macrophages, myeloid-derived suppressor cells, and regulatory T cells actively suppress NK cell-dependent anticancer immunity. Here, we review the metabolic and cellular barriers that inhibit NK cells in solid neoplasms as we discuss potential strategies to circumvent such obstacles towards superior therapeutic activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Le Tong
- grid.4714.60000 0004 1937 0626Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Carlos Jiménez-Cortegana
- grid.5386.8000000041936877XDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY USA ,grid.9224.d0000 0001 2168 1229Department of Medical Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Seville, Seville, Spain
| | - Apple H.M. Tay
- grid.4714.60000 0004 1937 0626Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden ,grid.59025.3b0000 0001 2224 0361Department of Biological Science, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Stina Wickström
- grid.4714.60000 0004 1937 0626Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Lorenzo Galluzzi
- grid.5386.8000000041936877XDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY USA ,grid.5386.8000000041936877XSandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, New York, NY USA ,grid.5386.8000000041936877XCaryl and Israel Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, New York, NY USA
| | - Andreas Lundqvist
- grid.4714.60000 0004 1937 0626Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
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van der Noord VE, van de Water B, Le Dévédec SE. Targeting the Heterogeneous Genomic Landscape in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer through Inhibitors of the Transcriptional Machinery. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:4353. [PMID: 36139513 PMCID: PMC9496798 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14184353] [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: 08/10/2022] [Revised: 08/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype of breast cancer defined by lack of the estrogen, progesterone and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2. Although TNBC tumors contain a wide variety of oncogenic mutations and copy number alterations, the direct targeting of these alterations has failed to substantially improve therapeutic efficacy. This efficacy is strongly limited by interpatient and intratumor heterogeneity, and thereby a lack in uniformity of targetable drivers. Most of these genetic abnormalities eventually drive specific transcriptional programs, which may be a general underlying vulnerability. Currently, there are multiple selective inhibitors, which target the transcriptional machinery through transcriptional cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) 7, 8, 9, 12 and 13 and bromodomain extra-terminal motif (BET) proteins, including BRD4. In this review, we discuss how inhibitors of the transcriptional machinery can effectively target genetic abnormalities in TNBC, and how these abnormalities can influence sensitivity to these inhibitors. These inhibitors target the genomic landscape in TNBC by specifically suppressing MYC-driven transcription, inducing further DNA damage, improving anti-cancer immunity, and preventing drug resistance against MAPK and PI3K-targeted therapies. Because the transcriptional machinery enables transcription and propagation of multiple cancer drivers, it may be a promising target for (combination) treatment, especially of heterogeneous malignancies, including TNBC.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Sylvia E. Le Dévédec
- Division of Drug Discovery and Safety, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden University, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
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Cyclin-dependent kinases in breast cancer: expression pattern and therapeutic implications. Med Oncol 2022; 39:106. [PMID: 35486263 DOI: 10.1007/s12032-022-01731-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Presently, breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common malignancies diagnosed and the leading cause of tumor-related deaths among women worldwide. Cell cycle dysregulation is one of the hallmarks of cancer, resulting in uncontrolled cell proliferation. Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are central to the cell cycle control system, and deregulation of these kinases leads to the development of malignancies, including breast cancer. CDKs and cyclins have been reported as crucial components involved in tumor cell proliferation and metastasis. Given the aggressive nature, tumor heterogeneity, and chemoresistance, there is an urgent need to explore novel targets and therapeutics to manage breast cancer effectively. Inhibitors targeting CDKs modulate the cell cycle, thus throwing light upon their therapeutic aspect where the progression of tumor cells could be inhibited. This article gives a comprehensive account of CDKs in breast cancer progression and metastasis and recent developments in the modulation of CDKs in treating malignancies. We have also explored the expression pattern and prognostic significance of CDKs in breast cancer patients. The article will also shed light on the Implications of CDK inhibition and TGF-β signaling in breast cancer.
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