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Traverse KKF, Mortensen S, Trautman JG, Danison H, Rizvi NF, Lee-Parsons CWT. Generation of Stable Catharanthus roseus Hairy Root Lines with Agrobacterium rhizogenes. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2469:129-144. [PMID: 35508835 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2185-1_11] [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] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Agrobacterium rhizogenes is the bacterial agent that causes hairy root disease in dicots and is purposefully engineered for the development of transgenic hairy root cultures. Due to their genetic and metabolic stability, hairy root cultures offer advantages as a tissue culture system for investigating the function of transgenes and as a production platform for specialized metabolites or proteins. The process for generating hairy root cultures involves first infecting the explant with A. rhizogenes, excising and eliminating A. rhizogenes from the emerging hairy roots, selecting for transgenic hairy roots on plates containing the selective agent, confirming genomic integration of transgenes by PCR, and finally adapting the hairy roots in liquid media. Here we provide a detailed protocol for developing and maintaining transgenic hairy root cultures of our medicinal plant of interest, Catharanthus roseus.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Juliet G Trautman
- Department of Bioengineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Hope Danison
- Department of Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Noreen F Rizvi
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Carolyn W T Lee-Parsons
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.
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Mortensen S, Weaver JD, Sathitloetsakun S, Cole LF, Rizvi NF, Cram EJ, Lee‐Parsons CWT. The regulation of ZCT1, a transcriptional repressor of monoterpenoid indole alkaloid biosynthetic genes in Catharanthus roseus. Plant Direct 2019; 3:e00193. [PMID: 31909362 PMCID: PMC6937483 DOI: 10.1002/pld3.193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2019] [Revised: 11/13/2019] [Accepted: 12/02/2019] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Cys2/His2-type (C2H2) zinc finger proteins, such as ZCT1, are an important class of transcription factors involved in growth, development, and stress responses in plants. In the medicinal plant Catharanthus roseus, the zinc finger Catharanthus transcription factor (ZCT) family represses monoterpenoid indole alkaloid (MIA) biosynthetic gene expression. Here, we report the analysis of the ZCT1 promoter, which contains several hormone-responsive elements. ZCT1 is responsive to not only jasmonate, as was previously known, but is also induced by the synthetic auxin, 1-naphthalene acetic acid (1-NAA). Through promoter deletion analysis, we show that an activation sequence-1-like (as-1-like)-motif and other motifs contribute significantly to ZCT1 expression in seedlings. We also show that the activator ORCA3 does not transactivate the expression of ZCT1 in seedlings, but ZCT1 represses its own promoter, suggesting a feedback mechanism by which the expression of ZCT1 can be limited.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Suphinya Sathitloetsakun
- Department of BiologyNortheastern UniversityBostonMAUSA
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical BiologyNortheastern UniversityBostonMAUSA
| | - Lauren F. Cole
- Department of BioengineeringNortheastern UniversityBostonMAUSA
| | - Noreen F. Rizvi
- Department of Chemical EngineeringNortheastern UniversityBostonMAUSA
| | - Erin J. Cram
- Department of BiologyNortheastern UniversityBostonMAUSA
| | - Carolyn W. T. Lee‐Parsons
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical BiologyNortheastern UniversityBostonMAUSA
- Department of Chemical EngineeringNortheastern UniversityBostonMAUSA
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Rizvi NF, Santa Maria JP, Nahvi A, Klappenbach J, Klein DJ, Curran PJ, Richards MP, Chamberlin C, Saradjian P, Burchard J, Aguilar R, Lee JT, Dandliker PJ, Smith GF, Kutchukian P, Nickbarg EB. Targeting RNA with Small Molecules: Identification of Selective, RNA-Binding Small Molecules Occupying Drug-Like Chemical Space. SLAS DISCOVERY: Advancing the Science of Drug Discovery 2019; 25:384-396. [DOI: 10.1177/2472555219885373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Although the potential value of RNA as a target for new small molecule therapeutics is becoming increasingly credible, the physicochemical properties required for small molecules to selectively bind to RNA remain relatively unexplored. To investigate the druggability of RNAs with small molecules, we have employed affinity mass spectrometry, using the Automated Ligand Identification System (ALIS), to screen 42 RNAs from a variety of RNA classes, each against an array of chemically diverse drug-like small molecules (~50,000 compounds) and functionally annotated tool compounds (~5100 compounds). The set of RNA–small molecule interactions that was generated was compared with that for protein–small molecule interactions, and naïve Bayesian models were constructed to determine the types of specific chemical properties that bias small molecules toward binding to RNA. This set of RNA-selective chemical features was then used to build an RNA-focused set of ~3800 small molecules that demonstrated increased propensity toward binding the RNA target set. In addition, the data provide an overview of the specific physicochemical properties that help to enable binding to potential RNA targets. This work has increased the understanding of the chemical properties that are involved in small molecule binding to RNA, and the methodology used here is generally applicable to RNA-focused drug discovery efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ali Nahvi
- Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, PA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Rodrigo Aguilar
- Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital; Department of Genetics, The Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jeannie T. Lee
- Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital; Department of Genetics, The Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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Rizvi NF, Nickbarg EB. RNA-ALIS: Methodology for screening soluble RNAs as small molecule targets using ALIS affinity-selection mass spectrometry. Methods 2019; 167:28-38. [PMID: 31059829 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2019.04.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2019] [Revised: 04/10/2019] [Accepted: 04/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent advances resulting from the completion of the human genome have shown that RNA has the promise to be a target for small molecule drugs, and therefore represents a previously unexploited class of targets for novel human therapeutics. We recently reported the adaptation of an affinity selection mass spectrometry screening technique, termed ALIS (Automatic Ligand Identification System), to screen and characterize a variety of RNA species from both prokaryotic and eukaryotic sources. We demonstrated that the ALIS technique, which had previously been used for protein targets, was also compatible for screening, ranking and characterizing small molecule ligands for RNA targets. We present here a detailed description of the use of ALIS for screening and characterizing ligands for RNA and discuss issues of validating and testing RNA for use in the ALIS system. We have also further elaborated on issues of RNA stability and testing in the ALIS system and demonstrate that the affinity-selection screening system has the potential to be a general solution for label-free screening and characterization of small molecule drug candidates for RNA targets.
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Flusberg DA, Rizvi NF, Kutilek V, Andrews C, Saradjian P, Chamberlin C, Curran P, Swalm B, Kattar S, Smith GF, Dandliker P, Nickbarg EB, O'Neil J. Identification of G-Quadruplex-Binding Inhibitors of Myc Expression through Affinity Selection-Mass Spectrometry. SLAS Discov 2018; 24:142-157. [PMID: 30204533 DOI: 10.1177/2472555218796656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The Myc oncogene is overexpressed in many cancers, yet targeting it for cancer therapy has remained elusive. One strategy for inhibition of Myc expression is through stabilization of the G-quadruplex (G4), a G-rich DNA secondary structure found within the Myc promoter; stabilization of G4s has been shown to halt transcription of downstream gene products. Here we used the Automated Ligand Identification System (ALIS), an affinity selection-mass spectrometry method, to identify compounds that bind to the Myc G4 out of a pool of compounds that had previously been shown to inhibit Myc expression in a reporter screen. Using an ALIS-based screen, we identified hits that bound to the Myc G4, a small subset of which bound preferentially relative to G4s from the promoters of five other genes. To determine functionality and specificity of the Myc G4-binding compounds in cell-based assays, we compared inhibition of Myc expression in cells with and without Myc G4 regulation. Several compounds inhibited Myc expression only in the Myc G4-containing line, and one compound was verified to function through Myc G4 binding. Our study demonstrates that ALIS can be used to identify selective nucleic acid-binding compounds from phenotypic screen hits, increasing the pool of drug targets beyond proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Sam Kattar
- 3 Chemistry, Merck & Co., Inc., Boston, MA, USA
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Rizvi NF, Howe JA, Nahvi A, Klein DJ, Fischmann TO, Kim HY, McCoy MA, Walker SS, Hruza A, Richards MP, Chamberlin C, Saradjian P, Butko MT, Mercado G, Burchard J, Strickland C, Dandliker PJ, Smith GF, Nickbarg EB. Discovery of Selective RNA-Binding Small Molecules by Affinity-Selection Mass Spectrometry. ACS Chem Biol 2018; 13:820-831. [PMID: 29412640 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.7b01013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Recent advances in understanding the relevance of noncoding RNA (ncRNA) to disease have increased interest in drugging ncRNA with small molecules. The recent discovery of ribocil, a structurally distinct synthetic mimic of the natural ligand of the flavin mononucleotide (FMN) riboswitch, has revealed the potential chemical diversity of small molecules that target ncRNA. Affinity-selection mass spectrometry (AS-MS) is theoretically applicable to high-throughput screening (HTS) of small molecules binding to ncRNA. Here, we report the first application of the Automated Ligand Detection System (ALIS), an indirect AS-MS technique, for the selective detection of small molecule-ncRNA interactions, high-throughput screening against large unbiased small-molecule libraries, and identification and characterization of novel compounds (structurally distinct from both FMN and ribocil) that target the FMN riboswitch. Crystal structures reveal that different compounds induce various conformations of the FMN riboswitch, leading to different activity profiles. Our findings validate the ALIS platform for HTS screening for RNA-binding small molecules and further demonstrate that ncRNA can be broadly targeted by chemically diverse yet selective small molecules as therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noreen F. Rizvi
- Merck & Co., Inc., Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - John A. Howe
- Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey 07033, United States
| | - Ali Nahvi
- Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania 19486, United States
| | - Daniel J. Klein
- Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania 19486, United States
| | | | - Hai-Young Kim
- Merck & Co., Inc., Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Mark A. McCoy
- Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey 07033, United States
| | - Scott S. Walker
- Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey 07033, United States
| | - Alan Hruza
- Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey 07033, United States
| | | | - Chad Chamberlin
- Merck & Co., Inc., Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Peter Saradjian
- Merck & Co., Inc., Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | | | - Gabriel Mercado
- Biodesy, Inc., South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Julja Burchard
- Merck & Co., Inc., Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | | | | | - Graham F. Smith
- Merck & Co., Inc., Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
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Rizvi NF, Weaver JD, Cram EJ, Lee-Parsons CWT. Silencing the Transcriptional Repressor, ZCT1, Illustrates the Tight Regulation of Terpenoid Indole Alkaloid Biosynthesis in Catharanthus roseus Hairy Roots. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0159712. [PMID: 27467510 PMCID: PMC4965073 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0159712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2015] [Accepted: 07/07/2016] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The Catharanthus roseus plant is the source of many valuable terpenoid indole alkaloids (TIAs), including the anticancer compounds vinblastine and vincristine. Transcription factors (TFs) are promising metabolic engineering targets due to their ability to regulate multiple biosynthetic pathway genes. To increase TIA biosynthesis, we elicited the TIA transcriptional activators (ORCAs and other unidentified TFs) with the plant hormone, methyl jasmonate (MJ), while simultaneously silencing the expression of the transcriptional repressor ZCT1. To silence ZCT1, we developed transgenic hairy root cultures of C. roseus that expressed an estrogen-inducible Zct1 hairpin for activating RNA interference. The presence of 17β-estradiol (5μM) effectively depleted Zct1 in hairy root cultures elicited with MJ dosages that either optimize or inhibit TIA production (250 or 1000μM). However, silencing Zct1 was not sufficient to increase TIA production or the expression of the TIA biosynthetic genes (G10h, Tdc, and Str), illustrating the tight regulation of TIA biosynthesis. The repression of the TIA biosynthetic genes at the inhibitory MJ dosage does not appear to be solely regulated by ZCT1. For instance, while Zct1 and Zct2 levels decreased through activating the Zct1 hairpin, Zct3 levels remained elevated. Since ZCT repressors have redundant yet distinct functions, silencing all three ZCTs may be necessary to relieve their repression of alkaloid biosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noreen F Rizvi
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States of America
| | - Jessica D Weaver
- Department of Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States of America
| | - Erin J Cram
- Department of Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States of America
| | - Carolyn W T Lee-Parsons
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States of America
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States of America
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Goklany S, Rizvi NF, Loring RH, Cram EJ, Lee-Parsons CWT. Jasmonate-dependent alkaloid biosynthesis inCatharanthus Roseushairy root cultures is correlated with the relative expression ofOrcaandZcttranscription factors. Biotechnol Prog 2013; 29:1367-76. [DOI: 10.1002/btpr.1801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2013] [Revised: 08/14/2013] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sheba Goklany
- Dept. of Chemical Engineering; Northeastern University; Boston MA 02115
| | - Noreen F. Rizvi
- Dept. of Chemical Engineering; Northeastern University; Boston MA 02115
| | - Ralph H. Loring
- Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences; Northeastern University; Boston MA 02115
| | - Erin J. Cram
- Dept. of Biology; Northeastern University; Boston MA 02115
| | - Carolyn W. T. Lee-Parsons
- Dept. of Chemical Engineering; Northeastern University; Boston MA 02115
- Dept. of Chemistry and Chemical Biology; Northeastern University; Boston MA 02115
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