Casitas B-Lineage Lymphoma RING Domain Inhibitors Protect Mice against High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity and Insulin Resistance

The casitas b-lineage lymphoma (c-Cbl) is an important adaptor protein with an intrinsic E3 ubiquitin ligase activity that interacts with E2 proteins such as UbCH7. c-Cbl plays a vital role in regulating receptor tyrosine kinase signaling. c-Cbl involves in whole-body energy homeostasis, which makes it a potential target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity. In the present study, we have designed two parental peptides and 55 modified peptides based on the structure of UbCH7 loop L1 and L2. Thirteen of the modified peptides showed increased inhibitory activity in a fluorescence polarization-based assay. In the in vivo proof of study principle, mice treated with peptides 10, 34, 49 and 51 were protected against high-fat diet-induced obesity and insulin resistant. These inhibitors may potentially lead to new therapeutic alternatives for obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Development of a fluorescence polarization based high-throughput assay to identify Casitas B-lineage lymphoma RING domain regulators

The E3 ubiquitin protein ligase Casitas B-lineage Lymphoma (Cbl) proteins and their binding partners play an important role in regulating signal transduction pathways. It is important to utilize regulators to study the protein-protein interactions (PPIs) between these proteins. However, finding specific small-molecule regulators of PPIs remains a significant challenge due to the fact that the interfaces involved in PPIs are not well suited for effective small molecule binding. We report the development of a competitive, homogeneous, high-throughput fluorescence polarization (FP) assay to identify small molecule regulators of Cbl (RING) domain. The FP assay was used to measure binding affinities and inhibition constants of UbCH7 peptides and small molecule regulators of Cbl (RING) domains, respectively. In order to rule out promiscuous, aggregation-based inhibition, two assay conditions were developed and compared side by side. Under optimized conditions, we screened a 10,000 natural compound library in detergent-free and detergent-present (0.01% Triton X-100) systems. The results indicate that the detergent-present system is more suitable for high-throughput screens. Three potential compounds, methylprotodioscin, leonuride and catalpol, have been identified that bind to Cbl (RING) domain and interfere with the Cbl (RING)-UbCH7 protein-protein interaction.

Inhibition of BRCT(BRCA1)-phosphoprotein interaction enhances the cytotoxic effect of olaparib in breast cancer cells: a proof of concept study for synthetic lethal therapeutic option

Synthetic lethal therapeutic strategy using poly(adenosine diphosphate [ADP]-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor olaparib in carriers of BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation has shown promise in clinical settings. Since <5 % of patients are BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers, small molecules that functionally mimic BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations will extend the synthetic lethal therapeutic option for non-mutation carriers. Here we provide proof of principle for this strategy using a BRCA1 inhibitor peptide 2 that targets the BRCT(BRCA1)-phosphoprotein interaction and mimics the M177R/K BRCA1 mutation. Reciprocal immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting of BRCA1 and Abraxas was used to demonstrate inhibitor 2 targets BRCT(BRCA1)-Abraxas interface. Immunostaining of γH2AX, cell cycle analysis and homologous recombination (HR) assays were conducted to confirm that inhibitor 2 functionally mimics a chemosensitizing BRCA1 mutation. The concept of synthetic lethal therapeutic strategy with the BRCA1 inhibitor 2 and the PARP inhibitor Olaparib was explored in HeLa, MDA-MB-231, and HCC1937 cell lines. The results show that inhibition of BRCA1 by 2 sensitizes HeLa and MDA-MB-231 cells but not HCC1937 to Olaparib mediated growth inhibition and apoptosis. These results provide the basis for developing high affinity BRCT(BRCA1) inhibitors as adjuvants to treat sporadic breast and ovarian cancers.