1
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Hadzima M, Faucher F, Blažková K, Yim JJ, Guerra M, Chen S, Woods EC, Park KW, Šácha P, Šubr V, Kostka L, Etrych T, Majer P, Konvalinka J, Bogyo M. Polymer-tethered quenched fluorescent probes for enhanced imaging of tumor associated proteases. bioRxiv 2024:2024.05.06.592849. [PMID: 38766164 PMCID: PMC11100723 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.06.592849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
Fluorescence-based contrast agents enable real-time detection of solid tumors and their neovasculature, making them ideal for use in image-guided surgery. Several agents have entered late-stage clinical trials or secured FDA approval, suggesting they are likely to become standard of care in cancer surgeries. One of the key parameters to optimize in contrast agent is molecular size, which dictates much of the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of the agent. Here, we describe the development of a class of protease-activated quenched fluorescent probes in which a N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide copolymer is used as the primary scaffold. This copolymer core provides a high degree of probe modularity to generate structures that cannot be achieved with small molecules and peptide probes. We used a previously validated cathepsin substrate and evaluated the effects of length and type of linker as well as positioning of the fluorophore/quencher pair on the polymer core. We found that the polymeric probes could be optimized to achieve increased over-all signal and tumor-to-background ratios compared to the reference small molecule probe. Our results also revealed multiple structure-activity relationship trends that can be used to design and optimize future optical imaging probes. Furthermore, they confirm that a hydrophilic polymer is an ideal scaffold for use in optical imaging contrast probes, allowing a highly modular design that enables efficient optimization to maximize probe accumulation and overall biodistribution properties.
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2
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Lemberg KM, Ali ES, Krecmerova M, Aguilar JMH, Alt J, Peters DE, Zhao L, Wu Y, Nuha N, Asara JM, Staedtke V, Pratilas CA, Majer P, Rais R, Ben-Sahra I, Slusher BS. Pro-905, a Novel Purine Antimetabolite, Combines with Glutamine Amidotransferase Inhibition to Suppress Growth of Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor. Mol Cancer Ther 2023; 22:1390-1403. [PMID: 37616542 PMCID: PMC10690047 DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.mct-23-0258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Revised: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST) are highly aggressive soft-tissue sarcomas that arise from neural tissues and carry a poor prognosis. Previously, we found that the glutamine amidotransferase inhibitor JHU395 partially impeded tumor growth in preclinical models of MPNST. JHU395 inhibits de novo purine synthesis in human MPNST cells and murine tumors with partial decreases in purine monophosphates. On the basis of prior studies showing enhanced efficacy when glutamine amidotransferase inhibition was combined with the antimetabolite 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP), we hypothesized that such a combination would be efficacious in MPNST. Given the known toxicity associated with 6-MP, we set out to develop a more efficient and well-tolerated drug that targets the purine salvage pathway. Here, we report the discovery of Pro-905, a phosphoramidate protide that delivered the active nucleotide antimetabolite thioguanosine monophosphate (TGMP) to tumors over 2.5 times better than equimolar 6-MP. Pro-905 effectively prevented the incorporation of purine salvage substrates into nucleic acids and inhibited colony formation of human MPNST cells in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, Pro-905 inhibited MPNST growth and was well-tolerated in both human patient-derived xenograft (PDX) and murine flank MPNST models. When combined with JHU395, Pro-905 enhanced the colony formation inhibitory potency of JHU395 in human MPNST cells and augmented the antitumor efficacy of JHU395 in mice. In summary, the dual inhibition of the de novo and purine salvage pathways in preclinical models may safely be used to enhance therapeutic efficacy against MPNST.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn M. Lemberg
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Eunus S. Ali
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Marcela Krecmerova
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | | | - Jesse Alt
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Diane E. Peters
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Baltimore, Maryland
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Liang Zhao
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Ying Wu
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Naziba Nuha
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - John M. Asara
- Division of Signal Transduction, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Department of Medicine, Harvard University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Verena Staedtke
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Christine A. Pratilas
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Rana Rais
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Baltimore, Maryland
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Issam Ben-Sahra
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Barbara S. Slusher
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Baltimore, Maryland
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
- Departments of Medicine, Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
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3
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Novotná K, Tenora L, Prchalová E, Paule J, Alt J, Veeravalli V, Lam J, Wu Y, Šnajdr I, Gori S, Mettu VS, Tsukamoto T, Majer P, Slusher BS, Rais R. Discovery of tert-Butyl Ester Based 6-Diazo-5-oxo-l-norleucine Prodrugs for Enhanced Metabolic Stability and Tumor Delivery. J Med Chem 2023; 66:15493-15510. [PMID: 37949450 PMCID: PMC10683027 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c01681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Revised: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
The glutamine antagonist 6-diazo-5-oxo-l-norleucine (DON) exhibits remarkable anticancer efficacy; however, its therapeutic potential is hindered by its toxicity to gastrointestinal (GI) tissues. We recently reported the discovery of DRP-104, a tumor-targeted DON prodrug with excellent efficacy and tolerability, which is currently in clinical trials. However, DRP-104 exhibits limited aqueous solubility, and the instability of its isopropyl ester promoiety leads to the formation of an inactive M1-metabolite, reducing overall systemic prodrug exposure. Herein, we aimed to synthesize DON prodrugs with various ester and amide promoieties with improved solubility, GI stability, and DON tumor delivery. Twenty-one prodrugs were synthesized and characterized in stability and pharmacokinetics studies. Of these, P11, tert-butyl-(S)-6-diazo-2-((S)-2-(2-(dimethylamino)acetamido)-3-phenylpropanamido)-5-oxo-hexanoate, showed excellent metabolic stability in plasma and intestinal homogenate, high aqueous solubility, and high tumor DON exposures and preserved the ideal tumor-targeting profile of DRP-104. In conclusion, we report a new generation of glutamine antagonist prodrugs with improved physicochemical and pharmacokinetic attributes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kateřina Novotná
- Johns
Hopkins Drug Discovery, Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Pharmacology and
Molecular Sciences, Neuroscience, Medicine, and Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
- Institute
of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry v.v.i., Academy of Sciences
of the Czech Republic, Prague 160 00, Czech Republic
- Department
of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague 128 00, Czech Republic
| | - Lukáš Tenora
- Johns
Hopkins Drug Discovery, Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Pharmacology and
Molecular Sciences, Neuroscience, Medicine, and Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
- Institute
of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry v.v.i., Academy of Sciences
of the Czech Republic, Prague 160 00, Czech Republic
| | - Eva Prchalová
- Johns
Hopkins Drug Discovery, Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Pharmacology and
Molecular Sciences, Neuroscience, Medicine, and Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
- Institute
of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry v.v.i., Academy of Sciences
of the Czech Republic, Prague 160 00, Czech Republic
| | - James Paule
- Johns
Hopkins Drug Discovery, Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Pharmacology and
Molecular Sciences, Neuroscience, Medicine, and Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - Jesse Alt
- Johns
Hopkins Drug Discovery, Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Pharmacology and
Molecular Sciences, Neuroscience, Medicine, and Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - Vijay Veeravalli
- Johns
Hopkins Drug Discovery, Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Pharmacology and
Molecular Sciences, Neuroscience, Medicine, and Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - Jenny Lam
- Johns
Hopkins Drug Discovery, Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Pharmacology and
Molecular Sciences, Neuroscience, Medicine, and Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - Ying Wu
- Johns
Hopkins Drug Discovery, Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Pharmacology and
Molecular Sciences, Neuroscience, Medicine, and Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - Ivan Šnajdr
- Institute
of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry v.v.i., Academy of Sciences
of the Czech Republic, Prague 160 00, Czech Republic
| | - Sadakatali Gori
- Johns
Hopkins Drug Discovery, Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Pharmacology and
Molecular Sciences, Neuroscience, Medicine, and Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - Vijaya Saradhi Mettu
- Johns
Hopkins Drug Discovery, Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Pharmacology and
Molecular Sciences, Neuroscience, Medicine, and Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - Takashi Tsukamoto
- Johns
Hopkins Drug Discovery, Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Pharmacology and
Molecular Sciences, Neuroscience, Medicine, and Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute
of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry v.v.i., Academy of Sciences
of the Czech Republic, Prague 160 00, Czech Republic
| | - Barbara S. Slusher
- Johns
Hopkins Drug Discovery, Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Pharmacology and
Molecular Sciences, Neuroscience, Medicine, and Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - Rana Rais
- Johns
Hopkins Drug Discovery, Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Pharmacology and
Molecular Sciences, Neuroscience, Medicine, and Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
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4
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Peters DE, Norris LD, Tenora L, Šnajdr I, Ponti AK, Zhu X, Sakamoto S, Veeravalli V, Pradhan M, Alt J, Thomas AG, Majer P, Rais R, McDonald C, Slusher BS. A gut-restricted glutamate carboxypeptidase II inhibitor reduces monocytic inflammation and improves preclinical colitis. Sci Transl Med 2023; 15:eabn7491. [PMID: 37556558 PMCID: PMC10661206 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abn7491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023]
Abstract
There is an urgent need to develop therapeutics for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) because up to 40% of patients with moderate-to-severe IBD are not adequately controlled with existing drugs. Glutamate carboxypeptidase II (GCPII) has emerged as a promising therapeutic target. This enzyme is minimally expressed in normal ileum and colon, but it is markedly up-regulated in biopsies from patients with IBD and preclinical colitis models. Here, we generated a class of GCPII inhibitors designed to be gut-restricted for oral administration, and we interrogated efficacy and mechanism using in vitro and in vivo models. The lead inhibitor, (S)-IBD3540, was potent (half maximal inhibitory concentration = 4 nanomolar), selective, gut-restricted (AUCcolon/plasma > 50 in mice with colitis), and efficacious in acute and chronic rodent colitis models. In dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis, oral (S)-IBD3540 inhibited >75% of colon GCPII activity, dose-dependently improved gross and histologic disease, and markedly attenuated monocytic inflammation. In spontaneous colitis in interleukin-10 (IL-10) knockout mice, once-daily oral (S)-IBD3540 initiated after disease onset improved disease, normalized colon histology, and attenuated inflammation as evidenced by reduced fecal lipocalin 2 and colon pro-inflammatory cytokines/chemokines, including tumor necrosis factor-α and IL-17. Using primary human colon epithelial air-liquid interface monolayers to interrogate the mechanism, we further found that (S)-IBD3540 protected against submersion-induced oxidative stress injury by decreasing barrier permeability, normalizing tight junction protein expression, and reducing procaspase-3 activation. Together, this work demonstrated that local inhibition of dysregulated gastrointestinal GCPII using the gut-restricted, orally active, small-molecule (S)-IBD3540 is a promising approach for IBD treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diane E. Peters
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Lauren D. Norris
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Lukáš Tenora
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 160 00 Prague, Czechia
| | - Ivan Šnajdr
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 160 00 Prague, Czechia
| | - András K. Ponti
- Department of Inflammation and Immunity, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
| | - Xiaolei Zhu
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Shinji Sakamoto
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Vijayabhaskar Veeravalli
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Manisha Pradhan
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Jesse Alt
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Ajit G. Thomas
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 160 00 Prague, Czechia
| | - Rana Rais
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Christine McDonald
- Department of Inflammation and Immunity, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
| | - Barbara S. Slusher
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
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5
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Motlová L, Šnajdr I, Kutil Z, Andris E, Ptáček J, Novotná A, Nováková Z, Havlínová B, Tueckmantel W, Dráberová H, Majer P, Schutkowski M, Kozikowski A, Rulíšek L, Bařinka C. Comprehensive Mechanistic View of the Hydrolysis of Oxadiazole-Based Inhibitors by Histone Deacetylase 6 (HDAC6). ACS Chem Biol 2023. [PMID: 37392419 PMCID: PMC10367051 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.3c00212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/03/2023]
Abstract
Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors used in the clinic typically contain a hydroxamate zinc-binding group (ZBG). However, more recent work has shown that the use of alternative ZBGs, and, in particular, the heterocyclic oxadiazoles, can confer higher isoenzyme selectivity and more favorable ADMET profiles. Herein, we report on the synthesis and biochemical, crystallographic, and computational characterization of a series of oxadiazole-based inhibitors selectively targeting the HDAC6 isoform. Surprisingly, but in line with a very recent finding reported in the literature, a crystal structure of the HDAC6/inhibitor complex revealed that hydrolysis of the oxadiazole ring transforms the parent oxadiazole into an acylhydrazide through a sequence of two hydrolytic steps. An identical cleavage pattern was also observed both in vitro using the purified HDAC6 enzyme as well as in cellular systems. By employing advanced quantum and molecular mechanics (QM/MM) and QM calculations, we elucidated the mechanistic details of the two hydrolytic steps to obtain a comprehensive mechanistic view of the double hydrolysis of the oxadiazole ring. This was achieved by fully characterizing the reaction coordinate, including identification of the structures of all intermediates and transition states, together with calculations of their respective activation (free) energies. In addition, we ruled out several (intuitively) competing pathways. The computed data (ΔG‡ ≈ 21 kcal·mol-1 for the rate-determining step of the overall dual hydrolysis) are in very good agreement with the experimentally determined rate constants, which a posteriori supports the proposed reaction mechanism. We also clearly (and quantitatively) explain the role of the -CF3 or -CHF2 substituent on the oxadiazole ring, which is a prerequisite for hydrolysis to occur. Overall, our data provide compelling evidence that the oxadiazole warheads can be efficiently transformed within the active sites of target metallohydrolases to afford reaction products possessing distinct selectivity and inhibition profiles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucia Motlová
- Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV, Prumyslova 595, 252 50 Vestec, Czech Republic
| | - Ivan Šnajdr
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo náměstí 2, 166 10 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Zsófia Kutil
- Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV, Prumyslova 595, 252 50 Vestec, Czech Republic
| | - Erik Andris
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo náměstí 2, 166 10 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Jakub Ptáček
- Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV, Prumyslova 595, 252 50 Vestec, Czech Republic
| | - Adéla Novotná
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo náměstí 2, 166 10 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Zora Nováková
- Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV, Prumyslova 595, 252 50 Vestec, Czech Republic
| | - Barbora Havlínová
- Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV, Prumyslova 595, 252 50 Vestec, Czech Republic
| | - Werner Tueckmantel
- StarWise Therapeutics LLC, University Research Park, Inc., Madison, Wisconsin 53719, United States
| | - Helena Dráberová
- Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV, Prumyslova 595, 252 50 Vestec, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo náměstí 2, 166 10 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Mike Schutkowski
- Department of Enzymology, Charles Tanford Protein Center, Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120 Halle, Germany
| | - Alan Kozikowski
- StarWise Therapeutics LLC, University Research Park, Inc., Madison, Wisconsin 53719, United States
| | - Lubomír Rulíšek
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo náměstí 2, 166 10 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Cyril Bařinka
- Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV, Prumyslova 595, 252 50 Vestec, Czech Republic
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6
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Frejlachova A, Lencova R, Venhauerova A, Skalickova M, Uher O, Caisova V, Majer P, Tenora L, Hansen P, Chmelar J, Kopecky J, Zhuang Z, Pacak K, Zenka J. The combination of immunotherapy and a glutamine metabolism inhibitor represents an effective therapeutic strategy for advanced and metastatic murine pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Int Immunopharmacol 2023; 118:110150. [PMID: 37030115 PMCID: PMC10182763 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2023.110150] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2023] [Revised: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/01/2023] [Indexed: 04/10/2023]
Abstract
Despite constant advances in cancer research, the treatment of pancreatic adenocarcinoma remains extremely challenging. The intratumoral immunotherapy approach that was developed by our research group and was based on a combination of mannan-BAM, TLR ligands, and anti-CD40 antibody (MBTA) showed promising therapeutic effects in various murine tumor models, including a pancreatic adenocarcinoma model (Panc02). However, the efficacy of MBTA therapy in the Panc02 model was negatively correlated with tumor size at the time of therapy initiation. Here, we aimed to further improve the outcome of MBTA therapy in the Panc02 model using the glutamine antagonist 6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine (DON). The combination of intratumoral MBTA therapy and intraperitoneal administration of DON resulted in the complete elimination of advanced Panc02 subcutaneous tumors (140.8 ± 46.8 mm3) in 50% of treated animals and was followed by development of long-term immune memory. In the bilateral Panc02 subcutaneous tumor model, we observed a significant reduction in tumor growth in both tumors as well as prolonged survival of treated animals. The appropriate timing and method of administration of DON were also addressed to maximize its therapeutic effects and minimize its side effects. In summary, our findings demonstrate that the intraperitoneal application of DON significantly improves the efficacy of intratumoral MBTA therapy in both advanced and bilateral Panc02 subcutaneous tumor murine models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Frejlachova
- Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice 37005, Czech Republic
| | - Radka Lencova
- Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice 37005, Czech Republic
| | - Anna Venhauerova
- Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice 37005, Czech Republic
| | - Marketa Skalickova
- Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice 37005, Czech Republic
| | - Ondrej Uher
- Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice 37005, Czech Republic; Section on Medical Neuroendocrinology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA
| | - Veronika Caisova
- Center for Cancer and Immunology Research, Children's Research Institute, Children's National Hospital, Washington, DC 20010, USA
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i. 166 10, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Lukas Tenora
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i. 166 10, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Per Hansen
- Immunoaction LLC, Charlotte, VT 05445, USA
| | - Jindrich Chmelar
- Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice 37005, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Kopecky
- Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice 37005, Czech Republic
| | - Zhengping Zhuang
- Neuro-Oncology Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA
| | - Karel Pacak
- Section on Medical Neuroendocrinology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA
| | - Jan Zenka
- Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice 37005, Czech Republic.
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7
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Ptacek J, Snajdr I, Schimer J, Kutil Z, Mikesova J, Baranova P, Havlinova B, Tueckmantel W, Majer P, Kozikowski A, Barinka C. Selectivity of Hydroxamate- and Difluoromethyloxadiazole-Based Inhibitors of Histone Deacetylase 6 In Vitro and in Cells. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:4720. [PMID: 36902164 PMCID: PMC10003107 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24054720] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) is a unique member of the HDAC family of enzymes due to its complex domain organization and cytosolic localization. Experimental data point toward the therapeutic use of HDAC6-selective inhibitors (HDAC6is) for use in both neurological and psychiatric disorders. In this article, we provide side-by-side comparisons of hydroxamate-based HDAC6is frequently used in the field and a novel HDAC6 inhibitor containing the difluoromethyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole function as an alternative zinc-binding group (compound 7). In vitro isotype selectivity screening uncovered HDAC10 as a primary off-target for the hydroxamate-based HDAC6is, while compound 7 features exquisite 10,000-fold selectivity over all other HDAC isoforms. Complementary cell-based assays using tubulin acetylation as a surrogate readout revealed approximately 100-fold lower apparent potency for all compounds. Finally, the limited selectivity of a number of these HDAC6is is shown to be linked to cytotoxicity in RPMI-8226 cells. Our results clearly show that off-target effects of HDAC6is must be considered before attributing observed physiological readouts solely to HDAC6 inhibition. Moreover, given their unparalleled specificity, the oxadiazole-based inhibitors would best be employed either as research tools in further probing HDAC6 biology or as leads in the development of truly HDAC6-specific compounds in the treatment of human disease states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Ptacek
- Institute of Biotechnology CAS, BIOCEV, Prumyslova 595, 252 50 Vestec, Czech Republic
| | - Ivan Snajdr
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Jiri Schimer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Zsofia Kutil
- Institute of Biotechnology CAS, BIOCEV, Prumyslova 595, 252 50 Vestec, Czech Republic
| | - Jana Mikesova
- Institute of Biotechnology CAS, BIOCEV, Prumyslova 595, 252 50 Vestec, Czech Republic
| | - Petra Baranova
- Institute of Biotechnology CAS, BIOCEV, Prumyslova 595, 252 50 Vestec, Czech Republic
| | - Barbora Havlinova
- Institute of Biotechnology CAS, BIOCEV, Prumyslova 595, 252 50 Vestec, Czech Republic
| | - Werner Tueckmantel
- StarWise Therapeutics LLC, University Research Park, Inc., Madison, WI 53719, USA
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Alan Kozikowski
- StarWise Therapeutics LLC, University Research Park, Inc., Madison, WI 53719, USA
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
| | - Cyril Barinka
- Institute of Biotechnology CAS, BIOCEV, Prumyslova 595, 252 50 Vestec, Czech Republic
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8
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Kugler M, Hadzima M, Dzijak R, Rampmaier R, Srb P, Vrzal L, Voburka Z, Majer P, Řezáčová P, Vrabel M. Identification of specific carbonic anhydrase inhibitors via in situ click chemistry, phage-display and synthetic peptide libraries: comparison of the methods and structural study. RSC Med Chem 2023; 14:144-153. [PMID: 36760748 PMCID: PMC9890587 DOI: 10.1039/d2md00330a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The development of highly active and selective enzyme inhibitors is one of the priorities of medicinal chemistry. Typically, various high-throughput screening methods are used to find lead compounds from a large pool of synthetic compounds, and these are further elaborated and structurally refined to achieve the desired properties. In an effort to streamline this complex and laborious process, new selection strategies based on different principles have recently emerged as an alternative. Herein, we compare three such selection strategies with the aim of identifying potent and selective inhibitors of human carbonic anhydrase II. All three approaches, in situ click chemistry, phage-display libraries and synthetic peptide libraries, led to the identification of more potent inhibitors when compared to the parent compounds. In addition, one of the inhibitor-peptide conjugates identified from the phage libraries showed greater than 100-fold selectivity for the enzyme isoform used for the compound selection. In an effort to rationalize the binding properties of the conjugates, we performed detailed crystallographic and NMR structural analysis, which revealed the structural basis of the compound affinity towards the enzyme and led to the identification of a novel exosite that could be utilized in the development of isoform specific inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Kugler
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences Flemingovo nám. 2 16000 Prague Czech Republic
| | - Martin Hadzima
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences Flemingovo nám. 2 16000 Prague Czech Republic
- Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University Albertov 6 12800 Praha 2 Czech Republic
| | - Rastislav Dzijak
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences Flemingovo nám. 2 16000 Prague Czech Republic
| | - Robert Rampmaier
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences Flemingovo nám. 2 16000 Prague Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Srb
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences Flemingovo nám. 2 16000 Prague Czech Republic
| | - Lukáš Vrzal
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences Flemingovo nám. 2 16000 Prague Czech Republic
| | - Zdeněk Voburka
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences Flemingovo nám. 2 16000 Prague Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences Flemingovo nám. 2 16000 Prague Czech Republic
| | - Pavlína Řezáčová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences Flemingovo nám. 2 16000 Prague Czech Republic
| | - Milan Vrabel
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences Flemingovo nám. 2 16000 Prague Czech Republic
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9
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Tsai J, Gori S, Alt J, Tiwari S, Iyer J, Talwar R, Hinsu D, Ahirwar K, Mohanty S, Khunt C, Sutariya B, Jani K, Venkatasubbaiah V, Patel A, Meghapara J, Joshi K, Sahu R, Rana V, Nigade P, Talluri RS, Murty KVSN, Joshi K, Ramanathan V, Li A, Islam N, Snajdr I, Majer P, Rais R, Slusher BS, Garza LA. Topical SCD-153, a 4-methyl itaconate prodrug, for the treatment of alopecia areata. PNAS Nexus 2023; 2:pgac297. [PMID: 36712931 PMCID: PMC9832969 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac297] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Alopecia areata is a chronic hair loss disorder that involves autoimmune disruption of hair follicles by CD8+ T cells. Most patients present with patchy hair loss on the scalp that improves spontaneously or with topical and intralesional steroids, topical minoxidil, or topical immunotherapy. However, recurrence of hair loss is common, and patients with extensive disease may require treatment with oral corticosteroids or oral Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors, both of which may cause systemic toxicities with long-term use. Itaconate is an endogenous molecule synthesized in macrophages that exerts anti-inflammatory effects. To investigate the use of itaconate derivatives for treating alopecia areata, we designed a prodrug of 4-methyl itaconate (4-MI), termed SCD-153, with increased lipophilicity compared to 4-MI (CLogP 1.159 vs. 0.1442) to enhance skin and cell penetration. Topical SCD-153 formed 4-MI upon penetrating the stratum corneum in C57BL/6 mice and showed low systemic absorption. When added to human epidermal keratinocytes stimulated with polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly I:C) or interferon (IFN)γ, SCD-153 significantly attenuated poly I:C-induced interleukin (IL)-6, Toll-like receptor 3, IL-1β, and IFNβ expression, as well as IFNγ-induced IL-6 expression. Topical application of SCD-153 to C57BL/6 mice in the resting (telogen) phase of the hair cycle induced significant hair growth that was statistically superior to vehicle (dimethyl sulfoxide), the less cell-permeable itaconate analogues 4-MI and dimethyl itaconate, and the JAK inhibitor tofacitinib. Our results suggest that SCD-153 is a promising topical candidate for treating alopecia areata.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerry Tsai
- Department of Dermatology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Sadakatali Gori
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Jesse Alt
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Sandhya Tiwari
- In Vitro Biology, Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company, Savli, 391770, India
| | - Jitesh Iyer
- In Vitro Biology, Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company, Savli, 391770, India
| | - Rashmi Talwar
- In Vitro Biology, Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company, Savli, 391770, India
| | - Denish Hinsu
- Preclinical Pharmacology, Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company, Savli, 391770, India
| | - Kailash Ahirwar
- Department of Pharmaceutics, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar 382355, India
| | - Swayam Mohanty
- Preclinical Pharmacology, Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company, Savli, 391770, India
| | - Chintan Khunt
- Preclinical Pharmacology, Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company, Savli, 391770, India
| | - Brijesh Sutariya
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Kaushal Jani
- Preclinical Pharmacology, Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company, Savli, 391770, India
| | | | - Ashok Patel
- Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company, Savli, 391770, India
| | - Jasmin Meghapara
- Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company, Savli, 391770, India
| | - Kaushal Joshi
- Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company, Savli, 391770, India
| | - Rajanikanta Sahu
- Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company, Savli, 391770, India
| | - Vijay Rana
- Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company, Savli, 391770, India
| | - Prashant Nigade
- Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company, Savli, 391770, India
| | - Ravi S Talluri
- Clinical Pharmacology, Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company, Mahakali, Mumbai 400093, India
| | | | - Kiritkumar Joshi
- Medicinal Chemistry, Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company, Savli 391770, India
| | - Vikram Ramanathan
- Translational Development, Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company, Savli 391770, India
| | - Ang Li
- Department of Dermatology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Nasif Islam
- Department of Dermatology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Ivan Snajdr
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic v.v.i., Prague 166 10, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic v.v.i., Prague 166 10, Czech Republic
| | - Rana Rais
- To whom correspondence should be addressed:
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10
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Poláchová E, Bach K, Heuten E, Stanchev S, Tichá A, Lampe P, Majer P, Langer T, Lemberg MK, Stříšovský K. Chemical Blockage of the Mitochondrial Rhomboid Protease PARL by Novel Ketoamide Inhibitors Reveals Its Role in PINK1/Parkin-Dependent Mitophagy. J Med Chem 2022; 66:251-265. [PMID: 36540942 PMCID: PMC9841525 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c01092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The mitochondrial rhomboid protease PARL regulates mitophagy by balancing intramembrane proteolysis of PINK1 and PGAM5. It has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease, but its investigation as a possible therapeutic target is challenging in this context because genetic deficiency of PARL may result in compensatory mechanisms. To address this problem, we undertook a hitherto unavailable chemical biology strategy. We developed potent PARL-targeting ketoamide inhibitors and investigated the effects of acute PARL suppression on the processing status of PINK1 intermediates and on Parkin activation. This approach revealed that PARL inhibition leads to a robust activation of the PINK1/Parkin pathway without major secondary effects on mitochondrial properties, which demonstrates that the pharmacological blockage of PARL to boost PINK1/Parkin-dependent mitophagy is a feasible approach to examine novel therapeutic strategies for Parkinson's disease. More generally, this study showcases the power of ketoamide inhibitors for cell biological studies of rhomboid proteases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edita Poláchová
- Institute
of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Science, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 160 00, Czech Republic,First
Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Kateřinská 32, Prague 121 08, Czech Republic
| | - Kathrin Bach
- Institute
of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Science, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 160 00, Czech Republic,Department
of Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 5, Prague 128 44, Czech Republic
| | - Elena Heuten
- Center
for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Im Neuenheimer
Feld 282, Heidelberg 69120, Germany,Center
for Biochemistry and Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress
Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Joseph-Stelzmann-Strasse 52, Cologne 50931, Germany
| | - Stancho Stanchev
- Institute
of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Science, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 160 00, Czech Republic
| | - Anežka Tichá
- Institute
of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Science, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 160 00, Czech Republic
| | - Philipp Lampe
- Institute
for Genetics and Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses
in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Joseph-Stelzmann-Strasse 52, Cologne 50931, Germany
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute
of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Science, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 160 00, Czech Republic
| | - Thomas Langer
- Institute
for Genetics and Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses
in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Joseph-Stelzmann-Strasse 52, Cologne 50931, Germany,Center
for Molecular Medicine (CMMC), Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Joseph-Stelzmann-Strasse 52, Cologne 50931, Germany,Max-Planck-Institute
for Biology of Ageing, Joseph-Stelzmann-Str. 9b, Cologne 50931, Germany
| | - Marius K. Lemberg
- Center
for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Im Neuenheimer
Feld 282, Heidelberg 69120, Germany,Center
for Biochemistry and Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress
Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Joseph-Stelzmann-Strasse 52, Cologne 50931, Germany,
| | - Kvido Stříšovský
- Institute
of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Science, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 160 00, Czech Republic,
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11
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Radilová K, Zima V, Kráľ M, Machara A, Majer P, Hodek J, Weber J, Brynda J, Strmeň T, Konvalinka J, Kožíšek M. Thermodynamic and structural characterization of an optimized peptide-based inhibitor of the influenza polymerase PA-PB1 subunit interaction. Antiviral Res 2022; 208:105449. [DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2022.105449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2022] [Revised: 10/10/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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12
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Rais R, Lemberg KM, Tenora L, Arwood ML, Pal A, Alt J, Wu Y, Lam J, Aguilar JMH, Zhao L, Peters DE, Tallon C, Pandey R, Thomas AG, Dash RP, Seiwert T, Majer P, Leone RD, Powell JD, Slusher BS. Discovery of DRP-104, a tumor-targeted metabolic inhibitor prodrug. Sci Adv 2022; 8:eabq5925. [PMID: 36383674 PMCID: PMC9668306 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abq5925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
6-Diazo-5-oxo-l-norleucine (DON) is a glutamine antagonist that suppresses cancer cell metabolism but concurrently enhances the metabolic fitness of tumor CD8+ T cells. DON showed promising efficacy in clinical trials; however, its development was halted by dose-limiting gastrointestinal (GI) toxicities. Given its clinical potential, we designed DON peptide prodrugs and found DRP-104 [isopropyl(S)-2-((S)-2-acetamido-3-(1H-indol-3-yl)-propanamido)-6-diazo-5-oxo-hexanoate] that was preferentially bioactivated to DON in tumor while bioinactivated to an inert metabolite in GI tissues. In drug distribution studies, DRP-104 delivered a prodigious 11-fold greater exposure of DON to tumor versus GI tissues. DRP-104 affected multiple metabolic pathways in tumor, including decreased glutamine flux into the TCA cycle. In efficacy studies, both DRP-104 and DON caused complete tumor regression; however, DRP-104 had a markedly improved tolerability profile. DRP-104's effect was CD8+ T cell dependent and resulted in robust immunologic memory. DRP-104 represents a first-in-class prodrug with differential metabolism in target versus toxicity tissue. DRP-104 is now in clinical trials under the FDA Fast Track designation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rana Rais
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Kathryn M. Lemberg
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Lukáš Tenora
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic v.v.i., Prague 16000, Czech Republic
| | - Matthew L. Arwood
- The Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Arindom Pal
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Jesse Alt
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Ying Wu
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Jenny Lam
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | | | - Liang Zhao
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- The Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Diane E. Peters
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Carolyn Tallon
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Rajeev Pandey
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Ajit G. Thomas
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Ranjeet P. Dash
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Tanguy Seiwert
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic v.v.i., Prague 16000, Czech Republic
| | - Robert D. Leone
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- The Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Jonathan D. Powell
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- The Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Barbara S. Slusher
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- The Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
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13
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Krečmerová M, Majer P, Rais R, Slusher BS. Phosphonates and Phosphonate Prodrugs in Medicinal Chemistry: Past Successes and Future Prospects. Front Chem 2022; 10:889737. [PMID: 35668826 PMCID: PMC9163707 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2022.889737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Compounds with a phosphonate group, i.e., -P(O)(OH)2 group attached directly to the molecule via a P-C bond serve as suitable non-hydrolyzable phosphate mimics in various biomedical applications. In principle, they often inhibit enzymes utilizing various phosphates as substrates. In this review we focus mainly on biologically active phosphonates that originated from our institute (Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry in Prague); i.e., acyclic nucleoside phosphonates (ANPs, e.g., adefovir, tenofovir, and cidofovir) and derivatives of non-nucleoside phosphonates such as 2-(phosphonomethyl) pentanedioic acid (2-PMPA). Principal strategies of their syntheses and modifications to prodrugs is reported. Besides clinically used ANP antivirals, a special attention is paid to new biologically active molecules with respect to emerging infections and arising resistance of many pathogens against standard treatments. These new structures include 2,4-diamino-6-[2-(phosphonomethoxy)ethoxy]pyrimidines or so-called "open-ring" derivatives, acyclic nucleoside phosphonates with 5-azacytosine as a base moiety, side-chain fluorinated ANPs, aza/deazapurine ANPs. When transformed into an appropriate prodrug by derivatizing their charged functionalities, all these compounds show promising potential to become drug candidates for the treatment of viral infections. ANP prodrugs with suitable pharmacokinetics include amino acid phosphoramidates, pivaloyloxymethyl (POM) and isopropoxycarbonyloxymethyl (POC) esters, alkyl and alkoxyalkyl esters, salicylic esters, (methyl-2-oxo-1,3-dioxol-4-yl) methyl (ODOL) esters and peptidomimetic prodrugs. We also focus on the story of cytostatics related to 9-[2-(phosphonomethoxy)ethyl]guanine and its prodrugs which eventually led to development of the veterinary drug rabacfosadine. Various new ANP structures are also currently investigated as antiparasitics, especially antimalarial agents e.g., guanine and hypoxanthine derivatives with 2-(phosphonoethoxy)ethyl moiety, their thia-analogues and N-branched derivatives. In addition to ANPs and their analogs, we also describe prodrugs of 2-(phosphonomethyl)pentanedioic acid (2-PMPA), a potent inhibitor of the enzyme glutamate carboxypeptidase II (GCPII), also known as prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA). Glutamate carboxypeptidase II inhibitors, including 2-PMPA have been found efficacious in various preclinical models of neurological disorders which are caused by glutamatergic excitotoxicity. Unfortunately its highly polar character and hence low bioavailability severely limits its potential for clinical use. To overcome this problem, various prodrug strategies have been used to mask carboxylates and/or phosphonate functionalities with pivaloyloxymethyl, POC, ODOL and alkyl esters. Chemistry and biological characterization led to identification of prodrugs with 44-80 fold greater oral bioavailability (tetra-ODOL-2-PMPA).
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcela Krečmerová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (ASCR), Prague, Czechia
- *Correspondence: Marcela Krečmerová,
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (ASCR), Prague, Czechia
| | - Rana Rais
- Departments of Neurology, Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Barbara S. Slusher
- Departments of Neurology, Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Neuroscience, Medicine, Oncology, Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Baltimore, MD, United States
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14
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Alt J, Gori SS, Lemberg KM, Pal A, Veeravalli V, Wu Y, Aguilar JMH, Dash RP, Tenora L, Majer P, Sun Q, Slusher BS, Rais R. Glutamine Antagonist GA-607 Causes a Dramatic Accumulation of FGAR which can be used to Monitor Target Engagement. Curr Drug Metab 2021; 22:735-745. [PMID: 34488583 PMCID: PMC8684803 DOI: 10.2174/1389200222666210831125041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Revised: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 08/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Metabolomic analyses from our group and others have shown that tumors treated with glutamine antagonists (GA) exhibit robust accumulation of formylglycinamide ribonucleotide (FGAR), an intermediate in the de novo purine synthesis pathway. The increase in FGAR is attributed to the inhibition of the enzyme FGAR amidotransferase (FGAR-AT) that catalyzes the ATP-dependent amidation of FGAR to formylglycinamidine ribonucleotide (FGAM). While perturbation of this pathway resulting from GA therapy has long been recognized, no study has reported systematic quantitation and analyses of FGAR in plasma and tumors. OBJECTIVE Herein, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of our recently discovered tumor-targeted GA prodrug, GA-607 (isopropyl 2-(6-acetamido-2-(adamantane-1-carboxamido)hexanamido)-6-diazo-5-oxohexanoate), and demonstrate its target engagement by quantification of FGAR in plasma and tumors. METHODS Efficacy and pharmacokinetics of GA-607 were evaluated in a murine EL4 lymphoma model followed by global tumor metabolomic analysis. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) based methods employing the ion-pair chromatography approach were developed and utilized for quantitative FGAR analyses in plasma and tumors. RESULTS GA-607 showed preferential tumor distribution and robust single-agent efficacy in a murine EL4 lymphoma model. While several metabolic pathways were perturbed by GA-607 treatment, FGAR showed the highest increase qualitatively. Using our newly developed sensitive and selective LC-MS method, we showed a robust >80- and >10- fold increase in tumor and plasma FGAR levels, respectively, with GA-607 treatment. CONCLUSION These studies describe the importance of FGAR quantification following GA therapy in cancer and underscore its importance as a valuable pharmacodynamic marker in the preclinical and clinical development of GA therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesse Alt
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States
| | - Sadakatali S Gori
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States
| | - Kathryn M Lemberg
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States
| | - Arindom Pal
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States
| | | | - Ying Wu
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States
| | - Joanna M H Aguilar
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States
| | - Ranjeet P Dash
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States
| | - Lukáš Tenora
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic v.v.i., Prague, 166 10, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic v.v.i., Prague, 166 10, Czech Republic
| | - Qi Sun
- Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University Nanchang, Jiangxi 330013, China
| | - Barbara S Slusher
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States
| | - Rana Rais
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States
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15
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Kryštůfek R, Šácha P, Starková J, Brynda J, Hradilek M, Tloušt'ová E, Grzymska J, Rut W, Boucher MJ, Drąg M, Majer P, Hájek M, Řezáčová P, Madhani HD, Craik CS, Konvalinka J. Re-emerging Aspartic Protease Targets: Examining Cryptococcus neoformans Major Aspartyl Peptidase 1 as a Target for Antifungal Drug Discovery. J Med Chem 2021; 64:6706-6719. [PMID: 34006103 PMCID: PMC8165695 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c02177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
![]()
Cryptococcosis is
an invasive infection that accounts for 15% of
AIDS-related fatalities. Still, treating cryptococcosis remains a
significant challenge due to the poor availability of effective antifungal
therapies and emergence of drug resistance. Interestingly, protease
inhibitor components of antiretroviral therapy regimens have shown
some clinical benefits in these opportunistic infections. We investigated
Major aspartyl peptidase 1 (May1), a secreted Cryptococcus
neoformans protease, as a possible target for the
development of drugs that act against both fungal and retroviral aspartyl
proteases. Here, we describe the biochemical characterization of May1,
present its high-resolution X-ray structure, and provide its substrate
specificity analysis. Through combinatorial screening of 11,520 compounds,
we identified a potent inhibitor of May1 and HIV protease. This dual-specificity
inhibitor exhibits antifungal activity in yeast culture, low cytotoxicity,
and low off-target activity against host proteases and could thus
serve as a lead compound for further development of May1 and HIV protease
inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin Kryštůfek
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 6 16610, Czech Republic.,Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles UniversityHlavova 8, Prague 2 12843, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Šácha
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 6 16610, Czech Republic.,Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles UniversityHlavova 8, Prague 2 12843, Czech Republic
| | - Jana Starková
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 6 16610, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Brynda
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 6 16610, Czech Republic.,Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Vídeňská 1083, Prague 4 14220, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Hradilek
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 6 16610, Czech Republic
| | - Eva Tloušt'ová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 6 16610, Czech Republic
| | - Justyna Grzymska
- Department of Chemical Biology and Bioimaging, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, Wroclaw 50-370, Poland
| | - Wioletta Rut
- Department of Chemical Biology and Bioimaging, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, Wroclaw 50-370, Poland
| | - Michael J Boucher
- Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, UCSF Genentech Hall, 600 16th St Rm N374, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
| | - Marcin Drąg
- Department of Chemical Biology and Bioimaging, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, Wroclaw 50-370, Poland
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 6 16610, Czech Republic
| | - Miroslav Hájek
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 6 16610, Czech Republic
| | - Pavlína Řezáčová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 6 16610, Czech Republic.,Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Vídeňská 1083, Prague 4 14220, Czech Republic
| | - Hiten D Madhani
- Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, UCSF Genentech Hall, 600 16th St Rm N374, San Francisco, California 94158, United States.,Chan-Zuckerberg Biohub, 499 Illinois Street, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
| | - Charles S Craik
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California San Francisco, UCSF Genentech Hall, 600 16th St Rm S512, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
| | - Jan Konvalinka
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 6 16610, Czech Republic.,Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles UniversityHlavova 8, Prague 2 12843, Czech Republic
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16
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Neburkova J, Rulseh AM, Chang SLY, Raabova H, Vejpravova J, Dracinsky M, Tarabek J, Kotek J, Pingle M, Majer P, Vymazal J, Cigler P. Formation of gadolinium-ferritin from clinical magnetic resonance contrast agents. Nanoscale Adv 2020; 2:5567-5571. [PMID: 36133872 PMCID: PMC9417687 DOI: 10.1039/c9na00567f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2019] [Accepted: 08/29/2020] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Gadolinium deposition in the brain following administration of gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) has led to health concerns. We show that some clinical GBCAs form Gd3+-ferritin nanoparticles at (sub)nanomolar concentrations of Gd3+ under physiological conditions. We describe their structure at atomic resolution and discuss potential relevance for clinical MRI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jitka Neburkova
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS Flemingovo nam. 2 166 10 Prague Czechia
| | - Aaron M Rulseh
- Department of Radiology, Na Homolce Hospital Roentgenova 2 150 30 Prague Czechia
| | - Shery L Y Chang
- Electron Microscopy Unit, Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre, and School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales Sydney NSW 2052 Australia
| | - Helena Raabova
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS Flemingovo nam. 2 166 10 Prague Czechia
| | - Jana Vejpravova
- Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University Hlavova 8 128 43 Prague 2 Czechia
- Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University Ke Karlovu 5 121 16 Prague 2 Czechia
| | - Martin Dracinsky
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS Flemingovo nam. 2 166 10 Prague Czechia
| | - Jan Tarabek
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS Flemingovo nam. 2 166 10 Prague Czechia
| | - Jan Kotek
- Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University Hlavova 8 128 43 Prague 2 Czechia
| | - Mohan Pingle
- Department of Radiology, Na Homolce Hospital Roentgenova 2 150 30 Prague Czechia
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS Flemingovo nam. 2 166 10 Prague Czechia
| | - Josef Vymazal
- Department of Radiology, Na Homolce Hospital Roentgenova 2 150 30 Prague Czechia
| | - Petr Cigler
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS Flemingovo nam. 2 166 10 Prague Czechia
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17
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Zima V, Radilová K, Kožíšek M, Albiñana CB, Karlukova E, Brynda J, Fanfrlík J, Flieger M, Hodek J, Weber J, Majer P, Konvalinka J, Machara A. Unraveling the anti-influenza effect of flavonoids: Experimental validation of luteolin and its congeners as potent influenza endonuclease inhibitors. Eur J Med Chem 2020; 208:112754. [PMID: 32883638 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2020.112754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2020] [Revised: 07/20/2020] [Accepted: 08/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
The biological effects of flavonoids on mammal cells are diverse, ranging from scavenging free radicals and anti-cancer activity to anti-influenza activity. Despite appreciable effort to understand the anti-influenza activity of flavonoids, there is no clear consensus about their precise mode-of-action at a cellular level. Here, we report the development and validation of a screening assay based on AlphaScreen technology and illustrate its application for determination of the inhibitory potency of a large set of polyols against PA N-terminal domain (PA-Nter) of influenza RNA-dependent RNA polymerase featuring endonuclease activity. The most potent inhibitors we identified were luteolin with an IC50 of 72 ± 2 nM and its 8-C-glucoside orientin with an IC50 of 43 ± 2 nM. Submicromolar inhibitors were also evaluated by an in vitro endonuclease activity assay using single-stranded DNA, and the results were in full agreement with data from the competitive AlphaScreen assay. Using X-ray crystallography, we analyzed structures of the PA-Nter in complex with luteolin at 2.0 Å resolution and quambalarine B at 2.5 Å resolution, which clearly revealed the binding pose of these polyols coordinated to two manganese ions in the endonuclease active site. Using two distinct assays along with the structural work, we have presumably identified and characterized the molecular mode-of-action of flavonoids in influenza-infected cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Václav Zima
- Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Hlavova 8, 128 00, Prague 2, Czech Republic; Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Gilead Sciences and IOCB Research Center, Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Kateřina Radilová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Gilead Sciences and IOCB Research Center, Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10, Prague 6, Czech Republic; First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Kateřinská 1660, 121 08, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Milan Kožíšek
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Gilead Sciences and IOCB Research Center, Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10, Prague 6, Czech Republic.
| | - Carlos Berenguer Albiñana
- Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Hlavova 8, 128 00, Prague 2, Czech Republic; Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Gilead Sciences and IOCB Research Center, Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Elena Karlukova
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Gilead Sciences and IOCB Research Center, Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Brynda
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Gilead Sciences and IOCB Research Center, Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10, Prague 6, Czech Republic; Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Vídeňská 1083, 140 00, Prague 4, Czech Republic
| | - Jindřich Fanfrlík
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Gilead Sciences and IOCB Research Center, Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Miroslav Flieger
- Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Vídeňská 1083, 140 00, Prague 4, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Hodek
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Gilead Sciences and IOCB Research Center, Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Weber
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Gilead Sciences and IOCB Research Center, Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Gilead Sciences and IOCB Research Center, Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Konvalinka
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Gilead Sciences and IOCB Research Center, Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10, Prague 6, Czech Republic; Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Hlavova 8, 128 00, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Aleš Machara
- Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Hlavova 8, 128 00, Prague 2, Czech Republic; Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Gilead Sciences and IOCB Research Center, Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10, Prague 6, Czech Republic.
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18
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Oh MH, Sun IH, Zhao L, Leone RD, Sun IM, Xu W, Collins SL, Tam AJ, Blosser RL, Patel CH, Englert JM, Arwood ML, Wen J, Chan-Li Y, Tenora L, Majer P, Rais R, Slusher BS, Horton MR, Powell JD. Targeting glutamine metabolism enhances tumor-specific immunity by modulating suppressive myeloid cells. J Clin Invest 2020; 130:3865-3884. [PMID: 32324593 PMCID: PMC7324212 DOI: 10.1172/jci131859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 214] [Impact Index Per Article: 53.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2019] [Accepted: 04/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Myeloid cells comprise a major component of the tumor microenvironment (TME) that promotes tumor growth and immune evasion. By employing a small-molecule inhibitor of glutamine metabolism, not only were we able to inhibit tumor growth, but we markedly inhibited the generation and recruitment of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). Targeting tumor glutamine metabolism led to a decrease in CSF3 and hence recruitment of MDSCs as well as immunogenic cell death, leading to an increase in inflammatory tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). Alternatively, inhibiting glutamine metabolism of the MDSCs themselves led to activation-induced cell death and conversion of MDSCs to inflammatory macrophages. Surprisingly, blocking glutamine metabolism also inhibited IDO expression of both the tumor and myeloid-derived cells, leading to a marked decrease in kynurenine levels. This in turn inhibited the development of metastasis and further enhanced antitumor immunity. Indeed, targeting glutamine metabolism rendered checkpoint blockade-resistant tumors susceptible to immunotherapy. Overall, our studies define an intimate interplay between the unique metabolism of tumors and the metabolism of suppressive immune cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min-Hee Oh
- Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Research Center, Department of Oncology, and
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Im-Hong Sun
- Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Research Center, Department of Oncology, and
| | - Liang Zhao
- Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Research Center, Department of Oncology, and
| | - Robert D Leone
- Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Research Center, Department of Oncology, and
| | - Im-Meng Sun
- Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Research Center, Department of Oncology, and
| | - Wei Xu
- Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Research Center, Department of Oncology, and
| | - Samuel L Collins
- Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Research Center, Department of Oncology, and
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Ada J Tam
- Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Research Center, Department of Oncology, and
| | - Richard L Blosser
- Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Research Center, Department of Oncology, and
| | - Chirag H Patel
- Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Research Center, Department of Oncology, and
| | | | - Matthew L Arwood
- Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Research Center, Department of Oncology, and
| | - Jiayu Wen
- Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Research Center, Department of Oncology, and
| | - Yee Chan-Li
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Lukáš Tenora
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Rana Rais
- Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Barbara S Slusher
- Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Maureen R Horton
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Jonathan D Powell
- Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Research Center, Department of Oncology, and
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19
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Bousova K, Barvik I, Herman P, Hofbauerová K, Monincova L, Majer P, Zouharova M, Vetyskova V, Postulkova K, Vondrasek J. Mapping of CaM, S100A1 and PIP2-Binding Epitopes in the Intracellular N- and C-Termini of TRPM4. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:E4323. [PMID: 32560560 PMCID: PMC7352223 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21124323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2020] [Revised: 06/11/2020] [Accepted: 06/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Molecular determinants of the binding of various endogenous modulators to transient receptor potential (TRP) channels are crucial for the understanding of necessary cellular pathways, as well as new paths for rational drug designs. The aim of this study was to characterise interactions between the TRP cation channel subfamily melastatin member 4 (TRPM4) and endogenous intracellular modulators-calcium-binding proteins (calmodulin (CaM) and S100A1) and phosphatidylinositol 4, 5-bisphosphate (PIP2). We have found binding epitopes at the N- and C-termini of TRPM4 shared by CaM, S100A1 and PIP2. The binding affinities of short peptides representing the binding epitopes of N- and C-termini were measured by means of fluorescence anisotropy (FA). The importance of representative basic amino acids and their combinations from both peptides for the binding of endogenous TRPM4 modulators was proved using point alanine-scanning mutagenesis. In silico protein-protein docking of both peptides to CaM and S100A1 and extensive molecular dynamics (MD) simulations enabled the description of key stabilising interactions at the atomic level. Recently solved cryo-Electron Microscopy (EM) structures made it possible to put our findings into the context of the entire TRPM4 channel and to deduce how the binding of these endogenous modulators could allosterically affect the gating of TRPM4. Moreover, both identified binding epitopes seem to be ideally positioned to mediate the involvement of TRPM4 in higher-order hetero-multimeric complexes with important physiological functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristyna Bousova
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo namesti 2, 16000 Prague, Czech Republic; (L.M.); (P.M.); (M.Z.); (V.V.); (K.P.); (J.V.)
| | - Ivan Barvik
- Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Ke Karlovu 5, 12116 Prague, Czech Republic; (I.B.); (P.H.); (K.H.)
| | - Petr Herman
- Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Ke Karlovu 5, 12116 Prague, Czech Republic; (I.B.); (P.H.); (K.H.)
| | - Kateřina Hofbauerová
- Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Ke Karlovu 5, 12116 Prague, Czech Republic; (I.B.); (P.H.); (K.H.)
- Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska 1083, 14220 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Lenka Monincova
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo namesti 2, 16000 Prague, Czech Republic; (L.M.); (P.M.); (M.Z.); (V.V.); (K.P.); (J.V.)
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo namesti 2, 16000 Prague, Czech Republic; (L.M.); (P.M.); (M.Z.); (V.V.); (K.P.); (J.V.)
| | - Monika Zouharova
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo namesti 2, 16000 Prague, Czech Republic; (L.M.); (P.M.); (M.Z.); (V.V.); (K.P.); (J.V.)
- Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, V Uvalu 84, 150 06 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Veronika Vetyskova
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo namesti 2, 16000 Prague, Czech Republic; (L.M.); (P.M.); (M.Z.); (V.V.); (K.P.); (J.V.)
| | - Klara Postulkova
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo namesti 2, 16000 Prague, Czech Republic; (L.M.); (P.M.); (M.Z.); (V.V.); (K.P.); (J.V.)
| | - Jiri Vondrasek
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo namesti 2, 16000 Prague, Czech Republic; (L.M.); (P.M.); (M.Z.); (V.V.); (K.P.); (J.V.)
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20
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Powell J, Leone R, Oh MH, Rais R, Majer P, Slusher B. Abstract IA10: Targeting glutamine metabolism as a means of enhancing immunotherapy for cancer. Clin Cancer Res 2020. [DOI: 10.1158/1557-3265.aacrahns19-ia10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Tumors possess specialized metabolic programming that facilitates their rapid growth. We have developed a novel glutamine antagonist that not only demonstrates single-agent efficacy in a variety of mouse tumor models but also synergizes with anti-PD-1, adoptive cellular therapy (ACT), and A2aR antagonism to overcome resistance to immunotherapy and promote durable cures. Our data demonstrate that targeting tumor glutamine metabolism alters the tumor microenvironment by making it less acidic, less hypoxic, and more nutrient replete. These alterations lead to enhanced endogenous antitumor responses (in the absence of additional immunotherapy). Further analysis of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) reveals markedly increased infiltration of CD8+ T cells with increased proliferative index (Ki67) and the generation of robust memory phenotypes in the treated mice. Further, RNA sequencing data revealed that CD8+ TIL from vehicle-treated mice showed significantly enhanced expression of apoptotic transcriptional programs compared with TIL from treated mice. Additionally, targeting glutamine metabolism leads to decreased MDSC with an increase in inflammatory TAMs. Furthermore, we observe a downregulation of IDO and a marked decrease in kynurenine in the tumors of treated mice. These changes in macrophage subsets also correlated with decreased metastasis. Overall our findings suggest a novel “metabolic” approach to enhancing immunotherapy for cancer.
Citation Format: Jonathan Powell, Robert Leone, Min-Hee Oh, Rana Rais, Pavel Majer, Barbara Slusher. Targeting glutamine metabolism as a means of enhancing immunotherapy for cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-AHNS Head and Neck Cancer Conference: Optimizing Survival and Quality of Life through Basic, Clinical, and Translational Research; 2019 Apr 29-30; Austin, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2020;26(12_Suppl_2):Abstract nr IA10.
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21
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Tykvart J, Navrátil V, Kugler M, Šácha P, Schimer J, Hlaváčková A, Tenora L, Zemanová J, Dejmek M, Král V, Potáček M, Majer P, Jahn U, Brynda J, Řezáčová P, Konvalinka J. Identification of Novel Carbonic Anhydrase IX Inhibitors Using High-Throughput Screening of Pooled Compound Libraries by DNA-Linked Inhibitor Antibody Assay (DIANA). SLAS Discov 2020; 25:1026-1037. [PMID: 32452709 DOI: 10.1177/2472555220918836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The DNA-linked inhibitor antibody assay (DIANA) has been recently validated for ultrasensitive enzyme detection and for quantitative evaluation of enzyme inhibitor potency. Here we present its adaptation for high-throughput screening of human carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX), a promising drug and diagnostic target. We tested DIANA's performance by screening a unique compound collection of 2816 compounds consisting of lead-like small molecules synthesized at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (IOCB) Prague ("IOCB library"). Additionally, to test the robustness of the assay and its potential for upscaling, we screened a pooled version of the IOCB library. The results from the pooled screening were in agreement with the initial nonpooled screen with no lost hits and no false positives, which shows DIANA's potential to screen more than 100,000 compounds per day.All DIANA screens showed a high signal-to-noise ratio with a Z' factor of >0.89. The DIANA screen identified 13 compounds with Ki values equal to or better than 10 µM. All retested hits were active also in an orthogonal enzymatic assay showing zero false positives. However, further biophysical validation of identified hits revealed that the inhibition activity of several hits was caused by a single highly potent CAIX inhibitor, being present as a minor impurity. This finding eventually led us to the identification of three novel CAIX inhibitors from the screen. We confirmed the validity of these compounds by elucidating their mode of binding into the CAIX active site by x-ray crystallography.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Tykvart
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.,DIANA Biotechnologies, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Václav Navrátil
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.,DIANA Biotechnologies, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Michael Kugler
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.,Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Šácha
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Schimer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.,DIANA Biotechnologies, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Anna Hlaváčková
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Lukáš Tenora
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.,Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jitka Zemanová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.,DIANA Biotechnologies, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Milan Dejmek
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Vlastimil Král
- Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Milan Potáček
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Ullrich Jahn
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Brynda
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.,Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Pavlína Řezáčová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.,Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Konvalinka
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
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22
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Houštecká R, Hadzima M, Fanfrlík J, Brynda J, Pallová L, Hánová I, Mertlíková-Kaiserová H, Lepšík M, Horn M, Smrčina M, Majer P, Mareš M. Biomimetic Macrocyclic Inhibitors of Human Cathepsin D: Structure-Activity Relationship and Binding Mode Analysis. J Med Chem 2020; 63:1576-1596. [PMID: 32003991 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.9b01351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Human cathepsin D (CatD), a pepsin-family aspartic protease, plays an important role in tumor progression and metastasis. Here, we report the development of biomimetic inhibitors of CatD as novel tools for regulation of this therapeutic target. We designed a macrocyclic scaffold to mimic the spatial conformation of the minimal pseudo-dipeptide binding motif of pepstatin A, a microbial oligopeptide inhibitor, in the CatD active site. A library of more than 30 macrocyclic peptidomimetic inhibitors was employed for scaffold optimization, mapping of subsite interactions, and profiling of inhibitor selectivity. Furthermore, we solved high-resolution crystal structures of three macrocyclic inhibitors with low nanomolar or subnanomolar potency in complex with CatD and determined their binding mode using quantum chemical calculations. The study provides a new structural template and functional profile that can be exploited for design of potential chemotherapeutics that specifically inhibit CatD and related aspartic proteases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Radka Houštecká
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry , Czech Academy of Sciences , Flemingovo nám. 2 , 16610 Praha 6 , Czech Republic.,First Faculty of Medicine , Charles University , Kateřinská 32 , 12108 Praha 2 , Czech Republic
| | - Martin Hadzima
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry , Czech Academy of Sciences , Flemingovo nám. 2 , 16610 Praha 6 , Czech Republic.,Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Science , Charles University , Albertov 6 , 12800 Praha 2 , Czech Republic
| | - Jindřich Fanfrlík
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry , Czech Academy of Sciences , Flemingovo nám. 2 , 16610 Praha 6 , Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Brynda
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry , Czech Academy of Sciences , Flemingovo nám. 2 , 16610 Praha 6 , Czech Republic
| | - Lenka Pallová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry , Czech Academy of Sciences , Flemingovo nám. 2 , 16610 Praha 6 , Czech Republic
| | - Iva Hánová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry , Czech Academy of Sciences , Flemingovo nám. 2 , 16610 Praha 6 , Czech Republic.,Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science , Charles University , Albertov 6 , 12800 Praha 2 , Czech Republic
| | - Helena Mertlíková-Kaiserová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry , Czech Academy of Sciences , Flemingovo nám. 2 , 16610 Praha 6 , Czech Republic
| | - Martin Lepšík
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry , Czech Academy of Sciences , Flemingovo nám. 2 , 16610 Praha 6 , Czech Republic
| | - Martin Horn
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry , Czech Academy of Sciences , Flemingovo nám. 2 , 16610 Praha 6 , Czech Republic
| | - Martin Smrčina
- Tucson Research Center , Icagen Inc. , 2090 E. Innovation Park Drive , Oro Valley , Arizona 85755 , United States
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry , Czech Academy of Sciences , Flemingovo nám. 2 , 16610 Praha 6 , Czech Republic
| | - Michael Mareš
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry , Czech Academy of Sciences , Flemingovo nám. 2 , 16610 Praha 6 , Czech Republic
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23
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Lemberg KM, Zhao L, Wu Y, Veeravalli V, Alt J, Aguilar JMH, Dash RP, Lam J, Tenora L, Rodriguez C, Nedelcovych MT, Brayton C, Majer P, Blakeley JO, Rais R, Slusher BS. The Novel Glutamine Antagonist Prodrug JHU395 Has Antitumor Activity in Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor. Mol Cancer Ther 2020; 19:397-408. [PMID: 31594823 PMCID: PMC7007868 DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.mct-19-0319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2019] [Revised: 08/20/2019] [Accepted: 10/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The carbon and nitrogen components of glutamine are used for multiple biosynthetic processes by tumors. Glutamine metabolism and the therapeutic potential of glutamine antagonists (GA), however, are incompletely understood in malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST), an aggressive soft tissue sarcoma observed in patients with neurofibromatosis type I. We investigated glutamine dependence of MPNST using JHU395, a novel orally bioavailable GA prodrug designed to circulate inert in plasma, but permeate and release active GA within target tissues. Human MPNST cells, compared with Schwann cells derived from healthy peripheral nerve, were selectively susceptible to both glutamine deprivation and GA dose-dependent growth inhibition. In vivo, orally administered JHU395 delivered active GA to tumors with over 2-fold higher tumor-to-plasma exposure, and significantly inhibited tumor growth in a murine flank MPNST model without observed toxicity. Global metabolomics studies and stable isotope-labeled flux analyses in tumors identified multiple glutamine-dependent metabolites affected, including prominent effects on purine synthesis. These data demonstrate that glutamine antagonism is a potential antitumor strategy for MPNST.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn M Lemberg
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Liang Zhao
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Ying Wu
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Vijayabhaskar Veeravalli
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Jesse Alt
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | | | - Ranjeet P Dash
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Jenny Lam
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Lukáš Tenora
- Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Chabely Rodriguez
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Michael T Nedelcovych
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Cory Brayton
- Departments of Psychiatry, Neuroscience, Medicine and Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Pavel Majer
- Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Jaishri O Blakeley
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Rana Rais
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Barbara S Slusher
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
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24
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Dash RP, Tichý T, Veeravalli V, Lam J, Alt J, Wu Y, Tenora L, Majer P, Slusher BS, Rais R. Enhanced Oral Bioavailability of 2-(Phosphonomethyl)-pentanedioic Acid (2-PMPA) from its (5-Methyl-2-oxo-1,3-dioxol-4-yl)methyl (ODOL)-Based Prodrugs. Mol Pharm 2019; 16:4292-4301. [PMID: 31503493 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.9b00637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
2-(Phosphonomethyl)-pentanedioic acid (2-PMPA) is a potent (IC50 = 300 pM) and selective inhibitor of glutamate carboxypeptidase II (GCPII) with efficacy in multiple neurological and psychiatric disease preclinical models and more recently in models of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and cancer. 2-PMPA (1), however, has not been clinically developed due to its poor oral bioavailability (<1%) imparted by its four acidic functionalities (c Log P = -1.14). In an attempt to improve the oral bioavailability of 2-PMPA, we explored a prodrug approach using (5-methyl-2-oxo-1,3-dioxol-4-yl)methyl (ODOL), an FDA-approved promoiety, and systematically masked two (2), three (3), or all four (4) of its acidic groups. The prodrugs were evaluated for in vitro stability and in vivo pharmacokinetics in mice and dog. Prodrugs 2, 3, and 4 were found to be moderately stable at pH 7.4 in phosphate-buffered saline (57, 63, and 54% remaining at 1 h, respectively), but rapidly hydrolyzed in plasma and liver microsomes, across species. In vivo, in a single time-point screening study in mice, 10 mg/kg 2-PMPA equivalent doses of 2, 3, and 4 delivered significantly higher 2-PMPA plasma concentrations (3.65 ± 0.37, 3.56 ± 0.46, and 17.3 ± 5.03 nmol/mL, respectively) versus 2-PMPA (0.25 ± 0.02 nmol/mL). Given that prodrug 4 delivered the highest 2-PMPA levels, we next evaluated it in an extended time-course pharmacokinetic study in mice. 4 demonstrated an 80-fold enhancement in exposure versus oral 2-PMPA (AUC0-t: 52.1 ± 5.9 versus 0.65 ± 0.13 h*nmol/mL) with a calculated absolute oral bioavailability of 50%. In mouse brain, 4 showed similar exposures to that achieved with the IV route (1.2 ± 0.2 versus 1.6 ± 0.2 h*nmol/g). Further, in dogs, relative to orally administered 2-PMPA, 4 delivered a 44-fold enhanced 2-PMPA plasma exposure (AUC0-t for 4: 62.6 h*nmol/mL versus AUC0-t for 2-PMPA: 1.44 h*nmol/mL). These results suggest that ODOL promoieties can serve as a promising strategy for enhancing the oral bioavailability of multiply charged compounds, such as 2-PMPA, and enable its clinical translation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tomáš Tichý
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry , Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic v.v.i. , Prague 166 10 , Czech Republic
| | | | | | | | | | - Lukáš Tenora
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry , Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic v.v.i. , Prague 166 10 , Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry , Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic v.v.i. , Prague 166 10 , Czech Republic
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25
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Zima V, Albiñana CB, Rojíková K, Pokorná J, Pachl P, Řezáčová P, Hudlicky J, Navrátil V, Majer P, Konvalinka J, Kožíšek M, Machara A. Investigation of flexibility of neuraminidase 150-loop using tamiflu derivatives in influenza A viruses H1N1 and H5N1. Bioorg Med Chem 2019; 27:2935-2947. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2019.05.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2019] [Revised: 05/09/2019] [Accepted: 05/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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26
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Lemberg KM, Zhao L, Wu Y, Alt J, Aguilar JMH, Lam J, Gadiano AJ, Rais R, Majer P, Blakeley J, Slusher BS. Abstract 3602: JHU395, a nervous tissue penetrant glutamine antagonist, restricts growth of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor with inhibition of nucleotide synthesis. Cancer Res 2019. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.am2019-3602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) is a sarcoma that occurs in ~10% of patients with neurofibromatosis type I (NF1). Incomplete surgical resection at diagnosis leads to a 4-year event-free survival rate of <30%. Thus, improved treatments are needed. Recent evidence suggests that perturbing glutamine utilization warrants further exploration as a potential therapeutic strategy for MPNST. Competitive glutamine antagonists (GA) have been studied in several clinical trials for sarcoma previously, but clinical development was hampered by gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity. JHU395 is a broadly active nervous tissue penetrant GA. JHU395 delivers active GA preferentially to nervous tissue which may result in less GI toxicity than was observed in past trials. The primary goals of this study were to evaluate JHU395 in preclinical models of MPNST and to investigate tumor metabolic changes in response to JHU395. We investigated glutamine antagonism on growth of MPNST cells in culture and murine flank MPNST. JHU395 was administered orally for 14 days to mice bearing inoculated tumors derived from the NPcis (NF1+/-;p53+/-) genetically engineered model of MPNST. Tumors were measured every other day and tumor volume was calculated as the primary endpoint. Concurrent evaluations of GI and neurotoxicity were performed as secondary endpoints. GA levels in tumor versus plasma were compared using a previously validated bioanalytical method. In vivo stable isotope labeled glutamine (15N2- or 13C5-labeled) flux analysis and targeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) metabolomics were performed on murine tumors. Compared to immortalized Schwann cells, growth of MPNST was preferentially inhibited by GA (IC50=8 micromolar versus >30 micromolar). JHU395 delivered GA to MPNST cells with >4-fold higher cell-to-plasma ratio compared to native GA and maintained ~2.5-fold higher tumor-to-plasma GA levels in vivo. Mice treated with JHU395 had >40% smaller mean tumor volume compared to controls with no overt toxicity. Quantitiative bioanalysis revealed that JHU395 treated tumors had >60% higher glutamine levels compared to controls 30 minutes after oral dosing. In vivo flux analysis demonstrated that JHU395 preferentially affects tumor glutamine utilization for nucleotide synthesis, while glutamine-derived substrates for the citric acid cycle appear unaffected. In summary, JHU395 inhibits growth of MPNST with inhibition of glutamine utilization in nucleotide synthesis and is well-tolerated. Nervous tissue penetrant glutamine antagonism is a feasible and effective therapeutic approach in preclinical models of MPNST. Future studies will investigate JHU395 in combination with nucleotide synthesis inhibitors in MPNST and investigate JHU395 efficacy in additional sarcoma models including patient-derived samples.
Citation Format: Kathryn M. Lemberg, Liang Zhao, Ying Wu, Jesse Alt, Joanna Marie H. Aguilar, Jenny Lam, Alexandra J. Gadiano, Rana Rais, Pavel Majer, Jaishri Blakeley, Barbara S. Slusher. JHU395, a nervous tissue penetrant glutamine antagonist, restricts growth of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor with inhibition of nucleotide synthesis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3602.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ying Wu
- 1Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Pavel Majer
- 2Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Acadmy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
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27
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Rais R, Alt J, Dash R, Tenora L, Majer P, Slusher BS. Abstract 3620: Tumor targeted delivery of glutamine antagonist: Use of CES1-/- mice. Cancer Res 2019. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.am2019-3620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine (DON), a potent glutamine antagonist, broadly blocks glutamine utilizing reactions critical for the synthesis of nucleic acids, amino acids, proteins and the generation of alpha-ketoglutarate for energy metabolism. DON has shown robust efficacy in multiple preclinical cancer models and exploratory clinical studies. Although promising, development of DON was halted due to its dose-limiting gastrointestinal (GI)-toxicities, as the GI system is highly dependent on glutamine utilization. Given DON’s promising efficacy, we developed novel tumor cell-targeted glutamine antagonists intended to circulate intact as inert prodrug/s in plasma and be preferentially biotransformed to DON in tumor cells. Our prodrug strategy of utilizing elevated protease activities in cancer tissues (e.g. Histone deacetylase, Cathepsin-L) led to the discovery of a highly innovative prodrug pharmacophore. Using a well-defined screening paradigm, we discovered compound 6, (isopropyl 2-(6-acetamido-2-(adamantane-1-carboxamido) hexanamido)-6-diazo-5-oxohexanoate), that showed stability in plasma, liver and intestinal homogenates, yet was readily cleaved to DON in P493B human tumor cells. When directly compared to DON, compound 6, exhibited a 55-fold enhanced P493B cell-to-plasma ratio. In a time-dependent study, compound 6 showed sustained DON delivery to P493B cells while maintaining minimal release in human plasma. Moreover, in a cell proliferation assay, compound 6 showed dose-dependent inhibition of P493B cell growth. One challenging aspect of prodrug development is the selection of appropriate animal model, as it can be confounded by interspecies variation in metabolism, specifically in the varying levels of the carboxylesterase enzyme, CES1, which is highly abundant in rodent plasma but not present in human plasma. We hypothesized that CES1-/- mice would recapitulate human metabolism and serve as a suitable model for our prodrug containing ester promoiety on its carboxylate. Using plasma from CES1-/- mice, wild-type mice and human, we confirmed that compound 6 exhibited similar stability in CES1-/- mice and human plasma but not in wild-type mice plasma. We then performed pharmacokinetic evaluation in C57BL/6 CES1-/- mice bearing flank murine EL4 tumors. Following subcutaneous dosing (1mg/kg DON equivalent), compound 6 exhibited excellent pharmacokinetics with a ~5-fold higher DON tumor exposures (AUC= 5.1 nmol/g*h) versus plasma (1.1 nmol/ml*h) and a 11-fold higher tumor exposures versus GI-tissues (toxicity site; AUC = 0.45 nmol/ml*h). These studies describe discovery of a tumor targeted glutamine antagonist. In addition, we introduce a murine model, that recapitulates human metabolism and can be broadly utilized in prodrug development. Future studies will investigate the dose dependent efficacy and safety of compound 6 in tumor bearing C57BL/6 CES1-/- mice.
Citation Format: Rana Rais, Jesse Alt, Ranjeet Dash, Lukáš Tenora, Pavel Majer, Barbara S. Slusher. Tumor targeted delivery of glutamine antagonist: Use of CES1-/- mice [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3620.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rana Rais
- 1Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
| | - Jesse Alt
- 1Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
| | | | - Lukáš Tenora
- 2Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Majer
- 2Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
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Zhu X, Nedelcovych MT, Thomas AG, Hasegawa Y, Moreno-Megui A, Coomer W, Vohra V, Saito A, Perez G, Wu Y, Alt J, Prchalova E, Tenora L, Majer P, Rais R, Rojas C, Slusher BS, Kamiya A. Correction: JHU-083 selectively blocks glutaminase activity in brain CD11b + cells and prevents depression-associated behaviors induced by chronic social defeat stress. Neuropsychopharmacology 2019; 44:1178. [PMID: 30862949 PMCID: PMC6461747 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-019-0354-3] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2019] [Accepted: 02/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
During this process, we found that we need add the following sentence in the manuscript within the Acknowledgement section.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaolei Zhu
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Michael T. Nedelcovych
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA ,0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Ajit G. Thomas
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Yuto Hasegawa
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Aisa Moreno-Megui
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Wade Coomer
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Varun Vohra
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Atsushi Saito
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Gabriel Perez
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Ying Wu
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Jesse Alt
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Eva Prchalova
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA ,0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Lukáš Tenora
- 0000 0001 1015 3316grid.418095.1Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic v.v.i., Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Majer
- 0000 0001 1015 3316grid.418095.1Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic v.v.i., Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Rana Rais
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA ,0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Camilo Rojas
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA ,0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Barbara S. Slusher
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA ,0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA ,0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA ,0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA ,0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA ,0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Atsushi Kamiya
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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29
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Tenora L, Alt J, Dash RP, Gadiano AJ, Novotná K, Veeravalli V, Lam J, Kirkpatrick QR, Lemberg KM, Majer P, Rais R, Slusher BS. Tumor-Targeted Delivery of 6-Diazo-5-oxo-l-norleucine (DON) Using Substituted Acetylated Lysine Prodrugs. J Med Chem 2019; 62:3524-3538. [PMID: 30892035 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.8b02009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
6-Diazo-5-oxo-l-norleucine (DON) is a glutamine antagonist with robust anticancer efficacy; however, its therapeutic potential was hampered by its biodistribution and toxicity to normal tissues, specifically gastrointestinal (GI) tissues. To circumvent DON's toxicity, we synthesized a series of tumor-targeted DON prodrugs designed to circulate inert in plasma and preferentially activate over DON in tumor. Our best prodrug 6 (isopropyl 2-(6-acetamido-2-(adamantane-1-carboxamido)hexanamido)-6-diazo-5-oxohexanoate) showed stability in plasma, liver, and intestinal homogenates yet was readily cleaved to DON in P493B lymphoma cells, exhibiting a 55-fold enhanced tumor cell-to-plasma ratio versus that of DON and resulting in a dose-dependent inhibition of cell proliferation. Using carboxylesterase 1 knockout mice that were shown to mimic human prodrug metabolism, systemic administration of 6 delivered 11-fold higher DON exposure to tumor (target tissue; AUC0- t = 5.1 nmol h/g) versus GI tissues (toxicity tissue; AUC0- t = 0.45 nmol h/g). In summary, these studies describe the discovery of a glutamine antagonist prodrug that provides selective tumor exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukáš Tenora
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry , Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic v.v.i. , Prague 166 10 , Czech Republic
| | | | | | | | - Kateřina Novotná
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry , Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic v.v.i. , Prague 166 10 , Czech Republic
| | | | | | | | | | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry , Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic v.v.i. , Prague 166 10 , Czech Republic
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30
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Zhu X, Nedelcovych MT, Thomas AG, Hasegawa Y, Moreno-Megui A, Coomer W, Vohra V, Saito A, Perez G, Wu Y, Alt J, Prchalova E, Tenora L, Majer P, Rais R, Rojas C, Slusher BS, Kamiya A. JHU-083 selectively blocks glutaminase activity in brain CD11b + cells and prevents depression-associated behaviors induced by chronic social defeat stress. Neuropsychopharmacology 2019; 44:683-694. [PMID: 30127344 PMCID: PMC6372721 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-018-0177-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2017] [Revised: 07/25/2018] [Accepted: 07/29/2018] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
There are a number of clinically effective treatments for stress-associated psychiatric diseases, including major depressive disorder (MDD). Nonetheless, many patients exhibit resistance to first-line interventions calling for novel interventions based on pathological mechanisms. Accumulating evidence implicates altered glutamate signaling in MDD pathophysiology, suggesting that modulation of glutamate signaling cascades may offer novel therapeutic potential. Here we report that JHU-083, our recently developed prodrug of the glutaminase inhibitor 6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine (DON) ameliorates social avoidance and anhedonia-like behaviors in mice subjected to chronic social defeat stress (CSDS). JHU-083 normalized CSDS-induced increases in glutaminase activity specifically in microglia-enriched CD11b+ cells isolated from the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. JHU-083 treatment also reverses the CSDS-induced inflammatory activation of CD11b+ cells. These results support the importance of altered glutamate signaling in the behavioral abnormalities observed in the CSDS model, and identify glutaminase in microglia-enriched CD11b+ cells as a pharmacotherapeutic target implicated in the pathophysiology of stress-associated psychiatric conditions such as MDD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaolei Zhu
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Michael T. Nedelcovych
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA ,0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Ajit G. Thomas
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Yuto Hasegawa
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Aisa Moreno-Megui
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Wade Coomer
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Varun Vohra
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Atsushi Saito
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Gabriel Perez
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Ying Wu
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Jesse Alt
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Eva Prchalova
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA ,0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Lukáš Tenora
- 0000 0001 1015 3316grid.418095.1Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic v.v.i., Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Majer
- 0000 0001 1015 3316grid.418095.1Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic v.v.i., Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Rana Rais
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA ,0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Camilo Rojas
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA ,0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Barbara S. Slusher
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA ,0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA ,0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA ,0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA ,0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA ,0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Atsushi Kamiya
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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Kutil Z, Skultetyova L, Rauh D, Meleshin M, Snajdr I, Novakova Z, Mikesova J, Pavlicek J, Hadzima M, Baranova P, Havlinova B, Majer P, Schutkowski M, Barinka C. The unraveling of substrate specificity of histone deacetylase 6 domains using acetylome peptide microarrays and peptide libraries. FASEB J 2018; 33:4035-4045. [PMID: 30496698 DOI: 10.1096/fj.201801680r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) is a multidomain cytosolic hydrolase acting mostly on nonhistone protein substrates. Investigations of the substrate specificity of HDAC6 are confounded by the presence of 2 catalytically active deacetylase domains (DD1 and DD2). In this study, acetylome peptide microarrays and peptide libraries were used to map the substrate specificity of DD1 and DD2 of human HDAC6. The results show that DD1 is solely responsible for the deacetylation of substrates harboring the acetyllysine at their C terminus, whereas DD2 exclusively deacetylates peptides with an internal acetyllysine residue. Also, statistical analysis of the deacetylation data revealed amino acid preferences at individual positions flanking the acetyllysine, where glycine and arginine residues are favored at positions N-terminal to the central acetyllysine; negatively charged glutamate is strongly disfavored throughout the sequence. Finally, the deacylation activity of HDAC6 was profiled by using a panel of acyl derivatives of the optimized peptide substrate and showed that HDAC6 acts as a proficient deformylase. Our data thus offer a detailed insight into the substrate preferences of the individual HDAC6 domains at the peptide level, and these findings can in turn help in elucidating the biologic roles of the enzyme and facilitate the development of new domain-specific inhibitors as research tools or therapeutic agents.-Kutil, Z., Skultetyova, L., Rauh, D., Meleshin, M., Snajdr, I., Novakova, Z., Mikesova, J., Pavlicek, J., Hadzima, M., Baranova, P., Havlinova, B., Majer, P., Schutkowski, M., Barinka, C. The unraveling of substrate specificity of histone deacetylase 6 domains using acetylome peptide microarrays and peptide libraries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zsofia Kutil
- Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV, Vestec, Czech Republic
| | - Lubica Skultetyova
- Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV, Vestec, Czech Republic
| | - David Rauh
- Department of Enzymology, Charles Tanford Protein Center, Institute for Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Martin Luther University, Halle (Saale), Germany; and
| | - Marat Meleshin
- Department of Enzymology, Charles Tanford Protein Center, Institute for Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Martin Luther University, Halle (Saale), Germany; and
| | - Ivan Snajdr
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Zora Novakova
- Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV, Vestec, Czech Republic
| | - Jana Mikesova
- Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV, Vestec, Czech Republic
| | - Jiri Pavlicek
- Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV, Vestec, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Hadzima
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Petra Baranova
- Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV, Vestec, Czech Republic
| | - Barbora Havlinova
- Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV, Vestec, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Mike Schutkowski
- Department of Enzymology, Charles Tanford Protein Center, Institute for Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Martin Luther University, Halle (Saale), Germany; and
| | - Cyril Barinka
- Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV, Vestec, Czech Republic
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Machara A, Křivánek J, Dolejšová K, Havlíčková J, Bednárová L, Hanus R, Majer P, Kyjaková P. Identification and Enantiodivergent Synthesis of (5 Z,9 S)-Tetradec-5-en-9-olide, a Queen-Specific Volatile of the Termite Silvestritermes minutus. J Nat Prod 2018; 81:2266-2274. [PMID: 30299957 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.8b00632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The queens of social insects differ from sterile colony members in many aspects of their physiology. Besides adaptations linked with their specialization for reproduction and extended lifespan, the queens also invest in the maintenance of their reproductive dominance by producing exocrine chemicals signaling their presence to the nestmates. The knowledge of the chemistry of queen-specific cues in termites is scarce. In addition to the contact recognition based on cuticular hydrocarbons, long-range signals mediated by volatiles are expected to participate in queen signaling, especially in populous colonies of higher termites (Termitidae). In queens of the higher termite Silvestritermes minutus (Syntermitinae), we have detected a previously undescribed volatile. It is present in important quantities on the body surface and in the headspace, ovaries, and body cavity. MS and GC-FTIR data analyses led us to propose the structure of the compound to be a macrolide 10-pentyl-3,4,5,8,9,10-hexahydro-2 H-oxecin-2-one. We performed enantiodivergent syntheses of two possible enantiomers starting from enantiopure ( S)-glycidyl tosylate. The synthetic sequence involved macrolide-closing metathesis quenched with a ruthenium scavenging agent. The absolute and relative configuration of the compound was assigned to be (5 Z,9 S)-tetradec-5-en-9-olide. Identification and preparation of the compound allow for investigation of its biological significance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleš Machara
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS , Flemingovo n. 542/2 , 166 10 , Prague 6 , Czech Republic
| | - Jan Křivánek
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS , Flemingovo n. 542/2 , 166 10 , Prague 6 , Czech Republic
| | - Klára Dolejšová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS , Flemingovo n. 542/2 , 166 10 , Prague 6 , Czech Republic
| | - Jana Havlíčková
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS , Flemingovo n. 542/2 , 166 10 , Prague 6 , Czech Republic
| | - Lucie Bednárová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS , Flemingovo n. 542/2 , 166 10 , Prague 6 , Czech Republic
| | - Robert Hanus
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS , Flemingovo n. 542/2 , 166 10 , Prague 6 , Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS , Flemingovo n. 542/2 , 166 10 , Prague 6 , Czech Republic
| | - Pavlína Kyjaková
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS , Flemingovo n. 542/2 , 166 10 , Prague 6 , Czech Republic
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33
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Leone R, Englert J, Sun IM, Oh MH, Alt J, Sun IH, Tam AJ, Majer P, Rais R, Slusher B, Powell J. Abstract 4963: Targeting glutamine metabolism as a means of enhancing antitumor T-cell responses. Cancer Res 2018. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.am2018-4963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Tumors possess specialized metabolic programming that facilitates their rapid growth. We have developed a novel glutamine antagonist (JHU-083) that not only demonstrates single-agent efficacy in a variety of mouse tumor models but also synergizes with anti-PD-1, adoptive cellular therapy (ACT) and A2aR antagonism to overcome resistance to immunotherapy and promote durable cures. Interestingly, we have observed that JHU-083 markedly enhances endogenous antitumor T-cell responses even in the absence of additional immunotherapy. Flow cytometry analyses of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) reveal markedly increased infiltration of CD8+ T cells with increased proliferative index (Ki67) and the generation of robust memory phenotypes in JHU-083 treated mice. Interestingly, Gene Set Enrichment Analyses (GSEA) using RNA-sequencing data revealed that CD8+ TIL from vehicle treated mice showed significantly enhanced expression of apoptotic transcriptional programs compared with TIL from mice treated with JHU-083. Consistent with flow cytometry data, GSEA showed CD8+ TILs from mice treated with glutamine antagonism expressed transcriptional programs characteristic of long-lived memory cells. To this end, vaccination experiments in mice treated with JHU-083 demonstrate that many of the phenotypic changes observed in TIL can be generated outside the TME and are due to direct effects of glutamine blockade on effector T cells. Our studies show that these transcriptional changes are associated with profound remodeling of the histone epigenetic code and correlate with decreased intracellular levels of α-ketoglutarate in response to glutamine antagonism. Supplementation with dimethyl α-ketoglutarate, a cell-permeable form of α-ketoglutarate, partially reverses phenotypic and epigenetic changes in CD8 T cells undergoing activation in the setting of glutamine antagonism. These findings are consistent with inhibition of a family of enzymes known as α-ketoglutarate dependent dioxygenases, which are responsible for a broad range of demethylation reactions, including histone and DNA demethylation. Overall, our work demonstrates that glutamine antagonism can directly inhibit tumor growth and survival while also reprogramming maladaptive antitumor T-cell responses to enhance endogenous antitumor immunity. Such observations support the development of our novel glutamine antagonists as both monotherapy and in combination with immunotherapy.
Citation Format: Robert Leone, Judson Englert, Im-Meng Sun, Min-Hee Oh, Jesse Alt, Im-Hong Sun, Ada J. Tam, Pavel Majer, Rana Rais, Barbara Slusher, Jonathan Powell. Targeting glutamine metabolism as a means of enhancing antitumor T-cell responses [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4963.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Leone
- 1Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | | | - Im-Meng Sun
- 1Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Min-Hee Oh
- 1Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Jesse Alt
- 3Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery Program, Baltimore, MD
| | - Im-Hong Sun
- 1Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Ada J. Tam
- 1Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Pavel Majer
- 4Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Republic
| | - Rana Rais
- 3Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery Program, Baltimore, MD
| | | | - Jonathan Powell
- 1Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
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34
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Lemberg K, Wu Y, Alt J, Zhao L, Gadiano AJ, Rodriguez C, Rais R, Majer P, Blakeley J, Slusher B. Abstract 3524: Novel prodrugs of the glutamine antagonist 6-diazo-5-oxo-norleucine (DON) as treatment for malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor. Cancer Res 2018. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.am2018-3524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Neurofibromatosis Type I (NF1) is a heritable tumor predisposition syndrome in which up to 10% of patients develop malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST), an aggressive sarcoma. For MPNST that is incompletely resected at diagnosis, traditional cytotoxic chemotherapeutic strategies offer a 5 year event-free survival of less than 40%; thus new therapeutic strategies are desperately needed. Reprogramming of energy metabolism, whereby tumor cells take up more glutamine than healthy cells and direct this substrate to replenish metabolites for proliferation, is a hallmark of several cancers that has not been effectively leveraged for treatment of MPNST. Our group has recently described JHU 395, a nervous system targeted prodrug of the glutamine antagonist 6-diazo-5-oxo-norleucine (DON) which delivers DON preferentially to the brain resulting in less gastrointestinal toxicity, which was the main toxicity of DON in past clinical trials. The primary goals of this study were to evaluate glutamine antagonism and JHU 395 activity in MPNST. Using multiple Schwann and MPNST cell lines we investigated cell proliferation in culture under glutamine deprivation and antagonism. Mass spectrometry (MS)-based metabolomic profiling was used to characterize differences between MPNST cells treated with vehicle versus DON. MS-based bioanalytical methods were also used to investigate DON delivery to tumor cells by JHU 395. We found that growth of MPNST cells in culture is preferentially inhibited by glutamine deprivation and DON treatment when compared to immortalized Schwann cells derived from non-tumored nerve (IC50 of 8-9 micromolar versus >30 micromolar). Targeted metabolomics analyses of DON treated human MPNST cells demonstrated multiple differences in downstream glutamine-dependent metabolites including intermediates in purine synthesis and amino acid synthesis, suggesting that DON acts broadly within the tumor cell to inhibit growth. While DON showed limited partitioning into MPNST cells versus plasma, JHU 395 preferentially delivered DON into MPNST with over 5-fold higher cell-to-plasma ratio. Prodrug pharmacokinetic studies in mouse demonstrated that oral administration of the prodrug safely delivered DON at micromolar concentrations to peripheral nerve. In conclusion, compared to healthy Schwann cells, MPNST cells have unique vulnerability to antagonizing glutamine utilization. The nervous system directed prodrug JHU 395 enhances DON delivery to MPNST and represents a novel potential therapeutic approach for these aggressive tumors. Based on these results we have initiated efficacy studies of JHU 395 in the murine NPcis (NF1+/-;p53+/-) model of MPNST.
Citation Format: Kathryn Lemberg, Ying Wu, Jesse Alt, Liang Zhao, Alexandra J. Gadiano, Chabely Rodriguez, Rana Rais, Pavel Majer, Jaishri Blakeley, Barbara Slusher. Novel prodrugs of the glutamine antagonist 6-diazo-5-oxo-norleucine (DON) as treatment for malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3524.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ying Wu
- 1Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Jesse Alt
- 1Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Liang Zhao
- 1Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | | | | | - Rana Rais
- 1Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Pavel Majer
- 2Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
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Oh MH, Sun IH, Zhao L, Sun IM, Xu W, Patel C, Leone R, Tam AJ, Englert J, Majer P, Rais R, Slusher B, Horton MR, Powell JD. Abstract 4730: Targeting glutamine metabolism enhances tumor specific immunity by inhibiting the generation and function of suppressive myeloid cells. Cancer Res 2018. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.am2018-4730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
In order to sustain their inexorable growth, tumors have specialized reprogrammed metabolism. This metabolism creates an acidic, hypoxic and nutrient-depleted tumor microenvironment (TME). Such an environment inhibits antitumor effector cells while promoting the differentiation and function of inhibitory cells such as T regulatory cells, myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) and tumor-associated macrophages (TAM). We hypothesized that by targeting tumor metabolism we could alter the TME and “condition” tumors to be more susceptible to immunotherapy. To this end, along with the Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery Program we developed a novel prodrug of 6-diazo-5-oxo-l-norleucine, inhibitor of glutamine metabolism (JHU-083). Recently, it has been shown that M2 macrophages require glutamine metabolism for differentiation and function. In light of the similarities between M2 macrophages and suppressive myeloid cells, we hypothesized that JHU-083 might inhibit the generation and function of MDSCs and TAMs. We tested this hypothesis in the 4T1 breast cancer model and 3LL lung carcinoma model. These tumors are relatively resistant to immunotherapy and are characterized by increased generation of MDSCs and distant spontaneous metastasis. JHU-083 treated mice suppressed tumor growth compared to the vehicle treated group. Immunologically, we observed markedly reduced numbers of MDSCs in circulating blood within 3 days of drug treatment compared to vehicle group, leading to favorable CD8 to MDSCs ratios. Consistently, JHU083-treated group displayed significantly decreased percentages and numbers of MDSCs in the tumor, and increased tumor infiltrating CD8 cells. Interestingly, JHU-083 treatment induced TAM reprogramming. While the TAM from the vehicle treated group displayed increased M2 markers and arginase; the JHU-083 treated tumor-infiltrating cells showed increased TNF-a producing M1-like macrophage phenotypes compared to vehicle group. These TNF-a producing cells were negatively correlated with tumor sizes. Notably, JHU083 treatment not only controlled primary tumor growth but also drastically reduced spontaneous lung metastasis. The decrease of MDSCs infiltration in the lung were also observed in JHU083-treated group. Mechanistically, our data suggest that JHU-083 inhibits CSF2/CSF3 production and survival of the tumor itself as well as directly affects macrophage metabolism and signaling. Also, LC-MS based metabolites analysis from JHU-083 treated tumors revealed reduced kynurenine:tryptophan ratios compared to the control group, indicating the metabolic modulation of the tumor microenvironment. Overall, our data support a novel role for glutamine inhibitor, JHU-083, in enhancing tumor-specific Immunity by targeting suppressive myeloid cells.
Citation Format: Min-Hee Oh, Im-Hong Sun, Liang Zhao, Im-Meng Sun, Wei Xu, Chirag Patel, Robert Leone, Ada J. Tam, Judd Englert, Pavel Majer, Rana Rais, Barbara Slusher, Maureen R. Horton, Jonathan D. Powell. Targeting glutamine metabolism enhances tumor specific immunity by inhibiting the generation and function of suppressive myeloid cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4730.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min-Hee Oh
- 1Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Im-Hong Sun
- 1Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Liang Zhao
- 1Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Im-Meng Sun
- 1Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Wei Xu
- 1Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Chirag Patel
- 1Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Robert Leone
- 1Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Ada J. Tam
- 1Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | | | - Pavel Majer
- 3Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry ASCR, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Rana Rais
- 4Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery Program, Baltimore, MD
| | | | | | - Jonathan D. Powell
- 1Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
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36
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Zimmermann SC, Tichý T, Vávra J, Dash RP, Slusher CE, Gadiano AJ, Wu Y, Jančařík A, Tenora L, Monincová L, Prchalová E, Riggins GJ, Majer P, Slusher BS, Rais R. N-Substituted Prodrugs of Mebendazole Provide Improved Aqueous Solubility and Oral Bioavailability in Mice and Dogs. J Med Chem 2018; 61:3918-3929. [PMID: 29648826 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.7b01792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Mebendazole (MBZ) was developed as a broad-spectrum anthelmintic but has recently shown efficacy as an anticancer agent. The use of MBZ for cancer, however, is challenging due to its poor solubility leading to poor bioavailability. Herein, we developed a prodrug approach with various N-linked promoieties including acyloxymethyl, aminoacyloxymethyl, and substituted phosphonooxymethyl in attempt to improve these characteristics. Compound 12, containing an (((((isopropoxycarbonyl)oxy)methoxy)phosphoryl)oxy)methyl promoiety, showed a >10 000-fold improvement in aqueous solubility. When evaluated in mice, 12 displayed a 2.2-fold higher plasma AUC0- t and a 1.7-fold improvement in brain AUC0- t with a calculated oral bioavailability of 52%, as compared to 24% for MBZ-polymorph C (MBZ-C), the most bioavailable polymorph. In dogs, 12 showed a 3.8-fold higher plasma AUC0- t with oral bioavailability of 41% compared to 11% for MBZ-C. In summary, we have identified a prodrug of MBZ with better physicochemical properties and enhanced bioavailability in both mice and dog.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tomáš Tichý
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry v.v.i , Czech Academy of Sciences , Prague 166 10 , Czech Republic
| | - Jan Vávra
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry v.v.i , Czech Academy of Sciences , Prague 166 10 , Czech Republic
| | | | | | | | | | - Andrej Jančařík
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry v.v.i , Czech Academy of Sciences , Prague 166 10 , Czech Republic
| | - Lukáš Tenora
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry v.v.i , Czech Academy of Sciences , Prague 166 10 , Czech Republic
| | - Lenka Monincová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry v.v.i , Czech Academy of Sciences , Prague 166 10 , Czech Republic
| | | | | | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry v.v.i , Czech Academy of Sciences , Prague 166 10 , Czech Republic
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37
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Pecina A, Brynda J, Vrzal L, Gnanasekaran R, Hořejší M, Eyrilmez SM, Řezáč J, Lepšík M, Řezáčová P, Hobza P, Majer P, Veverka V, Fanfrlík J. Ranking Power of the SQM/COSMO Scoring Function on Carbonic Anhydrase II-Inhibitor Complexes. Chemphyschem 2018; 19:873-879. [PMID: 29316128 DOI: 10.1002/cphc.201701104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Accurate prediction of protein-ligand binding affinities is essential for hit-to-lead optimization and virtual screening. The reliability of scoring functions can be improved by including quantum effects. Here, we demonstrate the ranking power of the semiempirical quantum mechanics (SQM)/implicit solvent (COSMO) scoring function by using a challenging set of 10 inhibitors binding to carbonic anhydrase II through Zn2+ in the active site. This new dataset consists of the high-resolution (1.1-1.4 Å) crystal structures and experimentally determined inhibitory constant (Ki ) values. It allows for evaluation of the common approximations, such as representing the solvent implicitly or by using a single target conformation combined with a set of ligand docking poses. SQM/COSMO attained a good correlation of R2 of 0.56-0.77 with the experimental inhibitory activities, benefiting from careful handling of both noncovalent interactions (e.g. charge transfer) and solvation. This proof-of-concept study of SQM/COSMO ranking for metalloprotein-ligand systems demonstrates its potential for hit-to-lead applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Pecina
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Brynda
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic.,Institute of Molecular Genetics of, Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska 1083, 14220, Prague 4, Czech Republic
| | - Lukáš Vrzal
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Ramachandran Gnanasekaran
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic.,Current address: Department of Chemistry, Pondicherry University, Puducherry, 605014, India
| | - Magdalena Hořejší
- Institute of Molecular Genetics of, Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska 1083, 14220, Prague 4, Czech Republic
| | - Saltuk M Eyrilmez
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic.,Palacký University, 77146, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Řezáč
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Lepšík
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Pavlína Řezáčová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic.,Institute of Molecular Genetics of, Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska 1083, 14220, Prague 4, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Hobza
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic.,Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Palacký University, 77146, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Václav Veverka
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Jindřich Fanfrlík
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic
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38
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Bousova K, Herman P, Vecer J, Bednarova L, Monincova L, Majer P, Vyklicky L, Vondrasek J, Teisinger J. Shared CaM‐ and S100A1‐binding epitopes in the distal
TRPM
4 N terminus. FEBS J 2017; 285:599-613. [DOI: 10.1111/febs.14362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2017] [Revised: 10/31/2017] [Accepted: 12/08/2017] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Kristyna Bousova
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry Czech Academy of Sciences Prague Czech Republic
- Institute of Physiology Czech Academy of Sciences Prague Czech Republic
| | - Petr Herman
- Faculty of Mathematics and Physics Charles University Prague Czech Republic
| | - Jaroslav Vecer
- Faculty of Mathematics and Physics Charles University Prague Czech Republic
| | - Lucie Bednarova
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry Czech Academy of Sciences Prague Czech Republic
| | - Lenka Monincova
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry Czech Academy of Sciences Prague Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry Czech Academy of Sciences Prague Czech Republic
| | - Ladislav Vyklicky
- Institute of Physiology Czech Academy of Sciences Prague Czech Republic
| | - Jiri Vondrasek
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry Czech Academy of Sciences Prague Czech Republic
| | - Jan Teisinger
- Institute of Physiology Czech Academy of Sciences Prague Czech Republic
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39
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Tichá A, Stanchev S, Vinothkumar KR, Mikles DC, Pachl P, Began J, Škerle J, Švehlová K, Nguyen MTN, Verhelst SHL, Johnson DC, Bachovchin DA, Lepšík M, Majer P, Strisovsky K. General and Modular Strategy for Designing Potent, Selective, and Pharmacologically Compliant Inhibitors of Rhomboid Proteases. Cell Chem Biol 2017; 24:1523-1536.e4. [PMID: 29107700 PMCID: PMC5746060 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2017.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2017] [Revised: 08/19/2017] [Accepted: 09/18/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Rhomboid-family intramembrane proteases regulate important biological processes and have been associated with malaria, cancer, and Parkinson's disease. However, due to the lack of potent, selective, and pharmacologically compliant inhibitors, the wide therapeutic potential of rhomboids is currently untapped. Here, we bridge this gap by discovering that peptidyl α-ketoamides substituted at the ketoamide nitrogen by hydrophobic groups are potent rhomboid inhibitors active in the nanomolar range, surpassing the currently used rhomboid inhibitors by up to three orders of magnitude. Such peptidyl ketoamides show selectivity for rhomboids, leaving most human serine hydrolases unaffected. Crystal structures show that these compounds bind the active site of rhomboid covalently and in a substrate-like manner, and kinetic analysis reveals their reversible, slow-binding, non-competitive mechanism. Since ketoamides are clinically used pharmacophores, our findings uncover a straightforward modular way for the design of specific inhibitors of rhomboid proteases, which can be widely applicable in cell biology and drug discovery. N-substituted peptidyl α-ketoamides are nanomolar inhibitors of rhomboid proteases Peptidyl ketoamides inhibit rhomboids covalently, reversibly, and non-competitively The peptide and ketoamide substituent independently modulate potency and selectivity Peptidyl ketoamides are selective for rhomboids, sparing most human serine proteases
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Affiliation(s)
- Anežka Tichá
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 166 10, Czech Republic; First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Kateřinská 32, Prague 121 08, Czech Republic
| | - Stancho Stanchev
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 166 10, Czech Republic
| | - Kutti R Vinothkumar
- Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge CB2 0QH, UK
| | - David C Mikles
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 166 10, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Pachl
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 166 10, Czech Republic
| | - Jakub Began
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 166 10, Czech Republic; Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 5, Prague 128 44, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Škerle
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 166 10, Czech Republic; Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Hlavova 2030/8, Prague 128 43, Czech Republic
| | - Kateřina Švehlová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 166 10, Czech Republic
| | - Minh T N Nguyen
- Leibniz Institute for Analytical Sciences ISAS, Otto-Hahn-Strasse 6b, 44227 Dortmund, Germany
| | - Steven H L Verhelst
- Leibniz Institute for Analytical Sciences ISAS, Otto-Hahn-Strasse 6b, 44227 Dortmund, Germany; KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Herestraat 49, Box 802, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Darren C Johnson
- Chemical Biology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, Box 428, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Daniel A Bachovchin
- Chemical Biology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, Box 428, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Martin Lepšík
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 166 10, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 166 10, Czech Republic
| | - Kvido Strisovsky
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 166 10, Czech Republic.
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40
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Rais R, Vávra J, Tichý T, Dash RP, Gadiano AJ, Tenora L, Monincová L, Bařinka C, Alt J, Zimmermann SC, Slusher CE, Wu Y, Wozniak K, Majer P, Tsukamoto T, Slusher BS. Discovery of a para-Acetoxy-benzyl Ester Prodrug of a Hydroxamate-Based Glutamate Carboxypeptidase II Inhibitor as Oral Therapy for Neuropathic Pain. J Med Chem 2017; 60:7799-7809. [PMID: 28759215 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.7b00825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
4-Carboxy-α-[3-(hydroxyamino)-3-oxopropyl]-benzenepropanoic acid 1 is a potent hydroxamate-based inhibitor of glutamate carboxypeptidase II. In an attempt to improve its poor oral pharmacokinetics, we synthesized a series of prodrugs by masking its hydrophilic hydroxamate group. Prodrugs were evaluated for oral availability in mice and showed varying degree of plasma exposure to 1. Of these, para-acetoxybenzyl-based, 4-(5-(((4-acetoxybenzyl)oxy)amino)-2-carboxy-5-oxopentyl)benzoic acid, 12, provided 5-fold higher plasma levels of 1 compared to oral administration of 1 itself. Subsequently, para-acetoxybenzyl-based prodrugs with additional ester promoiety(ies) on carboxylate(s) were examined for their ability to deliver 1 to plasma. Isopropyloxycarbonyloxymethyl (POC) ester 30 was the only prodrug that achieved substantial plasma levels of 1. In vitro metabolite identification studies confirmed stability of the ethyl ester of benzoate while the POC group was rapidly hydrolyzed. At oral daily dose-equivalent of 3 mg/kg, 12 exhibited analgesic efficacy comparable to dose of 10 mg/kg of 1 in the rat chronic constrictive injury model of neuropathic pain.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jan Vávra
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, vvi , 166 10 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Tomáš Tichý
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, vvi , 166 10 Prague, Czech Republic
| | | | | | - Lukáš Tenora
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, vvi , 166 10 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Lenka Monincová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, vvi , 166 10 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Cyril Bařinka
- Institute of Biotechnology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, vvi , 166 10 Prague, Czech Republic
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, vvi , 166 10 Prague, Czech Republic
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41
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Nedelcovych M, Dash RP, Tenora L, Zimmermann SC, Gadiano AJ, Garrett C, Alt J, Hollinger KR, Pommier E, Jančařík A, Rojas C, Thomas AG, Wu Y, Wozniak K, Majer P, Slusher BS, Rais R. Enhanced Brain Delivery of 2-(Phosphonomethyl)pentanedioic Acid Following Intranasal Administration of Its γ-Substituted Ester Prodrugs. Mol Pharm 2017; 14:3248-3257. [PMID: 28763226 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.7b00231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
2-(Phosphonomethyl)pentanedioic acid (2-PMPA) is a potent and selective inhibitor of glutamate carboxypeptidase-II (GCPII) with efficacy in multiple neurological and psychiatric disease models, but its clinical utility is hampered by low brain penetration due to the inclusion of multiple acidic functionalities. We recently reported an improvement in the brain-to-plasma ratio of 2-PMPA after intranasal (IN) dosing in both rodents and primates. Herein, we describe the synthesis of several 2-PMPA prodrugs with further improved brain delivery of 2-PMPA after IN administration by masking of the γ-carboxylate. When compared to IN 2-PMPA in rats at 1 h post dose, γ-(4-acetoxybenzyl)-2-PMPA (compound 1) resulted in significantly higher 2-PMPA delivery to both plasma (4.1-fold) and brain (11-fold). Subsequent time-dependent evaluation of 1 also showed high brain as well as plasma 2-PMPA exposures with brain-to-plasma ratios of 2.2, 0.48, and 0.26 for olfactory bulb, cortex, and cerebellum, respectively, as well as an improved sciatic nerve to plasma ratio of 0.84. In contrast, IV administration of compound 1 resulted in similar plasma exposure of 2-PMPA versus the IN route (AUCIV: 76 ± 9 h·nmol/mL versus AUCIN: 99 ± 24 h·nmol/mL); but significantly lower nerve and brain tissue exposures with tissue-to-plasma ratios of 0.21, 0.03, 0.04, and 0.04 in nerve, olfactory bulb, cortex, and cerebellum, respectively. In primates, IN administration of 1 more than doubled 2-PMPA concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid relative to previously reported levels following IN 2-PMPA. The results of these experiments provide a promising strategy for testing GCPII inhibition in neurological and psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Lukáš Tenora
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic v.v.i. , Prague, Czech Republic
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Andrej Jančařík
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic v.v.i. , Prague, Czech Republic
| | | | | | | | | | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic v.v.i. , Prague, Czech Republic
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42
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Nedelcovych MT, Tenora L, Kim BH, Kelschenbach J, Chao W, Hadas E, Jančařík A, Prchalová E, Zimmermann SC, Dash RP, Gadiano AJ, Garrett C, Furtmüller G, Oh B, Brandacher G, Alt J, Majer P, Volsky DJ, Rais R, Slusher BS. N-(Pivaloyloxy)alkoxy-carbonyl Prodrugs of the Glutamine Antagonist 6-Diazo-5-oxo-l-norleucine (DON) as a Potential Treatment for HIV Associated Neurocognitive Disorders. J Med Chem 2017; 60:7186-7198. [PMID: 28759224 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.7b00966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Aberrant excitatory neurotransmission associated with overproduction of glutamate has been implicated in the development of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). The glutamine antagonist 6-diazo-5-oxo-l-norleucine (DON, 14) attenuates glutamate synthesis in HIV-infected microglia/macrophages, offering therapeutic potential for HAND. We show that 14 prevents manifestation of spatial memory deficits in chimeric EcoHIV-infected mice, a model of HAND. 14 is not clinically available, however, because its development was hampered by peripheral toxicities. We describe the synthesis of several substituted N-(pivaloyloxy)alkoxy-carbonyl prodrugs of 14 designed to circulate inert in plasma and be taken up and biotransformed to 14 in the brain. The lead prodrug, isopropyl 6-diazo-5-oxo-2-(((phenyl(pivaloyloxy)methoxy)carbonyl)amino)hexanoate (13d), was stable in swine and human plasma but liberated 14 in swine brain homogenate. When dosed systemically in swine, 13d provided a 15-fold enhanced CSF-to-plasma ratio and a 9-fold enhanced brain-to-plasma ratio relative to 14, opening a possible clinical path for the treatment of HAND.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lukáš Tenora
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic vvi , 166 10 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Boe-Hyun Kim
- Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai , New York, New York 10029, United States
| | - Jennifer Kelschenbach
- Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai , New York, New York 10029, United States
| | - Wei Chao
- Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai , New York, New York 10029, United States
| | - Eran Hadas
- Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai , New York, New York 10029, United States
| | - Andrej Jančařík
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic vvi , 166 10 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Eva Prchalová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic vvi , 166 10 Prague, Czech Republic
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic vvi , 166 10 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - David J Volsky
- Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai , New York, New York 10029, United States
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43
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Jirošová A, Jančařík A, Menezes RC, Bazalová O, Dolejšová K, Vogel H, Jedlička P, Buček A, Brabcová J, Majer P, Hanus R, Svatoš A. Co-option of the sphingolipid metabolism for the production of nitroalkene defensive chemicals in termite soldiers. Insect Biochem Mol Biol 2017; 82:52-61. [PMID: 28126587 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2017.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2016] [Revised: 01/20/2017] [Accepted: 01/20/2017] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The aliphatic nitroalkene (E)-1-nitropentadec-1-ene (NPD), reported in early seventies in soldiers of the termite genus Prorhinotermes, was the first documented nitro compound produced by insects. Yet, its biosynthetic origin has long remained unknown. Here, we investigated in detail the biosynthesis of NPD in P. simplex soldiers. First, we track the dynamics in major metabolic pathways during soldier ontogeny, with emphasis on likely NPD precursors and intermediates. Second, we propose a hypothesis of NPD formation and verify its individual steps using in vivo incubations of putative precursors and intermediates. Third, we use a de novo assembled RNA-Seq profiles of workers and soldiers to identify putative enzymes underlying NPD formation. And fourth, we describe the caste- and age-specific expression dynamics of candidate initial genes of the proposed biosynthetic pathway. Our observations provide a strong support to the following biosynthetic scenario of NPD formation, representing an analogy of the sphingolipid pathway starting with the condensation of tetradecanoic acid with l-serine and leading to the formation of a C16 sphinganine. The C16 sphinganine is then oxidized at the terminal carbon to give rise to 2-amino-3-hydroxyhexadecanoic acid, further oxidized to 2-amino-3-oxohexadecanoic acid. Subsequent decarboxylation yields 1-aminopentadecan-2-one, which then proceeds through six-electron oxidation of the amino moiety to give rise to 1-nitropentadecan-2-one. Keto group reduction and hydroxyl moiety elimination lead to NPD. The proposed biosynthetic sequence has been constructed from age-related quantitative dynamics of individual intermediates and confirmed by the detection of labeled products downstream of the administered labeled intermediates. Comparative RNA-Seq analyses followed by qRT-PCR validation identified orthologs of serine palmitoyltransferase and 3-ketodihydrosphingosine reductase genes as highly expressed in the NPD production site, i.e. the frontal gland of soldiers. A dramatic onset of expression of the two genes in the first days of soldier's life coincides with the start of NPD biosynthesis, giving further support to the proposed biosynthetic hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Jirošová
- The Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10 Prague, Czechia
| | - Andrej Jančařík
- The Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10 Prague, Czechia
| | - Riya C Menezes
- Max-Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knöll-Str. 8, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Olga Bazalová
- Biology Centre CAS, Branišovská 31, CZ-37005 České Budějovice, Czechia
| | - Klára Dolejšová
- The Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10 Prague, Czechia; Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 44 Prague, Czechia
| | - Heiko Vogel
- Max-Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knöll-Str. 8, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Pavel Jedlička
- The Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10 Prague, Czechia
| | - Aleš Buček
- The Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10 Prague, Czechia
| | - Jana Brabcová
- The Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10 Prague, Czechia
| | - Pavel Majer
- The Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10 Prague, Czechia
| | - Robert Hanus
- The Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10 Prague, Czechia.
| | - Aleš Svatoš
- The Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10 Prague, Czechia; Max-Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knöll-Str. 8, 07745 Jena, Germany.
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44
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Řezníčková E, Tenora L, Pospíšilová P, Galeta J, Jorda R, Berka K, Majer P, Potáček M, Kryštof V. ALK5 kinase inhibitory activity and synthesis of 2,3,4-substituted 5,5-dimethyl-5,6-dihydro-4H-pyrrolo[1,2-b]pyrazoles. Eur J Med Chem 2017; 127:632-642. [PMID: 28135685 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2017.01.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2016] [Revised: 01/10/2017] [Accepted: 01/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
A series of 2,3,4-substituted 5,5-dimethyl-5,6-dihydro-4H-pyrrolo[1,2-b]pyrazoles (DPPs) was synthesized and evaluated for their ALK5 inhibition activity. The most potent compounds displayed submicromolar IC50 values for ALK5. Preliminary profiling of one of the most active compounds in a panel of 50 protein kinases revealed its selectivity for ALK5. In cells, the compounds caused dose-dependent dephosphorylation of SMAD2, a well-established substrate of ALK5. In addition, the compounds blocked translocation of SMAD2/3 to nuclei of cells stimulated with TGFβ and the protein remained predominantly in cytoplasm, further confirming their molecular target. Therefore, novel DPP derivatives proved to be active as ALK5 inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Řezníčková
- Laboratory of Growth Regulators, Centre of the Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research, Palacký University and Institute of Experimental Botany AS CR, Šlechtitelů 27, 783 71 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Lukáš Tenora
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Pavlína Pospíšilová
- Laboratory of Growth Regulators, Centre of the Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research, Palacký University and Institute of Experimental Botany AS CR, Šlechtitelů 27, 783 71 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Juraj Galeta
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Radek Jorda
- Laboratory of Growth Regulators, Centre of the Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research, Palacký University and Institute of Experimental Botany AS CR, Šlechtitelů 27, 783 71 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Karel Berka
- Department of Physical Chemistry, Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, 17. listopadu 12, 771 46 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Flemingovo nám. 2, 166 10 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Milan Potáček
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Vladimír Kryštof
- Laboratory of Growth Regulators, Centre of the Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research, Palacký University and Institute of Experimental Botany AS CR, Šlechtitelů 27, 783 71 Olomouc, Czech Republic.
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Tichá A, Stanchev S, Škerle J, Began J, Ingr M, Švehlová K, Polovinkin L, Růžička M, Bednárová L, Hadravová R, Poláchová E, Rampírová P, Březinová J, Kašička V, Majer P, Strisovsky K. Sensitive Versatile Fluorogenic Transmembrane Peptide Substrates for Rhomboid Intramembrane Proteases. J Biol Chem 2017; 292:2703-2713. [PMID: 28069810 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m116.762849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2016] [Revised: 01/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Rhomboid proteases are increasingly being explored as potential drug targets, but their potent and specific inhibitors are not available, and strategies for inhibitor development are hampered by the lack of widely usable and easily modifiable in vitro activity assays. Here we address this bottleneck and report on the development of new fluorogenic transmembrane peptide substrates, which are cleaved by several unrelated rhomboid proteases, can be used both in detergent micelles and in liposomes, and contain red-shifted fluorophores that are suitable for high-throughput screening of compound libraries. We show that nearly the entire transmembrane domain of the substrate is important for efficient cleavage, implying that it extensively interacts with the enzyme. Importantly, we demonstrate that in the detergent micelle system, commonly used for the enzymatic analyses of intramembrane proteolysis, the cleavage rate strongly depends on detergent concentration, because the reaction proceeds only in the micelles. Furthermore, we show that the catalytic efficiency and selectivity toward a rhomboid substrate can be dramatically improved by targeted modification of the sequence of its P5 to P1 region. The fluorogenic substrates that we describe and their sequence variants should find wide use in the detection of activity and development of inhibitors of rhomboid proteases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anežka Tichá
- From the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Science, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 166 10.,the First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Kateřinská 32, Prague 121 08, and
| | - Stancho Stanchev
- From the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Science, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 166 10
| | - Jan Škerle
- From the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Science, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 166 10.,the Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Hlavova 2030/8, Prague 128 43
| | - Jakub Began
- From the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Science, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 166 10.,the Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 5, Prague 128 44
| | - Marek Ingr
- the Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Hlavova 2030/8, Prague 128 43.,the Department of Physics and Materials Engineering, Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Faculty of Technology, nám. T.G. Masaryka 5555, 76001, Zlín, Czech Republic
| | - Kateřina Švehlová
- From the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Science, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 166 10
| | - Lucie Polovinkin
- From the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Science, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 166 10.,the Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Hlavova 2030/8, Prague 128 43
| | - Martin Růžička
- From the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Science, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 166 10.,the Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Hlavova 2030/8, Prague 128 43
| | - Lucie Bednárová
- From the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Science, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 166 10
| | - Romana Hadravová
- From the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Science, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 166 10
| | - Edita Poláchová
- From the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Science, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 166 10
| | - Petra Rampírová
- From the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Science, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 166 10
| | - Jana Březinová
- From the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Science, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 166 10
| | - Václav Kašička
- From the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Science, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 166 10
| | - Pavel Majer
- From the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Science, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 166 10
| | - Kvido Strisovsky
- From the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Science, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 166 10,
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Navrátil V, Schimer J, Tykvart J, Knedlík T, Vik V, Majer P, Konvalinka J, Šácha P. DNA-linked Inhibitor Antibody Assay (DIANA) for sensitive and selective enzyme detection and inhibitor screening. Nucleic Acids Res 2016; 45:e10. [PMID: 27679479 PMCID: PMC5314793 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkw853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2016] [Revised: 09/06/2016] [Accepted: 09/15/2016] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Human diseases are often diagnosed by determining levels of relevant enzymes and treated by enzyme inhibitors. We describe an assay suitable for both ultrasensitive enzyme quantification and quantitative inhibitor screening with unpurified enzymes. In the DNA-linked Inhibitor ANtibody Assay (DIANA), the target enzyme is captured by an immobilized antibody, probed with a small-molecule inhibitor attached to a reporter DNA and detected by quantitative PCR. We validate the approach using the putative cancer markers prostate-specific membrane antigen and carbonic anhydrase IX. We show that DIANA has a linear range of up to six logs and it selectively detects zeptomoles of targets in complex biological samples. DIANA's wide dynamic range permits determination of target enzyme inhibition constants using a single inhibitor concentration. DIANA also enables quantitative screening of small-molecule enzyme inhibitors using microliters of human blood serum containing picograms of target enzyme. DIANA's performance characteristics make it a superior tool for disease detection and drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Václav Navrátil
- Gilead Sciences and IOCB Research Centre, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, 166 10, Czech Republic .,Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, 128 43, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Schimer
- Gilead Sciences and IOCB Research Centre, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, 166 10, Czech Republic.,Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, 128 43, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Tykvart
- Gilead Sciences and IOCB Research Centre, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, 166 10, Czech Republic.,Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, 128 43, Czech Republic
| | - Tomáš Knedlík
- Gilead Sciences and IOCB Research Centre, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, 166 10, Czech Republic.,Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, 128 43, Czech Republic
| | - Viktor Vik
- Department of Urology, Thomayer Hospital in Prague, Prague, 140 59, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Majer
- Gilead Sciences and IOCB Research Centre, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, 166 10, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Konvalinka
- Gilead Sciences and IOCB Research Centre, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, 166 10, Czech Republic .,Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, 128 43, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Šácha
- Gilead Sciences and IOCB Research Centre, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, 166 10, Czech Republic .,Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, 128 43, Czech Republic
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Jirošová A, Sillam-Dussès D, Kyjaková P, Kalinová B, Dolejšová K, Jančařík A, Majer P, Cristaldo PF, Hanus R. Smells Like Home: Chemically Mediated Co-Habitation of Two Termite Species in a Single Nest. J Chem Ecol 2016; 42:1070-1081. [PMID: 27639394 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-016-0756-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2016] [Revised: 07/21/2016] [Accepted: 08/25/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Rais R, Jančařík A, Tenora L, Nedelcovych M, Alt J, Englert J, Rojas C, Le A, Elgogary A, Tan J, Monincová L, Pate K, Adams R, Ferraris D, Powell J, Majer P, Slusher BS. Discovery of 6-Diazo-5-oxo-l-norleucine (DON) Prodrugs with Enhanced CSF Delivery in Monkeys: A Potential Treatment for Glioblastoma. J Med Chem 2016; 59:8621-33. [PMID: 27560860 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.6b01069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
The glutamine antagonist 6-diazo-5-oxo-l-norleucine (DON, 1) has shown robust anticancer efficacy in preclinical and clinical studies, but its development was halted due to marked systemic toxicities. Herein we demonstrate that DON inhibits glutamine metabolism and provides antitumor efficacy in a murine model of glioblastoma, although toxicity was observed. To enhance DON's therapeutic index, we utilized a prodrug strategy to increase its brain delivery and limit systemic exposure. Unexpectedly, simple alkyl ester-based prodrugs were ineffective due to chemical instability cyclizing to form a unique diazo-imine. However, masking both DON's amine and carboxylate functionalities imparted sufficient chemical stability for biological testing. While these dual moiety prodrugs exhibited rapid metabolism in mouse plasma, several provided excellent stability in monkey and human plasma. The most stable compound (5c, methyl-POM-DON-isopropyl-ester) was evaluated in monkeys, where it achieved 10-fold enhanced cerebrospinal fluid to plasma ratio versus DON. This strategy may provide a path to DON utilization in glioblastoma multiforme patients.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrej Jančařík
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, v.v.i. , Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Lukáš Tenora
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, v.v.i. , Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Lenka Monincová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, v.v.i. , Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | | | | | - Dana Ferraris
- Department of Chemistry, McDaniel College , Westminster, Maryland 21157, United States
| | | | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, v.v.i. , Flemingovo n. 2, 166 10 Prague 6, Czech Republic
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Jirku M, Lansky Z, Bednarova L, Sulc M, Monincova L, Majer P, Vyklicky L, Vondrasek J, Teisinger J, Bousova K. The characterization of a novel S100A1 binding site in the N-terminus of TRPM1. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 2016; 78:186-193. [PMID: 27435061 DOI: 10.1016/j.biocel.2016.07.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2016] [Revised: 07/11/2016] [Accepted: 07/14/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Transient receptor potential melastatin-1 channel (TRPM1) is an important mediator of calcium influx into the cell that is expressed in melanoma and ON-bipolar cells. Similar to other members of the TRP channel family, the intracellular N- and C- terminal domains of TRPM1 are expected to play important roles in the modulation of TRPM1 receptor function. Among the most commonly occurring modulators of TRP channels are the cytoplasmically expressed calcium binding proteins calmodulin and S100 calcium-binding protein A1 (S100A1), but the interaction of TRPM1 with S100A1 has not been described yet. Here, using a combination of biophysical and bioinformatics methods, we have determined that the N-terminal L242-E344 region of TRPM1 is a S100A1 binding domain. We show that formation of the TRPM1/S100A1 complex is calcium-dependent. Moreover, our structural model of the complex explained data obtained from fluorescence spectroscopy measurements revealing that the complex formation is facilitated through interactions of clusters positively charged (K271A, R273A, R274A) and hydrophobic (L263A, V270A, L276A) residues at the N-terminus of TRPM1. Taken together, our data suggest a molecular mechanism for the potential regulation of TRPM1 by S100A1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaela Jirku
- Institute of Physiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, 14220 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Zdenek Lansky
- Institute of Biotechnology, Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV, 25250 Vestec, Czech Republic
| | - Lucie Bednarova
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, 16610 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Miroslav Sulc
- Institute of Microbiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, 14220 Prague, Czech Republic; Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, 12843 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Lenka Monincova
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, 16610 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Majer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, 16610 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Ladislav Vyklicky
- Institute of Physiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, 14220 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jiri Vondrasek
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, 16610 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Teisinger
- Institute of Physiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, 14220 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Kristyna Bousova
- Institute of Physiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, 14220 Prague, Czech Republic; Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, 16610 Prague, Czech Republic.
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Englert J, Cheng CH, Leone R, Majer P, Rais R, Slusher B, Powell J. Abstract 1035: Targeting glutamine metabolism with the novel inhibitor JHU-083 inhibits tumor growth and alters the tumor immune microenvironment. Cancer Res 2016. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.am2016-1035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Glutamine metabolism plays a critical role in promoting multiple biosynthetic pathways necessary for tumor growth. Therefore we endeavored to create a small molecule inhibitor that would block multiple pathways of glutamine metabolism as opposed to blocking one enzyme. Previous studies employing the non-specific glutamine antagonist 6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norlecuine (DON) have achieved this goal however, with much toxicity. To this end we devised a novel prodrug of DON (JHU-083) with distinct distribution and cellular partitioning properties. When dosed on an equimolar basis, JHU-083 retains the antitumor efficacy of DON but is devoid of the gut toxicity and morbidity/mortality.
To this end Wild-type mice were injected subcutaneously EL4 T-cell lymphoma cells. The tumors were allowed to engraft and treatment was initiated on day 5 with either vehicle, DON or JHU-083. After 7 days of treatment there was complete tumor regression in both the DON and JHU-083 treated mice, while tumors continued to grow in the vehicle treated mice. Importantly, after 7 days of treatment the DON treated mice appeared ill with lethargy and ruffled fur and even death as a result of treatment toxicity. Alternatively, the JHU-083 treated mice remained healthy and vibrant.
Based on these studies in a lymphoma model we next tested JHU-083 in 2 models of colon cancer. To this end we injected wild-type mice subcutaneously with MC38 or CT26 cells. Again, similar to the EL4 lymphoma experiments, we observed that JHU-083 resulted in complete regression of MC38 and CT26 tumors after 4 and 7 days of treatment respectively.
The tumor microenvironment, which promotes immune evasion, is very much influenced by tumor metabolism. Thus, we wanted to determine the effect of inhibiting glutamine metabolism on the tumor immune microenvironment. To this end mice injected with B16 melanoma cells were treated for 3 days with DON during which time the tumors decreased in size. Interestingly, there was also a concomitant decrease in the percentage of Foxp3+ cells and an increase in the CD8:Foxp3+ T cell ratio amongst the TILS.
Overall our studies demonstrate the principle of cellular selectivity based upon demand. That is, a non-selective inhibitor of glutamine metabolism can robustly inhibit tumor growth while demonstrating minimal side effects based on the differential demand of cancer cells versus normal cells. Furthermore, our studies suggest that sequencing anti-metabolic therapy with immunotherapy might prove to be a novel means of broadening and enhancing the role of immunotherapy for the treatment of cancer.
Citation Format: Judson Englert, Chih-Hsien Cheng, Robert Leone, Pavel Majer, Rana Rais, Barbara Slusher, Jonathan Powell. Targeting glutamine metabolism with the novel inhibitor JHU-083 inhibits tumor growth and alters the tumor immune microenvironment. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 1035.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Pavel Majer
- 2Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Rana Rais
- 1Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
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