Second-Generation Cap Analogue Prodrugs for Targeting Aberrant Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factor 4E Activity in Cancer.

Dysregulation of translation is a hallmark of cancer that enables rapid changes in cellular protein production to shape oncogenic phenotypes. Translation initiation is governed by the mGpppX cap-binding protein eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E), the rate-limiting factor of cap-dependent translation initiation. eIF4E is overexpressed in many cancers and drives the production of oncoproteins that promote tumor growth and survival.

Second-Generation Cap Analogue Prodrugs for Targeting Aberrant Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factor 4E (eIF4E) Activity in Drug-Resistant Melanoma.

Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer with a 5-year survival rate of less than 20%. While significant strides have been made in the field of kinase-targeted and immune-based therapies for melanoma, the development of resistance to these therapeutic agents has hindered the success of treatment. Drug-resistant melanoma is particularly reliant on enhanced cap-dependent translation to drive the production of oncoproteins that promote growth and survival.

Design of Cell-Permeable Inhibitors of Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factor 4E (eIF4E) for Inhibiting Aberrant Cap-Dependent Translation in Cancer.

Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) is an RNA-binding protein that binds to the mGpppX-cap at the 5' terminus of coding mRNAs to initiate cap-dependent translation. While all cells require cap-dependent translation, cancer cells become addicted to enhanced translational capacity, driving the production of oncogenic proteins involved in proliferation, evasion of apoptosis, metastasis, and angiogenesis, among other cancerous phenotypes. eIF4E is the rate-limiting translation factor, and its activation has been shown to drive cancer initiation, progression, metastasis, and drug resistance.

An ECD and NMR/DP4+ Computational Pipeline for Structure Revision and Elucidation of Diphenazine-Based Natural Products.

Discovery and structure elucidation of natural products available in infinitesimally small quantities are recognized challenge. This challenge is epitomized by the diphenazine class of molecules that contain three bridged stereocenters, several conformations, ring fusions, and multiple spatially isolated phenols. Because empirical NMR and spatial analyses using ROESY/NOESY were unsuccessful in tackling these challenges, we developed a computational pipeline to determine the relative and absolute configurations and phenol positions of diphenazines as inhibitors of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) protein-protein interactions.

Design of Cell-Permeable Inhibitors of Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factor 4E (eIF4E) for Inhibiting Aberrant Cap-Dependent Translation in Cancer.

Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) is an RNA-binding protein that binds to the m GpppX-cap at the 5' terminus of coding mRNAs to initiate cap-dependent translation. While all cells require cap-dependent translation, cancer cells become addicted to enhanced translational capacity, driving the production of oncogenic proteins involved in proliferation, evasion of apoptosis, metastasis, and angiogenesis among other cancerous phenotypes. eIF4E is the rate-limiting translation factor and its activation has been shown to drive cancer initiation, progression, metastasis, and drug resistance.

Comparative Biochemical Studies of Disease-Associated Human Dicer Mutations on Processing of a Pre-microRNA and snoRNA.

Dicer is an RNase III enzyme that is responsible for the maturation of small RNAs such as microRNAs. As Dicer's cleavage products play key roles in promoting cellular homeostasis through the fine-tuning of gene expression, dysregulation of Dicer activity can lead to several human diseases, including cancers. Mutations in Dicer have been found to induce tumorigenesis and lead to the development of a rare pleiotropic tumor predisposition syndrome found in children and young adults called DICER1 syndrome.

Discovery of Surfactins as Inhibitors of MicroRNA Processing Using Cat-ELCCA.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a family of small noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression. Due to their important activity in the fine-tuning of protein translation, abnormal expression of miRNAs has been linked to many human diseases, making the targeting of miRNAs attractive as a novel therapeutic strategy. Accordingly, researchers have been heavily engaged in the discovery of small molecule modulators of miRNAs.

A cell-penetrant lactam-stapled peptide for targeting eIF4E protein-protein interactions.

Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) has emerged as a promising cancer therapeutic target due to its role in the initiation of cap-dependent translation, a process that is accelerated during tumorigenesis. To regulate the initiation of cap-dependent translation, eIF4E participates in protein-protein interactions (PPI) with binding partners, 4E-BP1 and eIF4G, which act as an inhibitor and stimulator of translation, respectively. As both of these proteins interact with eIF4E by utilizing a short, α-helical stretch of amino acids, our laboratory has been working to develop helical mimetics of these proteins, in particular 4E-BP1, to inhibit eIF4E PPIs.

Cyclin-dependent kinase 4 inhibits the translational repressor 4E-BP1 to promote cap-dependent translation during mitosis-G1 transition.

Phosphorylation of translational repressor eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E)-binding protein 1 (4E-BP1) controls the initiation of cap-dependent translation, a type of protein synthesis that is frequently upregulated in human diseases such as cancer. Because of its critical cellular function, it is not surprising that multiple kinases can post-translationally modify 4E-BP1 to drive aberrant cap-dependent translation. We recently reported a site-selective chemoproteomic method for uncovering kinase-substrate interactions, and using this approach, we discovered the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)4 as a new 4E-BP1 kinase.

The role of olefin geometry in the activity of hydrocarbon stapled peptides targeting eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E).

Hydrocarbon stapled (HCS) peptides are a class of cross-linked α-helix mimetics. The technology relies on the use of α,α'-disubstituted alkenyl amino acids, which fully contrain the helical region to typically yield peptides with enhanced structural ordering and biological activity. Recently, monosubstituted alkenyl amino acids were disclosed for peptide stapling; however, the impact that this tether has on HCS peptide structure and activity has not yet been fully explored.

Tetracyclines as Inhibitors of Pre-microRNA Maturation: A Disconnection between RNA Binding and Inhibition.

In a high-throughput screening campaign, we recently discovered the rRNA-binding tetracyclines, methacycline and meclocycline, as inhibitors of Dicer-mediated processing of microRNAs. Herein, we describe our biophysical and biochemical characterization of these compounds. Interestingly, although direct, albeit weak, binding to the pre-microRNA hairpins was observed, the inhibitory activity of these compounds was not due to RNA binding.

Chemoproteomic Profiling Uncovers CDK4-Mediated Phosphorylation of the Translational Suppressor 4E-BP1.

Recent estimates of the human proteome suggest there are ∼20,000 protein-coding genes, the protein products of which contain >145,000 phosphosites. Unfortunately, in-depth examination of the human phosphoproteome has outpaced the ability to annotate the kinases that mediate these post-translational modifications. To obtain actionable information about phosphorylation-driven signaling cascades, it is essential to identify the kinases responsible for phosphorylating sites that differ across disease states.

Consideration of Binding Kinetics in the Design of Stapled Peptide Mimics of the Disordered Proteins Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factor 4E-Binding Protein 1 and Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factor 4G.

Protein disorder plays a crucial role in signal transduction and is key for many cellular processes including transcription, translation, and cell cycle. Within the intrinsically disordered protein interactome, the α-helix is commonly used for binding, which is induced via a disorder-to-order transition. Because the targeting of protein-protein interactions (PPIs) remains an important challenge in medicinal chemistry, efforts have been made to mimic this secondary structure for rational inhibitor design through the use of stapled peptides.

Synthesis of 7-benzylguanosine cap-analogue conjugates for eIF4E targeted degradation.

Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) is a key player in the initiation of cap-dependent translation through recognition of the mGpppX cap at the 5' terminus of coding mRNAs. As eIF4E overexpression has been observed in a number of human diseases, most notably cancer, targeting this oncogenic translation initiation factor has emerged as a promising strategy for the development of novel anti-cancer therapeutics. Toward this end, in the present study, we have rationally designed a series of BnGxP-based PROTACs for the targeted degradation of eIF4E.

High-Throughput Chemical Probing of Full-Length Protein-Protein Interactions.

Human biology is regulated by a complex network of protein-protein interactions (PPIs), and disruption of this network has been implicated in many diseases. However, the targeting of PPIs remains a challenging area for chemical probe and drug discovery. Although many methodologies have been put forth to facilitate these efforts, new technologies are still needed.