Identification of Tunable, Environmentally Responsive Fluorogenic Dyes by High-Throughput Screening.

Small molecule dyes remain essential biological tools, yet only a handful of environmentally responsive fluorogenic small molecules are available for routine characterization of protein state. Here, we report the development and execution of a high throughput screen to identify compounds that increase in fluorescence in response to binding of lipophilic sites of proteins. This effort yielded two small molecules that potently indicate the presence of a range of common proteins and outperform common dyes in differential scanning fluorimetry experiments.

Covalent Targeting As a Common Mechanism for Inhibiting NLRP3 Inflammasome Assembly.

The NLRP3 inflammasome is a cytosolic protein complex important for the regulation and secretion of inflammatory cytokines, including IL-1β and IL-18. Aberrant overactivation of NLRP3 is implicated in numerous inflammatory disorders. However, the activation and regulation of NLRP3 inflammasome signaling remain poorly understood, limiting our ability to develop pharmacologic approaches to target this important inflammatory complex.

Pharmacological inhibition of CLK2 activates YAP by promoting alternative splicing of AMOTL2.

Yes-associated protein (YAP), the downstream effector of the evolutionarily conserved Hippo pathway, promotes cellular proliferation and coordinates certain regenerative responses in mammals. Small molecule activators of YAP may, therefore, display therapeutic utility in treating disease states involving insufficient proliferative repair. From a high-throughput chemical screen of the comprehensive drug repurposing library ReFRAME, here we report the identification of SM04690, a clinical stage inhibitor of CLK2, as a potent activator of YAP-driven transcriptional activity in cells.

Succinylation of a KEAP1 sensor lysine promotes NRF2 activation.

Cross talk between metabolism and stress-responsive signaling is essential for maintaining cellular homeostasis. This cross talk is often achieved through covalent modification of proteins by endogenous, reactive metabolites that regulate key stress-responsive transcription factors like NRF2. Metabolites including methylglyoxal, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, fumarate, and itaconate covalently modify sensor cysteines of the NRF2 repressor KEAP1, resulting in stabilization of NRF2 and activation of its cytoprotective transcriptional program.

Covalent targeting as a common mechanism for inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome assembly.

The NLRP3 inflammasome is a cytosolic protein complex important for the regulation and secretion of inflammatory cytokines including IL-1β and IL-18. Aberrant overactivation of NLRP3 is implicated in numerous inflammatory disorders. However, the activation and regulation of NLRP3 inflammasome signaling remains poorly understood, limiting our ability to develop pharmacologic approaches to target this important inflammatory complex.

Succinylation of a KEAP1 sensor lysine promotes NRF2 activation.

Crosstalk between metabolism and stress-responsive signaling is essential to maintaining cellular homeostasis. One way this crosstalk is achieved is through the covalent modification of proteins by endogenous, reactive metabolites that regulate the activity of key stress-responsive transcription factors such as NRF2. Several metabolites including methylglyoxal, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, fumarate, and itaconate covalently modify sensor cysteines of the NRF2 regulatory protein KEAP1, resulting in stabilization of NRF2 and activation of its cytoprotective transcriptional program.

Pharmacological inhibition of CLK2 activates YAP by promoting alternative splicing of AMOTL2.

Yes-associated protein (YAP), the downstream effector of the evolutionarily conserved Hippo pathway, promotes cellular proliferation and coordinates certain regenerative responses in mammals. Small molecule activators of YAP may therefore display therapeutic utility in treating disease states involving insufficient proliferative repair. From a high-throughput chemical screen of the comprehensive drug repurposing library ReFRAME, here we report the identification of SM04690, a clinical stage inhibitor of CLK2, as a potent activator of YAP driven transcriptional activity in cells.