Covalent Degrader of the Oncogenic Transcription Factor β-Catenin.

β-catenin (CTNNB1) is an oncogenic transcription factor that is important in cell-cell adhesion and transcription of cell proliferation and survival genes that drive the pathogenesis of many different types of cancers. However, direct pharmacological targeting of CTNNB1 has remained challenging. Here, we have performed a screen with a library of cysteine-reactive covalent ligands to identify the monovalent degrader EN83 that depletes CTNNB1 in a ubiquitin-proteasome-dependent manner.

Ophiobolin A Covalently Targets Mitochondrial Complex IV Leading to Metabolic Collapse in Cancer Cells.

Ophiobolin A (OPA) is a sesterterpenoid fungal natural product with broad anticancer activity. While OPA possesses multiple electrophilic moieties that can covalently react with nucleophilic amino acids on proteins, the proteome-wide targets and mechanism of OPA remain poorly understood in many contexts. In this study, we used covalent chemoproteomic platforms to map the proteome-wide reactivity of the OPA in a highly sensitive lung cancer cell line.

Covalent Degrader of the Oncogenic Transcription Factor β-Catenin.

β-catenin (CTNNB1) is an oncogenic transcription factor that is important in cell-cell adhesion and transcription of cell proliferation and survival genes that drives the pathogenesis of many different types of cancers. However, direct pharmacological targeting of CTNNB1 has remained challenging deeming this transcription factor as "undruggable." Here, we have performed a screen with a library of cysteine-reactive covalent ligands to identify a monovalent degrader EN83 that depletes CTNNB1 in a ubiquitin-proteasome-dependent manner.

Ophiobolin A Covalently Targets Complex IV Leading to Mitochondrial Metabolic Collapse in Cancer Cells.

Ophiobolin A (OPA) is a sesterterpenoid fungal natural product with broad anti-cancer activity. While OPA possesses multiple electrophilic moieties that can covalently react with nucleophilic amino acids on proteins, the proteome-wide targets and mechanism of OPA remain poorly understood in many contexts. In this study, we used covalent chemoproteomic platforms to map the proteome-wide reactivity of OPA in a highly sensitive lung cancer cell line.

Enhanced protective antibody to a mutant meningococcal factor H-binding protein with low-factor H binding.

Meningococcal factor H-binding protein (FHbp) is an antigen in 2 serogroup B meningococcal vaccines. FHbp specifically binds human and some nonhuman primate complement FH. To investigate the effect of binding of FH to FHbp on protective antibody responses, we immunized infant rhesus macaques with either a control recombinant FHbp antigen that bound macaque FH or a mutant antigen with 2 amino acid substitutions and >250-fold lower affinity for FH.