Structural basis for the association of PLEKHA7 with membrane-embedded phosphatidylinositol lipids.

PLEKHA7 (pleckstrin homology domain containing family A member 7) plays key roles in intracellular signaling, cytoskeletal organization, and cell adhesion, and is associated with multiple human cancers. The interactions of its pleckstrin homology (PH) domain with membrane phosphatidyl-inositol-phosphate (PIP) lipids are critical for proper cellular localization and function, but little is known about how PLEKHA7 and other PH domains interact with membrane-embedded PIPs. Here we describe the structural basis for recognition of membrane-bound PIPs by PLEHA7.

Identification and characterization of small molecule inhibitors of the ubiquitin ligases Siah1/2 in melanoma and prostate cancer cells.

Inhibition of ubiquitin ligases with small molecule remains a very challenging task, given the lack of catalytic activity of the target and the requirement of disruption of its interactions with other proteins. Siah1/2, which are E3 ubiquitin ligases, are implicated in melanoma and prostate cancer and represent high-value drug targets. We utilized three independent screening approaches in our efforts to identify small-molecule Siah1/2 inhibitors: Affinity Selection-Mass Spectrometry, a protein thermal shift-based assay and an in silico based screen.

Modulation of nongenomic activation of PI3K signalling by tetramerization of N-terminally-cleaved RXRα.

Retinoid X receptor-alpha (RXRα) binds to DNA either as homodimers or heterodimers, but it also forms homotetramers whose function is poorly defined. We previously discovered that an N-terminally-cleaved form of RXRα (tRXRα), produced in tumour cells, activates phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) signalling by binding to the p85α subunit of PI3K and that K-80003, an anti-cancer agent, inhibits this process. Here, we report through crystallographic and biochemical studies that K-80003 binds to and stabilizes tRXRα tetramers via a 'three-pronged' combination of canonical and non-canonical mechanisms.

Diabetes reversal by inhibition of the low-molecular-weight tyrosine phosphatase.

Obesity-associated insulin resistance plays a central role in type 2 diabetes. As such, tyrosine phosphatases that dephosphorylate the insulin receptor (IR) are potential therapeutic targets. The low-molecular-weight protein tyrosine phosphatase (LMPTP) is a proposed IR phosphatase, yet its role in insulin signaling in vivo has not been defined.

Sulindac-derived RXRα modulators inhibit cancer cell growth by binding to a novel site.

Retinoid X receptor-alpha (RXRα), an intriguing and unique drug target, can serve as an intracellular target mediating the anticancer effects of certain nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including sulindac. We report the synthesis and characterization of two sulindac analogs, K-8008 and K-8012, which exert improved anticancer activities over sulindac in a RXRα-dependent manner. The analogs inhibit the interaction of the N-terminally truncated RXRα (tRXRα) with the p85α subunit of PI3K, leading to suppression of AKT activation and induction of apoptosis.

αE-catenin is an autoinhibited molecule that coactivates vinculin.

αE-catenin, an essential component of the adherens junction, interacts with the classical cadherin-β-catenin complex and with F-actin, but its precise role is unknown. αE-catenin also binds to the F-actin-binding protein vinculin, which also appears to be important in junction assembly. Vinculin and αE-catenin are homologs that contain a series of helical bundle domains, D1-D5.

Selective and potent furin inhibitors protect cells from anthrax without significant toxicity.

Furin and related proprotein convertases cleave the multibasic motifs R-X-R/K/X-R in the precursor proteins and, as a result, transform the latent proproteins into biologically active proteins and peptides. Furin is present both in the intracellular secretory pathway and at the cell surface. Intracellular furin processes its multiple normal cellular targets in the Golgi and secretory vesicle compartments while cell-surface furin appears to be essential only for the processing of certain pathogenic proteins and, importantly, anthrax.

Structural basis for vinculin activation at sites of cell adhesion.

Vinculin is a highly conserved intracellular protein with a crucial role in the maintenance and regulation of cell adhesion and migration. In the cytosol, vinculin adopts a default autoinhibited conformation. On recruitment to cell-cell and cell-matrix adherens-type junctions, vinculin becomes activated and mediates various protein-protein interactions that regulate the links between F-actin and the cadherin and integrin families of cell-adhesion molecules.