Development of Novel Bacterial Topoisomerase Inhibitors Assisted by Computational Screening.

Multidrug-resistant bacterial infections pose an ever-evolving threat to public health. Since the outset of the antibacterial age, bacteria have developed a multitude of diverse resistance mechanisms that suppress the effectiveness of current therapies. New drug entities, such as Novel Bacterial Topoisomerase Inhibitors (NBTIs), can circumvent this major issue.

Circumvention of Topoisomerase II Intron 19 Intronic Polyadenylation in Acquired Etoposide-Resistant Human Leukemia K562 Cells.

DNA topoisomerase II (TOP2; 170 kDa, TOP2/170) is an essential enzyme for proper chromosome dysjunction by producing transient DNA double-stranded breaks and is an important target for DNA damage-stabilizing anticancer agents, such as etoposide. Therapeutic effects of TOP2 poisons can be limited due to acquired drug resistance. We previously demonstrated decreased TOP2/170 levels in an etoposide-resistant human leukemia K562 subline, designated K/VP.

Use of CRISPR/Cas9 with Homology-Directed Repair to Gene-Edit Topoisomerase II in Human Leukemia K562 Cells: Generation of a Resistance Phenotype.

DNA topoisomerase II (TOP2/180; 180 kDa) is a nuclear enzyme that regulates DNA topology by generation of short-lived DNA double-strand breaks, primarily during transcription. TOP2/180 can be a target for DNA damage-stabilizing anticancer drugs, whose efficacy is often limited by chemoresistance. Our laboratory previously demonstrated reduced levels of TOP2/180 (and the paralog TOP2/170) in an acquired etoposide-resistant human leukemia (K562) clonal cell line, K/VP.

Novel bacterial topoisomerase inhibitors: unique targeting activities of amide enzyme-binding motifs for tricyclic analogs.

Antimicrobial resistance has made a sizeable impact on public health and continues to threaten the effectiveness of antibacterial therapies. Novel bacterial topoisomerase inhibitors (NBTIs) are a promising class of antibacterial agents with a unique binding mode and distinct pharmacology that enables them to evade existing resistance mechanisms. The clinical development of NBTIs has been plagued by several issues, including cardiovascular safety.

Actions of a Novel Bacterial Topoisomerase Inhibitor against Gyrase and Topoisomerase IV: Enhancement of Double-Stranded DNA Breaks.

Novel bacterial topoisomerase inhibitors (NBTIs) are an emerging class of antibacterials that target gyrase and topoisomerase IV. A hallmark of NBTIs is their ability to induce gyrase/topoisomerase IV-mediated single-stranded DNA breaks and suppress the generation of double-stranded breaks. However, a previous study reported that some dioxane-linked amide NBTIs induced double-stranded DNA breaks mediated by gyrase.

Effects of hsa-miR-9-3p and hsa-miR-9-5p on Topoisomerase II Expression in Human Leukemia K562 Cells with Acquired Resistance to Etoposide.

DNA topoisomerase II (TOP2/170; 170 kDa) and topoisomerase II (TOP2/180; 180 kDa) are targets for a number of anticancer drugs, whose clinical efficacy is attenuated by chemoresistance. Our laboratory selected for an etoposide-resistant K562 clonal subline designated K/VP.5.

Intronic Polyadenylation in Acquired Cancer Drug Resistance Circumvented by Utilizing CRISPR/Cas9 with Homology-Directed Repair: The Tale of Human DNA Topoisomerase IIα.

Intronic polyadenylation (IPA) plays a critical role in malignant transformation, development, progression, and cancer chemoresistance by contributing to transcriptome/proteome alterations. DNA topoisomerase IIα (170 kDa, TOP2α/170) is an established clinical target for anticancer agents whose efficacy is compromised by drug resistance often associated with a reduction of nuclear TOP2α/170 levels. In leukemia cell lines with acquired resistance to TOP2α-targeted drugs and reduced TOP2α/170 expression, variant TOP2α mRNA transcripts have been reported due to IPA that resulted in the translation of C-terminal truncated isoforms with altered nuclear-cytoplasmic distribution or heterodimerization with wild-type TOP2α/170.

1,3-Dioxane-Linked Novel Bacterial Topoisomerase Inhibitors: Expanding Structural Diversity and the Antibacterial Spectrum.

Antibacterial resistance continues its devastation of available therapies. Novel bacterial topoisomerase inhibitors (NBTIs) offer one solution to this critical issue. Two series of amine NBTIs bearing tricyclic DNA-binding moieties as well as amide NBTIs with a bicyclic DNA-binding moiety were synthesized and evaluated against methicillin-resistant (MRSA).

Use of CRISPR/Cas9 with homology-directed repair to silence the human topoisomerase IIα intron-19 5' splice site: Generation of etoposide resistance in human leukemia K562 cells.

DNA Topoisomerase IIα (TOP2α/170) is an enzyme essential for proliferating cells. For rapidly multiplying malignancies, this has made TOP2α/170 an important target for etoposide and other clinically active anticancer drugs. Efficacy of these agents is often limited by chemoresistance related to alterations in TOP2α/170 expression levels.

Discovery of Anticancer Agents of Diverse Natural Origin.

Research progress from mainly over the last five years is described for a multidisciplinary collaborative program project directed toward the discovery of potential anticancer agents from a broad range of taxonomically defined organisms. Selected lead compounds with potential as new antitumor agents that are representative of considerable structural diversity have continued to be obtained from each of tropical plants, terrestrial and aquatic cyanobacteria, and filamentous fungi. Recently, a new focus has been on the investigation of the constituents of U.

CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing of the Human Topoisomerase II Intron 19 5' Splice Site Circumvents Etoposide Resistance in Human Leukemia K562 Cells.

An essential function of DNA topoisomerase II (TOP2; 170 kDa, TOP2/170) is to resolve DNA topologic entanglements during chromosome disjunction by introducing transient DNA double-stranded breaks. TOP2/170 is an important target for DNA damage-stabilizing anticancer drugs, whose clinical efficacy is compromised by drug resistance often associated with decreased TOP2/170 expression. We recently demonstrated that an etoposide-resistant K562 clonal subline, K/VP.

Effects of DNA topoisomerase IIα splice variants on acquired drug resistance.

DNA topoisomerase IIα (170 kDa, TOP2α/170) induces transient DNA double-strand breaks in proliferating cells to resolve DNA topological entanglements during chromosome condensation, replication, and segregation. Therefore, TOP2α/170 is a prominent target for anticancer drugs whose clinical efficacy is often compromised due to chemoresistance. Although many resistance mechanisms have been defined, acquired resistance of human cancer cell lines to TOP2α interfacial inhibitors/poisons is frequently associated with a reduction of Top2α/170 expression levels.

Novel bacterial topoisomerase inhibitors derived from isomannide.

A series of Novel Bacterial Topoisomerase Inhibitors (NBTIs) employing a linker derived from isomannide were synthesized and evaluated. Reduced hERG inhibition was observed compared to structure-matched analogues with different linkers, and compound 6 showed minimal proarrhythmic potential using an in vitro panel of cardiac ion channels. Compound 6 also displayed excellent activity against fluoroquinolone-resistant MRSA (MIC = 2 μg/mL) and other Gram-positive pathogens.

hsa-miR-9-3p and hsa-miR-9-5p as Post-Transcriptional Modulators of DNA Topoisomerase II in Human Leukemia K562 Cells with Acquired Resistance to Etoposide.

DNA topoisomerase II protein (TOP2) 170 kDa (TOP2/170) is an important target for anticancer agents whose efficacy is often attenuated by chemoresistance. Our laboratory has characterized acquired resistance to etoposide in human leukemia K562 cells. The clonal resistant subline K/VP.

1,3-Dioxane-Linked Bacterial Topoisomerase Inhibitors with Enhanced Antibacterial Activity and Reduced hERG Inhibition.

The development of new therapies to treat methicillin-resistant (MRSA) is needed to counteract the significant threat that MRSA presents to human health. Novel inhibitors of DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV (TopoIV) constitute one highly promising approach, but continued optimization is required to realize the full potential of this class of antibiotics. Herein, we report further studies on a series of dioxane-linked derivatives, demonstrating improved antistaphylococcal activity and reduced hERG inhibition.

Synthesis and anti-staphylococcal activity of novel bacterial topoisomerase inhibitors with a 5-amino-1,3-dioxane linker moiety.

Novel bacterial type II topoisomerase inhibitors (NBTIs) constitute a promising new class of antibacterial agents. We report a series of NBTIs with potent anti-staphylococcal activity and diminished hERG inhibition. Dioxane-linked compound 9 demonstrated MICs ≤1 μg/mL against both methicillin-susceptible (MSSA) and -resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), accompanied by reduced hERG inhibition as compared to cyclohexane- or piperidine-linked analogs.

Synthesis and antiproliferative activity of derivatives of the phyllanthusmin class of arylnaphthalene lignan lactones.

A series of arylnaphthalene lignan lactones based on the structure of the phyllanthusmins, a class of potent natural products possessing diphyllin as the aglycone, has been synthesized and screened for activity against multiple cancer cell lines. SAR exploration was performed on both the carbohydrate and lactone moieties of this structural class. These studies have revealed the importance of functionalization of the carbohydrate hydroxy groups with both acetylated and methylated analogues showing increased potency relative to those with unsubstituted sugar moieties.

The Novel C-terminal Truncated 90-kDa Isoform of Topoisomerase II (TOP2/90) Is a Determinant of Etoposide Resistance in K562 Leukemia Cells via Heterodimerization with the TOP2/170 Isoform.

DNA topoisomerase II (170 kDa, TOP2/170) is essential in proliferating cells by resolving DNA topological entanglements during chromosome condensation, replication, and segregation. We previously characterized a C-terminally truncated isoform (TOP2/90), detectable in human leukemia K562 cells but more abundantly expressed in a clonal subline, K/VP.5, with acquired resistance to the anticancer agent etoposide.

Capsicodendrin from Cinnamosma fragrans Exhibits Antiproliferative and Cytotoxic Activity in Human Leukemia Cells: Modulation by Glutathione.

Capsicodendrin (CPCD, 1), an epimeric mixture of a dimeric drimane-type sesquiterpene, is one of the major compounds present in the three endemic species of Madagascan traditional chemopreventive plants: Cinnamosma species ( C. fragrans, C. macrocarpa, and C.

Alternative RNA Processing of Topoisomerase IIα in Etoposide-Resistant Human Leukemia K562 Cells: Intron Retention Results in a Novel C-Terminal Truncated 90-kDa Isoform.

DNA topoisomerase IIα (TOP2α) is a prominent target for anticancer drugs whose clinical efficacy is often limited by chemoresistance. Using antibody specific for the N-terminal of TOP2α, immunoassays indicated the existence of two TOP2α isoforms, 170 and 90 kDa, present in K562 leukemia cells and in an acquired etoposide (VP-16)-resistant clone (K/VP.5).

Mechanisms of Action and Reduced Cardiotoxicity of Pixantrone; a Topoisomerase II Targeting Agent with Cellular Selectivity for the Topoisomerase IIα Isoform.

Pixantrone is a new noncardiotoxic aza-anthracenedione anticancer drug structurally related to anthracyclines and anthracenediones, such as doxorubicin and mitoxantrone. Pixantrone is approved in the European Union for the treatment of relapsed or refractory aggressive B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. This study was undertaken to investigate both the mechanism(s) of its anticancer activity and its relative lack of cardiotoxicity.

TRIM72 modulates caveolar endocytosis in repair of lung cells.

Alveolar epithelial and endothelial cell injury is a major feature of the acute respiratory distress syndrome, in particular when in conjunction with ventilation therapies. Previously we showed [Kim SC, Kellett T, Wang S, Nishi M, Nagre N, Zhou B, Flodby P, Shilo K, Ghadiali SN, Takeshima H, Hubmayr RD, Zhao X. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 307: L449-L459, 2014.

Structure-based design, synthesis and biological testing of piperazine-linked bis-epipodophyllotoxin etoposide analogs.

Drugs that target DNA topoisomerase II, such as the epipodophyllotoxin etoposide, are a clinically important class of anticancer agents. A recently published X-ray structure of a ternary complex of etoposide, cleaved DNA and topoisomerase IIβ showed that the two intercalated etoposide molecules in the complex were separated by four DNA base pairs. Thus, using a structure-based design approach, a series of bis-epipodophyllotoxin etoposide analogs with piperazine-containing linkers was designed to simultaneously bind to these two sites.

Cytotoxic and natural killer cell stimulatory constituents of Phyllanthus songboiensis.

A dichapetalin-type triterpenoid and a dibenzylbutyrolactone-type lignan, together with five known lignans, a known aromatic diterpenoid, and a known acylated phytosterol, were isolated from the aerial parts of Phyllanthus songboiensis, collected in Vietnam. Their structures were determined by interpretation of the spectroscopic data, and the inhibitory activity toward HT-29 human colon cancer cells of all isolates was evaluated by a cytotoxicity assay. The known arylnaphthalene lignan, (+)-acutissimalignan A, was highly cytotoxic toward HT-29 cells, with an IC50 value of 19 nM, but this compound was inactive as a DNA topoisomerase IIα (topo IIα) poison.

Experimental procedures to identify and validate specific mRNA targets of miRNAs.

Functionally matured microRNAs (miRNAs) are small single-stranded non-coding RNA molecules which are emerging as important post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression and consequently are central players in many physiological and pathological processes. Since the biological roles of individual miRNAs will be dictated by the mRNAs that they regulate, the identification and validation of miRNA/mRNA target interactions is critical for our understanding of the regulatory networks governing biological processes. We promulgate the combined use of prediction algorithms, the examination of curated databases of experimentally supported miRNA/mRNA interactions, manual sequence inspection of cataloged miRNA binding sites in specific target mRNAs, and review of the published literature as a reliable practice for identifying and prioritizing biologically important miRNA/mRNA target pairs.