Proteasome inhibitors bortezomib and carfilzomib used for the treatment of multiple myeloma do not inhibit the serine protease HtrA2/Omi.

The proteasome inhibitor bortezomib is associated with the development of peripheral neuropathy in patients, but the mechanism by which bortezomib can induce peripheral neuropathy is not fully understood. One study suggested that off-target inhibition of proteases other than the proteasome, particularly HtraA2/Omi, may be the underlying mechanism of the neuropathy. The same study also concluded that carfilzomib, a second proteasome inhibitor that is associated with less peripheral neuropathy in patients than bortezomib, showed no inhibition of HtrA2/Omi.

Characterization of the loss of SUMO pathway function on cancer cells and tumor proliferation.

SUMOylation is a post-translational ubiquitin-like protein modification pathway that regulates important cellular processes including chromosome structure, kinetochore function, chromosome segregation, nuclear and sub-nuclear organization, transcription and DNA damage repair. There is increasing evidence that the SUMO pathway is dysregulated in cancer, raising the possibility that modulation of this pathway may have therapeutic potential. To investigate the importance of the SUMO pathway in the context of cancer cell proliferation and tumor growth, we applied lentivirus-based short hairpin RNAs (shRNA) to knockdown SUMO pathway genes in human cancer cells.

Evaluation of the proteasome inhibitor MLN9708 in preclinical models of human cancer.

The proteasome was validated as an oncology target following the clinical success of VELCADE (bortezomib) for injection for the treatment of multiple myeloma and recurring mantle cell lymphoma. Consequently, several groups are pursuing the development of additional small-molecule proteasome inhibitors for both hematologic and solid tumor indications. Here, we describe MLN9708, a selective, orally bioavailable, second-generation proteasome inhibitor that is in phase I clinical development.

Use of structure-based drug design approaches to obtain novel anthranilic acid acyl carrier protein synthase inhibitors.

Acyl carrier protein synthase (AcpS) catalyzes the transfer of the 4'-phosphopantetheinyl group from the coenzyme A to a serine residue in acyl carrier protein (ACP), thereby activating ACP, an important step in cell wall biosynthesis. The structure-based design of novel anthranilic acid inhibitors of AcpS, a potential antibacterial target, is presented. An initial high-throughput screening lead and numerous analogues were modeled into the available AcpS X-ray structure, opportunities for synthetic modification were identified, and an iterative process of synthetic modification, X-ray complex structure determination with AcpS, biological testing, and further modeling ultimately led to potent inhibitors of the enzyme.

Hydrolysis of biological peptides by human angiotensin-converting enzyme-related carboxypeptidase.

Human angiotensin-converting enzyme-related carboxypeptidase (ACE2) is a zinc metalloprotease whose closest homolog is angiotensin I-converting enzyme. To begin to elucidate the physiological role of ACE2, ACE2 was purified, and its catalytic activity was characterized. ACE2 proteolytic activity has a pH optimum of 6.