Discovery of novel small molecule inhibitors of S100P with in vitro anti-metastatic effects on pancreatic cancer cells.

S100P, a calcium-binding protein, is known to advance tumor progression and metastasis in pancreatic and several other cancers. Herein is described the in silico identification of a putative binding pocket of S100P to identify, synthesize and evaluate novel small molecules with the potential to selectively bind S100P and inhibit its activation of cell survival and metastatic pathways. The virtual screening of a drug-like database against the S100P model led to the identification of over 100 clusters of diverse scaffolds.

Phosphorylation of Cysteine String Protein Triggers a Major Conformational Switch.

Cysteine string protein (CSP) is a member of the DnaJ/Hsp40 chaperone family that localizes to neuronal synaptic vesicles. Impaired CSP function leads to neurodegeneration in humans and model organisms as a result of misfolding of client proteins involved in neurotransmission. Mammalian CSP is phosphorylated in vivo on Ser10, and this modulates its protein interactions and effects on neurotransmitter release.

Evidence that diclofenac and celecoxib are thyroid hormone receptor beta antagonists.

Unlabelled: Long term use of NSAIDs is linked to side effects such as gastric bleeding and myocardial infarction.

Aims: Use of in silico methods and pharmacology to investigate the potential for NSAIDs diclofenac, celecoxib and naproxen to bind to nuclear receptors.

Materials And Methods: In silico screening predicted that both diclofenac and celecoxib has the potential to bind to a number of different nuclear receptors; docking analysis confirmed a theoretical ability for diclofenac and celecoxib but not naproxen to bind to TRβ.

In silico modelling of prostacyclin and other lipid mediators to nuclear receptors reveal novel thyroid hormone receptor antagonist properties.

Prostacyclin (PGI2) is a key mediator involved in cardiovascular homeostasis, acting predominantly on two receptor types; cell surface IP receptor and cytosolic peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR) β/δ. Having a very short half-life, direct methods to determine its long term effects on cells is difficult, and little is known of its interactions with nuclear receptors. Here we used computational chemistry methods to investigate the potential for PGI2, beraprost (IP receptor agonist), and GW0742 (PPARβ/δ agonist), to bind to nuclear receptors, confirmed with pharmacological methods.

Metastasis-promoting anterior gradient 2 protein has a dimeric thioredoxin fold structure and a role in cell adhesion.

Anterior gradient 2 (AGR2) is a normal endoplasmic reticulum protein that has two important abnormal functions, amphibian limb regeneration and human cancer metastasis promotion. These normal intracellular and abnormal extracellular roles can be attributed to the multidomain structure of AGR2. The NMR structure shows that AGR2 consists of an unstructured N-terminal region followed by a thioredoxin fold.

Solution NMR structure of the Ca2+-bound N-terminal domain of CaBP7: a regulator of golgi trafficking.

Calcium-binding protein 7 (CaBP7) is a member of the calmodulin (CaM) superfamily that harbors two high affinity EF-hand motifs and a C-terminal transmembrane domain. CaBP7 has been previously shown to interact with and modulate phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase III-β (PI4KIIIβ) activity in in vitro assays and affects vesicle transport in neurons when overexpressed. Here we show that the N-terminal domain (NTD) of CaBP7 is sufficient to mediate the interaction of CaBP7 with PI4KIIIβ.

Characterisation of the interaction of the C-terminus of the dopamine D2 receptor with neuronal calcium sensor-1.

NCS-1 is a member of the neuronal calcium sensor (NCS) family of EF-hand Ca(2+) binding proteins which has been implicated in several physiological functions including regulation of neurotransmitter release, membrane traffic, voltage gated Ca(2+) channels, neuronal development, synaptic plasticity, and learning. NCS-1 binds to the dopamine D2 receptor, potentially affecting its internalisation and controlling dopamine D2 receptor surface expression. The D2 receptor binds NCS-1 via a short 16-residue cytoplasmic C-terminal tail.

Solution structure of the inner DysF domain of myoferlin and implications for limb girdle muscular dystrophy type 2b.

Mutations in the protein dysferlin, a member of the ferlin family, lead to limb girdle muscular dystrophy type 2B and Myoshi myopathy. The ferlins are large proteins characterised by multiple C2 domains and a single C-terminal membrane-spanning helix. However, there is sequence conservation in some of the ferlin family in regions outside the C2 domains.