Synthesis of a beta-estradiol-biotin chimera that potently heterodimerizes estrogen receptor and streptavidin proteins in a yeast three-hybrid system.

Small molecules that dimerize proteins in living cells provide powerful probes of biological processes and have potential as tools for the identification of protein targets of natural products. We synthesized 7-alpha-substituted derivatives of beta-estradiol tethered to the natural product biotin to regulate heterodimerization of estrogen receptor (ER) and streptavidin (SA) proteins expressed as components of a yeast three-hybrid system. Addition of an estradiol-biotin chimera bearing a 19-atom linker to yeast expressing DNA-bound ER-alpha or ER-beta LexA fusion proteins and wild-type SA protein fused to the B42 activation domain activated reporter gene expression by as much as 450-fold in vivo (10 muM ligand).

Efficient delivery of streptavidin to mammalian cells: clathrin-mediated endocytosis regulated by a synthetic ligand.

The efficient delivery of macromolecules to living cells presents a formidable challenge to the development of effective macromolecular therapeutics and cellular probes. We describe herein a novel synthetic ligand termed "Streptaphage" that enables efficient cellular uptake of the bacterial protein streptavidin by promoting noncovalent interactions with cholesterol and sphingolipid-rich lipid raft subdomains of cellular plasma membranes. The Streptaphage ligand comprises an N-alkyl derivative of 3 beta-cholesterylamine linked to the carboxylate of biotin through an 11-atom tether.

Synthesis of chimeric 7alpha-substituted estradiol derivatives linked to cholesterol and cholesterylamine.

We report the synthesis of 7alpha-substituted beta-estradiol derivatives bearing side chains terminated with cholesterol and 3beta-cholesterylamine. These chimeric compounds were designed to exhibit high affinity for estrogen receptors (ERs) and cellular plasma membranes to potentially enable regulated uptake of ERs by mammalian cells. Evaluation with recombinant yeast reporting compound-mediated ER dimerization revealed potencies similar to the antiestrogen ICI 182780.