Design and Biochemical Characterization of Peptidic Inhibitors of the Myb/p300 Interaction.

The Myb transcription factor is involved in the proliferation of hematopoietic cells, and deregulation of its expression can lead to cancers such as leukemia. Myb interacts with various proteins, including the histone acetyltransferases p300 and CBP. Myb binds to a small domain of p300, the KIX domain (p300), and inhibiting this interaction is a potential new drug discovery strategy in oncology.

Important Considerations Related to Permeability of Peptides.

This review on intracellular delivery and oral bioavailability of peptides reflects a number of principal investigations at Novartis. Our studies were aimed at either understanding features enabling peptides to interfere with intracellular protein-protein interactions, or to achieve a more patient-friendly delivery by the oral route. In the light of these objectives, we have also spent some effort on assay development to come up with alternative methods for monitoring cellular peptide uptake.

A new perspective on the interaction between the Vg/VGLL1-3 proteins and the TEAD transcription factors.

The most downstream elements of the Hippo pathway, the TEAD transcription factors, are regulated by several cofactors, such as Vg/VGLL1-3. Earlier findings on human VGLL1 and here on human VGLL3 show that these proteins interact with TEAD via a conserved amino acid motif called the TONDU domain. Surprisingly, our studies reveal that the TEAD-binding domain of Drosophila Vg and of human VGLL2 is more complex and contains an additional structural element, an Ω-loop, that contributes to TEAD binding.