Development of an inhibitor of the mutagenic SOS response that suppresses the evolution of quinolone antibiotic resistance.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing threat to health globally, with the potential to render numerous medical procedures so dangerous as to be impractical. There is therefore an urgent need for new molecules that function through novel mechanisms of action to combat AMR. The bacterial DNA-repair and SOS-response pathways promote survival of pathogens in infection settings and also activate hypermutation and resistance mechanisms, making these pathways attractive targets for new therapeutics.

Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation of Inhibitors of Hedgehog Acyltransferase.

Hedgehog signaling is involved in embryonic development and cancer growth. Functional activity of secreted Hedgehog signaling proteins is dependent on -terminal palmitoylation, making the palmitoyl transferase Hedgehog acyltransferase (HHAT), a potential drug target and a series of 4,5,6,7-tetrahydrothieno[3,2-]pyridines have been identified as HHAT inhibitors. Based on structural data, we designed and synthesized 37 new analogues which we profiled alongside 13 previously reported analogues in enzymatic and cellular assays.

Identification of the first structurally validated covalent ligands of the small GTPase RAB27A.

Rab27A is a small GTPase, which mediates transport and docking of secretory vesicles at the plasma membrane protein-protein interactions (PPIs) with effector proteins. Rab27A promotes the growth and invasion of multiple cancer types such as breast, lung and pancreatic, by enhancing secretion of chemokines, metalloproteases and exosomes. The significant role of Rab27A in multiple cancer types and the minor role in adults suggest that Rab27A may be a suitable target to disrupt cancer metastasis.

Structure, mechanism, and inhibition of Hedgehog acyltransferase.

The Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) morphogen pathway is fundamental for embryonic development and stem cell maintenance and is implicated in various cancers. A key step in signaling is transfer of a palmitate group to the SHH N terminus, catalyzed by the multi-pass transmembrane enzyme Hedgehog acyltransferase (HHAT). We present the high-resolution cryo-EM structure of HHAT bound to substrate analog palmityl-coenzyme A and a SHH-mimetic megabody, revealing a heme group bound to HHAT that is essential for HHAT function.

Proteome-wide analysis of protein lipidation using chemical probes: in-gel fluorescence visualization, identification and quantification of N-myristoylation, N- and S-acylation, O-cholesterylation, S-farnesylation and S-geranylgeranylation.

Protein lipidation is one of the most widespread post-translational modifications (PTMs) found in nature, regulating protein function, structure and subcellular localization. Lipid transferases and their substrate proteins are also attracting increasing interest as drug targets because of their dysregulation in many disease states. However, the inherent hydrophobicity and potential dynamic nature of lipid modifications makes them notoriously challenging to detect by many analytical methods.

Evaluating Hedgehog Acyltransferase Activity and Inhibition Using the Acylation-coupled Lipophilic Induction of Polarization (Acyl-cLIP) Assay.

Palmitoylation of the Hedgehog family of proteins is a critical step in the Hedgehog signaling pathway and is performed by the membrane-bound O-acyltransferase enzyme Hedgehog acyltransferase (HHAT). Measurement of HHAT activity has traditionally relied on radiolabeled fatty acid substrates, which imposes considerable constraints on throughput, cost, and safety, consequently hindering the efficient identification and development of small-molecule HHAT inhibitors. The Acylation-coupled Lipophilic Induction of Polarisation (Acyl-cLIP) assay was recently developed in our lab as a novel platform to evaluate lipidation of peptides in real time and high throughput.

Photochemical Probe Identification of a Small-Molecule Inhibitor Binding Site in Hedgehog Acyltransferase (HHAT).

The mammalian membrane-bound -acyltransferase (MBOAT) superfamily is involved in biological processes including growth, development and appetite sensing. MBOATs are attractive drug targets in cancer and obesity; however, information on the binding site and molecular mechanisms underlying small-molecule inhibition is elusive. This study reports rational development of a photochemical probe to interrogate a novel small-molecule inhibitor binding site in the human MBOAT Hedgehog acyltransferase (HHAT).

Photochemical Probe Identification of a Small-Molecule Inhibitor Binding Site in Hedgehog Acyltransferase (HHAT)*.

The mammalian membrane-bound O-acyltransferase (MBOAT) superfamily is involved in biological processes including growth, development and appetite sensing. MBOATs are attractive drug targets in cancer and obesity; however, information on the binding site and molecular mechanisms underlying small-molecule inhibition is elusive. This study reports rational development of a photochemical probe to interrogate a novel small-molecule inhibitor binding site in the human MBOAT Hedgehog acyltransferase (HHAT).

Targeting the bacterial SOS response for new antimicrobial agents: drug targets, molecular mechanisms and inhibitors.

Antimicrobial resistance is a pressing threat to global health, with multidrug-resistant pathogens becoming increasingly prevalent. The bacterial SOS pathway functions in response to DNA damage that occurs during infection, initiating several pro-survival and resistance mechanisms, such as DNA repair and hypermutation. This makes SOS pathway components potential targets that may combat drug-resistant pathogens and decrease resistance emergence.

Discovery of a Potent and Selective Covalent Inhibitor and Activity-Based Probe for the Deubiquitylating Enzyme UCHL1, with Antifibrotic Activity.

Ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCHL1) is a deubiquitylating enzyme that is proposed as a potential therapeutic target in neurodegeneration, cancer, and liver and lung fibrosis. Herein we report the discovery of the most potent and selective UCHL1 probe (IMP-1710) to date based on a covalent inhibitor scaffold and apply this probe to identify and quantify target proteins in intact human cells. IMP-1710 stereoselectively labels the catalytic cysteine of UCHL1 at low nanomolar concentration in cells.

Acylation-coupled lipophilic induction of polarisation (Acyl-cLIP): a universal assay for lipid transferase and hydrolase enzymes.

Posttranslational attachment of lipids to proteins is important for many cellular functions, and the enzymes responsible for these modifications are implicated in many diseases, from cancer to neurodegeneration. Lipid transferases and hydrolases are increasingly tractable therapeutic targets, but present unique challenges for high-throughput biochemical enzyme assays which hinder development of new inhibitors. We present Acylation-coupled Lipophilic Induction of Polarisation (Acyl-cLIP) as the first universally applicable biochemical lipidation assay, exploiting the hydrophobic nature of lipidated peptides to drive a polarised fluorescence readout.

Identification of a potent small-molecule inhibitor of bacterial DNA repair that potentiates quinolone antibiotic activity in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

The global emergence of antibiotic resistance is one of the most serious challenges facing modern medicine. There is an urgent need for validation of new drug targets and the development of small molecules with novel mechanisms of action. We therefore sought to inhibit bacterial DNA repair mediated by the AddAB/RecBCD protein complexes as a means to sensitize bacteria to DNA damage caused by the host immune system or quinolone antibiotics.

Dynamic Protein Acylation: New Substrates, Mechanisms, and Drug Targets.

Post-translational attachment of lipids to proteins is found in all organisms, and is important for many biological processes. Acylation with myristic and palmitic acids are among the most common lipid modifications, and understanding reversible protein palmitoylation dynamics has become a particularly important goal. Linking acyltransferase enzymes to disease states can be challenging due to a paucity of robust models, compounded by functional redundancy between many palmitoyl transferases; however, in cases such as Wnt or Hedgehog signalling, small molecule inhibitors have been identified, with some progressing to clinical trials.

Competition-based, quantitative chemical proteomics in breast cancer cells identifies new target profiles for sulforaphane.

Sulforaphane is a small molecule isothiocyanate which exhibits anticancer potential, yet its biological targets remain poorly understood. Here we employ a competition-based chemical proteomics strategy to profile sulforaphane's targets and identify over 500 targets along with their relative affinities. These targets provide a new set of mediators for sulforaphane's bioactivity, and aid understanding of its complex mode of action.

Microfluidic Mobility Shift Assay for Real-Time Analysis of Peptide N-Palmitoylation.

The Hedgehog pathway is a key developmental signaling pathway but is also implicated in many types of cancer. The extracellular signaling protein Sonic hedgehog (Shh) requires dual lipidation for functional signaling, whereby N-terminal palmitoylation is performed by the enzyme Hedgehog acyltransferase (Hhat). Hhat is an attractive target for small-molecule inhibition to arrest Hedgehog signaling, and methods for assaying Hhat activity are central to understanding its function.

Characterization of Hedgehog Acyltransferase Inhibitors Identifies a Small Molecule Probe for Hedgehog Signaling by Cancer Cells.

The Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) signaling pathway plays a critical role during embryonic development and cancer progression. N-terminal palmitoylation of Shh by Hedgehog acyltransferase (Hhat) is essential for efficient signaling, raising interest in Hhat as a novel drug target. A recently identified series of dihydrothienopyridines has been proposed to function via this mode of action; however, the lead compound in this series (RUSKI-43) was subsequently shown to possess cytotoxic activity unrelated to canonical Shh signaling.

Direct Targeting of the Ras GTPase Superfamily Through Structure- Based Design.

The Ras superfamily of small monomeric GTPases includes some of the most prominent cancer targets for which no selective therapeutic agent has yet been successfully developed. The turn of the millennium saw a resurgence of efforts to target these enzymes using new and improved biophysical techniques to overcome the perceived difficulties of insurmountably high affinity for guanosine nucleotides and flat, flexible topology lacking suitable pockets for small molecule inhibitors. Further, recent investigations have begun to probe the dynamic conformational status of GTP-bound Ras, opening up new mechanisms of inhibition.

Peroxisome protein import: a complex journey.

The import of proteins into peroxisomes possesses many unusual features such as the ability to import folded proteins, and a surprising diversity of targeting signals with differing affinities that can be recognized by the same receptor. As understanding of the structure and function of many components of the protein import machinery has grown, an increasingly complex network of factors affecting each step of the import pathway has emerged. Structural studies have revealed the presence of additional interactions between cargo proteins and the PEX5 receptor that affect import potential, with a subtle network of cargo-induced conformational changes in PEX5 being involved in the import process.

Synthesis and characterisation of 5-acyl-6,7-dihydrothieno[3,2-c]pyridine inhibitors of Hedgehog acyltransferase.

In this data article we describe synthetic and characterisation data for four members of the 5-acyl-6,7-dihydrothieno[3,2-c]pyridine (termed "RU-SKI") class of inhibitors of Hedgehog acyltransferase, including associated NMR spectra for final compounds. RU-SKI compounds were selected for synthesis based on their published high potencies against the enzyme target. RU-SKI 41 (9a), RU-SKI 43 (9b), RU-SKI 101 (9c), and RU-SKI 201 (9d) were profiled for activity in the related article "Click chemistry armed enzyme linked immunosorbent assay to measure palmitoylation by Hedgehog acyltransferase" (Lanyon-Hogg et al.

Covalent Label Transfer between Peroxisomal Importomer Components Reveals Export-driven Import Interactions.

Peroxisomes are vital metabolic organelles found in almost all eukaryotic organisms, and they rely exclusively on import of their matrix protein content from the cytosol. In vitro import of proteins into isolated peroxisomal fractions has provided a wealth of knowledge on the import process. However, the common method of protease protection garnered no information on the import of an N-terminally truncated PEX5 (PEX5C) receptor construct or peroxisomal malate dehydrogenase 1 (pMDH1) cargo protein into sunflower peroxisomes because of high degrees of protease susceptibility or resistance, respectively.

Click chemistry armed enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to measure palmitoylation by hedgehog acyltransferase.

Hedgehog signaling is critical for correct embryogenesis and tissue development. However, on maturation, signaling is also found to be aberrantly activated in many cancers. Palmitoylation of the secreted signaling protein sonic hedgehog (Shh) by the enzyme hedgehog acyltransferase (Hhat) is required for functional signaling.

Membrane bound O-acyltransferases and their inhibitors.

Since the identification of the membrane-bound O-acyltransferase (MBOATs) protein family in the early 2000s, three distinct members [porcupine (PORCN), hedgehog (Hh) acyltransferase (HHAT) and ghrelin O-acyltransferase (GOAT)] have been shown to acylate specific proteins or peptides. In this review, topology determination, development of assays to measure enzymatic activities and discovery of small molecule inhibitors are compared and discussed for each of these enzymes.