Research on antitumor effects of small molecule inhibitors of deubiquitinases: new progress and new ideas / 药学学报

The abnormality of ubiquitin proteasome pathway is an important factor leading to the imbalance of protein homeostasis. In this process, the deubiquitinase responsible for removing the ubiquitin chain of protein substrate is very important. Its abnormal activity or expression can cause the functional changes of key oncogenic/tumor suppressor proteins, which directly or indirectly lead to the occurrence, development and malignant evolution of tumors. Based on this, the discovery and research of small molecule inhibitors targeting deubiquitinases have become a hot field of anti-tumor candidate drugs. This review will focus on the regulatory effect and mechanism of ubiquitin proteasome pathway, especially deubiquitinase on tumor, introduce the application of deubiquitinase small molecule inhibitors in tumor treatment, and discuss the research status and latest progress of small molecule inhibitors, so as to provide ideas for the research of new anti-tumor strategies based on deubiquitinase.

Steroid hormone receptors and prostate cancer: Role of structural dynamics in therapeutic targeting / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

Steroid hormone receptors (SHRs) act in cell type- and gene-specific manner through interactions with coregulatory proteins to regulate numerous physiological and pathological processes at the level of gene regulation. Binding of steroid receptor modulator (SRM) ligand leads to allosteric changes in SHR to exert positive or negative effects on the expression of target genes. Due, in part, to the fact that current SRMs generally target ligand binding domain (LBD)/AF2 and neglect intrinsically disordered (ID) N-terminal domain (NTD)/AF1, clinically relevant SRMs lack selectivity and are also prone to the development of resistance over time. Therefore, to maximize the efficacy of SHR-based therapeutics, the possibility of developing unique modulators that act to control AF1 activity must be considered. Recent studies targeting androgen receptor′s (AR′s) ID AF1 domain for the castration-resistant prostate cancer has provided the possibility of therapeutically targeting ID NTD/AF1 surfaces by allosteric modulations to achieve desired effects. In this review article, we discuss how inter- and intra- molecular allosteric regulations controlled by AR′s structural flexibility and dynamics particularly the ID NTD/AF1 is an emerging area of investigation, which could be exploited for drug development and therapeutic targeting of prostate cancer.

Operational models of allosteric modulation of G protein-coupled receptors / 药学学报

Since the Monod-Wyman-Changeux (MWC) model was initially proposed to explain the allosteric interactions between proteins and their ligands 50 years ago, there have been various models and hypotheses such as the induced-fit model on the interaction. These theoretical developments have been used broadly in the study of allosteric modulations of enzymes and receptors. In 1980, Lefkowitz and coworkers proposed a ternary complex model (TCM) for the regulatory mechanism of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that laid the theoretical foundation in the study of allosteric sites and ligands of GPCRs, the largest family of known receptors. The findings on how ligands interact with receptors to cause a functional response have significantly impacted the drug discovery field and accelerated the identification of allosteric modulators.

Expression, Purification, Crystallization and Preliminary X-ray Studies of a Deoxycytidylate Deaminase From Streptococcus mutans / 生物化学与生物物理进展

Deoxycytidylate (dCMP) deaminase is an enzyme belonged to dCMP cyt deam family. The dCMP deaminase from Streptococcus mutans UA159 was cloned and expressed in E. coli, and purified to homogeneity. The FPLC size exclusion chromatography analysis reveals that the S. mutans dCMP deaminase forms hexamer in solution. The protein was crystallized using hanging drop vapour-diffusion method and diffracted to a resolution of 3.1 (A). The diffraction data were collected at BSRF beamline3W1A. The crystals belong to P213 space group, with unit cell parameters a = b = c = 113.2(A), α =β = γ = 90°. Assuming there are two subunits per asymmetric unit, the Matthews coefficient is 3.6 (A)3 ·Da-1. This is the first crystallization report of the wild-type deoxycytidylate deaminase.

Expression,Purification,Crystallization and Preliminary X-ray Studies of a Deoxycytidylate Deaminase From Streptococcus mutans / 生物化学与生物物理进展

Deoxycytidylate (dCMP) deaminase is an enzyme belonged to dCMP cyt deam family. The dCMP deaminase from Streptococcus mutans UA159 was cloned and expressed in E. coli, and purified to homogeneity. The FPLC size exclusion chromatography analysis reveals that the S. mutans dCMP deaminase forms hexamer in solution. The protein was crystallized using hanging drop vapour-diffusion method and diffracted to a resolution of 3.1 ?. The diffraction data were collected at BSRF beamline 3W1A. The crystals belong to P213 space group, with unit cell parameters a = b = c = 113.2 ?, ? = ? = ? = 90?. Assuming there are two subunits per asymmetric unit, the Matthews coefficient is 3.6 ?3?Da-1. This is the first crystallization report of the wild-type deoxycytidylate deaminase.

Allosteric regulation of G-protein coupled receptors / 中国药理学通报

Despite the important properties of GPCRs as drug targets,improving the subtype selectivity and efficiency of new drugs targeting at GPCRs is a predominant challenge.The study of GPCRs allosterism shows there exist great complexity and diversity in allosterism and allosteric sites,and it also provides a new opportunity for exploring new drugs with subtype selectivity and efficiency.This review summaries the development of GPCRs allosterism in recent years and shows GPCRs allosterism and its biological significance.