A human antibody against human endothelin receptor type A that exhibits antitumor potency.

Endothelin receptor A (ETA), a class A G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), is involved in the progression and metastasis of colorectal, breast, lung, ovarian, and prostate cancer. We overexpressed and purified human endothelin receptor type A in Escherichia coli and reconstituted it with lipid and membrane scaffold proteins to prepare an ETA nanodisc as a functional antigen with a structure similar to that of native GPCR. By screening a human naive immune single-chain variable fragment phage library constructed in-house, we successfully isolated a human anti-ETA antibody (AG8) exhibiting high specificity for ETA in the ß-arrestin Tango assay and effective inhibitory activity against the ET-1-induced signaling cascade via ETA using either a CHO-K1 cell line stably expressing human ETA or HT-29 colorectal cancer cells, in which AG8 exhibited IC50 values of 56 and 51 nM, respectively. In addition, AG8 treatment repressed the transcription of inhibin ßA and reduced the ETA-induced phosphorylation of protein kinase B and extracellular regulated kinase. Furthermore, tumor growth was effectively inhibited by AG8 in a colorectal cancer mouse xenograft model. The human anti-ETA antibody isolated in this study could be used as a potential therapeutic for cancers, including colorectal cancer.

Determination of the endothelin-1 recognition sites of endothelin receptor type A by the directed-degeneration method.

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) play indispensable physiological roles in cell proliferation, differentiation, and migration; therefore, identifying the mechanisms by which ligands bind to GPCRs is crucial for developing GPCR-targeting pharmaceutics and for understanding critical biological functions. Although some structural information is available regarding the interactions between GPCRs and their small molecule ligands, knowledge of how GPCRs interact with their corresponding macromolecule ligands, such as peptides and proteins, remains elusive. In this study, we have developed a novel strategy to investigate the precise ligand recognition mechanisms involved in the interaction of endothelin receptor type A (ETA) with its ligand, endothelin-1 (ET-1); we call this method "directed degeneration" method. Through flow cytometric screening of a randomized ETA library, statistical analysis of the identified sequences, and biochemical studies, the ligand interaction map was successfully obtained.

Preparation of functional human lysophosphatidic acid receptor 2 using a P9∗ expression system and an amphipathic polymer and investigation of its in vitro binding preference to Gα proteins.

Human lysophosphatidic acid receptor 2 (LPA2), a member of the G-protein coupled receptor family, mediates lysophosphatidic acid (LPA)-dependent signaling by recruiting various G proteins. Particularly, it is directly implicated in the progression of colorectal and ovarian cancer through G protein signaling cascades. To investigate the biochemical binding properties of LPA2 against various alpha subunits of G protein (Gα), a functional recombinant LPA2 was overexpressed in E. coli membrane with a P9∗ expression system, and the purified protein was stabilized with an amphipathic polymer that had been synthesized by coupling octylamine, glucosamine, and diethyl aminoproylamine at the carboxylic groups of poly-γ-glutamic acid. The purified LPA2 stabilized with the amphipathic polymer showed selective binding activity to the various Gα proteins as well as agonist-dependent dissociation from Gαi3. Understanding the binding properties of LPA2 against various Gα proteins advances the understanding of downstream signaling cascades of LPA2. The functional LPA2 prepared using a P9∗ expression system and an amphipathic polymer could also facilitate the development of LPA2-targeting drugs.

An amphipathic polypeptide derived from poly-γ-glutamic acid for the stabilization of membrane proteins.

Difficulties in the extraction of membrane proteins from cell membrane and their solubilization in native conformations have hindered their structural and biochemical analysis. To overcome these difficulties, an amphipathic polypeptide was synthesized by the conjugation of octyl and glucosyl groups to the carboxyl groups of poly-γ-glutamic acid (PGA). This polymer, called amphipathic PGA (APG), self-assembles as mono-disperse oligomers consisted of 4-5 monomers. APG shows significantly low value of critical micelle concentration and stabilization activity toward membrane proteins. Most of the sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-solubilized membrane proteins from Escherichia coli remain soluble state in the presence of APG even after the removal of SDS. In addition, APG stabilizes purified 7 transmembrane proteins such as bacteriorhodopsin and human endothelin receptor Type A (ETA ) in their active conformations. Furthermore, ETA in complex with APG is readily inserted into liposomes without disrupting the integrity of liposomes. These properties of APG can be applied to overcome the difficulties in the stabilization and reconstitution of membrane proteins.

Identification of novel irreversible inhibitors of UDP-N-acetylglucosamine enolpyruvyl transferase (MurA) from Haemophilus influenzae.

Uridinediphospho-N-acetylglucosamine enolpyruvyl transferase (MurA, E.C. 2.5.1.7) is an essential bacterial enzyme that catalyzes the first step of the cell wall biosynthetic pathway, which involves the transfer of an enolpyruvyl group from phosphoenolpyruvate to uridinediphospho-Nacetylglucosamine. In this study, novel inhibitors of Haemophilus influenzae MurA (Hi MurA) were identified using high-throughput screening of a chemical library from the Korea Chemical Bank. The identified compounds contain a quinoline moiety and have much lower effective inhibitory concentrations (IC(50)) than fosfomycin, a wellknown inhibitor of MurA. These inhibitors appear to covalently modify the sulfhydryl group of the active site cysteine (C117), since the C117D mutant Hi MurA was not inhibited by these compounds and excess dithiothreitol abolished their inhibitory activities. The increased mass value of Hi MurA after treatment with the identified inhibitor further confirmed that the active-site cysteine residue of Hi MurA is covalently modified by the inhibitor.

Fragment-based discovery of novel and selective mPGES-1 inhibitors Part 1: identification of sulfonamido-1,2,3-triazole-4,5-dicarboxylic acid.

Microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 (mPGES-1) is an inducible prostaglandin E synthase that catalyzes the conversion of prostaglandin PGH(2) to PGE(2) and represents a novel target for therapeutic treatment of inflammatory disorders. It is essential to identify mPGES-1 inhibitor with novel scaffold as new hit or lead compound for the purpose of the next-generation anti-inflammatory drugs. Herein we report the discovery of sulfonamido-1,2,3-triazole-4,5-dicarboxylic derivatives as a novel class of mPGES-1 inhibitors identified through fragment-based virtual screening and in vitro assays on the inhibitory activity of the actual compounds. 1-[2-(N-Phenylbenzenesulfonamido)ethyl]-1H-1,2,3-triazole-4,5-dicarboxylic acid (6f) inhibits human mPGES-1 (IC(50) of 1.1 µM) with high selectivity (ca.1000-fold) over both COX-1 and COX-2 in a cell-free assay. In addition, the activity of compound 6f was again tested at 10 µM concentration in presence of 0.1% Triton X-100 and found to be reduced to 1/4 of its original activity without this detergent. Compared to the complete loss of activity of nuisance inhibitor with the detergent, therefore, compound 6f would be regarded as a partial nuisance inhibitor of mPGES-1 with a novel scaffold for the optimal design of more potent mPGES-1 inhibitors.

Identification of novel mPGES-1 inhibitors through screening of a chemical library.

Human microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 (mPGES-1) is an emerging drug target for inflammatory disorders and cancer suppression. Therefore, it is crucially important to discover mPGES-1 inhibitors with novel structural scaffolds for the development of anti-inflammatory drugs. Here, we report the mPGES-1 inhibitors identified through screening of a chemical library. Initial screening of 1841 compounds out of 200,000 in a master library resulted in 9 primary hits. From the master library, 387 compounds that share the scaffold structure with the 9 primary hit compounds were selected, of which 3 compounds showed strong inhibitory activity against mPGES-1 having IC(50) values of 1-3 µM. Notably, a derivative of sulfonylhydrazide, compound 3b, inhibited the LPS-induced PGE(2) production in RAW 264.7 cells. This compound showed novel scaffold structure compared to the known inhibitors of mPGES-1, suggesting that it could be further developed as a potent mPGES-1 inhibitor.

Inhibitory mechanism of novel inhibitors of UDP-N-acetylglucosamine enolpyruvyl transferase from Haemophilus influenzae.

Bacterial UDP-N-acetylglucosamine enolpyruvyl transferase (MurA) catalyzes the transfer of enolpyruvate from phosphoenolphyruvate (PEP) to uridine diphospho-N-acetylglucosamine (UNAG), which is the first step of bacterial cell wall synthesis. We identified thimerosal, thiram, and ebselen as effective inhibitors of Heamophilus influenzae MurA by screening a chemical library that consisted of a wide range of bioactive compounds. When MurA was preincubated with these inhibitors, their 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50s) were found to range from 0.1 to 0.7 microM. In particular, thimerosal suppressed the growth of several different Gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhimurium at a concentration range of 1-2 microg/ml. These inhibitors covalently modified the cysteine residue near the active site of MurA. This modification changed the open conformation of MurA to a more closed configuration, which may have prevented the necessary conformational change from occurring during the enzyme reaction.