Alpha-B-Crystallin overexpression is sufficient to promote tumorigenesis and metastasis in mice.

BACKGROUND: αB-Crystallin is a heat shock chaperone protein which binds to misfolded proteins to prevent their aggregation. It is overexpressed in a wide-variety of cancers. Previous studies using human cancer cell lines and human xenograft models have suggested potential tumor promoter (oncogene) roles for αB-Crystallin in a wide-spectrum of cancers. METHODS: To determine the causal relationship between CRYAB overexpression and cancer, we generated a Cryab overexpression knock-in mouse model and monitor them for development of spontaneous and carcinogen (DMBA)-induced tumorigenesis. In order to investigate the mechanism of malignancies observed in this model multiple techniques were used such as immunohistochemical characterizations of tumors, bioinformatics analysis of publically available human tumor datasets, and generation of mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) for in vitro assays (clonogenic survival and migration assays and proteome analysis by mass-spectrometry). RESULTS: This model revealed that constitutive overexpression of Cryab results in the formation of a variety of lethal spontaneous primary and metastatic tumors in mice. In vivo, the overexpression of Cryab correlated with the upregulation of epithelial-to-mesenchymal (EMT) markers, angiogenesis and some oncogenic proteins including Basigin. In vitro, using E1A/Ras transformed MEFs, we observed that the overexpression of Cryab led to the promotion of cell survival via upregulation of Akt signaling and downregulation of pro-apoptotic pathway mediator JNK, with subsequent attenuation of apoptosis as assessed by cleaved caspase-3 and Annexin V staining. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, through the generation and characterization of Cryab overexpression model, we provide evidence supporting the role of αB-Crystallin as an oncogene, where its upregulation is sufficient to induce tumors, promote cell survival and inhibit apoptosis.

Cep55 regulation of PI3K/Akt signaling is required for neocortical development and ciliogenesis.

Homozygous nonsense mutations in CEP55 are associated with several congenital malformations that lead to perinatal lethality suggesting that it plays a critical role in regulation of embryonic development. CEP55 has previously been studied as a crucial regulator of cytokinesis, predominantly in transformed cells, and its dysregulation is linked to carcinogenesis. However, its molecular functions during embryonic development in mammals require further investigation. We have generated a Cep55 knockout (Cep55-/-) mouse model which demonstrated preweaning lethality associated with a wide range of neural defects. Focusing our analysis on the neocortex, we show that Cep55-/- embryos exhibited depleted neural stem/progenitor cells in the ventricular zone as a result of significantly increased cellular apoptosis. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that Cep55-loss downregulates the pGsk3ß/ß-Catenin/Myc axis in an Akt-dependent manner. The elevated apoptosis of neural stem/progenitors was recapitulated using Cep55-deficient human cerebral organoids and we could rescue the phenotype by inhibiting active Gsk3ß. Additionally, we show that Cep55-loss leads to a significant reduction of ciliated cells, highlighting a novel role in regulating ciliogenesis. Collectively, our findings demonstrate a critical role of Cep55 during brain development and provide mechanistic insights that may have important implications for genetic syndromes associated with Cep55-loss.

Targeting BRF2 in Cancer Using Repurposed Drugs.

The overexpression of BRF2, a selective subunit of RNA polymerase III, has been shown to be crucial in the development of several types of cancers, including breast cancer and lung squamous cell carcinoma. Predominantly, BRF2 acts as a central redox-sensing transcription factor (TF) and is involved in rescuing oxidative stress (OS)-induced apoptosis. Here, we showed a novel link between BRF2 and the DNA damage response. Due to the lack of BRF2-specific inhibitors, through virtual screening and molecular dynamics simulation, we identified potential drug candidates that interfere with BRF2-TATA-binding Protein (TBP)-DNA complex interactions based on binding energy, intermolecular, and torsional energy parameters. We experimentally tested bexarotene as a potential BRF2 inhibitor. We found that bexarotene (Bex) treatment resulted in a dramatic decline in oxidative stress and Tert-butylhydroquinone (tBHQ)-induced levels of BRF2 and consequently led to a decrease in the cellular proliferation of cancer cells which may in part be due to the drug pretreatment-induced reduction of ROS generated by the oxidizing agent. Our data thus provide the first experimental evidence that BRF2 is a novel player in the DNA damage response pathway and that bexarotene can be used as a potential inhibitor to treat cancers with the specific elevation of oxidative stress.

Can computers conceive the complexity of cancer to cure it? Using artificial intelligence technology in cancer modelling and drug discovery.

Drug discovery and the development of safe and effective therapeutics is an intricate procedure, further complicated in the context of cancer research by the inherent heterogeneity and complexity of the disease. To address the difficulties of identifying, validating, and pursuing a promising drug target, artificial intelligence (AI) technologies including machine learning (ML) have been adopted at all stages throughout the drug development pipeline. Various methods are widely employed to efficiently process and learn from experimental data sets, with agent-based models garnering thorough interest due to their ability to model individual cell populations with aberrant phenotypes. The predictive power of artificial intelligence modelling techniques founded in comprehensive datasets and automated decision-making generates an obvious avenue of interest for application in the drug discovery pipeline.

Interaction and molecular dynamics simulation study of Osimertinib (AstraZeneca 9291) anticancer drug with the EGFR kinase domain in native protein and mutated L844V and C797S.

BACKGROUND: Targeted therapy is a novel, promising approach to anticancer treatment that endeavors to overcome drug resistance to traditional chemotherapies. Patients with the L858R mutation in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) respond to the first generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs); however, after one year of treatment, they may become resistant. The T790M mutation is the most probable cause for drug resistance. Third generation drugs, including Osimertinib (AZD9291), are more effective against T790M and other sensitive mutations. Osimertinib is effective against the L844V mutation, has conditional effectiveness for the L718Q mutation, and is ineffective for the Cys797Ser (C797S) mutation. Cells that have both the T790M and C797 mutations are more resistant to third generation drugs. Although research has shown that Osimertinib is an effective treatment for EGFR L844V cells, this has not been shown for cells that have the C797S mutation. This molecular mechanism has not been well-studied. METHODS: In the present study, we used the GROMACS software for molecular dynamics simulation to identify interactions between Osimertinib and the kinase part of EGFR in L844V and C797S mutants. RESULTS: We evaluated native EGFR protein and the L844V and C797S mutations' docking and binding energy, kI, intermolecular, internal, and torsional energy parameters. Osimertinib was effective for the EGFR L844V mutation, but not for EGFR C797S. All simulations were validated by root-mean-square deviation (RMSD), root-mean square fluctuation (RMSF), and radius of gyration (ROG). CONCLUSION: According to our computational simulation, the results supported the experimental models and, therefore, could confirm and predict the molecular mechanism of drug efficacy.

Molecular docking based screening of Listeriolysin-O for improved inhibitors.

Listeriolysine-O (LLO) is a 50KDa protein responsible for Listeria monocytogenes pathogenicity. The structure of LLO (PDB ID: 4CDB) with domains D1 to D4 is known. Therefore, it is of interest to identify conserved regions among LLO variants for destabilizing oligomerization (50 mer complex) of its monomers using appropriate inhibitors. Therefore, it is of interest to identify suitable inhibitors for inhibiting LLO. Previous reports suggest the use of flavanoids like compounds for inhibiting LLO. Our interest is to identify improved compounds to destabilize LLO oligomerization. We used a library (Zinc database) containing 200,000 drug-like compounds against LLO using molecular docking based screening. This resulted in five hits that were further analyzed for pharmacological properties. The hit #1 (2-methyloctadecane- 1, 3, 4-triol) was further refined using appropriate modifications for creating a suitable pharmacophore model LLO inhibition. The modified compound (1-(4-Cyclopent-3-enyl-6, 7-dihydroxy-8-hydroxymethyl-nona-2, 8-dienylideneamino)-penta-1,4-dien-3-one) shows fitting binding properties with LLO with no undesirable pharmacological properties such as toxicity.

Virtual Dual inhibition of COX-2 / 5-LOX enzymes based on binding properties of alpha-amyrins, the anti-inflammatory compound as a promising anti-cancer drug.

Hydro-alcoholic fruit extract of Cordia myxa was considerably effective on curing acute inflammation in mouse model. Previous studies suggested significant anti-inflammatory activities as well as potential anticancer agent of α-amyrins in seeds. Inhibition of Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and 5-Lipooxygenase (5-LOX) is significant in cancer prevention and therapeutics although this inhibition with chemo-drugs has its own side-effects. It is shown that these enzymes pathways are related to several cancers including colon, breast and lung cancer. This study was conducted based on Cordia species' α-amyrins as a safer natural anti-cancer compound for inhibition of COX-2 and 5-LOX enzymes by molecular docking. The X-ray crystal structure of COX2 / 5-LOX enzymes and α-amyrins was retrieved and energetically minimized respectively. The binding site and surface of enzymes were detected. Docking studies were performed by AutoDock 4.2 using Lamarckian genetic algorithm (LGA). Finally drug likeness, molecular pharmacokinetic properties and toxicity of α-amyrins was calculated. Molecular Docking revealed hydrogen and hydrophobic interactions between α-amyrins with both active sites of COX-2 and 5-LOX enzymes. Interestingly, it covalently bonded to Fe cofactor of 5-LOX enzyme and chelated this molecule. Base on binding energies (∆G) α-amyrin has more inhibitory effects on 5-LOX (-10.45 Kcal/mol) than COX-2 (-8.02 Kcal/mol). Analysis of molecular pharmacokinetic parameters suggested that α-amyrins complied with most sets of Lipinski's rules, and so it could be a suitable ligand for docking studies. Eventually, bioactivity score showed α-amyrins possess considerable biological activities as nuclear receptor, enzyme inhibitor, GPCR and protease inhibitor ligand. These results clearly demonstrate that α-amyrins could act as potential highly selective COX-/5-LOX inhibitor. Also, it is a safe compound in comparison with classical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that are known as cancer preventive agents, since it is free of side effects on human body and it can be a promising drug for cancer therapeutics.

A molecular modeling based screening for potential inhibitors to alpha hemolysin from Staphylococcus aureus.

Staphylococcus aureus, a Gram-positive bacterium is pathogenic in nature. It is known that secreted toxins remain active after antibiotic treatment. The alpha hemolysin or alpha toxin damages cell membrane and induces apoptosis and degradation of DNA. The titer of alphahemolysin increases and causes hemostasis disturbances, thrombocytopenia, and pulmonary lesions during staphylococcal infection. Therefore, it is of interest to inhibit alpha hemolysin using novel compounds. We used the structure of alpha hemolysin(PDB: 7AHL) to screen structures for 100,000 compounds from the ZINC database using molecular docking with AutoDock VINA. Nine (9) successive hits were then subjected for pharmacokinetic and toxicity properties by PROTOX (a webserver for the prediction of oral toxicities of small molecules) and FAFDrugs (a tool for prediction of ADME and Toxicity). This exercise further identified hit #1 ({[3a-(Dihydroxymethyl)-6-hydroxy-2,2-dimethyl-1,3,4-trioxatetrahydro-2H-pentalen-5- yl]methyl}amino(9H-fluoren-9-yl)acetate with binding affinity: -10.3 kcal/mol) and hit #2 (6-(Dihydroxymethyl)-2-{2-[3- (methylamino)propyl]-2-azatricyclo[9.4.0.03,8]pentadeca-1(11),3,5,7,12,14-hexaen-6-yloxy}tetrahydro-2H-pyran-3,4,5-triol with binding affinity: -9.6 kcal/mol) with acceptable toxicity and ADME properties for potential predicted hemolysin inhibition. These compounds should then be evaluated in vitro using inhibitory studies.

Molecular docking based virtual screening of compounds for inhibiting sortase A in L.monocytogenes.

Listeriosis is considered as an important public health issue. Sortase A (srtA) is an enzyme with catalytic role in L. monocytogenes that breaks the junction between threonine and glycine in the LPXTG motif (a key motif in internalin A (InlA) that plays an important role in listeriosis). Inactivation of srtA was shown to inhibit anchoring of the invasion protein InIA. This is in addition to inhibiting peptidoglycan-associated LPXTG proteins. Therefore, it is of interest to inhibit strA using potential molecules. Here, we describe the design of an inhibitor with high binding affinity to srtA with the ability to prevent the attachment of srtA to the LPXTG proteins such as InIJ. A homology model of Listeria monocytogenes Sortase A was developed using MODELLER (version 9.12). We screened StrA to 100,000 drug-like ligands from the Zinc database using Molecular docking and virtual screening tool PyRX). Pharmacokinetic analysis using the FAFDrugs(3) web server along with ADME and toxicity analysis based on Lipinski rule of five were adopted for the screening exercise followed by oral toxicity check using PROTOX (a server) for every 10 successive hits. The results from PROTOX server indicated that Lig #1 (with LD50 of 2000mg/kg) and Lig #7 (with LD50 of 2000mg/kg) have toxicity class 4 and Lig #3 (with LD50 of 14430mg/kg) has toxicity class 6. Subsequent modifications of these structures followed by FAFDrugs(3) analysis for high bioavailability value selected Lig #7 according to Lipinski rules of five. Thus, Lig #7 with IUPAC name ((R)-4-{(S)-1-[(S)-2-Amino-4-methylvaleryl]-2-pyrrolidinyl}-1-[(S)-1-(ethylamino) carbonyl-propylamino] -2-propyl-1, 4- butanedione) is suggested as a potential candidate for srtA inhibition for further consideration.

Molecular dynamics simulation on the low sensitivity of mutants of NEDD-8 activating enzyme for MLN4924 inhibitor as a cancer drug.

MLN4924 is an experimental cancer drug known as inhibitor of NEDD8-activating enzyme (NAE). This anti-tumor candidate is a selective small-molecule inhibitor of NAE which is conjugated to cullin protein on Cullin-RING ligases (CRLs). This covalent modification actives cullin complex to recruit an ubiquitin-charged E2 and leads to downstream target protein polyubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. MLN4924, which can form a covalent adduct with NEDD8, and block NAE at the first step in this pathway, has shown anti-tumor activity in many kinds of cancer cell lines and also xenograft models, including lung cancer, colon cancer, melanoma and lymphoma. The anti-tumor activity of MLN4924 results from inactivation of CLRs, which causes DNA re-replication and inhibition of nuclear factor (NF)-κB signaling, thus leading to cancer cell death. A mutation can reduce the enzyme's sensitivity to MLN4924. Verma et al. in 2013 studied on molecular dynamics simulation of a mutant A171T and consequently found out that this mutation reduce MLN4924 interaction with DNA Binding site of enzyme as a result of reduction of enzyme affinity to ATP. One year later, in 2014, Wei Xu et al. carried out a research on inhibitor resistant cell lines and revealed that a couple of mutations so called Y352H and I310N leads to enzyme resistance to MLN4924 inhibitor, interestingly, the cause reported was the increase of enzyme affinity to ATP. As in Wei Xu et al. experiment the molecular dynamics simulation was not considered, present study is conducted to identify enzyme mutation mechanism by molecular dynamics approach using advantages of Gromacs software version 4.5.6.

Effects of prenatal lipopolysaccharide exposure on reproductive activities and serum concentrations of pituitary-gonadal hormones in mice offspring.

BACKGROUND: Maternal infection during pregnancy is a risk factor for some behavioral problems with neurodevelopmental origin. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of exposure of pregnant mice to the bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on sexual behaviour and serum level of pituitary-gonadal hormones of offspring in adulthood. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this Expremental study, pregnant NMRI mice (n=7/group) were treated with intra-peritoneal administration of LPS (1, 5 and 10 µg/kg) at day 10 of gestation. Induction of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1beta (IL-1ß) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured in maternal serum 2 hours following the maternal LPS challenge. Behavior in the adult male offspring reproductive activity was investigated using receptive female mice. Concentrations of testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in adult offspring serum were measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method (at postnatal day 60, n=10/group). RESULTS: One-way ANOVA showed that LPS administration induces a significant increase in TNF-α, IL-1ß and IL-6 levels of maternal serum. Prenatal LPS exposure reduces sexual behavior and serum concentration of LH and testosterone in adult male offspring. CONCLUSION: The overall results suggest that prenatal exposure to LPS increases pro- inflammatory cytokine levels, affects development of neuroendocrine systems and results in the inhibition of reproductive behaviors and reactivity of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis in adult male offspring.