scholarly journals Modular Protein Ligation: A New Paradigm as a Reagent Platform for Pre-Clinical Drug Discovery

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosalie Matico ◽  
Lawrence M. Szewczuk ◽  
Beth Pietrak ◽  
Stephanie Chen ◽  
Ed Dul ◽  
...  

Abstract Significant resource is spent by drug discovery project teams to generate numerous, yet unique target constructs for the multiple platforms used to drive drug discovery programs including: functional assays, biophysical studies, structural biology, and biochemical high throughput screening campaigns. To improve this process, we developed Modular Protein Ligation (MPL), a combinatorial reagent platform utilizing Expressed Protein Ligation to site-specifically label proteins at the C-terminus with a variety of cysteine-lysine dipeptide conjugates. Historically, such proteins have been chemically labeled non-specifically through surface amino acids. To demonstrate the feasibility of this approach, we first applied MPL to proteins of varying size in different target classes using different recombinant protein expression systems, which were then evaluated in several different downstream assays. A key advantage to the implementation of this paradigm is that one construct can generate multiple final products, significantly streamlining the reagent generation for multiple early drug discovery project teams.

2012 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 1438-1449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric J. Baede ◽  
Ernest den Bekker ◽  
Jan-Willem Boiten ◽  
Deborah Cronin ◽  
Rob van Gammeren ◽  
...  

2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-58
Author(s):  
Margit Asmild ◽  
Nicholas Oswald ◽  
Karen M. Krzywkowski ◽  
Søren Friis ◽  
Rasmus B. Jacobsen ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
pp. 247255522110232
Author(s):  
Michael D. Scholle ◽  
Doug McLaughlin ◽  
Zachary A. Gurard-Levin

Affinity selection mass spectrometry (ASMS) has emerged as a powerful high-throughput screening tool used in drug discovery to identify novel ligands against therapeutic targets. This report describes the first high-throughput screen using a novel self-assembled monolayer desorption ionization (SAMDI)–ASMS methodology to reveal ligands for the human rhinovirus 3C (HRV3C) protease. The approach combines self-assembled monolayers of alkanethiolates on gold with matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI TOF) mass spectrometry (MS), a technique termed SAMDI-ASMS. The primary screen of more than 100,000 compounds in pools of 8 compounds per well was completed in less than 8 h, and informs on the binding potential and selectivity of each compound. Initial hits were confirmed in follow-up SAMDI-ASMS experiments in single-concentration and dose–response curves. The ligands identified by SAMDI-ASMS were further validated using differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF) and in functional protease assays against HRV3C and the related SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro enzyme. SAMDI-ASMS offers key benefits for drug discovery over traditional ASMS approaches, including the high-throughput workflow and readout, minimizing compound misbehavior by using smaller compound pools, and up to a 50-fold reduction in reagent consumption. The flexibility of this novel technology opens avenues for high-throughput ASMS assays of any target, thereby accelerating drug discovery for diverse diseases.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 4417
Author(s):  
Lester J Lambert ◽  
Stefan Grotegut ◽  
Maria Celeridad ◽  
Palak Gosalia ◽  
Laurent JS De Backer ◽  
...  

Many human diseases are the result of abnormal expression or activation of protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) and protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs). Not surprisingly, more than 30 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are currently in clinical use and provide unique treatment options for many patients. PTPs on the other hand have long been regarded as “undruggable” and only recently have gained increased attention in drug discovery. Striatal-enriched tyrosine phosphatase (STEP) is a neuron-specific PTP that is overactive in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, and fragile X syndrome. An emergent model suggests that the increase in STEP activity interferes with synaptic function and contributes to the characteristic cognitive and behavioral deficits present in these diseases. Prior efforts to generate STEP inhibitors with properties that warrant clinical development have largely failed. To identify novel STEP inhibitor scaffolds, we developed a biophysical, label-free high-throughput screening (HTS) platform based on the protein thermal shift (PTS) technology. In contrast to conventional HTS using STEP enzymatic assays, we found the PTS platform highly robust and capable of identifying true hits with confirmed STEP inhibitory activity and selectivity. This new platform promises to greatly advance STEP drug discovery and should be applicable to other PTP targets.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Moraes

We highlight exciting findings and promising approaches in the recent literature in which researchers integrate advanced micro-engineering, design, and analytical strategies to improve the relevance and utility of high-throughput screening in the drug discovery pipeline.


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