scholarly journals Identification of a small molecule inhibitor of 3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase to target serine biosynthesis in cancers

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (7) ◽  
pp. 1778-1783 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edouard Mullarky ◽  
Natasha C. Lucki ◽  
Reza Beheshti Zavareh ◽  
Justin L. Anglin ◽  
Ana P. Gomes ◽  
...  

Cancer cells reprogram their metabolism to promote growth and proliferation. The genetic evidence pointing to the importance of the amino acid serine in tumorigenesis is striking. The gene encoding the enzyme 3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH), which catalyzes the first committed step of serine biosynthesis, is overexpressed in tumors and cancer cell lines via focal amplification and nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 (NRF2)-mediated up-regulation. PHGDH-overexpressing cells are exquisitely sensitive to genetic ablation of the pathway. Here, we report the discovery of a selective small molecule inhibitor of PHGDH, CBR-5884, identified by screening a library of 800,000 drug-like compounds. CBR-5884 inhibited de novo serine synthesis in cancer cells and was selectively toxic to cancer cell lines with high serine biosynthetic activity. Biochemical characterization of the inhibitor revealed that it was a noncompetitive inhibitor that showed a time-dependent onset of inhibition and disrupted the oligomerization state of PHGDH. The identification of a small molecule inhibitor of PHGDH not only enables thorough preclinical evaluation of PHGDH as a target in cancers, but also provides a tool with which to study serine metabolism.

2012 ◽  
Vol 48 ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
D.C. Phillips ◽  
Y. Xiao ◽  
M. Bruncko ◽  
C. Park ◽  
H. Zhang ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 ◽  
pp. 254-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murali Mohan Gavara ◽  
Kunal Zaveri ◽  
Anil Kumar Badana ◽  
Shailender Gugalavath ◽  
Krishna Chaitanya Amajala ◽  
...  

Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1631
Author(s):  
Silvia Caggia ◽  
Subhasish Tapadar ◽  
Bocheng Wu ◽  
Smrruthi V. Venugopal ◽  
Autumn S. Garrett ◽  
...  

Heterotrimeric G-proteins are ubiquitously expressed in several cancers, and they transduce signals from activated G-protein coupled receptors. These proteins have numerous biological functions, and they are becoming interesting target molecules in cancer therapy. Previously, we have shown that heterotrimeric G-protein subunit alphai2 (Gαi2) has an essential role in the migration and invasion of prostate cancer cells. Using a structure-based approach, we have synthesized optimized small molecule inhibitors that are able to prevent specifically the activation of the Gαi2 subunit, keeping the protein in its inactive GDP-bound state. We observed that two of the compounds (13 and 14) at 10 μΜ significantly inhibited the migratory behavior of the PC3 and DU145 prostate cancer cell lines. Additionally, compound 14 at 10 μΜ blocked the activation of Gαi2 in oxytocin-stimulated prostate cancer PC3 cells, and inhibited the migratory capability of DU145 cells overexpressing the constitutively active form of Gαi2, under basal and EGF-stimulated conditions. We also observed that the knockdown or inhibition of Gαi2 negatively regulated migration of renal and ovarian cancer cell lines. Our results suggest that small molecule inhibitors of Gαi2 have potential as leads for discovering novel anti-metastatic agents for attenuating the capability of cancer cells to spread and invade to distant sites.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (23) ◽  
pp. 2070-2079
Author(s):  
Srimadhavi Ravi ◽  
Sugata Barui ◽  
Sivapriya Kirubakaran ◽  
Parul Duhan ◽  
Kaushik Bhowmik

Background: The importance of inhibiting the kinases of the DDR pathway for radiosensitizing cancer cells is well established. Cancer cells exploit these kinases for their survival, which leads to the development of resistance towards DNA damaging therapeutics. Objective: In this article, the focus is on targeting the key mediator of the DDR pathway, the ATM kinase. A new set of quinoline-3-carboxamides, as potential inhibitors of ATM, is reported. Methods: Quinoline-3-carboxamide derivatives were synthesized and cytotoxicity assay was performed to analyze the effect of molecules on different cancer cell lines like HCT116, MDA-MB-468, and MDA-MB-231. Results: Three of the synthesized compounds showed promising cytotoxicity towards a selected set of cancer cell lines. Western Blot analysis was also performed by pre-treating the cells with quercetin, a known ATM upregulator, by causing DNA double-strand breaks. SAR studies suggested the importance of the electron-donating nature of the R group for the molecule to be toxic. Finally, Western-Blot analysis confirmed the down-regulation of ATM in the cells. Additionally, the PTEN negative cell line, MDA-MB-468, was more sensitive towards the compounds in comparison with the PTEN positive cell line, MDA-MB-231. Cytotoxicity studies against 293T cells showed that the compounds were at least three times less toxic when compared with HCT116. Conclusion: In conclusion, these experiments will lay the groundwork for the evolution of potent and selective ATM inhibitors for the radio- and chemo-sensitization of cancer cells.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 1330-1341
Author(s):  
Yan Zhang ◽  
Niefang Yu

Background: Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) and their high affinity receptors (FGFRs) play a major role in cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, and apoptosis. Aberrant FGFR signaling pathway might accelerate development in a broad panel of malignant solid tumors. However, the full application of most existing small molecule FGFR inhibitors has become a challenge due to the potential target mutation. Hence, it has attracted a great deal of attention from both academic and industrial fields for hunting for novel FGFR inhibitors with potent inhibitory activities and high selectivity. Objective: Novel 5-amino-1H-pyrazole-1-carbonyl derivatives were designed, synthesized, and evaluated as FGFR inhibitors. Methods: A series of 5-amino-1H-pyrazole-1-carbonyl derivatives were established by a condensation of the suitable formyl acetonitrile derivatives with either hydrazine or hydrazide derivatives in the presence of anhydrous ethanol or toluene. The inhibitory activities of the target compounds were screened against the FGFRs and two representative cancer cell lines. Tests were carried out to observe the inhibition of 8e against FGFR phosphorylation and downstream signal phosphorylation in human gastric cancer cell lines (SNU-16). The molecular docking of all the compounds were performed using Molecular Operating Environment in order to evaluate their binding abilities with the corresponding protein kinase. Results: A series of 5-amino-1H-pyrazole-1-carbonyl derivatives have been designed and synthesized, screened for their inhibitory activities against FGFRs and cancer cell lines. Most of the target compounds showed moderate to good anti-proliferate activities against the tested enzymes and cell lines. The most promising compounds 8e suppressed FGFR1-3 with IC50 values of 56.4, 35.2, 95.5 nM, and potently inhibited the SNU-16 and MCF-7 cancer cells with IC50 values of 0.71 1.26 μM, respectively. And 8e inhibited the growth of cancer cells containing FGFR activated by multiple mechanisms. In addition, the binding interactions were quite similar in the molecular models between generated compounds and Debio-1347 with the FGFR1. Conclusion: According to the experimental findings, 5-amino-1H-pyrazole-1-carbonyl might serve as a promising template of an FGFR inhibitor.


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