Microscale thermophoresis in the investigation of biomolecular interactions

Biomolecules, such as RNA, DNA, proteins and polysaccharides, are at the heart of fundamental cellular processes. These molecules differ greatly with each other in terms of their structures and functions. However, in the midst of the diversity of biomolecules is the unifying feature that they interact with each other to execute a viable biological system. Interactions of biomolecules are critical for cells to survive and replicate, for food metabolism to produce energy, for antibiotics and vaccines to function, for spreading of diseases and for every other biological process. An improved understanding of these interactions is crucial for studying how cells and organs function, to appreciate how diseases are caused and how infections occur, with infinite implications in medicine and therapy. Many biochemical and biophysical techniques are currently being employed to study biomolecular interactions. Microscale thermophoresis (MST) is a relatively new biophysical technique that can provide powerful insight into the interactions of biomolecules and is quickly being adopted by an increasing number of researchers worldwide. This article provides a brief description of principles underpinning the MST process, in addition to benefits and limitations.

Download Full-text

Some like it Hot: Quantification of Biomolecular Interactions using MicroScale Thermophoresis

The FASEB Journal ◽

10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.778.4 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 29 (S1) ◽

Author(s):

Lynn Lehmann ◽

Nicole Bouley Ford ◽

Wyatt Strutz ◽

Ana Lazic

Keyword(s):

Biomolecular Interactions ◽

Microscale Thermophoresis

Download Full-text

Microscale thermophoresis quantifies biomolecular interactions under previously challenging conditions

Methods ◽

10.1016/j.ymeth.2012.12.005 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 59 (3) ◽

pp. 301-315 ◽

Cited By ~ 325

Author(s):

Susanne A.I. Seidel ◽

Patricia M. Dijkman ◽

Wendy A. Lea ◽

Geert van den Bogaart ◽

Moran Jerabek-Willemsen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Biomolecular Interactions ◽

Microscale Thermophoresis

Download Full-text

A novel ligand of the translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) identified by virtual drug screening for cancer differentiation therapy

Investigational New Drugs ◽

10.1007/s10637-020-01042-w ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Nicolas Fischer ◽

Ean-Jeong Seo ◽

Sara Abdelfatah ◽

Edmond Fleischer ◽

Anette Klinger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Cycle ◽

Virtual Screening ◽

Small Molecules ◽

Large Scale ◽

Differentiation Therapy ◽

P53 Expression ◽

Microscale Thermophoresis ◽

Cycle Arrest ◽

G1 Cell Cycle Arrest ◽

Mcf 7

SummaryIntroduction Differentiation therapy is a promising strategy for cancer treatment. The translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) is an encouraging target in this context. By now, this field of research is still at its infancy, which motivated us to perform a large-scale screening for the identification of novel ligands of TCTP. We studied the binding mode and the effect of TCTP blockade on the cell cycle in different cancer cell lines. Methods Based on the ZINC-database, we performed virtual screening of 2,556,750 compounds to analyze the binding of small molecules to TCTP. The in silico results were confirmed by microscale thermophoresis. The effect of the new ligand molecules was investigated on cancer cell survival, flow cytometric cell cycle analysis and protein expression by Western blotting and co-immunoprecipitation in MOLT-4, MDA-MB-231, SK-OV-3 and MCF-7 cells. Results Large-scale virtual screening by PyRx combined with molecular docking by AutoDock4 revealed five candidate compounds. By microscale thermophoresis, ZINC10157406 (6-(4-fluorophenyl)-2-[(8-methoxy-4-methyl-2-quinazolinyl)amino]-4(3H)-pyrimidinone) was identified as TCTP ligand with a KD of 0.87 ± 0.38. ZINC10157406 revealed growth inhibitory effects and caused G0/G1 cell cycle arrest in MOLT-4, SK-OV-3 and MCF-7 cells. ZINC10157406 (2 × IC50) downregulated TCTP expression by 86.70 ± 0.44% and upregulated p53 expression by 177.60 ± 12.46%. We validated ZINC10157406 binding to the p53 interaction site of TCTP and replacing p53 by co-immunoprecipitation. Discussion ZINC10157406 was identified as potent ligand of TCTP by in silico and in vitro methods. The compound bound to TCTP with a considerably higher affinity compared to artesunate as known TCTP inhibitor. We were able to demonstrate the effect of TCTP blockade at the p53 binding site, i.e. expression of TCTP decreased, whereas p53 expression increased. This effect was accompanied by a dose-dependent decrease of CDK2, CDK4, CDK, cyclin D1 and cyclin D3 causing a G0/G1 cell cycle arrest in MOLT-4, SK-OV-3 and MCF-7 cells. Our findings are supposed to stimulate further research on TCTP-specific small molecules for differentiation therapy in oncology.

Download Full-text

Novel Method for Quantifying AhR-Ligand Binding Affinities Using Microscale Thermophoresis

Biosensors ◽

10.3390/bios11030060 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 60

Author(s):

Anne Stinn ◽

Jens Furkert ◽

Stefan H. E. Kaufmann ◽

Pedro Moura-Alves ◽

Michael Kolbe

Keyword(s):

Ligand Binding ◽

Environmental Pollutants ◽

Screening Strategy ◽

Pharmacological Intervention ◽

Binding Affinities ◽

Free System ◽

Microscale Thermophoresis ◽

Aryl Hydrocarbon ◽

Promising Target ◽

A Cell

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a highly conserved cellular sensor of a variety of environmental pollutants and dietary-, cell- and microbiota-derived metabolites with important roles in fundamental biological processes. Deregulation of the AhR pathway is implicated in several diseases, including autoimmune diseases and cancer, rendering AhR a promising target for drug development and host-directed therapy. The pharmacological intervention of AhR processes requires detailed information about the ligand binding properties to allow specific targeting of a particular signaling process without affecting the remaining. Here, we present a novel microscale thermophoresis-based approach to monitoring the binding of purified recombinant human AhR to its natural ligands in a cell-free system. This approach facilitates a precise identification and characterization of unknown AhR ligands and represents a screening strategy for the discovery of potential selective AhR modulators.

Download Full-text