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Several viruses hijack various forms of endocytosis in order to infect host cells. Here, we report the discovery of a molecule with antiviral properties that we named virapinib, which limits viral entry by macropinocytosis. The identification of virapinib derives from a chemical screen using high-throughput microscopy, where we identified chemical entities capable of preventing infection with a pseudotype virus expressing the spike (S) protein from SARS-CoV-2. Subsequent experiments confirmed the capacity of virapinib to inhibit infection by SARS-CoV-2, as well as by additional viruses, such as mpox virus and TBEV. Mechanistic analyses revealed that the compound inhibited macropinocytosis, limiting this entry route for the viruses. Importantly, virapinib has no significant toxicity to host cells. In summary, we present the discovery of a molecule that inhibits macropinocytosis, thereby limiting the infectivity of viruses that use this entry route such as SARS-CoV2.
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BACKGROUND: PolyQ diseases are autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorders caused by the expansion of CAG repeats. While of slow progression, these diseases are ultimately fatal and lack effective therapies. METHODS: A high-throughput chemical screen was conducted to identify drugs that lower the toxicity of a protein containing the first exon of Huntington's disease (HD) protein huntingtin (HTT) harbouring 94 glutamines (Htt-Q94). Candidate drugs were tested in a wide range of in vitro and in vivo models of polyQ toxicity. FINDINGS: The chemical screen identified the anti-leprosy drug clofazimine as a hit, which was subsequently validated in several in vitro models. Computational analyses of transcriptional signatures revealed that the effect of clofazimine was due to the stimulation of mitochondrial biogenesis by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ). In agreement with this, clofazimine rescued mitochondrial dysfunction triggered by Htt-Q94 expression. Importantly, clofazimine also limited polyQ toxicity in developing zebrafish and neuron-specific worm models of polyQ disease. INTERPRETATION: Our results support the potential of repurposing the antimicrobial drug clofazimine for the treatment of polyQ diseases. FUNDING: A full list of funding sources can be found in the acknowledgments section.
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Clofazimina , Glutamina , Proteína Huntingtina , Enfermedad de Huntington , PPAR gamma , Péptidos , Pez Cebra , Animales , Humanos , Caenorhabditis elegans/efectos de los fármacos , Caenorhabditis elegans/metabolismo , Clofazimina/farmacología , Modelos Animales de Enfermedad , Proteína Huntingtina/genética , Proteína Huntingtina/metabolismo , Enfermedad de Huntington/tratamiento farmacológico , Enfermedad de Huntington/metabolismo , Leprostáticos/farmacología , Mitocondrias/efectos de los fármacos , Mitocondrias/metabolismo , Péptidos/metabolismo , Péptidos/toxicidad , PPAR gamma/metabolismo , PPAR gamma/genética , Glutamina/metabolismo , Glutamina/toxicidadRESUMEN
Nucleolar stress (NS) has been associated with age-related diseases such as cancer or neurodegeneration. To investigate how NS triggers toxicity, we used (PR)n arginine-rich peptides present in some neurodegenerative diseases as inducers of this perturbation. We here reveal that whereas (PR)n expression leads to a decrease in translation, this occurs concomitant with an accumulation of free ribosomal (r) proteins. Conversely, (PR)n-resistant cells have lower rates of r-protein synthesis, and targeting ribosome biogenesis by mTOR inhibition or MYC depletion alleviates (PR)n toxicity in vitro. In mice, systemic expression of (PR)97 drives widespread NS and accelerated aging, which is alleviated by rapamycin. Notably, the generalized accumulation of orphan r-proteins is a common outcome of chemical or genetic perturbations that induce NS. Together, our study presents a general model to explain how NS induces cellular toxicity and provides in vivo evidence supporting a role for NS as a driver of aging in mammals.
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Neoplasias , Ribosomas , Ratones , Animales , Ribosomas/metabolismo , Envejecimiento/genética , Péptidos/metabolismo , Sirolimus/farmacología , Neoplasias/metabolismo , Nucléolo Celular/genética , MamíferosRESUMEN
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0005475.].
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Drug repurposing is a versatile strategy to improve current therapies. Disulfiram has long been used in the treatment of alcohol dependency and multiple clinical trials to evaluate its clinical value in oncology are ongoing. We have recently reported that the disulfiram metabolite diethyldithiocarbamate, when combined with copper (CuET), targets the NPL4 adapter of the p97VCP segregase to suppress the growth of a spectrum of cancer cell lines and xenograft models in vivo. CuET induces proteotoxic stress and genotoxic effects, however important issues concerning the full range of the CuET-evoked tumor cell phenotypes, their temporal order, and mechanistic basis have remained largely unexplored. Here, we have addressed these outstanding questions and show that in diverse human cancer cell models, CuET causes a very early translational arrest through the integrated stress response (ISR), later followed by features of nucleolar stress. Furthermore, we report that CuET entraps p53 in NPL4-rich aggregates leading to elevated p53 protein and its functional inhibition, consistent with the possibility of CuET-triggered cell death being p53-independent. Our transcriptomics profiling revealed activation of pro-survival adaptive pathways of ribosomal biogenesis (RiBi) and autophagy upon prolonged exposure to CuET, indicating potential feedback responses to CuET treatment. The latter concept was validated here by simultaneous pharmacological inhibition of RiBi and/or autophagy that further enhanced CuET's tumor cytotoxicity, using both cell culture and zebrafish in vivo preclinical models. Overall, these findings expand the mechanistic repertoire of CuET's anti-cancer activity, inform about the temporal order of responses and identify an unorthodox new mechanism of targeting p53. Our results are discussed in light of cancer-associated endogenous stresses as exploitable tumor vulnerabilities and may inspire future clinical applications of CuET in oncology, including combinatorial treatments and focus on potential advantages of using certain validated drug metabolites, rather than old, approved drugs with their, often complex, metabolic profiles.
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Disulfiram , Neoplasias , Animales , Humanos , Línea Celular Tumoral , Disulfiram/metabolismo , Neoplasias/metabolismo , Ribosomas/metabolismo , Proteína p53 Supresora de Tumor/genética , Proteína p53 Supresora de Tumor/metabolismo , Pez Cebra/metabolismoRESUMEN
Protein methylation is an important modification beyond epigenetics. However, systems analyses of protein methylation lag behind compared to other modifications. Recently, thermal stability analyses have been developed which provide a proxy of a protein functional status. Here, we show that molecular and functional events closely linked to protein methylation can be revealed by the analysis of thermal stability. Using mouse embryonic stem cells as a model, we show that Prmt5 regulates mRNA binding proteins that are enriched in intrinsically disordered regions and involved in liquid-liquid phase separation mechanisms, including the formation of stress granules. Moreover, we reveal a non-canonical function of Ezh2 in mitotic chromosomes and the perichromosomal layer, and identify Mki67 as a putative Ezh2 substrate. Our approach provides an opportunity to systematically explore protein methylation function and represents a rich resource for understanding its role in pluripotency.
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Histonas , Procesamiento Proteico-Postraduccional , Animales , Ratones , Metilación , Histonas/metabolismo , Epigénesis Genética , Células Madre Embrionarias de Ratones/metabolismoRESUMEN
Speed is key during infectious disease outbreaks. It is essential, for example, to identify critical host binding factors to pathogens as fast as possible. The complexity of host plasma membrane is often a limiting factor hindering fast and accurate determination of host binding factors as well as high-throughput screening for neutralizing antimicrobial drug targets. Here, we describe a multiparametric and high-throughput platform tackling this bottleneck and enabling fast screens for host binding factors as well as new antiviral drug targets. The sensitivity and robustness of our platform were validated by blocking SARS-CoV-2 particles with nanobodies and IgGs from human serum samples.
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COVID-19 , SARS-CoV-2 , Humanos , Acoplamiento Viral , Ensayos Analíticos de Alto Rendimiento , Unión ProteicaRESUMEN
Antibodies targeting the PD-1 receptor and its ligand PD-L1 have shown impressive responses in some tumors of bad prognosis. We hypothesized that, since immunosuppressive cells might present several immune checkpoints on their surface, the selective elimination of PD-L1 expressing cells could be efficacious in enabling the activation of antitumoral immune responses. To address this question, we developed an inducible suicidal knock-in mouse allele of Pd-l1 (PD-L1ATTAC) which allows for the tracking and specific elimination of PD-L1-expressing cells in adult tissues. Consistent with our hypothesis, elimination of PD-L1 expressing cells from the mouse peritoneum increased the septic response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), due to an exacerbated inflammatory response to the endotoxin. In addition, mice depleted of PD-L1+ cells were resistant to colon cancer peritoneal allografts, which was associated with a loss of immunosuppressive B cells and macrophages, concomitant with an increase in activated cytotoxic CD8 T cells. Collectively, these results illustrate the usefulness of PD-L1ATTAC mice for research in immunotherapy and provide genetic support to the concept of targeting PD-L1 expressing cells in cancer.
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Antineoplásicos , Neoplasias , Ratones , Animales , Antígeno B7-H1/genética , Inmunoterapia/métodos , Linfocitos T Citotóxicos , Línea Celular Tumoral , Linfocitos T CD8-positivos , Microambiente Tumoral , Neoplasias/genética , Neoplasias/terapiaRESUMEN
The presentation of neoantigens by HLA-I is essential for the recognition of tumor cells by cytotoxic T cells. Transcriptionally, HLA-I expression is regulated by interferon-dependent activation of JAK/STAT signaling. Accordingly, mutations that inactivate this pathway are one of the main causes of resistance to cancer immunotherapies. Recent evidences indicate that HLA-I expression can be induced independently of IFN-signaling by the innate immune response. In this context, we performed an image-based screen to evaluate how more than 5,000 chemicals, including all medically available drugs plus many others in advanced preclinical development, influence HLA-I expression in STAT1-deficient cells. Our screening failed to identify any significant hits, suggesting that drug-dependent modulation of HLA-I expression is strictly dependent on IFN-signaling.
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The nucleolus is the site of ribosome biogenesis, one of the most resource-intensive processes in eukaryotic cells. Accordingly, nucleolar morphology and activity are highly responsive to growth signaling and nucleolar insults which are collectively included in the actively evolving concept of nucleolar stress. Importantly, nucleolar alterations are a prominent feature of multiple human pathologies, including cancer and neurodegeneration, as well as being associated with aging. The past decades have seen numerous attempts to isolate compounds targeting different facets of nucleolar activity. We provide an overview of therapeutic opportunities for targeting nucleoli in different pathologies and currently available therapies.
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Neoplasias , Ribosomas , Humanos , Nucléolo Celular/patología , Neoplasias/tratamiento farmacológico , Neoplasias/patología , EnvejecimientoRESUMEN
The tetracycline repressor (tetR)-regulated system is a widely used tool to specifically control gene expression in mammalian cells. Based on this system, we generated a human osteosarcoma cell line, which allows for the inducible expression of an EGFP fusion of the TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43), which has been linked to neurodegenerative diseases. Consistent with previous findings, TDP-43 overexpression led to the accumulation of aggregates and limited the viability of U2OS. Using this inducible system, we conducted a chemical screen with a library that included FDA-approved drugs. While the primary screen identified several compounds that prevented TDP-43 toxicity, further experiments revealed that these chemicals abrogated the doxycycline-dependent TDP-43 expression. This antagonistic effect was observed with both doxycycline and tetracycline, and in several Tet-On cell lines expressing different genes, confirming the general effect of these compounds as inhibitors of the tetR system. Using the same cell line, a genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 screen identified epigenetic regulators such as the G9a methyltransferase and TRIM28 as potential modifiers of TDP-43 toxicity. Yet again, further experiments revealed that G9a inhibition or TRIM28 loss prevented doxycycline-dependent expression of TDP-43. In summary, we have identified new chemical and genetic regulators of the tetR system, thereby raising awareness of the limitations of this approach to conduct chemical or genetic screening in mammalian cells.
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Doxiciclina , Proteínas Represoras , Antibacterianos , Proteínas de Unión al ADN/genética , Doxiciclina/farmacología , Expresión Génica , Pruebas Genéticas , Humanos , Metiltransferasas/genética , Proteínas Represoras/metabolismo , Tetraciclina/farmacología , Factores de Transcripción/genéticaRESUMEN
FBXW7 is one of the most frequently mutated tumor suppressors, deficiency of which has been associated with resistance to some anticancer therapies. Through bioinformatics and genome-wide CRISPR screens, we here reveal that FBXW7 deficiency leads to multidrug resistance (MDR). Proteomic analyses found an upregulation of mitochondrial factors as a hallmark of FBXW7 deficiency, which has been previously linked to chemotherapy resistance. Despite this increased expression of mitochondrial factors, functional analyses revealed that mitochondria are under stress, and genetic or chemical targeting of mitochondria is preferentially toxic for FBXW7-deficient cells. Mechanistically, the toxicity of therapies targeting mitochondrial translation such as the antibiotic tigecycline relates to the activation of the integrated stress response (ISR) in a GCN2 kinase-dependent manner. Furthermore, the discovery of additional drugs that are toxic for FBXW7-deficient cells showed that all of them unexpectedly activate a GCN2-dependent ISR regardless of their accepted mechanism of action. Our study reveals that while one of the most frequent mutations in cancer reduces the sensitivity to the vast majority of available therapies, it renders cells vulnerable to ISR-activating drugs.
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Biosíntesis de Proteínas , Proteómica , Línea Celular Tumoral , Proteína 7 que Contiene Repeticiones F-Box-WD/genética , Proteína 7 que Contiene Repeticiones F-Box-WD/metabolismo , Mutación , Regulación hacia ArribaRESUMEN
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is one of the biggest health challenges of recent decades. Among the causes of mortality triggered by SARS-CoV-2 infection, the development of an inflammatory "cytokine storm" (CS) plays a determinant role. Here, we used transcriptomic data from the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of COVID-19 patients undergoing a CS to obtain gene-signatures associated to this pathology. Using these signatures, we interrogated the Connectivity Map (CMap) dataset that contains the effects of over 5000 small molecules on the transcriptome of human cell lines, and looked for molecules which effects on transcription mimic or oppose those of the CS. As expected, molecules that potentiate immune responses such as PKC activators are predicted to worsen the CS. In addition, we identified the negative regulation of female hormones among pathways potentially aggravating the CS, which helps to understand the gender-related differences in COVID-19 mortality. Regarding drugs potentially counteracting the CS, we identified glucocorticoids as a top hit, which validates our approach as this is the primary treatment for this pathology. Interestingly, our analysis also reveals a potential effect of MEK inhibitors in reverting the COVID-19 CS, which is supported by in vitro data that confirms the anti-inflammatory properties of these compounds.
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Antiinflamatorios/uso terapéutico , Tratamiento Farmacológico de COVID-19 , COVID-19/complicaciones , Simulación por Computador , Síndrome de Liberación de Citoquinas/etiología , Síndrome de Liberación de Citoquinas/prevención & control , Glucocorticoides/uso terapéutico , Pandemias , Inhibidores de Proteínas Quinasas/uso terapéutico , SARS-CoV-2 , Antiinflamatorios/farmacología , Líquido del Lavado Bronquioalveolar/virología , COVID-19/sangre , COVID-19/epidemiología , Síndrome de Liberación de Citoquinas/mortalidad , Citocinas/sangre , Femenino , Perfilación de la Expresión Génica/métodos , Glucocorticoides/farmacología , Humanos , Quinasas Quinasa Quinasa PAM/antagonistas & inhibidores , Sistema de Señalización de MAP Quinasas/efectos de los fármacos , Masculino , Inhibidores de Proteínas Quinasas/farmacología , Factores Sexuales , Transcriptoma/genéticaRESUMEN
Antibodies binding to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike have therapeutic promise, but emerging variants show the potential for virus escape. This emphasizes the need for therapeutic molecules with distinct and novel neutralization mechanisms. Here we describe the isolation of a nanobody that interacts simultaneously with two RBDs from different spike trimers of SARS-CoV-2, rapidly inducing the formation of spike trimer-dimers leading to the loss of their ability to attach to the host cell receptor, ACE2. We show that this nanobody potently neutralizes SARS-CoV-2, including the beta and delta variants, and cross-neutralizes SARS-CoV. Furthermore, we demonstrate the therapeutic potential of the nanobody against SARS-CoV-2 and the beta variant in a human ACE2 transgenic mouse model. This naturally elicited bispecific monomeric nanobody establishes an uncommon strategy for potent inactivation of viral antigens and represents a promising antiviral against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants.
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Anticuerpos Biespecíficos/inmunología , Anticuerpos Neutralizantes/inmunología , Anticuerpos Antivirales/inmunología , COVID-19/inmunología , SARS-CoV-2/inmunología , Anticuerpos de Dominio Único/inmunología , Glicoproteína de la Espiga del Coronavirus/inmunología , Animales , Anticuerpos Biespecíficos/metabolismo , COVID-19/virología , Chlorocebus aethiops , Microscopía por Crioelectrón , Células HEK293 , Humanos , Ratones Transgénicos , Pruebas de Neutralización/métodos , Unión Proteica , Conformación Proteica , Multimerización de Proteína/inmunología , SARS-CoV-2/metabolismo , SARS-CoV-2/fisiología , Anticuerpos de Dominio Único/metabolismo , Glicoproteína de la Espiga del Coronavirus/química , Glicoproteína de la Espiga del Coronavirus/metabolismo , Células VeroRESUMEN
Dysregulation of the c-Myc oncogene occurs in a wide variety of hematologic malignancies, and its overexpression has been linked with aggressive tumor progression. Here, we show that poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP-1) and PARP-2 exert opposing influences on progression of c-Myc-driven B-cell lymphoma. PARP-1 and PARP-2 catalyze the synthesis and transfer of ADP-ribose units onto amino acid residues of acceptor proteins in response to DNA strand breaks, playing a central role in the response to DNA damage. Accordingly, PARP inhibitors have emerged as promising new cancer therapeutics. However, the inhibitors currently available for clinical use are not able to discriminate between individual PARP proteins. We found that genetic deletion of PARP-2 prevents c-Myc-driven B-cell lymphoma, whereas PARP-1 deficiency accelerates lymphomagenesis in the Eµ-Myc mouse model of aggressive B-cell lymphoma. Loss of PARP-2 aggravates replication stress in preleukemic Eµ-Myc B cells, resulting in accumulation of DNA damage and concomitant cell death that restricts the c-Myc-driven expansion of B cells, thereby providing protection against B-cell lymphoma. In contrast, PARP-1 deficiency induces a proinflammatory response and an increase in regulatory T cells, likely contributing to immune escape of B-cell lymphoma, resulting in an acceleration of lymphomagenesis. These findings pinpoint specific functions for PARP-1 and PARP-2 in c-Myc-driven lymphomagenesis with antagonistic consequences that may help inform the design of new PARP-centered therapeutic strategies, with selective PARP-2 inhibition potentially representing a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of c-Myc-driven tumors.
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Linfoma de Células B/genética , Poli(ADP-Ribosa) Polimerasa-1/genética , Poli(ADP-Ribosa) Polimerasas/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogénicas c-myc/genética , Animales , Carcinogénesis/genética , Daño del ADN , Eliminación de Gen , Regulación Neoplásica de la Expresión Génica , Ratones , Ratones NoqueadosRESUMEN
Among others, expression levels of programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) have been explored as biomarkers of the response to immune checkpoint inhibitors in cancer therapy. Here, we present the results of a chemical screen that interrogated how medically approved drugs influence PD-L1 expression. As expected, corticosteroids and inhibitors of Janus kinases were among the top PD-L1 downregulators. In addition, we identified that PD-L1 expression is induced by antiestrogenic compounds. Transcriptomic analyses indicate that chronic estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) inhibition triggers a broad immunosuppressive program in ER-positive breast cancer cells, which is subsequent to their growth arrest and involves the activation of multiple immune checkpoints together with the silencing of the antigen-presenting machinery. Accordingly, estrogen-deprived MCF7 cells are resistant to T-cell-mediated cell killing, in a manner that is independent of PD-L1, but which is reverted by estradiol. Our study reveals that while antiestrogen therapies efficiently limit the growth of ER-positive breast cancer cells, they concomitantly trigger a transcriptional program that favors their immune evasion.
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Antígeno B7-H1 , Neoplasias de la Mama , Antígeno B7-H1/metabolismo , Neoplasias de la Mama/tratamiento farmacológico , Neoplasias de la Mama/genética , Línea Celular Tumoral , Antagonistas de Estrógenos , Estrógenos/farmacología , Femenino , Humanos , FenotipoRESUMEN
The AAA+ ATPase VCP regulates the extraction of SUMO and ubiquitin-modified DNA replication factors from chromatin. We have previously described that active DNA synthesis is associated with a SUMO-high/ubiquitin-low environment governed by the deubiquitylase USP7. Here, we unveil a functional cooperation between USP7 and VCP in DNA replication, which is conserved from Caenorhabditis elegans to mammals. The role of VCP in chromatin is defined by its cofactor FAF1, which facilitates the extraction of SUMOylated and ubiquitylated proteins that accumulate after the block of DNA replication in the absence of USP7. The inactivation of USP7 and FAF1 is synthetically lethal both in C. elegans and mammalian cells. In addition, USP7 and VCP inhibitors display synergistic toxicity supporting a functional link between deubiquitylation and extraction of chromatin-bound proteins. Our results suggest that USP7 and VCPFAF1 facilitate DNA replication by controlling the balance of SUMO/Ubiquitin-modified DNA replication factors on chromatin.
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Proteínas Adaptadoras Transductoras de Señales/metabolismo , Proteínas Reguladoras de la Apoptosis/metabolismo , Cromatina/metabolismo , Replicación del ADN , Peptidasa Específica de Ubiquitina 7/metabolismo , Ubiquitinación , Proteína que Contiene Valosina/metabolismo , Proteínas Adaptadoras Transductoras de Señales/genética , Animales , Animales Modificados Genéticamente , Proteínas Reguladoras de la Apoptosis/genética , Caenorhabditis elegans/genética , Caenorhabditis elegans/metabolismo , Proteínas de Caenorhabditis elegans/genética , Proteínas de Caenorhabditis elegans/metabolismo , Proteínas Portadoras/genética , Proteínas Portadoras/metabolismo , Cromatina/genética , Endopeptidasas/genética , Endopeptidasas/metabolismo , Evolución Molecular , Células HCT116 , Células HeLa , Humanos , Células MCF-7 , Sumoilación , Peptidasa Específica de Ubiquitina 7/genética , Proteína que Contiene Valosina/genéticaRESUMEN
Post-translational modification of the DNA replication machinery by ubiquitin and SUMO plays key roles in the faithful duplication of the genetic information. Among other functions, ubiquitination and SUMOylation serve as signals for the extraction of factors from chromatin by the AAA ATPase VCP. In addition to the regulation of DNA replication initiation and elongation, we now know that ubiquitination mediates the disassembly of the replisome after DNA replication termination, a process that is essential to preserve genomic stability. Here, we review the recent evidence showing how active DNA replication restricts replisome ubiquitination to prevent the premature disassembly of the DNA replication machinery. Ubiquitination also mediates the removal of the replisome to allow DNA repair. Further, we discuss the interplay between ubiquitin-mediated replisome disassembly and the activation of CDK1 that is required to set up the transition from the S phase to mitosis. We propose the existence of a ubiquitin-CDK1 relay, where the disassembly of terminated replisomes increases CDK1 activity that, in turn, favors the ubiquitination and disassembly of more replisomes. This model has important implications for the mechanism of action of cancer therapies that induce the untimely activation of CDK1, thereby triggering premature replisome disassembly and DNA damage.