TEAD-YAP Interaction Inhibitors and MDM2 Binders from DNA-Encoded Indole-Focused Ugi Peptidomimetics.

DNA-encoded combinatorial synthesis provides efficient and dense coverage of chemical space around privileged molecular structures. The indole side chain of tryptophan plays a prominent role in key, or "hot spot", regions of protein-protein interactions. A DNA-encoded combinatorial peptoid library was designed based on the Ugi four-component reaction by employing tryptophan-mimetic indole side chains to probe the surface of target proteins. Several peptoids were synthesized on a chemically stable hexathymidine adapter oligonucleotide "hexT", encoded by DNA sequences, and substituted by azide-alkyne cycloaddition to yield a library of 8112 molecules. Selection experiments for the tumor-relevant proteins MDM2 and TEAD4 yielded MDM2 binders and a novel class of TEAD-YAP interaction inhibitors that perturbed the expression of a gene under the control of these Hippo pathway effectors.

Initiating DNA-Encoded Library Synthesis with a Hexathymidine DNA Oligonucleotide.

Libraries of DNA-encoded compounds (DELs) are a validated screening technology for drug discovery. Here we describe a library synthesis strategy that starts with a solid phase-bound, chemically very stable hexathymidine DNA sequence "hexT." Different heterocycle conjugates of the hexT oligonucleotide were synthesized from simple starting materials using metal or acid catalysts. The hexT conjugates were isolated, characterized, and ligated to coding DNA sequences.