ABSTRACT
Tumor necrosis factor-α-induced protein 8-like 3 (TNFAIP8L3 or TIPE3) functions as a transfer protein for lipid second messengers. TIPE3 is highly upregulated in several human cancers and has been established to significantly promote tumor cell proliferation, migration, and invasion and inhibit the apoptosis of cancer cells. Thus, inhibiting the function of TIPE3 is expected to be an effective strategy against cancer. The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug development has recently invigorated research in anti-cancer drug development. In this work, we incorporated DFCNN, Autodock Vina docking, DeepBindBC, MD, and metadynamics to efficiently identify inhibitors of TIPE3 from a ZINC compound dataset. Six potential candidates were selected for further experimental study to validate their anti-tumor activity. Among these, three small-molecule compounds (K784-8160, E745-0011, and 7238-1516) showed significant anti-tumor activity in vitro, leading to reduced tumor cell viability, proliferation, and migration and enhanced apoptotic tumor cell death. Notably, E745-0011 and 7238-1516 exhibited selective cytotoxicity toward tumor cells with high TIPE3 expression while having little or no effect on normal human cells or tumor cells with low TIPE3 expression. A molecular docking analysis further supported their interactions with TIPE3, highlighting hydrophobic interactions and their shared interaction residues and offering insights for designing more effective inhibitors. Taken together, this work demonstrates the feasibility of incorporating deep learning and MD simulations in virtual drug screening and provides inhibitors with significant potential for anti-cancer drug development against TIPE3-.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents , Cell Proliferation , Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins , Humans , Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology , Apoptosis/drug effects , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Movement/drug effects , Cell Proliferation/drug effects , Deep Learning , Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins/metabolism , Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors , Molecular Docking Simulation , Neoplasms/drug therapy , Neoplasms/metabolism , Neoplasms/pathology , Small Molecule Libraries/pharmacology , Small Molecule Libraries/chemistryABSTRACT
Akt1 and Akt2, isoforms of the serine threonine kinase Akt, are essential for T cell development. However, their role in peripheral T cell differentiation remains undefined. Using mice with germline deletions of either Akt1 or Akt2, we found that both isoforms are important for Th17 differentiation, although Akt2 loss had a greater impact than loss of Akt1. In contrast to defective IL-17 production, Akt2 -/- T cells exhibited enhanced IL-4 production in vitro under Th2 polarizing conditions. In vivo , Akt2 -/- mice displayed significantly diminished IL-17A and GM-CSF production following immunization with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG). This dampened response was associated with further alterations in Th cell differentiation including decreased IFNγ production but preserved IL-4 production, and preferential expansion of regulatory T cells compared to non-regulatory CD4 T cells. Taken together, we identify Akt2 as an important signaling molecule in regulating peripheral CD4 T cell responses.