A Multifaceted Hit-Finding Approach Reveals Novel LC3 Family Ligands.

Autophagy-related proteins (Atgs) drive the lysosome-mediated degradation pathway, autophagy, to enable the clearance of dysfunctional cellular components and maintain homeostasis. In humans, this process is driven by the mammalian Atg8 (mAtg8) family of proteins comprising the LC3 and GABARAP subfamilies. The mAtg8 proteins play essential roles in the formation and maturation of autophagosomes and the capture of specific cargo through binding to the conserved LC3-interacting region (LIR) sequence within target proteins. Modulation of interactions of mAtg8 with its target proteins via small-molecule ligands would enable further interrogation of their function. Here we describe unbiased fragment and DNA-encoded library (DEL) screening approaches for discovering LC3 small-molecule ligands. Both strategies resulted in compounds that bind to LC3, with the fragment hits favoring a conserved hydrophobic pocket in mATG8 proteins, as detailed by LC3A-fragment complex crystal structures. Our findings demonstrate that the malleable LIR-binding surface can be readily targeted by fragments; however, rational design of additional interactions to drive increased affinity proved challenging. DEL libraries, which combine small, fragment-like building blocks into larger scaffolds, yielded higher-affinity binders and revealed an unexpected potential for reversible, covalent ligands. Moreover, DEL hits identified possible vectors for synthesizing fluorescent probes or bivalent molecules for engineering autophagic degradation of specific targets.

Identification of structure-activity relationships from screening a structurally compact DNA-encoded chemical library.

Methods for the rapid and inexpensive discovery of hit compounds are essential for pharmaceutical research and DNA-encoded chemical libraries represent promising tools for this purpose. We here report on the design and synthesis of DAL-100K, a DNA-encoded chemical library containing 103 200 structurally compact compounds. Affinity screening experiments and DNA-sequencing analysis provided ligands with nanomolar affinities to several proteins, including prostate-specific membrane antigen and tankyrase 1. Correlations of sequence counts with binding affinities and potencies of enzyme inhibition were observed and enabled the identification of structural features critical for activity. These results indicate that libraries of this type represent a useful source of small-molecule binders for target proteins of pharmaceutical interest and information on structural features important for binding.

Optimization of a Novel DEL Hit That Binds in the Cbl-b SH2 Domain and Blocks Substrate Binding.

We were attracted to the therapeutic potential of inhibiting Casitas B-lineage lymphoma proto-oncogene-b (Cbl-b), a RING E3 ligase that plays a critical role in regulating the activation of T cells. However, given that only protein-protein interactions were involved, it was unclear whether inhibition by a small molecule would be a viable approach. After screening an ∼6 billion member DNA-encoded library (DEL) using activated Cbl-b, we identified compound 1 as a hit for which the cis-isomer (2) was confirmed by biochemical and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) assays. Our hit optimization effort was greatly accelerated when we obtained a cocrystal structure of 2 with Cbl-b, which demonstrated induced binding at the substrate binding site, namely, the Src homology-2 (SH2) domain. This was quite noteworthy given that there are few reports of small molecule inhibitors that bind to SH2 domains and block protein-protein interactions. Structure- and property-guided optimization led to compound 27, which demonstrated measurable cell activity, albeit only at high concentrations.

Automated screening for small organic ligands using DNA-encoded chemical libraries.

DNA-encoded chemical libraries (DECLs) are collections of organic compounds that are individually linked to different oligonucleotides, serving as amplifiable identification barcodes. As all compounds in the library can be identified by their DNA tags, they can be mixed and used in affinity-capture experiments on target proteins of interest. In this protocol, we describe the screening process that allows the identification of the few binding molecules within the multiplicity of library members. First, the automated affinity selection process physically isolates binding library members. Second, the DNA codes of the isolated binders are PCR-amplified and subjected to high-throughput DNA sequencing. Third, the obtained sequencing data are evaluated using a C++ program and the results are displayed using MATLAB software. The resulting selection fingerprints facilitate the discrimination of binding from nonbinding library members. The described procedures allow the identification of small organic ligands to biological targets from a DECL within 10 d.

Targeting carbonic anhydrase IX with small organic ligands.

Carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) is expressed in many solid tumors in response to hypoxia and plays an important role in tumor acid-base homeostasis under these conditions. It is also constitutively expressed in the majority of renal cell carcinoma. Its functional inhibition with small molecules has recently been shown to retard tumor growth in murine models of cancer, reduce metastasis and tumor stem cell expansion. Additionally, CAIX is a promising antigen for targeted drug delivery approaches. Initially validated with anti-CAIX antibodies, the tumor-homing capacity of high-affinity small-molecule ligands of CAIX has recently been demonstrated. Indeed, conjugates formed of CAIX ligands and potent cytotoxic drugs could eradicate CAIX-expressing solid tumors in mice. These results suggest that CAIX is a promising target for the development of novel therapies for the treatment of solid tumors.

Dual-display of small molecules enables the discovery of ligand pairs and facilitates affinity maturation.

In contrast to standard fragment-based drug discovery approaches, dual-display DNA-encoded chemical libraries have the potential to identify fragment pairs that bind simultaneously and benefit from the chelate effect. However, the technology has been limited by the difficulty in unambiguously decoding the ligand pairs from large combinatorial libraries. Here we report a strategy that overcomes this limitation and enables the efficient identification of ligand pairs that bind to a target protein. Small organic molecules were conjugated to the 5' and 3' ends of complementary DNA strands that contain a unique identifying code. DNA hybridization followed by an inter-strand code-transfer created a stable dual-display DNA-encoded chemical library of 111,100 members. Using this approach we report the discovery of a low micromolar binder to alpha-1-acid glycoprotein and the affinity maturation of a ligand to carbonic anhydrase IX, an established marker of renal cell carcinoma. The newly discovered subnanomolar carbonic anhydrase IX binder dramatically improved tumour targeting performance in vivo.

20 years of DNA-encoded chemical libraries.

The identification of specific binding molecules is a central problem in chemistry, biology and medicine. Therefore, technologies, which facilitate ligand discovery, may substantially contribute to a better understanding of biological processes and to drug discovery. DNA-encoded chemical libraries represent a new inexpensive tool for the fast and efficient identification of ligands to target proteins of choice. Such libraries consist of collections of organic molecules, covalently linked to a unique DNA tag serving as an amplifiable identification bar code. DNA-encoding enables the in vitro selection of ligands by affinity capture at sub-picomolar concentrations on virtually any target protein of interest, in analogy to established selection methodologies like antibody phage display. Multiple strategies have been investigated by several academic and industrial laboratories for the construction of DNA-encoded chemical libraries comprising up to millions of DNA-encoded compounds. The implementation of next generation high-throughput sequencing enabled the rapid identification of binding molecules from DNA-encoded libraries of unprecedented size. This article reviews the development of DNA-encoded library technology and its evolution into a novel drug discovery tool, commenting on challenges, perspectives and opportunities for the different experimental approaches.