RESUMEN
Deubiquitinases (DUBs) have been the subject of intense scrutiny in recent years. Many of their diverse enzymatic mechanisms are well characterized in vitro; however, our understanding of these enzymes at the cellular level lags due to the lack of quality tool reagents. DUBs play a role in seemingly every biological process and are central to many human pathologies, thus rendering them very desirable and challenging therapeutic targets. This review aims to provide researchers entering the field of ubiquitination with knowledge of the pharmacological modulators and tool molecules available to study DUBs. A focus is placed on small molecule inhibitors, ubiquitin variants (UbVs), and activity-based probes (ABPs). Leveraging these tools to uncover DUB biology at the cellular level is of particular importance and may lead to significant breakthroughs. Despite significant drug discovery efforts, only approximately 15 chemical probe-quality small molecule inhibitors have been reported, hitting just 6 of about 100 DUB targets. UbV technology is a promising approach to rapidly expand the library of known DUB inhibitors and may be used as a combinatorial platform for structure-guided drug design.
Asunto(s)
Diseño de Fármacos , Ubiquitina , Descubrimiento de Drogas , Humanos , Ubiquitina/metabolismo , Ubiquitina Tiolesterasa/metabolismo , UbiquitinaciónRESUMEN
The multi-domain deubiquitinase USP15 regulates diverse eukaryotic processes and has been implicated in numerous diseases. We developed ubiquitin variants (UbVs) that targeted either the catalytic domain or each of three adaptor domains in USP15, including the N-terminal DUSP domain. We also designed a linear dimer (diUbV), which targeted the DUSP and catalytic domains, and exhibited enhanced specificity and more potent inhibition of catalytic activity than either UbV alone. In cells, the UbVs inhibited the deubiquitination of two USP15 substrates, SMURF2 and TRIM25, and the diUbV inhibited the effects of USP15 on the transforming growth factor ß pathway. Structural analyses revealed that three distinct UbVs bound to the catalytic domain and locked the active site in a closed, inactive conformation, and one UbV formed an unusual strand-swapped dimer and bound two DUSP domains simultaneously. These inhibitors will enable the study of USP15 function in oncology, neurology, immunology, and inflammation.
Asunto(s)
Factores de Transcripción/química , Factor de Crecimiento Transformador beta1/química , Proteínas de Motivos Tripartitos/química , Ubiquitina-Proteína Ligasas/química , Proteasas Ubiquitina-Específicas/química , Ubiquitina/química , Secuencia de Aminoácidos , Dominio Catalítico , Clonación Molecular , Cristalografía por Rayos X , Escherichia coli/genética , Escherichia coli/metabolismo , Expresión Génica , Vectores Genéticos/química , Vectores Genéticos/metabolismo , Células HEK293 , Humanos , Modelos Moleculares , Unión Proteica , Conformación Proteica en Hélice alfa , Conformación Proteica en Lámina beta , Dominios y Motivos de Interacción de Proteínas , Multimerización de Proteína , Proteínas Recombinantes/química , Proteínas Recombinantes/genética , Proteínas Recombinantes/metabolismo , Alineación de Secuencia , Homología de Secuencia de Aminoácido , Especificidad por Sustrato , Factores de Transcripción/genética , Factores de Transcripción/metabolismo , Factor de Crecimiento Transformador beta1/genética , Factor de Crecimiento Transformador beta1/metabolismo , Proteínas de Motivos Tripartitos/genética , Proteínas de Motivos Tripartitos/metabolismo , Ubiquitina/genética , Ubiquitina/metabolismo , Ubiquitina-Proteína Ligasas/genética , Ubiquitina-Proteína Ligasas/metabolismo , Proteasas Ubiquitina-Específicas/antagonistas & inhibidores , Proteasas Ubiquitina-Específicas/genética , Proteasas Ubiquitina-Específicas/metabolismo , UbiquitinaciónRESUMEN
The ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) is essential in regulating myriad aspects of protein functions. It is therefore a fundamentally important regulatory mechanism that impacts most if not all aspects of cellular processes. Indeed, malfunction of UPS components is implicated in human diseases such as neurodegenerative and immunological disorders and many cancers. The success of proteasome inhibitors in cancer therapy suggests that modulating enzymes in the ubiquitination cascade would be clinically important for therapeutic benefits. In this review, we summarize advances in developing inhibitors of a variety of UPS components. In particular, we highlight recent work done on the protein engineering of ubiquitin as modulators of the UPS, a novel approach that may shed light on innovative drug discovery in the future.