Structure-Based Design and Optimization of Methionine Adenosyltransferase 2A (MAT2A) Inhibitors with High Selectivity, Brain Penetration, and In Vivo Efficacy.

Synthetic lethality has recently emerged as a new approach for the treatment of mutated genes that were previously considered undruggable. Targeting methionine adenosyltransferase 2A (MAT2A) in cancers with deletion of the methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP) gene leads to synthetic lethality and thus has attracted significant interest in the field of precise anticancer drug development. Herein, we report the discovery of a series of novel MAT2A inhibitors featuring a pyrazolo[3,4-c]quinolin-4-one skeleton based on structure-based drug design. Further optimization led to compound 39, which has a high potency for inhibiting MAT2A and a remarkable selectivity for MTAP-deleted cancer cell lines. Compound 39 has a favorable pharmacokinetic profile with high plasma exposure and oral bioavailability, and it exhibits significant efficacy in xenograft MTAP-depleted models. Moreover, 39 demonstrates excellent brain exposure with a Kpuu of 0.64 in rats.

Leveraging Structure-Based Drug Design to Identify Next-Generation MAT2A Inhibitors, Including Brain-Penetrant and Peripherally Efficacious Leads.

Inhibition of the S-adenosyl methionine (SAM)-producing metabolic enzyme, methionine adenosyltransferase 2A (MAT2A), has received significant interest in the field of medicinal chemistry due to its implication as a synthetic lethal target in cancers with the deletion of the methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP) gene. Here, we report the identification of novel MAT2A inhibitors with distinct in vivo properties that may enhance their utility in treating patients. Following a high-throughput screening, we successfully applied the structure-based design lessons from our first-in-class MAT2A inhibitor, AG-270, to rapidly redesign and optimize our initial hit into two new lead compounds: a brain-penetrant compound, AGI-41998, and a potent, but limited brain-penetrant compound, AGI-43192. We hope that the identification and first disclosure of brain-penetrant MAT2A inhibitors will create new opportunities to explore the potential therapeutic effects of SAM modulation in the central nervous system (CNS).

Vorasidenib (AG-881): A First-in-Class, Brain-Penetrant Dual Inhibitor of Mutant IDH1 and 2 for Treatment of Glioma.

Inhibitors of mutant isocitrate dehydrogenase (mIDH) 1 and 2 cancer-associated enzymes prevent the accumulation of the oncometabolite d-2-hydroxyglutarate (2-HG) and are under clinical investigation for the treatment of several cancers harboring an IDH mutation. Herein, we describe the discovery of vorasidenib (AG-881), a potent, oral, brain-penetrant dual inhibitor of both mIDH1 and mIDH2. X-ray cocrystal structures allowed us to characterize the compound binding site, leading to an understanding of the dual mutant inhibition. Furthermore, vorasidenib penetrates the brain of several preclinical species and inhibits 2-HG production in glioma tissue by >97% in an orthotopic glioma mouse model. Vorasidenib represents a novel dual mIDH1/2 inhibitor and is currently in clinical development for the treatment of low-grade mIDH glioma.

Distinct Hepatic PKA and CDK Signaling Pathways Control Activity-Independent Pyruvate Kinase Phosphorylation and Hepatic Glucose Production.

Pyruvate kinase is an important enzyme in glycolysis and a key metabolic control point. We recently observed a pyruvate kinase liver isoform (PKL) phosphorylation site at S113 that correlates with insulin resistance in rats on a 3 day high-fat diet (HFD) and suggests additional control points for PKL activity. However, in contrast to the classical model of PKL regulation, neither authentically phosphorylated PKL at S12 nor S113 alone is sufficient to alter enzyme kinetics or structure. Instead, we show that cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are activated by the HFD and responsible for PKL phosphorylation at position S113 in addition to other targets. These CDKs control PKL nuclear retention, alter cytosolic PKL activity, and ultimately influence glucose production. These results change our view of PKL regulation and highlight a previously unrecognized pathway of hepatic CDK activity and metabolic control points that may be important in insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

Discovery of Potent and Selective Covalent Protein Arginine Methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) Inhibitors.

Protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) is known to symmetrically dimethylate numerous cytosolic and nuclear proteins that are involved in a variety of cellular processes. Recent findings have revealed its potential as a cancer therapeutic target. PRMT5 possesses a cysteine (C449) in the active site, unique to PRMT5. Therefore, covalent PRMT5 inhibition is an attractive chemical approach. Herein, we report an exciting discovery of a series of novel hemiaminals that under physiological conditions can be converted to aldehydes and react with C449 to form covalent adducts, which presumably undergo an unprecedented elimination to form the thiol-vinyl ethers, as indicated by electron density in the co-crystal structure of the PRMT5/MEP50 complex.

Crystal structure of a membrane-bound l-amino acid deaminase from Proteus vulgaris.

l-amino acid oxidases/deaminases (LAAOs/LAADs) are a class of oxidoreductases catalyzing the oxidative deamination of l-amino acids to α-keto acids. They are widely distributed in eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms, and exhibit diverse substrate specificity, post-translational modifications and cellular localization. While LAAOs isolated from snake venom have been extensively characterized, the structures and functions of LAAOs from other species are largely unknown. Here, we reported crystal structure of a bacterial membrane-bound LAAD from Proteus vulgaris (pvLAAD) in complex with flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD). We found that the overall fold of pvLAAD does not resemble typical LAAOs. Instead it, is similar to d-amino acid oxidases (DAAOs) with an additional hydrophobic insertion module on protein surface. Structural analysis and liposome-binding assays suggested that the hydrophobic module serves as an extra membrane-binding site for LAADs. Bacteria from genera Proteus and Providencia were found to encode two classes of membrane-bound LAADs. Based on our structure, the key roles of residues Q278 and L317 in substrate selectivity were proposed and biochemically analyzed. While LAADs on the membrane were proposed to transfer electrons to respiratory chain for FAD re-oxidization, we observed that the purified pvLAAD could generate a significant amount of hydrogen peroxide in vitro, suggesting it could use dioxygen to directly re-oxidize FADH2 as what typical LAAOs usually do. These findings provide a novel insights for a better understanding this class of enzymes and will help developing biocatalysts for industrial applications.

Structural Insight into Substrate Selection and Catalysis of Lipid Phosphate Phosphatase PgpB in the Cell Membrane.

PgpB belongs to the lipid phosphate phosphatase protein family and is one of three bacterial integral membrane phosphatases catalyzing dephosphorylation of phosphatidylglycerol phosphate (PGP) to generate phosphatidylglycerol. Although the structure of its apo form became recently available, the mechanisms of PgpB substrate binding and catalysis are still unclear. We found that PgpB was inhibited by phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) in a competitive mode in vitro Here we report the crystal structure of the lipid-bound form of PgpB. The structure shows that a PE molecule is stabilized in a membrane-embedded tunnel formed by TM3 and the "PSGH" fingerprint peptide near the catalytic site, providing structural insight into PgpB substrate binding mechanism. Noteworthy, in silico docking of varied lipid phosphates exhibited similar substrate binding modes to that of PE, and the residues in the lipid tunnel appear to be important for PgpB catalysis. The catalytic triad in the active site is essential for dephosphorylating substrates lysophosphatidic acid, phosphatidic acid, or sphingosine-1-phosphate but surprisingly not for the native substrate PGP. Remarkably, residue His-207 alone is sufficient to hydrolyze PGP, indicating a specific catalytic mechanism for PgpB in PG biosynthesis. We also identified two novel sensor residues, Lys-93 and Lys-97, on TM3. Our data show that Lys-97 is essential for the recognition of lyso-form substrates. Modification at the Lys-93 position may alter substrate specificity of lipid phosphate phosphatase proteins in prokaryotes versus eukaryotes. These studies reveal new mechanisms of lipid substrate selection and catalysis by PgpB and suggest that the enzyme rests in a PE-stabilized state in the bilayer.

Substrate Selectivity of Lysophospholipid Transporter LplT Involved in Membrane Phospholipid Remodeling in Escherichia coli.

Lysophospholipid transporter (LplT) was previously found to be primarily involved in 2-acyl lysophosphatidylethanolamine (lyso-PE) recycling in Gram-negative bacteria. This work identifies the potent role of LplT in maintaining membrane stability and integrity in the Escherichia coli envelope. Here we demonstrate the involvement of LplT in the recycling of three major bacterial phospholipids using a combination of an in vitro lysophospholipid binding assay using purified protein and transport assays with E. coli spheroplasts. Our results show that lyso-PE and lysophosphatidylglycerol, but not lysophosphatidylcholine, are taken up by LplT for reacylation by acyltransferase/acyl-acyl carrier protein synthetase on the inner leaflet of the membrane. We also found a novel cardiolipin hydrolysis reaction by phospholipase A2 to form diacylated cardiolipin progressing to the completely deacylated headgroup. These two distinct cardiolipin derivatives were both translocated with comparable efficiency to generate triacylated cardiolipin by acyltransferase/acyl-acyl carrier protein synthetase, demonstrating the first evidence of cardiolipin remodeling in bacteria. These findings support that a fatty acid chain is not required for LplT transport. We found that LplT cannot transport lysophosphatidic acid, and its substrate binding was not inhibited by either orthophosphate or glycerol 3-phosphate, indicating that either a glycerol or ethanolamine headgroup is the chemical determinant for substrate recognition. Diacyl forms of PE, phosphatidylglycerol, or the tetra-acylated form of cardiolipin could not serve as a competitive inhibitor in vitro. Based on an evolutionary structural model, we propose a "sideways sliding" mechanism to explain how a conserved membrane-embedded α-helical interface excludes diacylphospholipids from the LplT binding site to facilitate efficient flipping of lysophospholipid across the cell membrane.

Crystal structure of Ca2+/H+ antiporter protein YfkE reveals the mechanisms of Ca2+ efflux and its pH regulation.

Ca(2+) efflux by Ca(2+) cation antiporter (CaCA) proteins is important for maintenance of Ca(2+) homeostasis across the cell membrane. Recently, the monomeric structure of the prokaryotic Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger (NCX) antiporter NCX_Mj protein from Methanococcus jannaschii shows an outward-facing conformation suggesting a hypothesis of alternating substrate access for Ca(2+) efflux. To demonstrate conformational changes essential for the CaCA mechanism, we present the crystal structure of the Ca(2+)/H(+) antiporter protein YfkE from Bacillus subtilis at 3.1-Å resolution. YfkE forms a homotrimer, confirmed by disulfide crosslinking. The protonated state of YfkE exhibits an inward-facing conformation with a large hydrophilic cavity opening to the cytoplasm in each protomer and ending in the middle of the membrane at the Ca(2+)-binding site. A hydrophobic "seal" closes its periplasmic exit. Four conserved α-repeat helices assemble in an X-like conformation to form a Ca(2+)/H(+) exchange pathway. In the Ca(2+)-binding site, two essential glutamate residues exhibit different conformations compared with their counterparts in NCX_Mj, whereas several amino acid substitutions occlude the Na(+)-binding sites. The structural differences between the inward-facing YfkE and the outward-facing NCX_Mj suggest that the conformational transition is triggered by the rotation of the kink angles of transmembrane helices 2 and 7 and is mediated by large conformational changes in their adjacent transmembrane helices 1 and 6. Our structural and mutational analyses not only establish structural bases for mechanisms of Ca(2+)/H(+) exchange and its pH regulation but also shed light on the evolutionary adaptation to different energy modes in the CaCA protein family.

Structural studies of the Ca(2+) regulatory domain of Drosophila Na(+)/Ca (2+) exchanger CALX.

CALX, the NCX homolog in Drosophila, involves in light-mediated Ca(2+) homeostasis in sensory neuronal cells. CALX exhibits a unique negative Ca(2+) regulatory property mediated by Ca2+ binding at its intracellular regulatory domain. Our structural studies of individual CBD1 or CBD2 domain reveal that CBD1 is the only Ca(2+) binding domain in CALX. Crystal structures of the entire Ca(2+) regulatory domain CBD12 from two alternative splicing isoforms, CALX1.1 and CALX1.2, demonstrate that CBD1 and CBD2 form an open V-shaped conformation with four Ca(2+) ions bound on the CBD domain interface. The structures together with Ca(2+) binding analyses strongly argue that the Ca(2+) inhibition of CALX is achieved by interdomain conformational change induced by Ca(2+) binding at CBD1. The conformational difference between the two isoforms also raises a hypothesis that alternative splicing residues adjust the interdomain orientation angle between CBD1 and CBD2 to modify the Ca(2+) regulatory property of the exchanger. These studies not only establish structural basis to understand the inhibitory Ca(2+) regulation and the alternative splicing modification of CALX, but also shed light on the general Ca(2+) regulatory mechanism of other mammalian NCX proteins.

Structural basis of the Ca2+ inhibitory mechanism of Drosophila Na+/Ca2+ exchanger CALX and its modification by alternative splicing.

The Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger CALX promotes Ca(2+) efflux in Drosophila sensory neuronal cells to facilitate light-mediated Ca(2+) homeostasis. CALX activity is negatively regulated by specific Ca(2+) interaction within its two intracellular Ca(2+) regulatory domains CBD1 and CBD2, yet how the Ca(2+) binding is converted to molecular motion to operate the exchanger is unknown. Here, we report crystal structures of the entire Ca(2+) regulatory domain CBD12 from two alternative splicing isoforms, CALX 1.1 and 1.2, exhibiting distinct regulatory Ca(2+) dependency. The structures show an open V-shaped conformation with four Ca(2+) ions bound on the CBD domain interface, confirmed by LRET analysis. The structures together with Ca(2+)-binding analysis support that the Ca(2+) inhibition of CALX is achieved by interdomain conformational changes induced by Ca(2+) binding at CBD1. The conformational difference between the two isoforms also indicates that alternative splicing adjusts the interdomain orientation angle to modify the Ca(2+) regulatory property of the exchangers.

Structural basis of pre-mRNA recognition by the human cleavage factor Im complex.

The cleavage factor I(m) (CF I(m)), consists of a 25 kDa subunit (CF I(m)25) and one of three larger subunits (CF I(m)59, CF I(m)68, CF I(m)72), and is an essential protein complex for pre-mRNA 3'-end cleavage and polyadenylation. It recognizes the upstream sequence of the poly(A) site in a sequence-dependent manner. Here we report the crystal structure of human CF I(m), comprising CF I(m)25 and the RNA recognition motif domain of CF I(m)68 (CF I(m)68RRM), and the crystal structure of the CF I(m)-RNA complex. These structures show that two CF I(m)68RRM molecules bind to the CF I(m)25 dimer via a novel RRM-protein interaction mode forming a heterotetramer. The RNA-bound structure shows that two UGUAA RNA sequences, with anti-parallel orientation, bind to one CF I(m)25-CF I(m)68RRM heterotetramer, providing structural basis for the mechanism by which CF I(m) binds two UGUAA elements within one molecule of pre-mRNA simultaneously. Point mutation and kinetic analyses demonstrate that CF I(m)68RRM can bind the immediately flanking upstream region of the UGUAA element, and CF I(m)68RRM binding significantly increases the RNA-binding affinity of the complex, suggesting that CF I(m)68 makes an essential contribution to pre-mRNA binding.

Structure of the second PDZ domain from human zonula occludens 2.

Human zonula occludens 2 (ZO-2) protein is a multi-domain protein that consists of an SH3 domain, a GK domain and three copies of a PDZ domain with slight divergence. The three PDZ domains act as protein-recognition modules that may mediate protein assembly and subunit localization. The crystal structure of the second PDZ domain of ZO-2 (ZO-2 PDZ2) was determined by molecular replacement at 1.75 A resolution, revealing a dimer in the asymmetric unit. The dimer is stabilized by extensive symmetrical domain-swapping of the beta1 and beta2 strands. Structural comparison shows that the ZO-2 PDZ2 homodimer may have a similar ligand-binding pattern to the ZO-1 PDZ2-connexin 43 complex.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of ARO9, an aromatic aminotransferase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Saccharomyces cerevisae ARO9 protein, an aromatic aminotransferase II, catalyzes the transamination step of the catabolism of aromatic amino acids, mainly tryptophan. ARO9 also belongs to a novel subfamily of enzymes within the aminotransferase subgroup I. Crystals of ARO9 protein have been grown using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. The crystals belong to the orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 75.6 A, b = 117.5 A, c = 134.9 A. Diffraction data were collected to a resolution of 2.6 A using a rotating-anode X-ray source. Analysis indicates the presence of two molecules in an asymmetric unit.

Expression, purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of human phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate synthetase 1 (PRS1).

Phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate synthetase (PRS; EC 2.7.6.1) catalyzes the reaction of ribose-5-phosphate (R5P) with ATP to yield AMP and PRPP (5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate), which is necessary for the de novo and salvage pathways of purine-, pyrimidine- and pyridine-nucleotide biosynthesis. PRPP is a metabolite that is required at all times in the cell and is thus central to life. In this study, human PRS1 was produced in Escherichia coli in soluble form and purified to homogeneity. Crystals in complex with Mg2+, inorganic phosphate (P(i)) and ATP were obtained by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. Diffraction data were collected to 2.6 A resolution. The crystal belongs to space group R3, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 168.846, c = 61.857 angstroms, assuming two molecules in the asymmetric unit and a volume-to-weight ratio of 2.4 angstroms3 Da(-1), which was consistent with the result calculated from the self-rotation function.