Multiple Synthetic Routes to the Mini-Protein Omomyc and Coiled-Coil Domain Truncations.

The Myc transcription factor represents an "undruggable" target of high biological interest due to its central role in various cancers. An abbreviated form of the c-Myc protein, called Omomyc, consists of the Myc DNA-binding domain and a coiled-coil region to facilitate dimerization of the 90 amino acid polypeptide. Here we present our results to evaluate the synthesis of Omomyc using three complementary strategies: linear Fmoc solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) using several advancements for difficult sequences, native chemical ligation from smaller peptide fragments, and a high-throughput bacterial expression and assay platform for rapid mutagenesis. This multifaceted approach allowed access to up to gram quantities of the mini-protein and permitted in vitro and in vivo SAR exploration of this modality. DNA-binding results and cellular activity confirm that Omomyc and analogues presented here, are potent binders of the E-box DNA engaged by Myc for transcriptional activation and that this 90-amino acid mini-protein is cell permeable and can inhibit proliferation of Myc-dependent cell lines. We also present additional results on covalent homodimerization through disulfide formation of the full-length mini-protein and show the coiled-coil region can be truncated while preserving both DNA binding and cellular activity. Altogether, our results highlight the ability of advanced peptide synthesis to achieve SAR tractability in a challenging synthetic modality.

Molecular analysis of PRC2 recruitment to DNA in chromatin and its inhibition by RNA.

Many studies have revealed pathways of epigenetic gene silencing by Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) in vivo, but understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms requires biochemistry. Here we analyze interactions of reconstituted human PRC2 with nucleosome complexes. Histone modifications, the H3K27M cancer mutation, and inclusion of JARID2 or EZH1 in the PRC2 complex have unexpectedly minor effects on PRC2-nucleosome binding. Instead, protein-free linker DNA dominates the PRC2-nucleosome interaction. Specificity for CG-rich sequences is consistent with PRC2 occupying CG-rich DNA in vivo. PRC2 preferentially binds methylated DNA regulated by its AEBP2 subunit, suggesting how DNA and histone methylation collaborate to repress chromatin. We find that RNA, known to inhibit PRC2 activity, is not a methyltransferase inhibitor per se. Instead, RNA sequesters PRC2 from nucleosome substrates, because PRC2 binding requires linker DNA, and RNA and DNA binding are mutually exclusive. Together, we provide a model for PRC2 recruitment and an explanation for how actively transcribed genomic regions bind PRC2 but escape silencing.

ISWI chromatin remodellers sense nucleosome modifications to determine substrate preference.

ATP-dependent chromatin remodellers regulate access to genetic information by controlling nucleosome positions in vivo. However, the mechanism by which remodellers discriminate between different nucleosome substrates is poorly understood. Many chromatin remodelling proteins possess conserved protein domains that interact with nucleosomal features. Here we used a quantitative high-throughput approach, based on the use of a DNA-barcoded mononucleosome library, to profile the biochemical activity of human ISWI family remodellers in response to a diverse set of nucleosome modifications. We show that accessory (non-ATPase) subunits of ISWI remodellers can distinguish between differentially modified nucleosomes, directing remodelling activity towards specific nucleosome substrates according to their modification state. Unexpectedly, we show that the nucleosome acidic patch is necessary for maximum activity of all ISWI remodellers evaluated. This dependence also extends to CHD and SWI/SNF family remodellers, suggesting that the acidic patch may be generally required for chromatin remodelling. Critically, remodelling activity can be regulated by modifications neighbouring the acidic patch, signifying that it may act as a tunable interaction hotspot for ATP-dependent chromatin remodellers and, by extension, many other chromatin effectors that engage this region of the nucleosome surface.

Surface-attached molecules control Staphylococcus aureus quorum sensing and biofilm development.

Bacteria use a process called quorum sensing to communicate and orchestrate collective behaviours, including virulence factor secretion and biofilm formation. Quorum sensing relies on the production, release, accumulation and population-wide detection of signal molecules called autoinducers. Here, we develop concepts to coat surfaces with quorum-sensing-manipulation molecules as a method to control collective behaviours. We probe this strategy using Staphylococcus aureus. Pro- and anti-quorum-sensing molecules can be covalently attached to surfaces using click chemistry, where they retain their abilities to influence bacterial behaviours. We investigate key features of the compounds, linkers and surfaces necessary to appropriately position molecules to interact with cognate receptors and the ability of modified surfaces to resist long-term storage, repeated infections, host plasma components and flow-generated stresses. Our studies highlight how this surface approach can be used to make colonization-resistant materials against S. aureus and other pathogens and how the approach can be adapted to promote beneficial behaviours of bacteria on surfaces.

The Role of Strain in the Homoaromatization of Semibullvalenes.

The low activation barrier to the Cope rearrangement of semibullvalenes has been attributed to the inherent ring-strain of this nucleus. Appropriate, Dewar-Hoffmann, substitution of semibullvalene results in the stabilization of the transition state and a further lowering of the Cope barrier. An alternative proposal for lowering/eliminating this barrier is the use of strain to destabilize the localized semibullvalene. Using density functional and Hartree-Fock calculations, we predict that additionally straining the semibullvalene nucleus, by small ring annelations, will lead to a lowering of the Cope barrier and ultimately to ground state neutral homoaromatics.

Genomic targeting of epigenetic probes using a chemically tailored Cas9 system.

Recent advances in the field of programmable DNA-binding proteins have led to the development of facile methods for genomic localization of genetically encodable entities. Despite the extensive utility of these tools, locus-specific delivery of synthetic molecules remains limited by a lack of adequate technologies. Here we combine the flexibility of chemical synthesis with the specificity of a programmable DNA-binding protein by using protein trans-splicing to ligate synthetic elements to a nuclease-deficient Cas9 (dCas9) in vitro and subsequently deliver the dCas9 cargo to live cells. The versatility of this technology is demonstrated by delivering dCas9 fusions that include either the small-molecule bromodomain and extra-terminal family bromodomain inhibitor JQ1 or a peptide-based PRC1 chromodomain ligand, which are capable of recruiting endogenous copies of their cognate binding partners to targeted genomic binding sites. We expect that this technology will allow for the genomic localization of a wide array of small molecules and modified proteinaceous materials.

Design of a Split Intein with Exceptional Protein Splicing Activity.

Protein trans-splicing (PTS) by split inteins has found widespread use in chemical biology and biotechnology. Herein, we describe the use of a consensus design approach to engineer a split intein with enhanced stability and activity that make it more robust than any known PTS system. Using batch mutagenesis, we first conduct a detailed analysis of the difference in splicing rates between the Npu (fast) and Ssp (slow) split inteins of the DnaE family and find that most impactful residues lie on the second shell of the protein, directly adjacent to the active site. These residues are then used to generate an alignment of 73 naturally occurring DnaE inteins that are predicted to be fast. The consensus sequence from this alignment (Cfa) demonstrates both rapid protein splicing and unprecedented thermal and chaotropic stability. Moreover, when fused to various proteins including antibody heavy chains, the N-terminal fragment of Cfa exhibits increased expression levels relative to other N-intein fusions. The durability and efficiency of Cfa should improve current intein based technologies and may provide a platform for the development of new protein chemistry techniques.

Targeted Histone Peptides: Insights into the Spatial Regulation of the Methyltransferase PRC2 by using a Surrogate of Heterotypic Chromatin.

Eukaryotic genomes are dynamically regulated through a host of epigenetic stimuli. The substrate for these epigenetic transactions, chromatin, is a polymer of nucleosome building blocks. In native chromatin, each nucleosome can differ from its neighbors as a result of covalent modifications to both the DNA and the histone packaging proteins. The heterotypic nature of chromatin presents a formidable obstacle to biochemical studies seeking to understand the role of context on epigenetic regulation. A chemical approach to the production of heterotypic chromatin that can be used in such studies is introduced. This method involves the attachment of a user-defined modified histone peptide to a designated nucleosome within the polymer by using a peptide nucleic acid (PNA) targeting compound. This strategy was applied to dissect the effect of chromatin context on the activity of the histone methyltransferase PRC2. The results show that PRC2 can be stimulated to produce histone H3 methylation from a defined nucleation site.

Strategy for "detoxification" of a cancer-derived histone mutant based on mapping its interaction with the methyltransferase PRC2.

The histone methyltransferase PRC2 plays a central role in genomic stability and cellular development. Consequently, its misregulation has been implicated in several cancers. Recent work has shown that a histone H3 mutant, where the PRC2 substrate residue Lys27 is replaced by methionine, is also associated with cancer phenotypes and functions as an inhibitor of PRC2. Here we investigate the mechanism of this PRC2 inhibition through kinetic studies and photo-cross-linking. Efficient inhibition is dependent on (1) hydrophobic lysine isosteres blocking the active site, (2) proximal residues, and (3) the H3 tail forming extensive contacts with the EZH2 subunit of PRC2. We further show that naturally occurring post-translational modifications of the same H3 tail, both proximal and distal to K27M, can greatly diminish the inhibition of PRC2. These results suggest that this potent gain of function mutation may be "detoxified" by modulating alternate chromatin modification pathways.

A spiroligomer α-helix mimic that binds HDM2, penetrates human cells and stabilizes HDM2 in cell culture.

We demonstrate functionalized spiroligomers that mimic the HDM2-bound conformation of the p53 activation domain. Spiroligomers are stereochemically defined, functionalized, spirocyclic monomers coupled through pairs of amide bonds to create spiro-ladder oligomers. Two series of spiroligomers were synthesized, one of structural analogs and one of stereochemical analogs, from which we identified compound 1, that binds HDM2 with a Kd value of 400 nM. The spiroligomer 1 penetrates human liver cancer cells through passive diffusion and in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner increases the levels of HDM2 more than 30-fold in Huh7 cells in which the p53/HDM2 negative feed-back loop is inoperative. This is a biological effect that is not seen with the HDM2 ligand nutlin-3a. We propose that compound 1 modulates the levels of HDM2 by stabilizing it to proteolysis, allowing it to accumulate in the absence of a p53/HDM2 feedback loop.

Solid-phase synthesis of functionalized bis-peptides.

We demonstrate the first solid-phase synthesis of highly functionalized bis-peptides. Bis-peptides are ladder oligomers composed of stereochemically pure, cyclic bis-amino acids joined by substituted diketopiperazine linkages. They have a shape-programmable backbone that is controlled by controlling the stereochemistry and sequence of the monomers within each oligomer. Functionalized bis-peptides are assembled using a new amide bond forming reaction (acyl-transfer coupling) that we have previously developed and a novel activation strategy that allows the sequential formation of penta- and hexa-substituted diketopiperazines from extremely hindered N-alkyl-alpha,alpha-disubstituted amino acids. We present mechanistic evidence that acyl-transfer coupling is competitive with direct acylation in the formation of hindered amide bonds. We also detail the synthesis of four functionalized bis-peptides, and that by combining bis-peptides with amino acids through diketopiperazine linkages, bis-peptides can mimic the display of residues i, i+4, i+7 of an alpha-helical peptide.

Synthesis of hexa- and pentasubstituted diketopiperazines from sterically hindered amino acids.

Steric hindrance assists in the formation of hindered diketopiperazines using acyl-transfer coupling. In acyl-transfer coupling, the carboxylate of an unprotected N-alkylamino acid attacks an active ester to form a transient anhydride that undergoes an O,N acyl transfer to form a tertiary amide. If the active ester is part of an N-alkylamino acid it will form a diketopiperazine. It is demonstrated here that acyl-transfer coupling can assemble highly functionalized bis-peptides bearing a functional group on every monomer.

Exploiting an inherent neighboring group effect of alpha-amino acids to synthesize extremely hindered dipeptides.

The creation of highly hindered peptides that contain combinations of non-natural N-alkyl amino acids and N-alkyl-alpha,alpha-disubstituted amino acids presents a formidable challenge. Hindered, non-natural amino acids are of interest because they import resistance to proteolysis and unusual conformational properties to peptides that contain them. Toward a solution to this problem, we describe a new approach to creating extremely hindered dipeptides that is operationally simple and uses mild conditions and commercially available amino acids. The approach reduces the need for protecting groups and yields urethane-protected dipeptide acids that can be used as building blocks in the synthesis of larger peptides. We propose that the reaction proceeds through a previously unexploited intramolecular O,N-acyl transfer pathway.

Shape-programmable macromolecules.

Proteins catalyze specific chemical reactions and carry out highly selective molecular recognition because they adopt well-defined three-dimensional structures and position chemically reactive functional groups in specific constellations. Proteins attain these well-defined structures through the complex process of protein folding. We seek to emulate these protein functions by constructing macromolecules that are easier to engineer by avoiding folding altogether. Toward that goal, we have developed an approach for the synthesis of macromolecules with programmable shapes. As described in this Account, we have constructed synthetic building blocks called bis-amino acids that we then couple through pairs of amide bonds to create water-soluble, spiroladder oligomers (bis-peptides) with well-defined three-dimensional structures. Bis-peptides use the conformational preferences of fused rings, stereochemistry, and strong covalent bonds to define their shape, unlike natural proteins and synthetic foldamers, which depend on noncovalent interactions and an unpredictable folding process to attain structure. Using these bis-amino acid monomers, we have built and characterized a number of bis-peptide nanostructures. We also constructed a molecular actuator that undergoes a large change in conformation under the control of metal exchange; the first application of bis-peptides. We are currently developing further approaches to functionalize bis-peptides as scaffolds to present well-defined constellations of functional groups. Such macromolecules could facilitate multifunctional catalysis and molecular recognition and lead to nanoscale molecular devices.

Maximizing the stereochemical diversity of spiro-ladder oligomers.

[reaction: see text] We introduce all stereoisomers of a bis-amino acid building block derived from trans-4-hydroxy-L-proline. This small library of monomers allows arbitrary stereochemical configuration at any chiral center within our spiro-ladder oligomers. Three tetramer oligomers containing several combinations of the monomers 1-4 were synthesized; we explored the effect of monomer sequence on scaffold conformation by NMR.