Bioinformatic and experimental fishing for artemisinin-interacting proteins from human nasopharyngeal cancer cells.

Determining interacting cellular partners of drugs by chemical proteomic techniques is complex and tedious. Most approaches rely on activity-based probe profiling and compound-centric chemical proteomics. The anti-malarial artemisinin also exerts profound anti-cancer activity, but the mechanisms of action are incompletely understood. In the present investigation, we present a novel approach to identify artemisinin-interacting target proteins. Our approach overcomes usual problems in traditional fishing procedures, because the drug was attached to a surface without further chemical modification. The proteins identified effect among others, cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, inhibition of angiogenesis, disruption of cell migration, and modulation of nuclear receptor responsiveness. Furthermore, a bioinformatic approach confirmed experimentally identified proteins and suggested a large number of other interacting proteins. Theoretically predicted interaction partners may serve as a starting point to complete the whole set of proteins binding artemisinin.

Synthesis of the 2"-hydroxy, 4"-deoxy and 4"-epi analogues of beta-D-GalNAc-(1-->3)-alpha-D-Gal-(1-->4)-beta-D-Gal, the terminal trisaccharide of globotetraose.

Radical deoxygenation of methyl 3,6-di-O-benzoyl-2-deoxy-4-O-imidazol-1-yl-thiocarbonyloxy-2-phtha limido-beta-D - glucopyranoside 5 gave methyl 3,6-di-O-benzoyl-2,4-dideoxy-2-phthalimido-beta-D-glucopyranoside 6, which was converted into the corresponding methyl thioglycoside donor 9. Methylsulfenyl trifluoromethane-sulfonate-promoted glycosylation of 2-(trimethylsilyl)ethyl 2,3,6-tri-O-benzyl-4-O-(2,4,6-tri-O-benzyl-alpha-D-galactopyranosyl)-bet a-D- galactopyranoside 10, followed by removal of protecting groups gave the 4"-deoxy analogue 12 of the terminal trisaccharide of globotetraose. Silver trifluoromethanesulfonate-promoted glycosylation of the same disaccharide alcohol 10 with 3,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-2-deoxy-2- phthalimido-alpha/beta-D-glucopyranosyl bromide 13 and 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-alpha-D-galactopyranosyl bromide 16, followed by deblocking, gave the 2"-hydroxy and 4"-epi analogues 15 and 18, respectively.

Strand specific cleavage of phosphorothioate-containing DNA by reaction with restriction endonucleases in the presence of ethidium bromide.

A method for achieving strand specific nicking of DNA has been developed. Phosphorothioate groups were incorporated enzymatically into the (-)strand of M13 RF IV DNA. When such DNA is reacted with restriction endonucleases in the presence of ethidium bromide nicked DNA (RF II) is produced. All of the restriction enzymes tested linearised phosphorothioate-containing DNA in the absence of this dye. The strand specificity of the reaction was investigated by employing the ethidium bromide mediated nicking reaction in the phosphorothioate-based oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis method. The mutational efficiencies obtained were in the region of 64-89%, indicating that these restriction enzymes hydrolyse the phosphodiester bond at the cleavage site of the unsubstituted (+)strand.