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| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Designed nanomolar small-molecule inhibitors of Ena/VASP EVH1 interaction impair invasion and extravasation of breast cancer cells |
| Creators Name: | Barone, M., Müller, M., Chiha, S., Ren, J., Albat, D., Soicke, A., Dohmen, S., Klein, M., Bruns, J., van Dinther, M., Opitz, R., Lindemann, P., Beerbaum, M., Motzny, K., Roske, Y., Schmieder, P., Volkmer, R., Nazaré, M., Heinemann, U., Oschkinat, H., Ten Dijke, P., Schmalz, H.G. and Kühne, R. |
| Abstract: | Battling metastasis through inhibition of cell motility is considered a promising approach to support cancer therapies. In this context, Ena/VASP-depending signaling pathways, in particular interactions with their EVH1 domains, are promising targets for pharmaceutical intervention. However, protein-protein interactions involving proline-rich segments are notoriously difficult to address by small molecules. Hence, structure-based design efforts in combination with the chemical synthesis of additional molecular entities are required. Building on a previously developed nonpeptidic micromolar inhibitor, we determined 22 crystal structures of ENAH EVH1 in complex with inhibitors and rationally extended our library of conformationally defined proline-derived modules (ProMs) to succeed in developing a nanomolar inhibitor (K(d) = 120 nM, MW = 734 Da). In contrast to the previous inhibitor, the optimized compounds reduced extravasation of invasive breast cancer cells in a zebrafish model. This study represents an example of successful, structure-guided development of low molecular weight inhibitors specifically and selectively addressing a proline-rich sequence-recognizing domain that is characterized by a shallow epitope lacking defined binding pockets. The evolved high-affinity inhibitor may now serve as a tool in validating the basic therapeutic concept, i.e., the suppression of cancer metastasis by inhibiting a crucial protein-protein interaction involved in actin filament processing and cell migration. SIGNIFICANCE: Protein–protein interactions mediated by proline-rich motifs are involved in regulation of many important signaling cascades. These motifs belong to the most abundant recognition motifs in the eukaryotic genome and preferentially adopt a left-handed polyproline helix II, a secondary structure element that has been notoriously difficult to mimic with small molecules. Here, we present a structure-guided design effort yielding a toolkit of chemical entities that enables rational construction of selective small molecule inhibitors for these protein domains. We succeeded in developing an inhibitor for the Ena/VASP protein family that is active in vivo and reduces extravasation of invasive breast cancer cells in a zebrafish model. |
| Keywords: | Protein-Protein Interactions, Metastasis, Small Molecules, Peptide Mimetics, Proline-Rich Motif, Animals, Zebrafish |
| Source: | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
| ISSN: | 0027-8424 |
| Publisher: | National Academy of Sciences |
| Volume: | 117 |
| Number: | 47 |
| Page Range: | 29684-29690 |
| Date: | 24 November 2020 |
| Official Publication: | https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2007213117 |
| PubMed: | View item in PubMed |
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