Nucleoside Kinase Research Articles

Iterative conformational dynamics-guided protein engineering reshapes biocatalyst properties for efficient and cost-effective cytidine 5ʹ-monophosphate production

Biocatalysis based on enzyme catalysis is becoming increasingly popular. However, few enzymes can directly catalyze the desired reaction, it is necessary to modify the catalyst to meet the practical needs. Virtual screening combining with molecular dynamics simulation and wet experiments is an attractive approach for obtaining target proteins. Here, based on the traditional conformational dynamics analysis method, we proposed an iterative strategy to quickly screen for nucleoside kinase variants with increased activity. Guided by the simulation results, we obtained a total of 21 candidate residues, of which 5 were selected for in-depth analysis, resulting in two key residues (A220 and A248) and several variants. All variants were evaluated experimentally and computationally; A220L showed a 7.3-fold increase in activity compared to the wild-type enzyme, whereas A248S showed a 3.5-fold increase in the kcat/Km ratio. Using an in vitro dual-enzyme coupling assay, a 400 mM cytidine substrate could be almost completely converted to cytidine 5ʹ-monophosphate within 5 h. Finally, we modified another enzyme in the coupling reaction under the guidance of the same strategy to change its substrate preference, thus successfully halving the requirement of one substrate. Our method can simplify the protein engineering process by assisting the efficient and accurate identification of key residues, thereby expanding the scope of biocatalyst applications.

The Thymidine Dideoxynucleoside Analogue, Alovudine, Inhibits the Mitochondrial DNA Polyermase, POLG, Impairs Oxidative Phosphorylation and Promotes Monocytic Differentiation in AML

Mitochondria contain circular DNA that encodes for 13 proteins that comprise subunits of the respiratory chain and are necessary for oxidative phosphorylation. The replication of mitochondrial DNA (mt DNA) requires nucleotides from both the mitochondria and cytoplasm and is regulated by POLG (Polymerase γ), the sole mtDNA polymerase. Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) cells and stem cells have increased mitochondrial biogenesis and increased reliance on oxidative phosphorylation. Moreover, AML cells over-express cytoplasmic nucleoside kinases that phosphorylate nucleosides to their active forms. Alovudine (3‘-deoxy-3‘-fluorothymidine) is a dideoxynucleoside analogue of thymidine that is phosphorylated by nucleoside kinases into its active form where it selectively and potently inhibits POLG over nuclear polymerase. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of alovudine on AML cells in vitro and in vivo.OCI-AML2 and MV4-11 leukemia cells were treated with increasing concentrations of alovudine. After 6 days of treatment, alovudine decreased mtDNA by over 95% in OCI-AML2 and MV4-11 cells at 1000nM and 50nM, respectively. In contrast, cytarabine which inhibits nuclear DNA replication, did not alter levels of mtDNA. We measured levels of mt-encoded COXI and COXII proteins, subunits of respiratory chain subunit IV. Concentrations of alovudine that reduced mtDNA also reduced levels of COXI and COXII proteins in OCI-AML2 and MV4-11 cells. In contrast, alovudine did not change levels of COXIV, a subunit of respiratory chain complex IV, which is encoded by nuclear DNA, translated in the cytoplasm, and imported into the mitochondria. Consistent with reductions in respiratory chain IV subunits, alovudine decreased basal oxygen consumption in OCI-AML2 and MV4-11 cells. Finally, concentrations of alovudine that reduced mtDNA and impaired oxidative phosphorylation reduced the growth and viability of AML cell lines.We also tested the effects of alovudine on primary AML cell; In primary AML cells alovudine reduced mtDNA and decreased cell viability.Next, we examined the effects of alovudine on the growth of AML cells in vivo . SCID mice xenografted with OCI-AML2 cells were treated with alovudine (50mg/kg p.o bid 5/7 days). Alovudine decreased the growth of AML cells in vivo by 70%. At doses that decreased AML growth, no change in mouse body weight, serum chemistries, or organ histology was observed.Recent studies demonstrate that mitochondrial pathways and metabolism can regulate cell fate and differentiation. Therefore, we explored the effects of alovudine on the differentiation of OCI-AML2, MV4-11and TEX cell-lines, and the 8277 primary AML culture system. Alovudine upregulated expression of CD11b, CD14 and CD15 surface markers associated with cell differentiation. In addition, alovudine increased non-specific esterase staining and induced monocytic morphology.In summary, aluvodine is a potent inhibitor of POLG that impairs oxidative phosphorylation in AML and decreases the growth of AML cells in vitro and in vivo . We discovered that inhibition of POLG induces the monocytic differentiation of AML cells. Thus, we identified new mechanisms by which mitochondrial pathways control differentiation in AML and highlight the POLG inhibitor, aluvodine, as a novel potential therapeutic agent for this disease DisclosuresSchimmer:Takeda Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; Medivir: Research Funding; Novartis Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria. Rizoska:Medivir: Employment. Targett-Adams:Medivir: Employment. Albertella:Medivir: Employment.

Incorporation of nucleoside analogs into nuclear or mitochondrial DNA is determined by the intracellular phosphorylation site.

Nucleoside analogs used in cancer chemotherapy and in treatment of virus infections are phosphorylated in cells by nucleoside and nucleotide kinases to their pharmacologically active form. The phosphorylated nucleoside analogs are incorporated into DNA and cause cell death or inhibit viral replication. Cellular DNA is replicated both in the nucleus and in the mitochondria, and nucleoside analogs may interfere with DNA replication in both these subcellular locations. In the present study we created a cell model system where nucleoside analogs were phosphorylated, and thereby pharmacologically activated, in either the nucleus, cytosol, or mitochondria of cancer cells. The system was based on the reconstitution of deoxycytidine kinase (dCK)-deficient Chinese hamster ovary cells with genetically engineered dCK targeted to the different subcellular compartments. The nucleoside analogs phosphorylated by dCK in the mitochondria were predominantly incorporated into mitochondrial DNA, whereas the nucleoside analogs phosphorylated in the nucleus or cytosol were incorporated into nuclear DNA. We further show that the nucleoside analogs phosphorylated in the mitochondria induced cell death by an apoptotic program. These data showed that the subcellular site of nucleoside analog phosphorylation is an important determinant for incorporation of nucleoside analogs into nuclear or mitochondrial DNA.

Structure, Folding and Stability of Nucleoside Diphosphate Kinases.

Nucleoside diphosphate kinases (NDPK) are oligomeric proteins involved in the synthesis of nucleoside triphosphates. Their tridimensional structure has been solved by X-ray crystallography and shows that individual subunits present a conserved ferredoxin fold of about 140 residues in prokaryotes, archaea, eukaryotes and viruses. Monomers are functionally independent from each other inside NDPK complexes and the nucleoside kinase catalytic mechanism involves transient phosphorylation of the conserved catalytic histidine. To be active, monomers must assemble into conserved head to tail dimers, which further assemble into hexamers or tetramers. The interfaces between these oligomeric states are very different but, surprisingly, the assembly structure barely affects the catalytic efficiency of the enzyme. While it has been shown that assembly into hexamers induces full formation of the catalytic site and stabilizes the complex, it is unclear why assembly into tetramers is required for function. Several additional activities have been revealed for NDPK, especially in metastasis spreading, cytoskeleton dynamics, DNA binding and membrane remodeling. However, we still lack the high resolution structural data of NDPK in complex with different partners, which is necessary for deciphering the mechanism of these diverse functions. In this review we discuss advances in the structure, folding and stability of NDPKs.

Modular Enzymatic Cascade Synthesis of Nucleotides Using a (d)ATP Regeneration System.

Nucleoside-5’-triphosphates (NTPs) and their analogs are building blocks of DNA and are important compounds in both pharmaceutical and molecular biology applications. Currently, commercially available base or sugar modified NTPs are mainly synthesized chemically. Since the chemical production of NTPs is time-consuming and generally inefficient, alternative approaches are under development. Here we present a simple, efficient and generalizable enzymatic synthesis method for the conversion of nucleosides to NTPs. Our one-pot method is modular, applicable to a wide range of natural and modified nucleotide products and accesses NTPs directly from cheap nucleoside precursors. Nucleoside kinases, nucleoside monophosphate (NMP) kinases and a nucleoside diphosphate (NDP) kinase were applied as biocatalysts. Enzymes with different substrate specificities were combined to produce derivatives of adenosine and cytidine triphosphate with conversions of 4 to 26%. The implementation of a (deoxy)ATP recycling system resulted in a significant increase in the conversion to all NTP products, furnishing 4 different NTPs in quantitative conversion. Natural (deoxy)NTPs were synthesized with 60 to >99% conversion and sugar- and base-modified NTPs were produced with 69 to >99% and 27 to 75% conversion, respectively. The presented method is suitable for the efficient synthesis of a wide range of natural and modified NTPs in a sustainable one-pot process.

The crystal structures of Thermus thermophilus CMP kinase complexed with a phosphoryl group acceptor and donor.

Nucleoside monophosphate kinases play crucial roles in biosynthesis and regeneration of nucleotides. These are bi-substrate enzymes that catalyze reversible transfers of a phosphoryl group between ATP and nucleoside monophosphate. These enzymes are comprised of the CORE domain, the NMP-binding domain, and the LID domain. Large conformational rearrangement of the three domains occurs during the catalytic cycle. Although many structures of CMP kinase have been determined, only limited structural information has been available on the conformational changes along the reaction pathway. We determined five crystal structures of CMP kinase of Thermus thermophilus HB8 in ligand-free form and the CMP "open", CMP "closed", ADP-CDP-Gd3+-, and CDP-bound forms at resolutions of 1.7, 2.2, 1.5, 1.6, and 1.7 Å, respectively. The ligand-free form was in an open conformation, whereas the structures of the CMP "closed", ADP-CDP-Gd3+-, and CDP-bound forms were in a closed conformation, in which the shift of the NMP-binding domain and LID domain caused closure of the substrate-binding cleft. Interestingly, the CMP "open" form was in an open conformation even with CMP bound, implying intrinsic conformational fluctuation. The structure of the ADP-CDP complex is the first structure of CMP kinase with a phosphoryl group donor and an acceptor. Upon simultaneous binding of ADP and CDP, the side chains of several residues in the LID domain moved toward the nucleotides without global open−closed conformational changes compared to those in the CMP "closed" and CDP complexes. These global and local conformational changes may be crucial for the substrate recognition and catalysis. The terminal phosphate groups of ADP and CDP had similar geometry to those of two ADP in AMP kinase, suggesting common catalytic mechanisms to other nucleoside monophosphate kinases. Our findings are expected to contribute to detailed understanding of the reaction mechanism of CMP kinase.

Cross-linking cellular nucleic acids via a target-directing double click reagent.

Bioorthogonal ligation reactions are powerful tools for characterizing DNA metabolism, DNA-protein binding interactions, and they even provide new leads for therapeutic strategies. Nucleoside analogs can deliver bioorthogonal functional groups into chromatin via cellular metabolic pathways, however, insufficient phosphorylation by endogenous kinases often limits the efficiency of their incorporation. Even when successfully metabolized into biopolymers, steric hindrance of the modified nucleotide by chromatin can inhibit subsequent click reactions. In this chapter, we describe methods that overcome these limitations. Nucleotide monophosphate triesterers can bypass the need for cellular nucleoside kinase activity and thereby enable efficient incorporation of azide groups into cellular DNA. Steric access to and modification of the azide groups within natively folded chromatin can then be accomplished using a bioorthogonal "intercalating reagent" comprised of a cationic Sondheimer diyne that reversibly intercalates into duplexes where it undergoes tandem, strain-promoted cross-linking of two azides to give DNA-DNA interstrand crosslinks or DNA-fluorophore conjugation, depending on the relative number and spatial orientation of the azide groups in the DNA.

Identification of fish CMPK2 as an interferon stimulated gene against SVCV infection

Cytidine/uridine monophosphate kinase 2 (CMPK2) is known as a nucleoside monophosphate kinase in mitochondria to maintains intracellular UTP/CTP, and could be induced by immunostimulants LPS and Poly (I:C) in mammals, suggesting its potential antiviral and antibacterial role. In this study, CMPK2 was cloned and characterized in Fathead minnow (FHM) cells. In vivo analysis of tissue distribution revealed that CMPK2 transcript was detected in all the tissues of zebrafish (Danio rerio) examined in this study, particularly abundant in liver, spleen and kidney. In addition, indirect immunofluorescence showed that CMPK2 was localized in the cytoplasm of FHM cells. Expression of CMPK2 mRNA was significantly up-regulated following challenge with Spring viraemia of carp virus (SVCV), poly(I:C), or zebrafish IFN1 and IFN3 both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, overexpression and RNA interference of CMPK2 in SVCV-infected FHM cells showed significantly antiviral effect. In summary, this study for the first time shows the presence and distribution of CMPK2 in different tissues of zebrafish, but also demonstrates its antiviral potential against SVCV infection in vivo. These new findings could contribute to explain the molecular mechanism of the CMPK2 mediated antiviral function.

Purine and pyrimidine salvage pathway in thermophiles: a valuable source of biocatalysts for the industrial production of nucleic acid derivatives.

Due to their similarity to natural counterparts, nucleic acid derivatives (nucleobases, nucleosides, and nucleotides, among others) are interesting molecules for pharmaceutical, biomedical, or food industries. For this reason, there is increasing worldwide demand for the development of efficient synthetic processes for these compounds. Chemical synthetic methodologies require numerous protection-deprotection steps and often lead to the presence of undesirable by-products or enantiomeric mixtures. These methods also require harsh operating conditions, such as the use of organic solvents and hazard reagents. Conversely, enzymatic production by whole cells or enzymes improves regio-, stereo-, and enantioselectivity and provides an eco-friendly alternative. Because of their essential role in purine and pyrimidine scavenging, enzymes from purine and pyrimidine salvage pathways are valuable candidates for the synthesis of many different nucleic acid components. In recent years, many different enzymes from these routes, such as nucleoside phosphorylases, nucleoside kinases, 2'-deoxyribosyltransferases, phosphoribosyl transferases, or deaminases, have been successfully employed as biocatalysts in the production of nucleobase, nucleoside, or nucleotide analogs. Due to their great activity and stability at extremely high temperatures, the use of enzymes from thermophiles in industrial biocatalysis is gaining momentum. Thermophilic enzymes not only display unique characteristics such as temperature, chemical, and pH stability but also provide many different advantages from an industrial perspective. This mini-review aims to cover the most representative enzymatic approaches for the synthesis of nucleic acid derivatives. In this regard, we provide detailed comments about enzymes involved in crucial steps of purine and pyrimidine salvage pathways in thermophiles, as well as their biological role, biochemical characterization, active site mechanism, and substrate specificity. In addition, the most interesting synthetic examples reported in the literature are also included.

Cryo-EM structures of complex I from mouse heart mitochondria in two biochemically defined states.

Complex I (NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase) uses the reducing potential of NADH to drive protons across the energy-transducing inner membrane and power oxidative phosphorylation in mammalian mitochondria. Recently, cryoEM analyses have produced close-to-complete models of all 45 subunits in the bovine, ovine and porcine complexes, and identifed two states relevant to complex I in ischemia-reperfusion injury. Here, we describe the 3.3-Å structure of complex I from mouse heart mitochondria, a biomedically-relevant model system, in the ‘active’ state. We reveal a nucleotide bound in subunit NDUFA10, a nucleoside-kinase homolog, and define mechanistically-critical elements in the mammalian enzyme. By comparisons with a 3.9-Å structure of the ‘deactive’ state and with known bacterial structures we identify differences in helical geometry in the membrane domain that occur upon activation, or that alter the positions of catalytically-important charged residues. Our results demonstrate the capability of cryoEM analyses to challenge and develop mechanistic models for mammalian complex I.

Characterization of novel actin‐associated proteins at enteropathogenic Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes actin‐rich structures

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) and Listeria monocytogenes generate actin‐rich structures that are used for their colonization of host cells. EPEC remains extracellular, attaches to the host plasma membrane and secretes a variety of effector proteins that are used to control the host cells. The most dramatic morphological phenotype generated during these infections is the formation of actin‐rich protrusions called pedestals that are needed for E. coli‐based disease. L. monocytogenes enters its host cell and once in the cytosol it generates a bacterial protein (called ActA) that recruits actin polymerizing proteins to 1 pole of the microbe forming a comet tail that is used for movement within and amongst the host cells Previously, our lab conducted a mass spectrometry analysis of concentrated EPEC pedestals and over 90 novel proteins were identified. From this list, we selected a subset for confirmatory analysis and to determine whether their presence required the pre‐formation of the actin‐rich structures. These proteins included a calponin protein (CNN), dihydropyrimidinase‐like protein (CRMP4), nucleoside kinase (NK), mitogen‐activated protein pathway kinase (MK), and a ubiquitin‐conjugating enzyme (Ube2N). Because these novel proteins were observed in EPEC pedestals, we hypothesized that these five protein candidates are important for EPEC pedestals and L. monocytogenes comet tails. To study this, we first confirmed that these proteins were enriched in EPEC pedestals by immunolocalizing the proteins in EPEC‐infected cells. CNN, and NK were found throughout the full length of the pedestal while CRMP4, MK, and Ube2N were concentrated at the apical tip of EPEC pedestals. In L. monocytogenes‐infected cells, CNN and NK were found in actin clouds, comet tails, and listeriopods. CRMP4 immunolocalized only at invasion sites and listeriopods while MK was only present at listeriopods. To ensure that recruitment of these proteins were independent of bacterial attachment on the host cell and required formation of the actin‐rich structures, we infected cells with either a tir‐deficient EPEC mutant or an actA‐deficient L. monocytogenes mutant as both mutants cannot generate actin‐structures. None of the five proteins were recruited to the mutants suggesting that their presences are dependent on the formation of the actin‐rich structures. From these results, we have identified novel proteins that are important for the various stages of EPEC and L. monocytogenes infections. By identifying these proteins, we have begun to elucidate the complex web of proteins involved in the formation and maintenance of actin structures during these infections.Support or Funding InformationThis study was funded through NSERC.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Synthesis, susceptibility to enzymatic phosphorylation, cytotoxicity and in vitro antiviral activity of lipophilic pyrimidine nucleoside/carborane conjugates

We synthesized a series of new uridine and 2′-deoxyuridine conjugates of the o-carborane cluster attached at C-5 through a linker comprising the ethynyl group and/or triazole ring separated by alkane chains. The obtained conjugates have low or medium toxicity and are phosphorylated moderately by nucleoside kinases TK1 and TK2 and efficiently by dCK. Low toxicity and susceptibility to phosphorylation makes them candidates for application as boron carriers for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT), with compound 15 phosphorylated efficiently by all three enzymes as the best hit.

Vitamin E Phosphate Nucleoside Prodrugs: A Platform for Intracellular Delivery of Monophosphorylated Nucleosides.

Vitamin E phosphate (VEP) nucleoside prodrugs are designed to bypass two mechanisms of tumor resistance to therapeutic nucleosides: nucleoside transport and kinase downregulation. Certain isoforms of vitamin E (VE) have shown activity against solid and hematologic tumors and result in chemosensitization. Because gemcitabine is one of the most common chemotherapeutics for the treatment of cancer, it was used to demonstrate the constructs utility. Four different VE isoforms were conjugated with gemcitabine at the 5′ position. Two of these were δ-tocopherol-monophosphate (MP) gemcitabine (NUC050) and δ-tocotrienol-MP gemcitabine (NUC052). NUC050 was shown to be able to deliver gemcitabine-MP intracellularly by a nucleoside transport independent mechanism. Its half-life administered IV in mice was 3.9 h. In a mouse xenograft model of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) NCI-H460, NUC050 at a dose of 40 mg/kg IV qwk × 4 resulted in significant inhibition to tumor growth on days 11–31 (p < 0.05) compared to saline control (SC). Median survival was 33 days (NUC050) vs. 25.5 days (SC) ((hazard ratio) HR = 0.24, p = 0.017). Further, NUC050 significantly inhibited tumor growth compared to historic data with gemcitabine at 135 mg/kg IV q5d × 3 on days 14–41 (p < 0.05). NUC052 was administered at a dose of 40 mg/kg IV qwk × 2 followed by 50 mg/kg qwk × 2. NUC052 resulted in inhibition to tumor growth on days 14–27 (p < 0.05) and median survival was 34 days (HR = 0.27, p = 0.033). NUC050 and NUC052 have been shown to be safe and effective in a mouse xenograft of NSCLC.

Comprehensive reduction of amino acid set in a protein suggests the importance of prebiotic amino acids for stable proteins

Modern organisms commonly use the same set of 20 genetically coded amino acids for protein synthesis with very few exceptions. However, earlier protein synthesis was plausibly much simpler than modern one and utilized only a limited set of amino acids. Nevertheless, few experimental tests of this issue with arbitrarily chosen amino acid sets had been reported prior to this report. Herein we comprehensively and systematically reduced the size of the amino acid set constituting an ancestral nucleoside kinase that was reconstructed in our previous study. We eventually found that two convergent sequences, each comprised of a 13-amino acid alphabet, folded into soluble, stable and catalytically active structures, even though their stabilities and activities were not as high as those of the parent protein. Notably, many but not all of the reduced-set amino acids coincide with those plausibly abundant in primitive Earth. The inconsistent amino acids appeared to be important for catalytic activity but not for stability. Therefore, our findings suggest that the prebiotically abundant amino acids were used for creating stable protein structures and other amino acids with functional side chains were recruited to achieve efficient catalysis.

Dual protein kinase and nucleoside kinase modulators for rationally designed polypharmacology

Masitinib, a highly selective protein kinase inhibitor, can sensitise gemcitabine-refractory cancer cell lines when used in combination with gemcitabine. Here we report a reverse proteomic approach that identifies the target responsible for this sensitisation: the deoxycytidine kinase (dCK). Masitinib, as well as other protein kinase inhibitors, such as imatinib, interact with dCK and provoke an unforeseen conformational-dependent activation of this nucleoside kinase, modulating phosphorylation of nucleoside analogue drugs. This phenomenon leads to an increase of prodrug phosphorylation of most of the chemotherapeutic drugs activated by this nucleoside kinase. The unforeseen dual activity of protein kinase inhibition/nucleoside kinase activation could be of great therapeutic benefit, through either reducing toxicity of therapeutic agents by maintaining effectiveness at lower doses or by counteracting drug resistance initiated via down modulation of dCK target.

A Crystal Structure Based Guide to the Design of Human Histidine Triad Nucleotide Binding Protein 1 (hHint1) Activated ProTides.

Nucleotide analogues that incorporate a metabolically labile nucleoside phosphoramidate (a ProTide) have found utility as prodrugs. In humans, ProTides can be cleaved by human histidine triad nucleotide binding protein 1 (hHint1) to expose the nucleotide monophosphate. Activation by this route circumvents highly selective nucleoside kinases that limit the use of nucleosides as prodrugs. To better understand the diversity of potential substrates of hHint1, we created and studied a series of phosphoramidate nucleosides. Using a combination of enzyme kinetics, X-ray crystallography, and isothermal titration calorimetry with both wild-type and inactive mutant enzymes, we have been able to explore the energetics of substrate binding and establish a structural basis for catalytic efficiency. Diverse nucleobases are well tolerated, but portions of the ribose are needed to position substrates for catalysis. Beneficial characteristics of the amine leaving group are also revealed. Structural principles revealed by these results may be exploited to tune the rate of substrate hydrolysis to strategically alter the intracellular release of the product nucleoside monophosphate from the ProTide.

Leveraging increased cytoplasmic nucleoside kinase activity to target mtDNA and oxidative phosphorylation in AML

AbstractMitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) biosynthesis requires replication factors and adequate nucleotide pools from the mitochondria and cytoplasm. We performed gene expression profiling analysis of 542 human acute myeloid leukemia (AML) samples and identified 55% with upregulated mtDNA biosynthesis pathway expression compared with normal hematopoietic cells. Genes that support mitochondrial nucleotide pools, including mitochondrial nucleotide transporters and a subset of cytoplasmic nucleoside kinases, were also increased in AML compared with normal hematopoietic samples. Knockdown of cytoplasmic nucleoside kinases reduced mtDNA levels in AML cells, demonstrating their contribution in maintaining mtDNA. To assess cytoplasmic nucleoside kinase pathway activity, we used a nucleoside analog 2′3′-dideoxycytidine (ddC), which is phosphorylated to the activated antimetabolite, 2′3′-dideoxycytidine triphosphate by cytoplasmic nucleoside kinases. ddC is a selective inhibitor of the mitochondrial DNA polymerase γ. ddC was preferentially activated in AML cells compared with normal hematopoietic progenitor cells. ddC treatment inhibited mtDNA replication, oxidative phosphorylation, and induced cytotoxicity in a panel of AML cell lines. Furthermore, ddC preferentially inhibited mtDNA replication in a subset of primary human leukemia cells and selectively targeted leukemia cells while sparing normal progenitor cells. In animal models of human AML, treatment with ddC decreased mtDNA, electron transport chain proteins, and induced tumor regression without toxicity. ddC also targeted leukemic stem cells in secondary AML xenotransplantation assays. Thus, AML cells have increased cytidine nucleoside kinase activity that regulates mtDNA biogenesis and can be leveraged to selectively target oxidative phosphorylation in AML.

An Expedient Total Synthesis of Triciribine.

In the present paper, we report an expedient total synthesis of triciribine, a tricyclic 7-deazapurine nucleoside and protein kinase B (AKT ) inhibitor, in 35% overall yield. Our synthesis route features a highly regioselective substitution of 1-N-Boc-2-methylhydrazine and a trifluoroacetic acid catalyzed one-pot transformation which combined the deprotection of the tert-butylcarbonyl (Boc) group and ring closure reaction together to give a tricyclic nucleobase motif.

Cytidine monophosphate kinase is inhibited by the TGF-β signalling pathway through the upregulation of miR-130b-3p in human epithelial ovarian cancer

Cytidine monophosphate kinase (CMPK), a member of the nucleoside monophosphate kinase family, plays an important role in the biosynthesis of nucleoside metabolism, DNA repair and tumour development. In this study, we demonstrated for the first time that CMPK was overexpressed in human ovarian epithelial borderline and malignant tumours using tissue microarray. Knockdown of CMPK significantly inhibited epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Furthermore, CMPK-shRNA inhibited PCNA, MMP-2, MMP-9 and vimentin expression, increased E-cadherin expression and arrested cell cycle at the G2/M phase. Suppression of CMPK resulted in a decrease of EOC cell microtissue formation and colony formation in vitro. Overexpression of miR-130b-3p decreased CMPK expression, whereas anti-miR-130b-3p increased CMPK expression. Moreover, TGF-β1 inhibited the expression of CMPK, which was blocked in the presence of a TGF-β type I receptor, SB431542, and was abolished by the inhibitor of miR-130b-3p, indicating that CMPK is regulated by the TGF-β signalling pathway through the upregulation of miR-130b-3p. Thus, our data identify that overexpression of CMPK occurs in EOC and reveal a mechanism underlying the regulation of CMPK by the TGF-β signalling pathway. We could consider CMPK as an EOC biomarker and targeting CMPK by decreasing its expression may be beneficial in patients with EOC.

Development of a cancer-marker activated enzymatic switch from the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase.

Discovery of new cancer biomarkers and advances in targeted gene delivery mechanisms have made gene-directed enzyme prodrug therapy (GDEPT) an attractive method for treating cancer. Recent focus has been placed on increasing target specificity of gene delivery systems and reducing toxicity in non-cancer cells in order to make GDEPT viable. To help address this challenge, we have developed an enzymatic switch that confers higher prodrug toxicity in the presence of a cancer marker. The enzymatic switch was derived from the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-TK) fused to the CH1 domain of the p300 protein. The CH1 domain binds to the C-terminal transactivation domain (C-TAD) of the cancer marker hypoxia inducible factor 1α. The switch was developed using a directed evolution approach that evaluated a large library of HSV-TK/CH1 fusions using a negative selection for azidothymidine (AZT) toxicity and a positive selection for dT phosphorylation. The identified switch, dubbed TICKLE (Trigger-Induced Cell-Killing Lethal-Enzyme), confers a 4-fold increase in AZT toxicity in the presence of C-TAD. The broad substrate specificity exhibited by HSV-TK makes TICKLE an appealing prospect for testing in medical imaging and cancer therapy, while establishing a foundation for further engineering of nucleoside kinase protein switches.