Oligonucléotides amphiphiles et microARNs (mise en place de nanoplateformes à visée diagnostiques et therapeutiques)

De nombreuses études ont montré l'intérêt thérapeutique de molécules dérivant des microARN (inhibiteurs ou analogues) en cancérologie. Cependant avant d'espérer en faire de futurs médicaments, il est indispensable d'élaborer des systèmes permettant leur délivrance préférentielle dans les cellules cancéreuses. Dans ce travail, nous avons développé deux plateformes innovantes basées sur les microARN : la première utilise les propriétés optiques des quantum dots (QD) et est destinée à l'imagerie des microARN ; la seconde repose sur la sérum albumine humaine (SAH) et a une finalité de délivrance ciblée de microARN. La mise en place de ces plateformes a nécessité la synthèse d'une petite chimiothèque de bioconjugués lipidiques dérivés des microARN (inhibiteurs ou analogues), le but étant d'exploiter l'effet hydrophobe pour les fixer à la surface des QD (ancrage hydrophobe dans la paroi lipidique des QD) et de la SAH (interaction avec les sites de liaison aux acides gras). Dans les deux cas, différentes études incluant des caractérisations physico-chimiques (MET, DLS), des expériences in vitro (SPR) et in cellulo (microscopie de fluorescence, criblage fonctionnel, RTqPCR) ont montré la potentialité de ces nouvelles plateformes.Exploitation of gene-silencing is a very promising strategy in human therapeutics. Several engineered small non coding RNAs (inhibitors or mimics) are already in preclinical and clinical trials. However a key impediment to the wider success of these approaches remains the specific delivery of RNA-derived molecules into cancerous cells. This work aimed at developing two innovative microRNA-based plateforms : the first one relying on quantum dots (QD) is dedicated to microRNA imaging and the second one based on human serum albumin (HSA) represents a new targeted delivery system. The implementation of both plateforms required the synthesis of a small library of microRNA derived lipidic bioconjugates (inhibitors or mimics), the aim being to exploit the hydrophobic effect for their loading on QD (hydrophobic anchoring in the hydrophobic QD surface) and on HSA (interaction with fatty acid binding sites). In both cases, different studies including physico-chemical caracterizations (TEM, DLS), in vitro (SPR) and in cellulo experiments (fluorescence microscopy, functional screening, RTqPCR) demonstrated the great promises held by these new plateforms.BORDEAUX2-Bib. électronique (335229905) / SudocSudocFranceF

Structure–activity study of N-((trans)-4-(2-(7-cyano-3,4-dihydroisoquinolin-2(1H)-yl)ethyl)cyclohexyl)-1H-indole-2-carboxamide (SB269652), a bitopic ligand that acts as a negative allosteric modulator of the dopamine D2 receptor

We recently demonstrated that SB269652 (1) engages one protomer of a dopamine D2 receptor (D2R) dimer in a bitopic mode to allosterically inhibit the binding of dopamine at the other protomer. Herein, we investigate structural deter- minants for allostery, focusing on modifications to three moieties within 1. We find that orthosteric “head” groups with small 7-substituents were important to maintain the limited negative cooperativity of analogues of 1, and replacement of the tetrahydroisoquinoline head group with other D2R “privileged structures” generated orthosteric antagonists. Additionally, replacement of the cyclohexylene linker with polymethylene chains conferred linker length dependency in allosteric pharma- cology. We validated the importance of the indolic NH as a hydrogen bond donor moiety for maintaining allostery. Replacement of the indole ring with azaindole conferred a 30-fold increase in affinity while maintaining negative cooperativity. Combined, these results provide novel SAR insight for bitopic ligands that act as negative allosteric modulators of the D2R

Applications of fluorescence and bioluminescence resonance energy transfer to drug discovery at G protein coupled receptors

The role of G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) in numerous physiological processes that may be disrupted or modified in disease makes them key targets for the development of new therapeutic medicines. A wide variety of resonance energy transfer (RET) techniques such as fluorescence RET and bioluminescence RET have been developed in recent years to detect protein–protein interactions in living cells. Furthermore, these techniques are now being exploited to screen for novel compounds that activate or block GPCRs and to search for new, previously undiscovered signaling pathways activated by well-known pharmacologically classified drugs. The high resolution that can be achieved with these RET methods means that they are well suited to study both intramolecular conformational changes in response to ligand binding at the receptor level and intermolecular interactions involving protein translocation in subcellular compartments resulting from external stimuli. In this review we highlight the latest advances in these technologies to illustrate general principles

Bioengineered riboflavin in nanotechnology

Riboflavin (RF) is an essential water-soluble vitamin with unique biological and physicochemical properties such as transporterspecific cell internalization, implication in redox reactions, fluorescence and photosensitizing. Due to these features RF attracted researchers in various fields from targeted drug delivery and tissue engineering to optoelectronics and biosensors. In this review we will give a brief reminder of RF chemistry, its optical, photosensitizing properties, RF transporter systems and its role in pathologies. We will point a special attention on the recent findings concerning RF applications in nanotechnologies such as RF functionalized nanoparticles, polymers, biomolecules, carbon nanotubes, hydrogels and implants for tissue engineering

Photoacoustic imaging of tumor targeting with riboflavin-functionalized theranostic nanocarriers

Photoacoustic imaging is an emerging method in the molecular imaging field, providing high spatiotemporal resolution and sufficient imaging depths for many clinical applications. Therefore, the aim of this study was to use photoacoustic imaging as a tool to evaluate a riboflavin (RF)-based targeted nanoplatform. RF is internalized by the cells through a specific pathway, and its derivatives were recently shown as promising tumor-targeting vectors for the drug delivery systems. Here, the RF amphiphile synthesized from a PEGylated phospholipid was successfully inserted into a long-circulating liposome formulation labeled with the clinically approved photoacoustic contrast agent - indocyanine green (ICG). The obtained liposomes had a diameter of 124 nm (polydispersity index = 0.17) and had a negative zeta potential of -26 mV. Studies in biological phantoms indicated a stable and concentration-dependent photoacoustic signal (Vevo (R) LAZR) of the ICG-containing RF-functionalized liposomes. In A431 cells, a high uptake of RF-functionalized liposomes was found and could be blocked competitively. First, studies in mice revealed similar to 3 times higher photoacoustic signal in subcutaneous A431 tumor xenografts (P<0.05) after injection of RF-functionalized liposomes compared to control particles. In this context, the application of a spectral unmixing protocol confirmed the initial quantitative data and improved the localization of liposomes in the tumor. In conclusion, the synthesized RF amphiphile leads to efficient liposomal tumor targeting and can be favorably detected by photoacoustic imaging with a perspective of theranostic applications

Exploration of the ligand binding site of the human 5-HT(4) receptor by site-directed mutagenesis and molecular modeling

1. Among the five human 5-HT(4) (h5-HT(4)) receptor isoforms, the h5-HT(4(a)) receptor was studied with a particular emphasis on the molecular interactions involved in ligand binding. For this purpose, we used site-directed mutagenesis of the transmembrane domain. Twelve mutants were constructed with a special focus on the residue P4.53 of helix IV which substitutes in h5-HT(4) receptors the highly conserved S residue among the rhodopsin family receptors. The mutated receptors were transiently expressed in COS-7 cells. 2. Ligand binding or competition studies with two h5-HT(4) receptor agonists, serotonin and ML10302 and two h5-HT(4) receptor antagonists, [(3)H]-GR113808 and ML10375 were performed on wild type and mutant receptors. Functional activity of the receptors was evaluated by measuring the ability of serotonin to stimulate adenylyl cyclase. 3. Ligand binding experiments revealed that [(3)H]-GR113808 did not bind to mutants P4.53A, S5.43A, F6.51A, Y7.43A and to double mutant F6.52V/N6.55L. On the other hand mutations D3.32N, S5.43A and Y7.43A appeared to promote a dramatic decrease of h5-HT(4(a)) receptor functional activity. From these studies, S5.43 and Y7.43 clearly emerged as common anchoring sites to antagonist [(3)H]-GR113808 and to serotonin. 4. According to these results, we propose ligand-receptor complex models with serotonin and [(3)H]-GR113808. For serotonin, three interaction points were selected including ionic interaction with D3.32, a stabilizing interaction of this ion pair by Y7.43 and a hydrogen bond with S5.43. [(3)H]-GR113808 was also docked, based on the same type of interactions with S5.43 and D3.32: the proposed model suggested a possible role of P4.53 in helix IV structure allowing the involvement of a close hydrophobic residue, W4.50, in a hydrophobic pocket for hydrophobic interactions with the indole ring of [(3)H]-GR113808

Constitutive dimerization of human serotonin 5-HT 4 receptors in living cells

International audienceSerotonin 5-HT 4 receptor isoforms are G proteincoupled receptors (GPCRs) with distinct pharmacological properties and may represent a valuable target for the treatment of many human disorders. Here, we have explored the process of dimerization of human 5-HT 4 receptor (h5-HT 4 R) by means of co-immunoprecipitation and bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET). Constitutive h5-HT 4(d) R dimer was observed in living cells and membrane preparation of CHO and HEK293 cells. 5-HT 4 R ligands did not influence the constitutive energy transfer of the h5-HT 4(d) R splice variant in intact cells and isolated plasma membranes. In addition, we found that h5-HT 4(d) R and h5-HT 4(g) R which structurally differ in the length of their C-terminal tails were able to form constitutive heterodimers independently of their activation state. Finally, we found that coexpression of h5-HT 4 R and b 2-adrenergic receptor (b 2 AR) led to their heterodimerization. Given the large number of h5-HT 4 R isoforms which are coexpressed in a same tissue, our results points out the complexity by which this 5-HTR sub-type mediates its biological effects

Two transmembrane Cys residues are involved in 5-HT 4 Receptor dimerization

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