Carbohydrate-based peptidomimetics targeting neuropilin-1: synthesis, molecular docking study and in vitro biological activities

International audienceNeuropilin-1 (NRP-1), a transmembrane glycoprotein acting as a co-receptor of VEGF-A, is expressed by cancer and angiogenic endothelial cells and is involved in the angiogenesis process. Taking advantage of functionalities and stereodiversities of sugar derivatives, the design and the synthesis of carbohydrate based peptidomimetics are here described. One of these compounds (56) demonstrated inhibition of VEGF-A165 binding to NRP-1 (IC50 = 39 μM) and specificity for NRP-1 over VEGF-R2. Biological evaluations were performed on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) through activation of downstream proteins (AKT and ERK phosphorylation), viability/proliferation assays and in vitro measurements of anti-angiogenic abilities

Extract2Chip—Bypassing Protein Purification in Drug Discovery Using Surface Plasmon Resonance

Funding Information: This work was funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia/Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (FCT/MCTES, Portugal) through national funds to iNOVA4Health (UIDB/04462/2020 and UIDP/04462/2020) and the Associate Laboratory LS4FUTURE (LA/P/0087/2020). Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.Modern drug discovery relies on combinatorial screening campaigns to find drug molecules targeting specific disease-associated proteins. The success of such campaigns often relies on functional and structural information of the selected therapeutic target, only achievable once its purification is mastered. With the aim of bypassing the protein purification process to gain insights on the druggability, ligand binding, and/or characterization of protein–protein interactions, herein, we describe the Extract2Chip method. This approach builds on the immobilization of site-specific biotinylated proteins of interest, directly from cellular extracts, on avidin-coated sensor chips to allow for the characterization of molecular interactions via surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The developed method was initially validated using Cyclophilin D (CypD) and subsequently applied to other drug discovery projects in which the targets of interest were difficult to express, purify, and crystallize. Extract2Chip was successfully applied to the characterization of Yes-associated protein (YAP): Transcriptional enhancer factor TEF (TEAD1) protein–protein interaction inhibitors, in the validation of a ternary complex assembly composed of Dyskerin pseudouridine synthase 1 (DKC1) and RuvBL1/RuvBL2, and in the establishment of a fast-screening platform to select the most suitable NUAK family SNF1-like kinase 2 (NUAK2) surrogate for binding and structural studies. The described method paves the way for a potential revival of the many drug discovery campaigns that have failed to deliver due to the lack of suitable and sufficient protein supply.publishersversionpublishe

Proteomic and 3D structure analyses highlight the C/D box snoRNP assembly mechanism and its control

International audienceIn vitro, assembly of box C/D small nucleolar ribonucleoproteins (snoRNPs) involves the sequential recruitment of core proteins to snoRNAs. In vivo, however, assembly factors are required (NUFIP, BCD1, and the FISP90-R2TP complex), and it is unknown whether a similar sequential scheme applies. In this paper, we describe systematic quantitative stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture proteomic experiments and the crystal structure of the core protein Snu 13p/15.5K bound to a fragment of the assembly factor Rsa1p/NUFIP. This revealed several unexpected features: (a) the existence of a protein-only pre-snoRNP complex containing five assembly factors and two core proteins, 15.5K and Nop58; (b) the characterization of ZNHIT3, which is present in the protein-only complex but gets released upon binding to C/D snoRNAs; (c) the dynamics of the R2TP complex, which,appears a to load/unload RuvBL AAA(+) adenosine triphosphatase from pre-snoRNPs; and (d) a potential mechanism for preventing premature activation of snoRNP catalytic activity. These data provide a framework for understanding the assembly of box C/D snoRNPs

(1)H, (15)N and (13)C resonance assignments of the yeast Pih1 and Tah1 C-terminal domains complex.

International audienceWe report the nearly complete (1)H, (15)N and (13)C resonance assignment of the complex formed by the C-terminal domains of Pih1 and Tah1 from S. cerevisiae and evidence the folding ability of Tah1 under complex formation

Un nouveau mécanisme de contrôle de la maturation des microARN ?

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Deciphering the assembly of box C/D snoRNP complexes

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Optimizing the First TPR Domain of the Human SPAG1 Protein Provides Insight into the HSP70 and HSP90 Binding Properties

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Application of NMR Spectroscopy to Determine the 3D Structure of Small Non-Coding RNAs

Many RNA architectures were discovered to be involved in a wide range of essential biological processes in all organisms from carrying genetic information to gene expression regulation. The remarkable ability of RNAs to adopt various architectures depending on their environment enables the achievement of their myriads of biological functions. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is a powerful technique to investigate both their structure and dynamics. NMR is also a key tool for studying interactions between RNAs and their numerous partners such as small molecules, ions, proteins, or other nucleic acids. In this chapter, to illustrate the use of NMR for 3D structure determination of small noncoding RNA, we describe detailed methods that we used for the yeast C/D box small nucleolar RNA U14 from sample preparation to 3D structure calculation

Deciphering the assembly of box C/D snoRNP complexes

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