Chemical Synthesis of Affibody Molecules for Protein Detection and Molecular Imaging

Proteins are essential components in most processes in living organisms. The detection and quantification of specific proteins can be used e.g. as measures of certain physiological conditions, and are therefore of great importance. This thesis focuses on development of affinity-based bioassays for specific protein detection. The use of Affibody molecules for specific molecular recognition has been central in all studies in this thesis. Affibody molecules are affinity proteins developed by combinatorial protein engineering of the 58-residue protein A-derived Z domain scaffold. In the first paper, solid phase peptide synthesis is investigated as a method to generate functional Affibody molecules. Based on the results from this paper, chemical synthesis has been used throughout the following papers to produce Affibody molecules tailored with functional groups for protein detection applications in vitro and in vivo.   In paper I, an orthogonal protection scheme was developed to enable site-specific chemical introduction of three different functional probes into synthetic Affibody molecules. Two of the probes were fluorophores that were used in a FRET-based binding assay to detect unlabeled target proteins. The third probe was biotin, which was used as an affinity handle for immobilization onto a solid support. In paper II, a panel of Affibody molecules carrying different affinity handles were synthesized and evaluated as capture ligands on microarrays. Paper III describes the synthesis of an Affibody molecule that binds to the human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2, (HER2), and the site-specific incorporation of a mercaptoacetyl-glycylglycylglycine (MAG3) chelating site in the peptide sequence to allow for radiolabeling with 99mTc. The derivatized Affibody molecule was found to retain its binding capacity, and the 99mTc-labeling was efficient and resulted in a stable chelate formation. 99mTc-labeled Affibody molecules were evaluated as in vivo HER2-targeting imaging agents in mice. In the following studies, reported in papers IV-VI, the 99mTc-chelating sequence was engineered in order to optimize the pharmacokinetic properties of the radiolabeled Affibody molecules and allow for high-contrast imaging of HER2-expressing tumors and metastatic lesions. The main conclusion from these investigations is that the biodistribution of Affibody molecules can be dramatically modified by amino acid substitutions directed to residues in the MAG3-chelator. Finally, paper VII is a report on the chemical synthesis and chemoselective ligation to generate a cross-linked HER2-binding Affibody molecule with improved thermal stability and tumor targeting capacity.   Taken together, the studies presented in this thesis illustrate how peptide synthesis can be used for production and modification of small affinity proteins, such as Affibody molecules for protein detection applications.QC 2010071

Towards small molecule inhibitors of mono-ADP-ribosyltransferases

Protein ADP-ribosylation is a post-translational modification involved in DNA repair, protein degradation, transcription regulation, and epigenetic events. Intracellular ADP-ribosylation is catalyzed predominantly by ADP-ribosyltransferases with diphtheria toxin homology (ARTDs). The most prominent member of the ARTD family, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (ARTD1/PARP1) has been a target for cancer drug development for decades. Current PARP inhibitors are generally non-selective, and inhibit the mono-ADP-ribosyltransferases with low potency. Here we describe the synthesis of acylated amino benzamides and screening against the mono-ADP-ribosyltransferases ARTD7/PARP15, ARTD8/PARP14, ARTD10/PARP10, and the poly-ADP-ribosyltransferase ARTD1/PARP1. The most potent compound inhibits ARTD10 with sub-micromolar IC50

Towards small molecule inhibitors of mono-ADP-ribosyltransferases

Protein ADP-ribosylation is a post-translational modification involved in DNA repair, protein degradation, transcription regulation, and epigenetic events. Intracellular ADP-ribosylation is catalyzed predominantly by ADP-ribosyltransferases with diphtheria toxin homology (ARTDs). The most prominent member of the ARTD family, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (ARTD1/PARP1) has been a target for cancer drug development for decades. Current PARP inhibitors are generally non-selective, and inhibit the mono-ADP-ribosyltransferases with low potency. Here we describe the synthesis of acylated amino benzamides and screening against the mono-ADP-ribosyltransferases ARTD7/PARP15, ARTD8/PARP14, ARTD10/PARP10, and the poly-ADP-ribosyltransferase ARTD1/PARP1. The most potent compound inhibits ARTD10 with sub-micromolar IC50

PARP inhibitor with selectivity toward ADP-ribosyltransferase ARTD3/PARP3

Inhibiting ADP-ribosyl transferases with PARP-inhibitors is considered a promising strategy for the treatment of many cancers and ischemia, but most of the cellular targets are poorly characterized. Here, we describe an inhibitor of ADP-ribosyltransferase-3/poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-3 (ARTD3), a regulator of DNA repair and mitotic progression. In vitro profiling against 12 members of the enzyme family suggests selectivity for ARTD3, and crystal structures illustrate the molecular basis for inhibitor selectivity. The compound is active in cells, where it elicits ARTD3-specific effects at submicromolar concentration. Our results show that by targeting the nicotinamide binding site, selective inhibition can be achieved among the closest relatives of the validated clinical target, ADP-ribosyltransferase-1/poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1

Chemical Probes to Study ADP-Ribosylation: Synthesis and Biochemical Evaluation of Inhibitors of the Human ADP-Ribosyltransferase ARTD3/PARP3

The racemic 3-(4-oxo-3,4-dihydroquinazolin-2-yl)-<i>N</i>-[1-(pyridin-2-yl)­ethyl]­propanamide, <b>1</b>, has previously been identified as a potent but unselective inhibitor of diphtheria toxin-like ADP-ribosyltransferase 3 (ARTD3). Herein we describe synthesis and evaluation of 55 compounds in this class. It was found that the stereochemistry is of great importance for both selectivity and potency and that substituents on the phenyl ring resulted in poor solubility. Certain variations at the meso position were tolerated and caused a large shift in the binding pose. Changes to the ethylene linker that connects the quinazolinone to the amide were also investigated but proved detrimental to binding. By combination of synthetic organic chemistry and structure-based design, two selective inhibitors of ARTD3 were discovered

Tankyrase 1 Inhibitors with Drug-like Properties Identified by Screening a DNA-Encoded Chemical Library

We describe the synthesis and screening of a DNA-encoded chemical library containing 76230 compounds. In this library, sets of amines and carboxylic acids are directly linked producing encoded compounds with compact structures and drug-like properties. Affinity screening of this library yielded inhibitors of the potential pharmaceutical target tankyrase 1, a poly­(ADP-ribose) polymerase. These compounds have drug-like characteristics, and the most potent hit compound (X066/Y469) inhibited tankyrase 1 with an IC₅₀ value of 250 nM