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The 3D architecture of chromatin allows for efficient arrangement, expression, and replication of genetic material. The genomes of all organisms studied to date have been found to be organized through some form of tiered domain structures.

Sialyl LewisX (sLeX) is a natural ligand of E-selectin that is overexpressed by inflamed and tumor endothelium. Although sLeX is a potential ligand for drug targeting, synthesis of the tetrasaccharide is complicated with many reaction steps. In this study, structurally simplified novel sLeX analogues were designed and linked with 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-polyethylene glycol-2000 (DSPE-PEG) for E-selectin-mediated liposomal delivery. The sLeX structural simplification strategies include (1) replacement of the Gal-GlcNAc disaccharide unit with lactose to reduce many initial steps and (2) substitution of neuraminic acid with a negatively charged group, i.e., 3'-sulfo, 3'-carboxymethyl (3'-CM), or 3'-(1-carboxy)ethyl (3'-CE). While all the liposomes developed were similar in particle size and charge, the 3'-CE sLeX mimic liposome demonstrated the highest uptake in inflammatory cytokine-treated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), being even more potent than native sLeX-decorated liposomes. Inhibition studies using antiselectin antibodies revealed that their uptake was mediated primarily by overexpressed E-selectin on inflamed HUVECs. Molecular dynamics simulations were performed to gain mechanistic insight into the E-selectin binding differences among native and mimic sLeX. The terminally branched methyl group of the 3'-CE sLeX mimic oriented and faced the bulk hydrophilic solution during E-selectin binding. Since this state is entropically unfavorable, the 3'-CE sLeX mimic molecule might be pushed toward the binding pocket of E-selectin by a hydrophobic effect, leading to a higher probability of hydrogen-bond formation than native sLeX and the 3'-CM sLeX mimic. This corresponded with the fact that the 3'-CE sLeX mimic liposome exhibited much greater uptake than the 3'-CM sLeX mimic liposome.

In herpesvirus replicating cells, host cell gene transcription is frequently down-regulated because important transcriptional apparatuses are appropriated by viral transcription factors. Here, we show a small peptide derived from the Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus transactivator (K-Rta) sequence, which attenuates cellular MYC expression, reduces cell proliferation, and selectively kills cancer cell lines in both tissue culture and a xenograft tumor mouse model. Mechanistically, the peptide functions as a decoy to block the recruitment of coactivator complexes consisting of Nuclear receptor coactivator 2 (NCOA2), p300, and SWI/SNF proteins to the MYC promoter in primary effusion lymphoma cells. Thiol(SH)-linked alkylation for the metabolic sequencing of RNA (SLAM seq) with target-transcriptional analyses further confirm that the viral peptide directly attenuates MYC and MYC-target gene expression. This study thus provides a unique tool to control MYC activation, which may be used as a therapeutic payload to treat MYC-dependent diseases such as cancers and autoimmune diseases.

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