Levels of residual structure in disordered interaction domains determine in vitro bindingaffinities, but whether they exert similar roles in cells is not known. Here, we show that increasing residual p53 helicity results in stronger Mdm2 binding, altered p53 dynamics, impaired target gene expression and failure to induce cell cycle arrest upon DNA damage.These results establish that residual structure is an important determinant of signaling fidelity in cells.Intrinsically disordered protein domains often mediate protein-protein interactions that result in disorder-to-order transitions via coupled folding and binding reactions 1 . In addition, many disordered interaction domains exhibit defined levels of transient secondary structure resembling their complex-bound states when free in solution 2 . These levels of residual structure affect binding energies, also by reducing the loss of conformational entropy associated with disorderto-order transitions 3 . Accordingly, higher levels of residual structure in disordered interaction domains increase in vitro binding affinities 4,5 . Here we ask to what extent residual structure contributes to protein binding affinities in cells and whether engineered changes to residual structure affect protein function at the cellular level. To answer these questions, we designed p53 mutants with higher residual helicity within their disordered, N-terminal transactivation domains (TADs) and investigated their effects on cellular Mdm2 binding and p53's ability to induce 2 target gene expression and cell cycle arrest. p53 is activated by many forms of cellular stress, including DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and functions as a major tumor suppressor and cell cycle regulator 6 . In the absence of DNA damage, cellular p53 levels are kept low by targeted proteasomal degradation mediated by the E3 ubiquitin ligase Mdm2, which interacts with p53TAD and subsequently ubiquitinates p53's C-terminal regulatory domain 7 . Upon DNA damage, post-translational modifications of p53TAD and Mdm2, together with Mdm2 degradation, disrupt the p53-Mdm2 complex. This leads to p53 accumulation and the expression of p53 target genes that regulate DNA repair, cell cycle arrest, senescence or apoptosis 8,9 . One of these target genes is Mdm2, whose expression establishes a negative feedback loop that shapes cellular p53 dynamics and thereby controls cell fate decisions 10 .In its free form, p53TAD exists in equilibrium between disordered and partially helical conformations 11-13 , whereas residues 19-25 form a stable amphipathic α-helix in the Mdm2 complex 14 (Fig. 1a). To increase the binding affinity between p53 and Mdm2 without altering the binding interface, we designed p53TAD mutants with higher levels of residual helicity by mutating conserved proline residues flanking the Mdm2 binding site (i.e., Pro12, Pro13 or Pro27) to alanines (Supplementary Results, Supplementary Fig. 1a). Using NMR spectroscopy, we determined that wild-type (WT) p53TAD helicity (28%) increased to 64% when we replaced Pro27 with ...

Oncogenic rearrangements in RET are present in 1-2% of lung adenocarcinoma (LAD) patients. Ponatinib is a multi-kinase inhibitor with low-nanomolar potency against the RET kinase domain. Here, we demonstrate that ponatinib exhibits potent anti-proliferative activity in RET fusion positive LC-2/ad LAD cells and inhibits phosphorylation of the RET fusion protein and signaling through ERK1/2 and AKT. Using distinct dose-escalation strategies, two ponatinib-resistant LC-2/ad cell lines, PR1 and PR2, were derived. PR1 and PR2 cell lines retained expression, but not phosphorylation of the RET fusion and lacked evidence of a resistance mutation in the RET kinase domain. Both resistant lines retained activation of the MAPK pathway. Next-generation RNA sequencing revealed an oncogenic NRAS p.Q61K mutation in the PR1 cell. PR1 cell proliferation was preferentially sensitive to siRNA knockdown of NRAS compared to knockdown of RET, more sensitive to MEK inhibition than the parental line, and NRAS-dependence was maintained in the absence of chronic RET inhibition. Expression of NRAS p.Q61K in RET fusion expressing TPC1 cells conferred resistance to ponatinib. PR2 cells exhibited increased expression of EGFR and AXL. EGFR inhibition decreased cell proliferation and phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and AKT in PR2 cells but not LC-2/ad cells. Although AXL inhibition enhanced PR2 sensitivity to afatinib, it was unable to decrease cell proliferation by itself. Thus, EGFR and AXL cooperatively rescued signaling from RET inhibition in the PR2 cells. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that resistance to ponatinib in RET-rearranged LAD is mediated by bypass signaling mechanisms that result in restored RAS/MAPK activation.

Advanced stages of papillary and anaplastic thyroid cancer represent a highly aggressive subset, in which there are currently few effective therapies. We and others have recently demonstrated that c-Src is a key mediator of growth, invasion, and metastasis, and therefore represents a promising therapeutic target in thyroid cancer. However clinically, Src inhibitor efficacy has been limited, and therefore further insights are needed to define resistance mechanisms and determine rational combination therapies. We have generated four thyroid cancer cell lines with a greater than 30-fold increase in acquired resistance to the Src inhibitor, dasatinib. Upon acquisition of dasatinib-resistance, the two RAS-mutant cell lines acquired the c-Src gatekeeper mutation (T341M), whereas the two BRAF-mutant cell lines did not. Accordingly, Src signaling was refractory to dasatinib treatment in the RAS-mutant dasatinib-resistant cell lines. Interestingly, activation of the Mitogen Activated Protein (MAP) Kinase pathway was increased in all four of the dasatinib-resistant cell lines, likely due to B-Raf and c-Raf dimerization. Furthermore, MAP2K1/MAP2K2 (MEK1/2) inhibition restored sensitivity in all four of the dasatinib-resistant cell lines, and overcome acquired resistance to dasatinib in the RAS-mutant Cal62 cell line, in vivo. Together, these studies demonstrate that acquisition of the c-Src gatekeeper mutation and MAP Kinase pathway signaling play important roles in promoting resistance to the Src inhibitor, dasatinib. We further demonstrate that up-front combined inhibition with dasatinib and MEK1/2 or ERK1/2 inhibitors drives synergistic inhibition of growth and induction of apoptosis, indicating that combined inhibition may overcome mechanisms of survival in response to single agent inhibition.

Cancer biologists and other healthcare researchers face an increasing challenge in addressing the molecular complexity of disease. Biomarker measurement tools and techniques now contribute to both basic science and translational research. In particular, liquid chromatography-multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometry (LC-MRM) for multiplexed measurements of protein biomarkers has emerged as a versatile tool for systems biology. Assays can be developed for specific peptides that report on protein expression, mutation, or post-translational modification; discovery proteomics data rapidly translated into multiplexed quantitative approaches. Complementary advances in affinity purification enrich classes of enzymes or peptides representing post-translationally modified or chemically labeled substrates. Here, we illustrate the process for the relative quantification of hundreds of peptides in a single LC-MRM experiment. Desthiobiotinylated peptides produced by activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) using ATP probes and tyrosine-phosphorylated peptides are used as examples. These targeted quantification panels can be applied to further understand the biology of human disease.