Cancer cells are characterized by the ability to grow in an anchorage-independent manner. The activity of the nonreceptor tyrosine kinase, focal adhesion kinase (FAK), is thought to contribute to this phenotype. FAK localizes in focal adhesion plaques and has a role as a scaffolding and signaling protein for other adhesion molecules. Recent studies show a strong correlation between increased FAK expression and phosphorylation status and the invasive phenotype of aggressive human tumors. PF-562,271 is a potent, ATP-competitive, reversible inhibitor of FAK and Pyk2 catalytic activity with a IC 50 of 1.5 and 14 nmol/L, respectively. Additionally, PF-562,271 displayed robust inhibition in an inducible cellbased assay measuring phospho-FAK with an IC 50 of 5 nmol/L. PF-562,271 was evaluated against multiple kinases and displays >100Â selectivity against a long list of nontarget kinases. PF-562,271 inhibits FAK phosphorylation in vivo in a dose-dependent fashion (calculated EC 50 of 93 ng/mL, total) after p.o. administration to tumor-bearing mice. In vivo inhibition of FAK phosphorylation (>50%) was sustained for >4 hours with a single p.o. dose of 33 mg/kg. Antitumor efficacy and regressions were observed in multiple human s.c. xenograft models. No weight loss, morbidity, or mortality were observed in any in vivo experiment. Tumor growth inhibition was dose and drug exposure dependent. Taken together, these data show that kinase inhibition with an ATPcompetitive small molecule inhibitor of FAK decreases the phospho-status in vivo, resulting in robust antitumor activity.

Glucokinase is a key regulator of glucose homeostasis, and small molecule allosteric activators of this enzyme represent a promising opportunity for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Systemically acting glucokinase activators (liver and pancreas) have been reported to be efficacious but in many cases present hypoglycaemia risk due to activation of the enzyme at low glucose levels in the pancreas, leading to inappropriately excessive insulin secretion. It was therefore postulated that a liver selective activator may offer effective glycemic control with reduced hypoglycemia risk. Herein, we report structure-activity studies on a carboxylic acid containing series of glucokinase activators with preferential activity in hepatocytes versus pancreatic β-cells. These activators were designed to have low passive permeability thereby minimizing distribution into extrahepatic tissues; concurrently, they were also optimized as substrates for active liver uptake via members of the organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP) family. These studies lead to the identification of 19 as a potent glucokinase activator with a greater than 50-fold liver-to-pancreas ratio of tissue distribution in rodent and non-rodent species. In preclinical diabetic animals, 19 was found to robustly lower fasting and postprandial glucose with no hypoglycemia, leading to its selection as a clinical development candidate for treating type 2 diabetes.

Inhibition of mutant IDH1 is being evaluated clinically as a treatment option for oncology. Here we describe the structure-based design and optimization of quinoline lead compounds to identify FT-2102, a potent, orally bioavailable, brain penetrant, and selective mIDH1 inhibitor. FT-2102 has excellent ADME/PK properties and reduces 2-hydroxyglutarate levels in an mIDH1 xenograft tumor model. This compound has been selected as a candidate for clinical development in hematologic malignancies, solid tumors, and gliomas with mIDH1.

The regulatory mechanisms underlying the uptake and utilization of multiple types of carbohydrates in actinomycetes remain poorly understood. In this study, we show that GlnR (central regulator of nitrogen metabolism) serves as a universal regulator of nitrogen metabolism and plays an important, previously unknown role in controlling the transport of non-phosphotransferase-system (PTS) carbon sources in actinomycetes. It was observed that GlnR can directly interact with the promoters of most (13 of 20) carbohydrate ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter loci and can activate the transcription of these genes in response to nitrogen availability in industrial, erythromycin-producing Saccharopolyspora erythraea. Deletion of the glnR gene resulted in severe growth retardation under the culture conditions used, with select ABC-transported carbohydrates (maltose, sorbitol, mannitol, cellobiose, trehalose, or mannose) used as the sole carbon source. Furthermore, we found that GlnR-mediated regulation of carbohydrate transport was highly conserved in actinomycetes. These results demonstrate that GlnR serves a role beyond nitrogen metabolism, mediating critical functions in carbon metabolism and crosstalk of nitrogen-and carbon-metabolism pathways in response to the nutritional states of cells. These findings provide insights into the molecular regulation of transport and metabolism of non-PTS carbohydrates and reveal potential applications for the cofermentation of biomass-derived sugars in the production of biofuels and bio-based chemicals.actinomycetes | GlnR | carbon sources utilization | ABC transport system | nitrogen metabolism

Nitrogen source sensing, uptake, and assimilation are central for growth and development of microorganisms which requires the participation of a global control of nitrogen metabolism-associated genes at the transcriptional level. In soil-dwelling antibiotic-producing actinomycetes, this role is played by GlnR, an OmpR family regulator. In this work, we demonstrate that SACE_7101 is the ortholog of actinomycetes' GlnR global regulators in the erythromycin producer Saccharopolyspora erythraea. Indeed, the chromosomal deletion of SACE_7101 severely affects the viability of S. erythraea when inoculated in minimal media supplemented with NaNO3, NaNO2, NH4Cl, glutamine, or glutamate as sole nitrogen source. Combination of in silico prediction of cis-acting elements, subsequent in vitro (through gel shift assays) and in vivo (real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) validations of the predicted target genes revealed a very large GlnR regulon aimed at adapting the nitrogen metabolism of S. erythraea. Indeed, enzymes/proteins involved in (i) uptake and assimilation of ammonium, (ii) transport and utilization of urea, (iii) nitrite/nitrate, (iv) glutamate/glutamine, (v) arginine metabolism, (vi) nitric oxide biosynthesis, and (vii) signal transduction associated with the nitrogen source supplied have at least one paralog gene which expression is controlled by GlnR. Our work highlights a GlnR-binding site consensus sequence (t/gna/cAC-n6-GaAAc) which is similar although not identical to the consensus sequences proposed for other actinomycetes. Finally, we discuss the distinct and common features of the GlnR-mediated transcriptional control of nitrogen metabolism between S. erythraea and the model organism Streptomyces coelicolor.

bReversible lysine acetylation (RLA) is used by cells of all domains of life to modulate protein function. To date, bacterial acetylation/deacetylation systems have been studied in a few bacteria (e.g., Salmonella enterica, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Erwinia amylovora, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Geobacillus kaustophilus), but little is known about RLA in antibiotic-producing actinomycetes. Here, we identify the Gcn5-like protein acetyltransferase AcuA of Saccharopolyspora erythraea (SacAcuA, SACE_5148) as the enzyme responsible for the acetylation of the AMP-forming acetyl coenzyme A synthetase (SacAcsA, SACE_2375). Acetylated SacAcsA was deacetylated by a sirtuin-type NAD ؉ -dependent consuming deacetylase (SacSrtN, SACE_3798). In vitro acetylation/deacetylation of SacAcsA enzyme was studied by Western blotting, and acetylation of lysine residues Lys 237 , Lys 380 , Lys 611 , and Lys 628 was confirmed by mass spectrometry. In a strain devoid of SacAcuA, none of the above-mentioned Lys residues of SacAcsA was acetylated. To our knowledge, the ability of SacAcuA to acetylate multiple Lys residues is unique among AcuA-type acetyltransferases. Results from site-specific mutagenesis experiments showed that the activity of SacAcsA was controlled by lysine acetylation. Lastly, immunoprecipitation data showed that in vivo acetylation of SacAcsA was influenced by glucose and acetate availability. These results suggested that reversible acetylation may also be a conserved regulatory posttranslational modification strategy in antibiotic-producing actinomycetes. R eversible lysine acetylation (RLA) of proteins is now recognized as a ubiquitous and conserved posttranslational modification in a variety of organisms (1-4). Recent studies have identified over 2,000 acetylated proteins, ranging from transcriptional factors and ribosomal proteins to metabolic enzymes related to glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and fatty acid and nitrogen metabolisms. This kind of posttranslational modification (PTM) has emerged as an important metabolic regulatory mechanism in bacteria since the discovery of acetylation of the Salmonella enterica acetyl coenzyme A (Ac-CoA) synthetase in 2002 (5). In the last decade, lysine acetylation of proteins has been reported in other microorganisms, including Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Streptomyces lividans, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Erwinia amylovora, Thermus thermophilus, and Geobacillus kaustophilus (6-9).RLA has been found to modulate protein synthesis, central metabolism, and detoxification metabolism. Yu et al. identified 85 acetylated proteins in E. coli, of which 24 (28%) are involved in protein biosynthesis and 16 (19%) are involved in carbohydrate metabolism (10). Zhang et al. also reported that more than 70% of the 91 acetylated proteins in E. coli are metabolic enzymes (53%) and translation regulators (22%) (11). More recently, Wang et al. identified 235 peptides containing acetylated lysines in a total of 191 proteins in Salmonella ent...

No abstract

Mutations at the arginine residue (R132) in isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) are frequently identified in various human cancers. Inhibition of mutant IDH1 (mIDH1) with small molecules has been clinically validated as a promising therapeutic treatment for acute myeloid leukemia and multiple solid tumors. Herein, we report the discovery and optimization of a series of quinolinones to provide potent and orally bioavailable mIDH1 inhibitors with selectivity over wild-type IDH1. The X-ray structure of an early lead 24 in complex with mIDH1-R132H shows that the inhibitor unexpectedly binds to an allosteric site. Efforts to improve the in vitro and in vivo absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) properties of 24 yielded a preclinical candidate 63. The detailed preclinical ADME and pharmacology studies of 63 support further development of quinolinone-based mIDH1 inhibitors as therapeutic agents in human trials.