A major challenge in drug discovery is to develop and improve methods for targeting protein-protein interactions. Further exemplification of the REPLACE strategy for generating inhibitors of protein-protein interactions demonstrated that it can be used to optimize fragment alternatives of key determinants, to combine these in an effective way and was achieved for compounds targeting the CDK2 substrate recruitment site on the cyclin regulatory subunit. Phenylheterocyclic isosteres replacing a critical charge-charge interaction provided new structural insights for binding to the cyclin groove. In particular, these results shed light onto the key contributions of a H-bond observed in crystal structures of N-terminally capped peptides. Furthermore the structure-activity relationship of a bisarylether C-terminal capping group mimicking dipeptide interactions, was probed through ring substitutions, allowing increased complementarity with the primary hydrophobic pocket. This study further validates REPLACE as an effective strategy for converting peptidic compounds to more pharmaceutically relevant compounds.
An alternative strategy for inhibition of the cyclin dependent kinases in anti-tumor drug discovery is afforded through the substrate recruitment site on the cyclin positive regulatory subunit. Critical CDK substrates such as the Rb and E2F families must undergo cyclin groove binding before phosphorylation and hence inhibitors of this interaction also block substrate specific kinase activity. This approach offers the potential of generating highly selective and cell cycle specific CDK inhibitors and to reduce the inhibition of transcription mediated through CDK7 and 9, commonly observed with ATP competitive compounds. While highly potent peptide and small molecule inhibitors of CDK2/cyclin A, E substrate recruitment have been reported, little information has been generated on the determinants of inhibitor binding to the cyclin groove of the CDK4/cyclin D1 complex. CDK4/cyclin D is a validated anti-cancer drug target and continues to be widely pursued in the development of new therapeutics based on cell cycle blockade. We have therefore investigated the structural basis for peptide binding to its cyclin groove and have examined the features contributing to potency and selectivity of inhibitors. Peptidic inhibitors of CDK4/cyclin D of pRb phosphorylation have been synthesized, and their complexes with CDK4/cyclin D1 crystal structures have been generated. Based on available structural information, comparisons of the cyclin grooves of cyclin A2 and D1 are presented and provide insights into the determinants for peptide binding and the basis for differential binding and inhibition. In addition, a complex structure has been generated in order to model the interactions of the CDKI, p27KIP1, with cyclin D1. This information has been used shed light onto the endogenous inhibition of CDK4 and also to identify unique aspects of cyclin D1 and which can be exploited in the design of cyclin groove based CDK inhibitors. Peptidic and non-peptidic compounds have been synthesized in order to explore structure-activity relationship for binding to the cyclin D1 groove which to date has not been carried out in a systematic fashion. Collectively, the data presented provides new insights into how compounds can be developed that function as chemical biology probes to determine the cellular and anti-tumor effects of CDK inhibition. Furthermore, such compounds will serve as templates for structure-guided efforts to develop potential therapeutics based on selective inhibition of CDK4/cyclin D activity.
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