bims-pimaco 2024-02-25 papers

Issue of 2024‒02‒25
four papers selected by
Lucas B. Zeiger, Beatson Institute for Cancer Research

Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Feb 08. pii: 2068. [Epub ahead of print]25(4):

GATOR1 Mutations Impair PI3 Kinase-Dependent Growth Factor Signaling Regulation of mTORC1.

Maéline Muller, Jasmine Bélanger, Imane Hadj-Aissa, Conghao Zhang, Chantelle F Sephton, Paul A Dutchak.

GATOR1 (GAP Activity TOward Rag 1) is an evolutionarily conserved GTPase-activating protein complex that controls the activity of mTORC1 (mammalian Target Of Rapamycin Complex 1) in response to amino acid availability in cells. Genetic mutations in the GATOR1 subunits, NPRL2 (nitrogen permease regulator-like 2), NPRL3 (nitrogen permease regulator-like 3), and DEPDC5 (DEP domain containing 5), have been associated with epilepsy in humans; however, the specific effects of these mutations on GATOR1 function and mTORC1 regulation are not well understood. Herein, we report that epilepsy-linked mutations in the NPRL2 subunit of GATOR1, NPRL2-L105P, -T110S, and -D214H, increase basal mTORC1 signal transduction in cells. Notably, we show that NPRL2-L105P is a loss-of-function mutation that disrupts protein interactions with NPRL3 and DEPDC5, impairing GATOR1 complex assembly and resulting in high mTORC1 activity even under conditions of amino acid deprivation. Furthermore, our studies reveal that the GATOR1 complex is necessary for the rapid and robust inhibition of mTORC1 in response to growth factor withdrawal or pharmacological inhibition of phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K). In the absence of the GATOR1 complex, cells are refractory to PI3K-dependent inhibition of mTORC1, permitting sustained translation and restricting the nuclear localization of TFEB, a transcription factor regulated by mTORC1. Collectively, our results show that epilepsy-linked mutations in NPRL2 can block GATOR1 complex assembly and restrict the appropriate regulation of mTORC1 by canonical PI3K-dependent growth factor signaling in the presence or absence of amino acids.

Keywords: GATOR1; NPRL2; NPRL3; PI3 kinase; amino acids; epilepsy; growth factor signaling; mTORC1; metabolism; transcription; translation

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25042068

Antioxidants (Basel). 2024 Feb 04. pii: 199. [Epub ahead of print]13(2):

Redox Regulation of PTEN by Reactive Oxygen Species: Its Role in Physiological Processes.

Vu Hoang Trinh, Thang Nguyen Huu, Dhiraj Kumar Sah, Jin Myung Choi, Hyun Joong Yoon, Sang Chul Park, Yu Seok Jung, Seung-Rock Lee.

Phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) is a tumor suppressor due to its ability to regulate cell survival, growth, and proliferation by downregulating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. In addition, PTEN plays an essential role in other physiological events associated with cell growth demands, such as ischemia-reperfusion, nerve injury, and immune responsiveness. Therefore, recently, PTEN inhibition has emerged as a potential therapeutic intervention in these situations. Increasing evidence demonstrates that reactive oxygen species (ROS), especially hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), are produced and required for the signaling in many important cellular processes under such physiological conditions. ROS have been shown to oxidize PTEN at the cysteine residue of its active site, consequently inhibiting its function. Herein, we provide an overview of studies that highlight the role of the oxidative inhibition of PTEN in physiological processes.

Keywords: PTEN; ROS; cell signaling; oxidative inhibition; redox regulation

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox13020199

J Pharmacol Sci. 2024 Mar;pii: S1347-8613(24)00007-0. [Epub ahead of print]154(3): 182-191

Inhibition of amino acid transporter LAT1 in cancer cells suppresses G0/G1-S transition by downregulating cyclin D1 via p38 MAPK activation.

Xinyu Zhou, Ryuichi Ohgaki, Chunhuan Jin, Minhui Xu, Hiroki Okanishi, Hitoshi Endou, Yoshikatsu Kanai.

L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1, SLC7A5) is upregulated in various cancers and associated with disease progression. Nanvuranlat (Nanv; JPH203, KYT-0353), a selective LAT1 inhibitor, suppresses the uptake of large neutral amino acids required for rapid growth and proliferation of cancer cells. Previous studies have suggested that the inhibition of LAT1 by Nanv induces the cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase, although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Using pancreatic cancer cells arrested at the restriction check point (R) by serum deprivation, we found that the Nanv drastically suppresses the G0/G1-S transition after release. This blockade of the cell cycle progression was accompanied by a sustained activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and subsequent phosphorylation-dependent proteasomal degradation of cyclin D1. Isoform-specific knockdown of p38 MAPK revealed the predominant contribution of p38α. Proteasome inhibitors restored the cyclin D1 amount and released the cell cycle arrest caused by Nanv. The increased phosphorylation of p38 MAPK and the decrease of cyclin D1 were recapitulated in xenograft tumor models treated with Nanv. This study contributes to delineating the pharmacological activities of LAT1 inhibitors as anti-cancer agents and provides significant insights into the molecular basis of the amino acid-dependent cell cycle checkpoint at G0/G1 phase.

Keywords: Amino acid transporter; Cell cycle; Cyclin D1; LAT1; p38 MAPK

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphs.2024.01.007

J Phys Chem B. 2024 Feb 19.

Dissecting the Interaction Fingerprints and Binding Affinity of BYL719 Analogs Targeting PI3Kα.

Sepehr Dehghani-Ghahnaviyeh, Cihan Soylu, Pascal Furet, Camilo Velez-Vega.

Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase Alpha (PI3Kα) is a lipid kinase which regulates signaling pathways involved in cell proliferation. Dysregulation of these pathways promotes several human cancers, pushing for the development of anticancer drugs to target PI3Kα. One such medicinal chemistry campaign at Novartis led to the discovery of BYL719 (Piqray, Alpelicib), a PI3Kα inhibitor approved by the FDA in 2019 for treatment of HR+/HER2-advanced breast cancer with a PIK3CA mutation. Structure-based drug design played a key role in compound design and optimization throughout the discovery process. However, further characterization of potency drivers via structural dynamics and energetic analyses can be advantageous for ensuing PI3Kα programs. Here, our goal is to employ various in-silico techniques, including molecular simulations and machine learning, to characterize 14 ligands from the BYL719 analogs and predict their binding affinities. The structural insights from molecular simulations suggest that although the ligand-hinge interaction is the primary driver of ligand stability at the pocket, the R group positioning at C2 or C6 of pyridine/pyrimidine also plays a major role. Binding affinities predicted via thermodynamic integration (TI) are in good agreement with previously reported IC50s. Yet, computationally demanding techniques such as TI might not always be the most efficient approach for affinity prediction, as in our case study, fast high-throughput techniques were capable of classifying compounds as active or inactive, and one docking approach showed accuracy comparable to TI.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c06766