Person:

Walensky, Loren

Enhancer of zeste homolog2 (EZH2) is the histone lysine N-methyltransferase component of the Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), which in conjunction with embryonic ectoderm development (EED) and suppressor of zeste 12 homolog (SUZ12), regulates cell lineage determination and homeostasis. Enzymatic hyperactivity has been linked to aberrant repression of tumor suppressor genes in diverse cancers. Here, we report the development of stabilized alpha-helix of EZH2 (SAH-EZH2) peptides that selectively inhibit H3 Lys27 trimethylation by dose-responsively disrupting the EZH2/EED complex and reducing EZH2 protein levels, a mechanism distinct from that reported for small molecule EZH2 inhibitors targeting the enzyme catalytic domain. MLL-AF9 leukemia cells, which are dependent on PRC2, undergo growth arrest and monocyte/macrophage differentiation upon treatment with SAH-EZH2, consistent with observed changes in expression of PRC2-regulated, lineage-specific marker genes. Thus, by dissociating the EZH2/EED complex, we pharmacologically modulate an epigenetic “writer” and suppress PRC2-dependent cancer cell growth.

Hydrocarbon stapling can restore bioactive, α-helical structure to natural peptides, yielding research tools and prototype therapeutics to dissect and target protein interactions. Here, we explore the capacity of peptide stapling to generate high fidelity, protease-resistant mimics of antigenic structures for vaccine development. HIV-1 has been refractory to vaccine technologies thus far, although select human antibodies can broadly neutralize HIV-1 by targeting sequences of the gp41 juxtamembrane fusion apparatus. To develop candidate HIV-1 immunogens, we generated and characterized stabilized α-helices of the membrane proximal external region (SAH-MPER) of gp41. SAH-MPER peptides were remarkably protease-resistant and bound to the broadly neutralizing 4E10 and 10E8 antibodies with high affinity, recapitulating the structure of the MPER epitope when differentially engaged by the two anti-HIV Fabs. Thus, stapled peptides may provide a new opportunity to develop chemically-stabilized antigens for vaccination.

Protein structure underlies essential biological processes and provides a blueprint for molecular mimicry that drives drug discovery. Although small molecules represent the lion’s share of agents that target proteins for therapeutic benefit, there remains no substitute for the natural properties of proteins and their peptide subunits in the majority of biological contexts. The peptide α-helix represents a common structural motif that mediates communication between signaling proteins. Because peptides can lose their shape when taken out of context, developing chemical interventions to stabilize their bioactive structure remains an active area of research. The all-hydrocarbon staple has emerged as one such solution, conferring α-helical structure, protease resistance, cellular penetrance, and biological activity upon successful incorporation of a series of design and application principles. Here, we describe our more than decade-long experience in developing stapled peptides as biomedical research tools and prototype therapeutics, highlighting lessons learned, pitfalls to avoid, and keys to success.

Treatment resistance in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is associated with PTEN deletions and resultant PI3K-AKT pathway activation, as well as MYC overexpression, and these pathways repress mitochondrial apoptosis in established T-lymphoblasts through poorly defined mechanisms. Normal T-cell progenitors are hypersensitive to mitochondrial apoptosis, a phenotype that is dependent on expression of proapoptotic BIM. In a conditional zebrafish model, MYC downregulation induced BIM expression in T-lymphoblasts, an effect that was blunted by expression of constitutively active AKT. In human T-ALL cell lines and treatment- resistant patient samples, treatment with MYC or PI3K-AKT pathway inhibitors each induced BIM upregulation and apoptosis, indicating that BIM is repressed downstream of MYC and PI3K-AKT in high-risk T-ALL. Restoring BIM function in human T-ALL cells using a stapled peptide mimetic of the BIM BH3 domain had therapeutic activity, indicating that BIM repression is required for T-ALL viability. In the zebrafish model, where MYC downregulation induces T- ALL regression via mitochondrial apoptosis, T-ALL persisted despite MYC downregulation in 10% of bim wild-type zebrafish, 18% of bim heterozygotes, and in 33% of bim homozygous mutants (P = 0.017). We conclude that downregulation of BIM represents a key survival signal downstream of oncogenic MYC and PI3K-AKT signaling in treatment-resistant T-ALL.

BAX is a critical apoptotic regulator that can be transformed from a cytosolic monomer into a lethal mitochondrial oligomer, yet drug strategies to modulate it are underdeveloped due to longstanding difficulties in conducting screens on this aggregation-prone protein. Here, we overcame prior challenges and performed an NMR-based fragment screen of full-length human BAX. We identified a compound that sensitizes BAX activation by binding to a pocket formed by the junction of the α3/α4 and α5/α6 hairpins. Biochemical and structural analyses revealed that the molecule sensitizes BAX by allosterically mobilizing the α1–α2 loop and BAX BH3 helix, two motifs implicated in the activation and oligomerization of BAX, respectively. By engaging a region of core hydrophobic interactions that otherwise preserve the BAX inactive state, the identified compound informs fundamental mechanisms for conformational regulation of BAX and provides a new opportunity to reduce the apoptotic threshold for potential therapeutic benefit.

SUMMARY Direct interactions between pro- and anti-apoptotic BCL-2 family members form the basis of cell death decision-making at the outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM). Here we report that three antiapoptotic BCL-2 proteins (MCL-1, BCL-2, and BCL-XL) found untethered from the OMM function as transcriptional regulators of a prosurvival and growth program. Antiapoptotic BCL-2 proteins engage a BCL-2 homology (BH) domain sequence found in Suppressor of Fused (SUFU), a tumor suppressor and antagonist of the GLI DNA binding proteins. BCL-2 proteins directly promote SUFU turnover, inhibit SUFU-GLI interaction, and induce the expression of the GLI target genes BCL-2, MCL-1, and BCL-XL. Antiapoptotic BCL-2 protein/SUFU feedforward signaling promotes cancer cell survival and growth and can be disabled with BH3 mimetics – small molecules that target antiapoptotic BCL-2 proteins. Our findings delineate a chemical strategy for countering drug resistance in GLI-associated tumors and reveal unanticipated functions for BCL-2 proteins as transcriptional regulators.

Activating mutations in the Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) underlie the pathogenesis and chemoresistance of ∼30% of all human tumors, yet the development of high-affinity inhibitors that target the broad range of KRAS mutants remains a formidable challenge. Here, we report the development and validation of stabilized alpha helices of son of sevenless 1 (SAH-SOS1) as prototype therapeutics that directly inhibit wild-type and mutant forms of KRAS. SAH-SOS1 peptides bound in a sequence-specific manner to KRAS and its mutants, and dose-responsively blocked nucleotide association. Importantly, this functional binding activity correlated with SAH-SOS1 cytotoxicity in cancer cells expressing wild-type or mutant forms of KRAS. The mechanism of action of SAH-SOS1 peptides was demonstrated by sequence-specific down-regulation of the ERK-MAP kinase phosphosignaling cascade in KRAS-driven cancer cells and in a Drosophila melanogaster model of Ras85DV12 activation. These studies provide evidence for the potential utility of SAH-SOS1 peptides in neutralizing oncogenic KRAS in human cancer.