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Stephens Miranda posted an update 6 months ago
Transcription factors (TFs) represent a major class of therapeutic targets for the treatment of human diseases including cancer. Although the biological functions and even crystal structures of many TFs have been clearly elucidated, there is still no viable approach to target the majority of TFs, thus rendering them undruggable for decades. PROTACs (proteolysis targeting chimeras) emerge as a powerful class of therapeutic modalities, which rely on induced protein-protein interactions between the proteins of interest (POIs) and E3 ubiquitin ligases to aid the degradation of POIs by the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS). Here, we report the development of a platform termed TF-PROTAC, which links an DNA oligonucleotide to an E3 ligase ligand via a click reaction, to selectively degrade the TF of interest. The selectivity of these TF-PROTACs depends on the DNA oligonucleotides utilized that can be specific to the TFs of interest. We have developed two series of VHL-based TF-PROTACs, NF-κB-PROTAC (dNF-κB) and E2F-PROTAC (dE2F), which effectively degrade endogenous p65 and E2F1 proteins in cells, respectively, and subsequently display superior antiproliferative effects in cells. Collectively, our results suggest that TF-PROTACs provide a generalizable platform to achieve selective degradation of TFs and a universal strategy for targeting most “undruggable” TFs.Five ternary and quaternary Zintl phases in the solid-solution Ca11-xAxSb10-yGez (A = Na, Li; 0.06(3) ≤ x ≤ 0.17(5), 0.19(1) ≤ y ≤ 0.55(1), 0.13(1) ≤ z ≤ 0.22(1)) system have been successfully synthesized by both of the arc-melting and the molten Pb metal-flux reactions. The crystal structure of these title compounds was characterized by powder and single-crystal X-ray diffractions analyses, and all title compounds crystallized in the Ho11Ge10-type phase in the tetragonal space group I4/mmm (Z = 4, Pearson code tI84). The complex crystal structure can be described as an assembly of 1) three kinds of cationic polyhedra centered by three different Sb and 2) the cage-shaped anionic frameworks built through the connection of two types of Sb. The newly substituted p-type double dopants of the cationic (Na and Li) and anionic (Ge) elements displayed particular site preferences, which were successfully explained by either the size-factor criterion based on the atomic size or the electronic-factor criterion based on the electronegativity of an element. Quite interestingly, as the reaction conditions were changed, the morphology shift of single crystals in Ca10.94(3)Na0.06Sb9.58(1)Ge0.21 occurred from a cubic-shaped to a hummocky-type, to a hopper-type, and eventually to an octahedral-shaped crystal, just like the Yakutian kimberlite diamonds. Moreover, we firmly believe that the inclusion of the p-type Ge dopant for Sb was crucial to trigger this type of morphology shift and complete the octahedral-shaped morphology in the overall crystal-growth mechanism. The theoretical calculations using a DFT method rationalized the observed site preference of Na and the electronic effect of the p-type Ge dopants. The Seebeck coefficient measurements for Ca10.88(4)Li0.12Sb9.45(1)Ge0.21 indicated that some portions of electron charge carriers were effectively eliminated by the p-type double dopants using Li and Ge.Soluble methane monooxygenase (sMMO) is a multicomponent metalloenzyme capable of catalyzing the fissure of the C-H bond of methane and the insertion of one atom of oxygen from O2 to yield methanol. Efficient multiple-turnover catalysis occurs only in the presence of all three sMMO protein components hydroxylase (MMOH), reductase (MMOR), and regulatory protein (MMOB). The complex series of sMMO protein component interactions that regulate the formation and decay of sMMO reaction cycle intermediates is not fully understood. Here, the two tryptophan residues in MMOB and the single tryptophan residue in MMOR are converted to 5-fluorotryptophan (5FW) by expression in defined media containing 5-fluoroindole. In addition, the mechanistically significant N-terminal region of MMOB is 19F-labeled by reaction of the K15C variant with 3-bromo-1,1,1-trifluoroacetone (BTFA). The 5FW and BTFA modifications cause minimal structural perturbation, allowing detailed studies of the interactions with sMMOH using 19F NMR. Resonances from the 275 kDa complexes of sMMOH with 5FW-MMOB and BTFA-K15C-5FW-MMOB are readily detected at 5 μM labeled protein concentration. This approach shows directly that MMOR and MMOB competitively bind to sMMOH with similar KD values, independent of the oxidation state of the sMMOH diiron cluster. These findings suggest a new model for regulation in which the dynamic equilibration of MMOR and MMOB with sMMOH allows a transient formation of key reactive complexes that irreversibly pull the reaction cycle forward. The slow kinetics of exchange of the sMMOHMMOB complex is proposed to prevent MMOR-mediated reductive quenching of the high-valent reaction cycle intermediate Q before it can react with methane.Metal-organic framework (MOF) materials are intriguing photocatalysts to trigger radical-mediated chemical transformations. We report herein the synthesis and characterization of a series of isomorphic MOFs which show a novel structure, wide visible-light absorption, high chemical stability, and specific redox potential. The prepared MOFs were explored for the photoinduced single-electron oxidation of thiol compounds, generating reactive thiyl radicals to afford thioethers via a convenient thiol-olefin reaction. selleck chemicals llc Importantly, we provide a widely applicable strategy by combing a photoactive MOF with phosphine to modulate the generation of thiyl radical in the reaction, thereby producing a single product of the thioether without the formation of a disulfide byproduct due to the dimerization of thiyl radicals. The photocatalytic reaction takes advantage of this strategy, showing great generality where tens of thiols and olefins have been examined as coupling partners. In addition, the strategy has also been demonstrated to be effective for the reactions catalyzed by other MOFs. Mechanism studies reveal that the selective synthesis of C-S products relies on a synergy between the photoinduced generation of a thiyl radical over the MOF and the in situ cleavage of S-S bond into a S-H bond by phosphine. It is notable that the synthesized MOFs show advanced performance in comparison with classical MOFs. The work not only provides a series of novel MOF photocatalysts that are capable of photoinduced thiol-olefin coupling but also indicates the great potential of MOFs for photochemical transformations mediated by reactive radicals.