: The unpolarized absorption and circular dichroism spectra of the fundamental vibrational transitions of the chiral molecule, 4-methyl-2-oxetanone, are calculated ab initio. Harmonic force fields are obtained using Density Functional Theory (DFT), MP2, and SCF methodologies and a 5S4P2D/3S2P (TZ2P) basis set. DFT calculations use the Local Spin Density Approximation (LSDA), BLYP, and Becke3LYP (B3LYP) density functionals. Mid-IR spectra predicted using LSDA, BLYP, and B3LYP force fields are of significantly different quality, the B3LYP force field yielding spectra in clearly superior, and overall excellent, agreement with experiment. The MP2 force field yields spectra in slightly worse agreement with experiment than the B3LYP force field. The SCF force field yields spectra in poor agreement with experiment.The basis set dependence of B3LYP force fields is also explored: the 6-31G* and TZ2P basis sets give very similar results while the 3-21G basis set yields spectra in substantially worse agreements with experiment. jg

Ab initio calculation of vibrational absorption and circular dichroism spectra using density functional force fields

Although many kinds of therapies are applied in the clinic, drug-resistance is a major and unavoidable problem. Another disturbing statistic is the limited number of drug targets, which are presently only 20–25% of all protein targets that are currently being studied. Moreover, the focus of current explorations of targets are their enzymatic functions, which ignores the functions from their scaffold moiety. As a promising and appealing technology, PROteolysis TArgeting Chimeras (PROTACs) have attracted great attention both from academia and industry for finding available approaches to solve the above problems. PROTACs regulate protein function by degrading target proteins instead of inhibiting them, providing more sensitivity to drug-resistant targets and a greater chance to affect the nonenzymatic functions. PROTACs have been proven to show better selectivity compared to classic inhibitors. PROTACs can be described as a chemical knockdown approach with rapidity and reversibility, which presents new and different biology compared to other gene editing tools by avoiding misinterpretations that arise from potential genetic compensation and/or spontaneous mutations. PRTOACs have been widely explored throughout the world and have outperformed not only in cancer diseases, but also in immune disorders, viral infections and neurodegenerative diseases. Although PROTACs present a very promising and powerful approach for crossing the hurdles of present drug discovery and tool development in biology, more efforts are needed to gain to get deeper insight into the efficacy and safety of PROTACs in the clinic. More target binders and more E3 ligases applicable for developing PROTACs are waiting for exploration.

PROTACs: great opportunities for academia and industry.

A Potent and Selective Small-Molecule Degrader of STAT3 Achieves Complete Tumor Regression In Vivo

The ruthenium-catalyzed azide alkyne cycloaddition (RuAAC) affords 1,5-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles in one step and complements the more established copper-catalyzed reaction providing the 1,4-isomer. The RuAAC reaction has quickly found its way into the organic chemistry toolbox and found applications in many different areas, such as medicinal chemistry, polymer synthesis, organocatalysis, supramolecular chemistry, and the construction of electronic devices. This Review discusses the mechanism, scope, and applications of the RuAAC reaction, covering the literature from the last 10 years.

https://research.chalmers.se/publication/246752/file/246752_Fulltext.pdf

Ruthenium-Catalyzed Azide Alkyne Cycloaddition Reaction: Scope, Mechanism, and Applications.

KRAS is mutated in ∼20% of human cancers and is one of the most sought-after targets for pharmacological modulation, despite having historically been considered "undruggable." The discovery of potent covalent inhibitors of the KRASG12C mutant in recent years has sparked a new wave of interest in small molecules targeting KRAS. While these inhibitors have shown promise in the clinic, we wanted to explore PROTAC-mediated degradation as a complementary strategy to modulate mutant KRAS. Herein, we report the development of LC-2, the first PROTAC capable of degrading endogenous KRASG12C. LC-2 covalently binds KRASG12C with a MRTX849 warhead and recruits the E3 ligase VHL, inducing rapid and sustained KRASG12C degradation leading to suppression of MAPK signaling in both homozygous and heterozygous KRASG12C cell lines. LC-2 demonstrates that PROTAC-mediated degradation is a viable option for attenuating oncogenic KRAS levels and downstream signaling in cancer cells.

Targeted Degradation of Oncogenic KRASG12C by VHL-Recruiting PROTACs.

PROteolysis TArgeting Chimeras (PROTACs) - Past, Present and Future

Targeted protein degradation has generated excitement in chemical biology and drug discovery throughout academia and industry. By hijacking the machinery responsible for protein degradation via the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS), various cellular targets have been selectively degraded. However, since the tools used, often termed PROteolysis TArgeting Chimeras (PROTACs), hijack the intracellular quality control machinery, this technology can only access targets within the cell. Extracellular targets such as growth factors, cytokines, and chemokines bind to cell surface receptors, often initiating aberrant signaling in multiple diseases such as cancer and inflammation. However, efforts to develop small molecule inhibitors for these extracellular target proteins have been challenging. Herein, we developed a proof-of-concept approach to evaluate if extracellular proteins can be internalized and degraded via the receptor-mediated endolysosomal pathway. Using a heterodimeric molecule, termed "ENDosome TArgeting Chimera" (ENDTAC), internalization and degradation of an extracellular recombinant eGFP-HT7 fusion protein was achieved by hijacking the decoy GPCR receptor, CXCR7. This proof-of-concept study suggests that using ENDTACs to co-opt the endosomal-lysosomal degradation pathway, in contrast to PROTACs using the UPS, may provide an avenue for degrading extracellular targets such as cytokines. Overall, the technology described herein provides a novel expansion to the field of targeted protein degradation.

Targeted Protein Internalization and Degradation by ENDosome TArgeting Chimeras (ENDTACs)

Protein–protein interactions that have large, flat and featureless binding sites are difficult drug targets. In the development of their modulators conventional drug discovery strategies are often unsuccessful. Gaining a detailed understanding of the binding mode of protein–protein interaction inhibitors is therefore of vast importance for their future pharmaceutical use. The MDM2/p53 protein pair is a highly promising target for cancer treatment. Disruption of the protein complex using p53 α-helix mimetics has been shown to be a successful strategy to control p53 activity. To gain further insight into the binding of inhibitors to MDM2, the flexibility of four cyclic β-hairpins that act as α-helical mimetics and potential MDM2/p53 interaction inhibitors was investigated in relation to their inhibitory activity. MDM2-binding of the mimetics was determined using fluorescence polarization and surface plasmon resonance assays, whereas their conformation and dynamics in solution was described by the combined experimental and computational NAMFIS analysis. Molecular flexibility was shown to be important for the activity of the cyclic β-hairpin based MDM2 inhibitors.

Flexibility is important for inhibition of the MDM2/p53 protein–protein interaction by cyclic β-hairpins

8-Bromination of 2,6,9-trisubstituted purines with pyridinium tribromide

The lithium amides of a series of chiral N,P ligands were studied in solution. This ligand class had been shown previously to give good selectivities in asymmetric alkylation of benzaldehyde. These lithium amides were found to aggregate into dimers with surprisingly strong coordination of phosphorus to lithium. The equilibrium between dimeric forms was found to depend strongly on non-bonded interactions within the solute and between solute and solvent. Only if dispersion and free-energy contributions were scaled to approximately 20?% of the gas-phase values was it possible to reproduce the experimentally observed aggregation preferences. NMR spectroscopic shieldings were calculated and found to correlate well with the experimentally observed shifts. Calculated Li,P couplings were shown to be a sensitive measure of the Li?P distance.

Mariell Pettersson

Papers

PROteolysis TArgeting Chimeras (PROTACs) - Past, Present and Future

Targeted Protein Internalization and Degradation by ENDosome TArgeting Chimeras (ENDTACs)

Flexibility is important for inhibition of the MDM2/p53 protein–protein interaction by cyclic β-hairpins

8-Bromination of 2,6,9-trisubstituted purines with pyridinium tribromide

Aggregation and Solvation of Chiral N,P-Amide Ligands in Coordinating Solvents: A Computational and NMR Spectroscopic Study