Loss of homeostasis in the cellular secretory pathway is implicated in major human diseases such as cancer, diabetes and inflammation. Secreted and cell-wall proteins are also critical for host infection by human pathogenic bacteria and fungi, and secreted proteases play a role in biofilm formation. Macrocyclic natural products (NPs) HUN-7293 (from fungi) and the apratoxins (from cyanobacteria), as well as the cotransin synthetic analogs of HUN-7293, are reported to block cotranslational protein translocation at an early stage of the secretory pathway with varying degrees of selectivity, but exactly how they influence protein biogenesis is unknown. Our discovery of a mechanistically distinct inhibitor of protein translocation, coibamide A (CbA, from cyanobacteria), has led to the observation that HUN-7293, apratoxins and CbA share a common cellular target, the Sec61 protein channel (translocon), yet inhibit the biogenesis and secretion of different proteins. This presents the opportunity to discover and use new NPs to elucidate the cellular secretory pathway as a therapeutic target, and to provide a reservoir of potential drug leads to reinforce the dwindling pharmaceutical pipelines of new chemical entities. We plan to utilize a multidisciplinary approach involving natural products and synthetic chemistry, chemical biology, pharmacology and evolutionary genomics to pursue the following three aims: 1) Expand and define the class of NPs that target proteostasis; 2) Elucidate the specific Sec61 binding site and inhibitory mechanism of CbA and two active synthetic analogs; 3) Utilize a genomics workflow for evolution- based prediction of new fungal NPs? function.
In Aim 1, existing NP libraries likely to be rich in non-polar depsipeptides will be screened for new proteostasis modulators using a primary functional screen in U87MG cells engineered to express Gaussia luciferase (Gluc) and a secondary target-based assay for Sec61-dependent inhibition of ER translocation. Preliminary data give a hit rate of 0.3% for the Gluc secretion assay.
In Aim 2, chemogenetic screening approaches will be used to determine how Sec61 function is perturbed by CbA, followed by biochemistry and structural biology to resolve the mechanistic basis for ER translocation inhibition. The comparative selectivity profile of two new CbA analogs, and prioritized new NPs from aim 1, relative to CbA- ApxA and cotransin, will be determined in cell-free and cell-based assays.
In Aim 3, the genomic diversification of NPs will be investigated in an evolutionary context using phylogeny and ecology of fungi. For example, NRPS (Adenylation) A-domain phylogenies will reveal evolutionary relationships of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs), and will be used to predict structure, function in human cells, and correlation between ecology and NP diversity. This multidimensional approach will reveal the feasibility of targeting cellular proteostasis for therapeutic needs, while avoiding toxicities due to non-specific inhibition of secretory protein biosynthesis. It is also to expected to provide evolutionary and ecological rationale for targeting fungal producers of protein secretion inhibitors.
Proteins that are secreted from cells or located at cellular membranes represent about 39% of the human proteome and the cellular pathway for biogenesis and secretion of proteins is emerging as an important therapeutic target relevant to cancer, diabetes, neurodegeneration and inflammatory diseases. A small group of natural products have been identified as potent and selective agents that modulate the protein secretory pathway in discrete ways, although how they work is still a mystery. Discovery of new secretory pathway inhibitors, and elucidation and comparison of their specific action, is expected to allow targeted manipulation of the secretory pathway, leading to the development of new therapeutic agents for chronic diseases.
