Diversity-oriented synthetic strategy for developing a chemical modulator of protein-protein interaction

Nat Commun. 2016 Oct 24:7:13196. doi: 10.1038/ncomms13196.

Abstract

Diversity-oriented synthesis (DOS) can provide a collection of diverse and complex drug-like small molecules, which is critical in the development of new chemical probes for biological research of undruggable targets. However, the design and synthesis of small-molecule libraries with improved biological relevance as well as maximized molecular diversity represent a key challenge. Herein, we employ functional group-pairing strategy for the DOS of a chemical library containing privileged substructures, pyrimidodiazepine or pyrimidine moieties, as chemical navigators towards unexplored bioactive chemical space. To validate the utility of this DOS library, we identify a new small-molecule inhibitor of leucyl-tRNA synthetase-RagD protein-protein interaction, which regulates the amino acid-dependent activation of mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 signalling pathway. This work highlights that privileged substructure-based DOS strategy can be a powerful research tool for the construction of drug-like compounds to address challenging biological targets.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • HEK293 Cells
  • HeLa Cells
  • Humans
  • Leucine-tRNA Ligase / metabolism
  • Models, Chemical*
  • Molecular Structure
  • Monomeric GTP-Binding Proteins / metabolism
  • Protein Binding / drug effects
  • Protein Interaction Maps / drug effects*
  • Pyrimidines / chemistry
  • Small Molecule Libraries / chemical synthesis*
  • Small Molecule Libraries / chemistry
  • Small Molecule Libraries / pharmacology*

Substances

  • Pyrimidines
  • RRAGD protein, human
  • Small Molecule Libraries
  • Monomeric GTP-Binding Proteins
  • Leucine-tRNA Ligase