Förster Resonance Energy Transfer Based Biosensor for Targeting the hNTH1-YB1 Interface as a Potential Anticancer Drug Target

ACS Chem Biol. 2020 Apr 17;15(4):990-1003. doi: 10.1021/acschembio.9b01023. Epub 2020 Mar 17.

Abstract

The Y-box binding protein 1 (YB1) is an established metastatic marker: high expression and nuclear localization of YB1 correlate with tumor aggressiveness, drug resistance, and poor patient survival in various tumors. In the nucleus, YB1 interacts with and regulates the activities of several nuclear proteins, including the DNA glycosylase, human endonuclease III (hNTH1). In the present study, we used Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) and AlphaLISA technologies to further characterize this interaction and define the minimal regions of hNTH1 and YB1 required for complex formation. This work led us to design an original and cost-effective FRET-based biosensor for the rapid in vitro high-throughput screening for potential inhibitors of the hNTH1-YB1 complex. Two pilot screens were carried out, allowing the selection of several promising compounds exhibiting IC50 values in the low micromolar range. Interestingly, two of these compounds bind to YB1 and sensitize drug-resistant breast tumor cells to the chemotherapeutic agent, cisplatin. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that the hNTH1-YB1 interface is a druggable target for the development of new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of drug-resistant tumors. Moreover, beyond this study, the simple design of our biosensor defines an innovative and efficient strategy for the screening of inhibitors of therapeutically relevant protein-protein interfaces.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Agents / analysis*
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology
  • Biosensing Techniques / methods*
  • Cisplatin / pharmacology
  • Deoxyribonuclease (Pyrimidine Dimer) / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Deoxyribonuclease (Pyrimidine Dimer) / metabolism
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / drug effects
  • Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer / methods
  • Humans
  • MCF-7 Cells
  • Pilot Projects
  • Protein Binding / drug effects*
  • Small Molecule Libraries / analysis
  • Small Molecule Libraries / pharmacology
  • Y-Box-Binding Protein 1 / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Y-Box-Binding Protein 1 / metabolism

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Small Molecule Libraries
  • Y-Box-Binding Protein 1
  • YBX1 protein, human
  • Deoxyribonuclease (Pyrimidine Dimer)
  • NTHL1 protein, human
  • Cisplatin