Elvedin Lukovic

Recognition-Domain Focused Chemosensors: Versatile and Efficient Reporters of Protein Kinase Activity

Catalyzed by kinases, serine/threonine and tyrosine phosphorylation is a vital mechanism of intracellular regulation. Thus, assays that easily monitor kinase activity are critical in both academic and pharmaceutical settings. We previously developed sulfonamido-oxine (Sox)-based fluorescent peptides following a beta-turn focused (BTF) design for the continuous assay of kinase activity in vitro and in cell lysates. Upon phosphorylation of the Sox-containing peptide, the chromophore binds Mg (2+) and undergoes chelation-enhanced fluorescence (CHEF). Although the design was applied successfully to the development of several kinase sensors, an intrinsic limitation was that only residues C- or N-terminal to the phosphorylated residue could be used to derive specificity for the target kinase. To address this limitation, a new, recognition-domain focused (RDF) strategy was developed that also relies on CHEF. In this approach, the requirement for the constrained beta-turn motif is obviated by alkylation of a cysteine residue with a Sox-based derivative to afford an amino acid termed C-Sox. The RDF design allows inclusion of extended binding determinants to maximize recognition by the cognate kinase, which has now permitted the construction of chemosensors for a variety of representative Ser/Thr (PKC alpha, PKC betaIota, PKC delta, Pim2, Akt1, MK2, and PKA) as well as receptor (IRK) and nonreceptor (Src, Abl) Tyr kinases with greatly enhanced selectivity. The new sensors have up to 28-fold improved catalytic efficiency and up to 66-fold lower K M when compared to the corresponding BTF probes. The improved generality of the strategy is exemplified with the synthesis and analysis of Sox-based probes for PKC betaIota and PKC delta, which were previously unattainable using the BTF approach.

Synthesis of red-shifted 8-hydroxyquinoline derivatives using click chemistry and their incorporation into phosphorylation chemosensors.

Protein phosphorylation is a ubiquitous post-translational modification, and protein kinases, the enzymes that catalyze the phosphoryl transfer, are involved in nearly every aspect of normal, as well as aberrant, cell function. Here we describe the synthesis of novel, red-shifted 8-hydroxyquinoline-based fluorophores and their incorporation into peptidyl kinase activity reporters. Replacement of the sulfonamide group of the sulfonamido-oxine (1, Sox) chromophore, which has been previously used in kinase sensing, by a 1,4-substituted triazole moiety prepared via click chemistry resulted in a significant bathochromic shift in the fluorescence excitation (15 nm) and emission (40 nm) maxima for the Mg(2+) chelate. Furthermore, when a click derivative was incorporated into a chemosensor for MK2, the kinase accepted the new substrate as efficiently as the previously reported Sox-based sensor. Taken together, these results extend the utility range of kinase sensors that are based on chelation-enhanced fluorescence (CHEF).

Interrogating signaling nodes involved in cellular transformations using kinase activity probes.

Protein kinases catalyze protein phosphorylation and thereby control the flow of information through signaling cascades. Currently available methods for concomitant assessment of the enzymatic activities of multiple kinases in complex biological samples rely on indirect proxies for enzymatic activity, such as posttranslational modifications to protein kinases. Our laboratories have recently described a method for directly quantifying the enzymatic activity of kinases in unfractionated cell lysates using substrates containing a phosphorylation-sensitive unnatural amino acid termed CSox, which can be monitored using fluorescence. Here, we demonstrate the utility of this method using a probe set encompassing p38α, MK2, ERK1/2, Akt, and PKA. This panel of chemosensors provides activity measurements of individual kinases in a model of skeletal muscle differentiation and can be readily used to generate individualized kinase activity profiles for tissue samples from clinical cancer patients.

A p38α-Selective Chemosensor for use in Unfractionated Cell Lysates

Recent efforts have identified the p38α Ser/Thr kinase as a potential target for the treatment of inflammatory diseases as well as non-small cell lung carcinoma. Despite the significance of p38α, no direct activity probe compatible with cell lysate analysis exists. Instead, proxies for kinase activation, such as phosphospecific antibodies, which do not distinguish between p38 isoforms, are often used. Our laboratory has recently developed a sulfonamido-oxine (Sox) fluorophore that undergoes a significant increase in fluorescence in response to phosphorylation at a proximal residue, allowing for real-time activity measurements. Herein we report the rational design of a p38α-selective chemosensor using this approach. We have validated the selectivity of this sensor using specific inhibitors and immunodepletions and show that p38α activity can be monitored in crude lysates from a variety of cell lines, allowing for the potential use of this sensor in both clinical and basic science research applications.

A Rapid Method for Generation of Selective Sox-based Chemosensors of Ser/Thr Kinases Using Combinatorial Peptide Libraries

A novel screening method to identify selective Sox-based fluorescent probes for Ser/Thr kinases has been developed. Peptide libraries were exposed to a kinase of interest and the products of the timed reaction were analyzed by MALDI-TOF. To demonstrate the potential of this methodology, a selective substrate for Aurora A kinase was identified that showed a 7-fold improvement in catalytic efficiency over the best substrate described to date in the literature.