Joel Goldberg

Small-molecule antagonists of Myc/Max dimerization inhibit Myc-induced transformation of chicken embryo fibroblasts

Myc is a transcriptional regulator of the basic helix–loop–helix leucine zipper protein family. It has strong oncogenic potential, mutated or virally transduced forms of Myc induce lymphoid tumors in animals, and deregulated expression of Myc is associated with numerous types of human cancers. For its oncogenic activity, Myc must dimerize with the ubiquitously expressed basic helix–loop–helix leucine zipper protein Max. This requirement for dimerization may allow control of Myc activity with small molecules that interfere with Myc/Max dimerization. We have measured Myc/Max dimerization with fluorescence resonance energy transfer and have screened combinatorial chemical libraries for inhibitors of dimerization. Candidate inhibitors were isolated from a peptidomimetics library. Inhibition of Myc/Max interaction was validated by ELISA and electrophoretic mobility-shift assay. Two of the candidate inhibitors also interfere with Myc-induced oncogenic transformation in chicken embryo fibroblast cultures. Our work provides proof of principle for the identification of small molecule inhibitors of protein–protein interactions by using high-throughput screens of combinatorial chemical libraries.

Design at the atomic level: design of biaryloxazolidinones as potent orally active antibiotics.

We have developed a first generation of hybrid sparsomycin-linezolid compounds into a new family of orally bioavailable biaryloxazolidinones that have activity against both linezolid-susceptible and -resistant gram-positive bacteria as well as the fastidious gram-negative bacteria Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrahalis. The convergent synthesis of these new compounds is detailed.

Design at the atomic level : Generation of novel hybrid biaryloxazolidinones as promising new antibiotics

From the X-ray crystal structures of linezolid and the non-selective antibiotic sparsomycin, we have derived a new family of hybrid oxazolidinones. From this initial compound set we have developed a new biaryloxazolidinone scaffold that shows both potent antimicrobial activity as well as selective inhibition of ribosomal translation. The synthesis of these compounds is outlined.

Cytokine receptor dimerization and activation: prospects for small molecule agonists.

Ligand-induced dimerization of cell surface receptors has emerged as a general mechanism for the initiation of signal transduction. A number of therapeutically important receptor families are believed to be activated by this process. Recently available structural information, particularly for the erythropoietin receptor, has provided insight into the mechanism of receptor activation. These findings have also revealed important constraints on the nature of receptor-agonist complexes. The prospects of discovering small-molecule mimetics of such receptor agonists are discussed, including strategies which have led to the identification of a small number of peptide and non-peptide cytokine mimetics.

Non-Amide-Based Combinatorial Libraries Derived fromN-Boc-Iminodiacetic Acid: Solution-Phase Synthesis of Piperazinone Libraries with Activity Against LEF-1/β-Catenin-Mediated Transcription

The development of a solution-phase approach to the rapid, parallel synthesis of highly functionalized piperazinones in only four steps starting from N-Boc-iminodiacetic acid is detailed. The efforts represent the extension of the solution-phase synthesis of combinatorial libraries from N-Boc-iminodiacetic acid to non-amide-based libraries where simple liquid-liquid extractions are employed to purify all reaction products. This methodology was applied to the synthesis of a diverse 150-member library with substituents in three positions of the piperazinone core. Screening results from a luciferase reporter assay indicate that a number of library members are novel repressors of LEF-1/β-catenin-mediated transcription, and may be effective agents against colorectal tumors. Two secondary libraries (100 members each) designed from these lead structures were synthesized and screened, providing additional active agents and insight into key structure-activity relationships in the series. These compounds represent only the second class of small molecules which repress transcription of reporter genes containing LEF-1 responsive elements, and the first group not based on DNA minor-groove-binding agents.

Higher order iminodiacetic acid libraries for probing protein-protein interactions.

Full details of the preparation of iminodiacetic acid diamide dimer (2040 compounds), trimer (560 compounds), and tetramer (1596 compounds) libraries by multistep convergent solution-phase synthesis for studying protein-protein interactions are provided. The libraries were assembled in a format providing small 8-10 compound mixtures and the deconvolution of many of the small mixtures to identify screening leads by resynthesis of the individual components have been conducted for 320 of the individual compounds to date. A representative example of the subsequent exploration of the structure-activity relationships for an identified receptor binding antagonist (200 additional individual compounds) and steps taken for potential elaboration to a receptor dimerization agonist are defined with preparation of representative linked dimers (70 compounds).

A comparative study of the solvolysis reactivity, regioselectivity, and stereochemistry of the duocarmycin a and sa alkylation subunits

Abstract The comparative solvolysis reactivity, regioselectivity, and stereochemistry of N -BOC-DSA ( 4 ) and N -BOC-DA ( 5 ), simple derivatives of the DNA alkylation subunits of duocarmycin SA and A, are detailed. Most important of the observations is the substantially greater reactivity of 5 versus 4 (16x), the modest regioselectivity of both 4 (6.5-4:1) and 5 (1.5:1), and the establishment that the abnormal ring expansion solvolysis proceeds by S N 2 addition to the activated cyclopropane with clean inversion of the reacting center stereochemistry.

Higher order iminodiacetic acid libraries for probing protein-protein interactions

Higher order iminodiacetic acid diamide trimer (560 compounds) and tetramer libraries (1260 compounds) are described and were assembled in a convergent multistep solution-phase synthesis for use in studying protein-protein interactions.