Stacy W. Remiszewski

Ras oncoprotein inhibitors: The discovery of potent, ras nucleotide exchange inhibitors and the structural determination of a drug-protein complex

The nucleotide exchange process is one of the key activation steps regulating the ras protein. This report describes the development of potent, non-nucleotide, small organic inhibitors of the ras nucleotide exchange process. These inhibitors bind to the ras protein in a previously unidentified binding pocket, without displacing bound nucleotide. This report also describes the development and use of mass spectrometry, NMR spectroscopy and molecular modeling techniques to elucidate the structure of a drug-protein complex, and aid in designing new ras inhibitor targets.

Antitumor 8-chlorobenzocycloheptapyridines: a new class of selective, nonpeptidic, nonsulfhydryl inhibitors of ras farnesylation.

Ras farnesylation by farnesyl protein transferase (FPT) is an intracellular event that facilitates the membrane association of the ras protein and is involved in the signal transduction process. FPT inhibition could be a novel, noncytotoxic method of treating ras dependent tumor growth. We report here three structural classes of 8-chlorobenzocycloheptapyridines as novel, nonpeptidic, nonsulfhydryl FPT inhibitors having antitumor activity in mice when dosed orally. We discuss structural and conformational aspects of these compounds in relation to biological activities as well as a comparison to the conformation of a bound tetrapeptide FPT inhibitor.

Detection and structural characterization of ras oncoprotein-inhibitors complexes by electrospray mass spectrometry

MS based methodology employing electrospray ionization (ESI) is described for the detection of ternary complexes in which SCH 54292 or SCH 54341 and GDP are noncovalently bound to oncogenic ras protein. The observed molecular weights of 19,816 and 19,570 Da confirmed the presence of noncovalent complexes of ras-GDP-SCH 54292 and ras-GDP-SCH 54341, respectively. We have also performed selective chemical modification of lysine residues of the ras protein complex followed by enzymatic digestion and on-line LC-ESI MS peptide mapping to determine protein-drug binding topography. There was a good correlation between nucleotide exchange inhibition as determined by the enzyme assay and evidence of complex formation as determined by MS.