V. Petrauskas

Discovery and characterization of novel selective inhibitors of carbonic anhydrase IX.

Human carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX) is highly expressed in tumor tissues, and its selective inhibition provides a potential target for the treatment of numerous cancers. Development of potent, highly selective inhibitors against this target remains an unmet need in anticancer therapeutics. A series of fluorinated benzenesulfonamides with substituents on the benzene ring was designed and synthesized. Several of these exhibited a highly potent and selective inhibition profile against CA IX. Three fluorine atoms significantly increased the affinity by withdrawing electrons and lowering the pKa of the benzenesulfonamide group. The bulky ortho substituents, such as cyclooctyl or even cyclododecyl groups, fit into the hydrophobic pocket in the active site of CA IX but not CA II, as shown by the compounds co-crystal structure with chimeric CA IX. The strongest inhibitor of recombinant human CA IXs catalytic domain in human cells achieved an affinity of 50 pM. However, the high affinity diminished the selectivity. The most selective compound for CA IX exhibited 10 nM affinity. The compound that showed the best balance between affinity and selectivity bound with 1 nM affinity. The inhibitors described in this work provide the basis for novel anticancer therapeutics targeting CA IX.

Thermodynamics of Cationic and Anionic Surfactant Interaction

The interaction between positively and negatively charged linear surfactants is an interesting system for the understanding of the fundamental interplay of hydrophobic and ionic forces in lipid membranes and proteins. We used isothermal titration calorimetry to dissect the Gibbs free energies, enthalpies, entropies, and heat capacities of interaction into hydrophobic and ionic contributions for alkylamine interaction with alkyl sulfates and alkane sulfonates. Dependence on aliphatic chain length, surfactant concentration, temperature, and ionic strength provided a detailed thermodynamic description of this interaction. Reactions of surfactants with tails longer than approximately 10 carbon atoms were primarily driven by enthalpy changes arising from solid-phase interactions between aliphatic tails. Entropic contributions were small relative to enthalpic ones. Contributions of methylene groups were additive. The binding reaction can yield a solid or liquid complex, depending on temperature. Thermodynamic dissection yielded the parameters of the phase transition.

Thermodynamics of Ion Pair Formations Between Charged Poly(Amino Acid)s.

Electrostatic interactions between the positively and negatively charged amino acids in proteins play an important role in macromolecular stability, binding, and recognition. Numerous amino acids in proteins are ionizable and may exist in negatively (e.g., Glu, Asp, Cys, Tyr) or positively (e.g., Arg, Lys, His, Orn) charged form dependent on pH and their pKas. In this work, isothermal titration calorimetry was used to determine the average standard values of thermodynamic parameters (the Gibbs free energy, enthalpy, entropy, and the heat capacity) of interaction between the positively charged amino acid homopolymers (polyarginine, polylysine, and polyornithine) and the negatively charged homopolymers (polyaspartic and polyglutamic acids). These values are of potential use in the computational models of interacting proteins and other biological macromolecules. The study showed that oppositely charged poly(amino acid)s bound each other with the stoichiometry of one positive to one negative charge. Arginine bound to the negatively charged amino acids with exothermic enthalpy and higher affinity than lysine. This result also suggests that positive charges in proteins should not be considered entirely equivalent if carried by lysine or arginine. The difference in binding energy of arginine and lysine association with the negatively charged amino acids was attributed to the enthalpy of the second ionic hydrogen bond formation between the guanidine and carboxylic groups. Despite the favorable enthalpic contribution, all such ion pair formation reactions were largely entropy-driven. Consistent with previously observed ionic interactions, the positive heat capacity was always observed during the amino acid ion pair formation.

Determination of the volume changes induced by ligand binding to heat shock protein 90 using high-pressure denaturation.

The volume changes accompanying ligand binding to proteins are thermodynamically important and could be used in the design of compounds with specific binding properties. Measuring the volumetric properties could yield as much information as the enthalpic properties of binding. Pressure-based methods are significantly more laborious than temperature methods and are underused. Here we present a pressure shift assay (PressureFluor, analogous to the ThermoFluor thermal shift assay) that uses high pressure to denature proteins. The PressureFluor method was used to study the ligand binding thermodynamics of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90). Ligands stabilize the protein against pressure denaturation, similar to the stabilization against temperature denaturation. The equations that relate the ligand dosing, protein concentration, and binding constant with the volumes and compressibilities of unfolding and binding are presented.

Phase diagram of subphtalocyanine ordering on Ag(111)

A model of subphtalocyanine molecules ordering on Ag(111) is proposed. We have demonstrated that the driving force of the ordering into honeycomb and hexagonal close packed patterns is a balance of intermolecular and subphtalocyanine-Ag interactions which can be generally expressed by a potential with infinite exclusion in a sufficiently large number of nearest coordination spheres of Ag(111) lattice and oscillatingly decaying behavior outside the sphere of exclusion. To cope with computational problems due to large size of the molecules compared to the substrate lattice period, we introduce the rescaling of Ag(111) lattice, and took into account an infinite exclusion of first, second, and third neighbors, attraction-of fourth and fifth, and repulsion-of sixth and seventh. The phase diagram is obtained by the lattice gas model using Monte Carlo simulations. Very strong first order phase transitions, causing the two-phase coexistence, were found between disordered and honeycomb as well as between disordered and hexagonal closed packed phases.

A combinatorial biophysical approach; FTSA and SPR for identifying small molecule ligands and PAINs

Biophysical methods have emerged as attractive screening techniques in drug discovery both as primary hit finding methodologies, as in the case of weakly active compounds such as fragments, and as orthogonal methods for hit validation for compounds discovered through conventional biochemical or cellular assays. Here we describe a dual method employing fluorescent thermal shift assay (FTSA), also known as differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR), to interrogate ligands of the kinase p38α as well as several known pan-assay interference compounds (PAINs) such as aggregators, redox cyclers, and fluorescence quenchers. This combinatorial approach allows for independent verification of several biophysical parameters such as KD, kon, koff, ΔG, ΔS, and ΔH, which may further guide chemical development of a ligand series. Affinity values obtained from FTSA curves allow for insight into compound binding compared with reporting shifts in melting temperature. Ligand-p38 interaction data were in good agreement with previous literature. Aggregators and fluorescence quenchers appeared to reduce fluorescence signal in the FTSAs, causing artificially high shifts in Tm values, whereas redox compounds caused either shifts in affinity that did not agree between FTSA and SPR or a depression of FTSA signal.

Volume of Hsp90 Protein-Ligand Binding Determined by Fluorescent Pressure Shift Assay, Densitometry, and NMR.

Human heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is a key player in the homeostasis of the proteome and plays a role in numerous diseases, such as cancer. For the design of Hsp90 ATPase activity inhibitors, it is important to understand the relationship between an inhibitor structure and its inhibition potential. The volume of inhibitor binding is one of the most important such parameters that are rarely being studied. Here, the volumes of binding of several ligands to recombinant Hsp90 were obtained by three independent experimental techniques: fluorescent pressure shift assay, vibrating tube densitometry, and high-pressure NMR. Within the error range, all techniques provided similar volumetric parameters for the investigated protein-ligand systems. Protein-ligand binding volumes were negative, suggesting that the protein-ligand complex, together with its hydration shell, occupies less volume than the separate constituents with their hydration shells. Binding volumes of tightly binding, subnanomolar ligands were significantly more negative than those of weakly binding, millimolar ligands. The volumes of binding could be useful for designing inhibitors with desired recognition properties and further development as drugs.

High pressure spectrofluorimetry – a tool to determine protein-ligand binding volume

The change in protein volume observed upon protein-ligand interaction (termed as the binding volume) is an important but largely neglected thermodynamic parameter from the perspective of both fundamental science and potential applications in the development of specific protein ligands. The binding volume is the pressure derivative of the Gibbs energy, thus elevated pressure is required to determine the volumetric properties of proteins. Here we describe the use of high-pressure spectrofluorimetry to determine both unfolding and ligand binding- induced volume changes of a protein. The degree of protein unfolding at elevated pressures was monitored by an intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence. Different approaches of experimental fluorescence spectra analysis are described and the impact on the quality of thermodynamic parameters is discussed.

Simulation of oxidized silicon stripe formation on Pd(111)

We propose the model with two interaction constants (nearest neighbour pair repulsion of SiO complexes and their trio attraction in a line) which demonstrates stripe formation during silane decomposition on oxidized Pd(111) surface. The simplest (2 × 1) stripe phase is obtained by kinetic Monte Carlo simulation in absence of longer-range attractive interactions which are usually necessary for stripe structure formation. Despite higher energy, this phase is shown to be very stable. Phase diagram for this model is obtained, and (2 × 1) phase stability is analyzed varying coverage and reaction rate parameters (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Ising Model with Long Range Interactions: Phase Diagram and Transition Order of Stripe Structures

Monte Carlo simulation of phase transitions to antiferromagnetic stripe phases are performed for square and triangular lattices. We employed Ising model with competing ferromagnetic nearest neighbour and antiferromagnetic dipolar interactions and calculated phase diagram for different values of exchange and dipolar interaction ratio. The order of transitions to stripe phases with different interaction ratio (stripe width) was determined. We have shown by using histogram method that for transition to the stripe phase AF1 with the smallest stripe width h = a (a is lattice constant) the order is different for square and triangular lattices. For a square lattice the first order phase transition is found only for transitions to AF2 (h = 2a) phase, the transitions to AF1 and AF3 (h = 3a) phases being continuous. For triangular lattice we determined first order phase transitions to AF1 and AF2 phases and second order phase transitions to AF3 and AF4 phases.