Biology subjects

Counago, R. M.

Publications and source records attributed to Counago, R. M..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2018

Structural Analysis of Inhibitor Binding to CAMKK1 Identifies Features Necessary for Design of Specific Inhibitors

The calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinases (CAMKKs) are upstream activators of CAMK1 and CAMK4 signalling and have important functions in neural development, maintenance and signalling, as well as in other aspects of biology such as Ca2+ signalling in the cardiovascular system. To support the development of specific inhibitors of CAMKKs we have determined the crystal structure of CAMKK1 with two ATP-competitive inhibitors. The structures reveal small but exploitable differences between CAMKK1 and CAMKK2, despite the high sequence identity, which could be used in the generation of specific inhibitors. Screening of a kinase inhibitor library revealed molecules that bind potently to CAMKK1. Isothermal titration calorimetry revealed that the most potent inhibitors had binding energies largely dependent on favourable enthalpy. Together, the data provide a foundation for future inhibitor development activities.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2017

In depth analysis of kinase cross screening data to identify chemical starting points for inhibition of the Nek family of kinases

Potent, selective, and cell active small molecule kinase inhibitors are useful tools to help unravel the complexities of kinase signaling. As the biological functions of individual kinases become better understood, they can become targets of drug discovery efforts. The small molecules used to shed light on function can also then serve as chemical starting points in these drug discovery efforts. The Nek family of kinases has received very little attention, as judged by number of citations in PubMed, yet they appear to play many key roles and have been implicated in disease. Here we present our work to identify high quality chemical starting points that have emerged due to the increased incidence of broad kinome screening. We anticipate that this analysis will allow the community to progress towards the generation of chemical probes and eventually drugs that target members of the Nek family.

pharmacology and toxicology↗

bioRxiv2017

Structural characterization of human Vaccinia-Related Kinases (VRK) bound to small-molecule inhibitors identifies different P-loop conformations

The human genome encodes two active Vaccinia-related protein kinases (VRK), VRK1 and VRK2. These proteins have been implicated in a number of cellular processes and linked to a variety of tumors. However, understanding the cellular role of VRKs and establishing their potential use as targets for therapeutic intervention has been limited by the lack of tool compounds that can specifically modulate the activity of these kinases in cells. Here we identified BI-D1870, a dihydropteridine inhibitor of RSK kinases, as a promising starting point for the development of chemical probes targeting the active VRKs. We solved co-crystal structures of both VRK1 and VRK2 bound to BI-D1870 and of VRK1 bound to two broad-spectrum inhibitors. These structures revealed that both VRKs can adopt a P-loop folded conformation, which is stabilized by different mechanisms on each protein. Based on these structures, we suggest modifications to the dihydropteridine scaffold that can be explored to produce potent and specific inhibitors towards VRK1 and VRK2.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2016

Development of Narrow Spectrum ATP-competitive Kinase Inhibitors as Probes for BIKE and AAK1

Understanding the structural determinants of inhibitor selectivity would facilitate the design and preparation of kinase probes. We describe a pair of matched compounds differing only by one degree of saturation but showing dramatic differential activities at select kinases. We utilized x-ray crystallography and computational analysis to rationalize the basis of the differential activity.

pharmacology and toxicology↗