Ahmed, Ahmed Abdullah;
Chen, Shuang;
Roman-Escorza, Maria;
Angell, Richard;
Oxenford, Sally;
McConville, Matthew;
Barton, Naomi;
... Neidle, Stephen; + view all
(2024)
Structure–activity relationships for the G-quadruplex-targeting experimental drug QN-302 and two analogues probed with comparative transcriptome profiling and molecular modeling.
Scientific Reports
, 14
, Article 3447. 10.1038/s41598-024-54080-2.
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Abstract
The tetrasubstituted naphthalene diimide compound QN-302 binds to G-quadruplex (G4) DNA structures. It shows high potency in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells and inhibits the transcription of cancer-related genes in these cells and in PDAC animal models. It is currently in Phase 1a clinical evaluation as an anticancer drug. A study of structure–activity relationships of QN-302 and two related analogues (CM03 and SOP1247) is reported here. These have been probed using comparisons of transcriptional profiles from whole-genome RNA-seq analyses, together with molecular modelling and molecular dynamics simulations. Compounds CM03 and SOP1247 differ by the presence of a methoxy substituent in the latter: these two compounds have closely similar transcriptional profiles. Whereas QN-302 (with an additional benzyl-pyrrolidine group), although also showing down-regulatory effects in the same cancer-related pathways, has effects on distinct genes, for example in the hedgehog pathway. This distinctive pattern of genes affected by QN-302 is hypothesized to contribute to its superior potency compared to CM03 and SOP1247. Its enhanced ability to stabilize G4 structures has been attributed to its benzyl-pyrrolidine substituent fitting into and filling most of the space in a G4 groove compared to the hydrogen atom in CM03 or the methoxy group substituent in SOP1247.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Structure–activity relationships for the G-quadruplex-targeting experimental drug QN-302 and two analogues probed with comparative transcriptome profiling and molecular modeling |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41598-024-54080-2 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-54080-2 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > UCL School of Pharmacy UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > UCL School of Pharmacy > Pharma and Bio Chemistry |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10188248 |
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