Stockwell, SR;
Platt, G;
Barrie, SE;
Zoumpoulidou, G;
Te Poele, RH;
Aherne, GW;
Wilson, SC;
... Mittnacht, S; + view all
(2012)
Mechanism-based screen for G1/S checkpoint activators identifies a selective activator of EIF2AK3/PERK signalling.
PLOS One
, 7
(1)
, Article e28568. 10.1371/journal.pone.0028568.
Preview |
PDF
1339772.pdf Download (1MB) |
Abstract
Human cancers often contain genetic alterations that disable G1/S checkpoint control and loss of this checkpoint is thought to critically contribute to cancer generation by permitting inappropriate proliferation and distorting fate-driven cell cycle exit. The identification of cell permeable small molecules that activate the G1/S checkpoint may therefore represent a broadly applicable and clinically effective strategy for the treatment of cancer. Here we describe the identification of several novel small molecules that trigger G1/S checkpoint activation and characterise the mechanism of action for one, CCT020312, in detail. Transcriptional profiling by cDNA microarray combined with reverse genetics revealed phosphorylation of the eukaryotic initiation factor 2-alpha (EIF2A) through the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2-alpha kinase 3 (EIF2AK3/PERK) as the mechanism of action of this compound. While EIF2AK3/PERK activation classically follows endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress signalling that sets off a range of different cellular responses, CCT020312 does not trigger these other cellular responses but instead selectively elicits EIF2AK3/PERK signalling. Phosphorylation of EIF2A by EIF2A kinases is a known means to block protein translation and hence restriction point transit in G1, but further supports apoptosis in specific contexts. Significantly, EIF2AK3/PERK signalling has previously been linked to the resistance of cancer cells to multiple anticancer chemotherapeutic agents, including drugs that target the ubiquitin/proteasome pathway and taxanes. Consistent with such findings CCT020312 sensitizes cancer cells with defective taxane-induced EIF2A phosphorylation to paclitaxel treatment. Our work therefore identifies CCT020312 as a novel small molecule chemical tool for the selective activation of EIF2A-mediated translation control with utility for proof-of-concept applications in EIF2A-centered therapeutic approaches, and as a chemical starting point for pathway selective agent development. We demonstrate that consistent with its mode of action CCT020312 is capable of delivering potent, and EIF2AK3 selective, proliferation control and can act as a sensitizer to chemotherapy-associated stresses as elicited by taxanes.
Type: | Article |
---|---|
Title: | Mechanism-based screen for G1/S checkpoint activators identifies a selective activator of EIF2AK3/PERK signalling. |
Location: | United States |
Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0028568 |
Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0028568 |
Language: | English |
Additional information: | © 2012 Stockwell et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Cancer Research UK; grant numbers C107/A3096, C107/A4567, C309/A2187, C107/10433 and C309/A8274. The authors acknowledge NHS funding to the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre. PW is a Cancer Research UK Life Fellow. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. |
Keywords: | Animals, Cluster Analysis, Cyclin D1, DNA, Complementary, Drug Evaluation, Preclinical, Drug Interactions, Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress, Enzyme Activation, Enzyme Activators, Eukaryotic Initiation Factor-2, G1 Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints, Humans, Mice, Mice, Knockout, Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis, Paclitaxel, Phosphorylation, Retinoblastoma Protein, S Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints, Signal Transduction, Transcriptome, eIF-2 Kinase |
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 Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Cancer Institute UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Cancer Institute > Research Department of Cancer Bio |
URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1339772 |
Archive Staff Only
View Item |