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Biomedical subjects

Jinzhi Tan

Publications and source records attributed to Jinzhi Tan.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Viral enzymes.

Viral genomes show unequalled diversity, ranging from single-stranded DNA to double-stranded RNA. Moreover, viruses can quickly adapt to the host's immune response and drug treatment. Although they tend to make optimal use of the host cell's reservoir of proteins, viruses need to carry some enzymatic functions with them, as they may not be available or accessible in the infected cell. Recently, progress has been made in our structural understanding of viral enzymes involved in all stages of the viral life cycle, which includes entry, hijack, replication and exit stages.

DNA Replication↗
PubMed2006

Utilization of 3'-carboxy-containing tyrosine derivatives as a new class of phosphotyrosyl mimetics in the preparation of novel non-phosphorylated cyclic peptide inhibitors of the Grb2-SH2 domain.

A new class of phosphotyrosyl (pTyr) mimetics, distinct from the conventional pTyr mimetic design of adding non-hydrolyzable acidic functionalities to the 4'-position of phenylalanine, was created by introducing carboxy-containing groups to the 3'-position of tyrosine. The effect of the chain length of the carboxy substituent was examined. Reported herein is the chiral pool synthesis of the new pTyr mimetics, and their first use in a novel non-phosphorylated Grb2-SH2 domain binding motif with the 5-amino-acid sequence Xx1-Leu-(3'-substituted-Tyr)-Ac6c-Asn. The highest affinity was exhibited by the 3-L-(2-carboxyethyl)tyrosine-containing sulfoxide-cyclized peptide , with an IC50 = 1.1 microM, providing a promising new template for further development of potent Grb2-SH2 domain inhibitors with reduced charge and peptidic nature, but improved selectivity and bioavailability.

Biomimetic Materials↗
PubMed2005

Synthesis and antitumor evaluation of novel 5-substituted-4-hydroxy-8-nitroquinazolines as EGFR signaling-targeted inhibitors.

The synthesis and biological activity of a series of novel 5-substituted-4-hydroxy-8-nitroquinazolines that may function as inhibitors of EGFR- and/or ErbB-2-related oncogenic signaling are described. These compounds were prepared by S(N)Ar reaction of 5-chloro-4-hydroxy-8-nitroquinazoline with alkyl or aryl amines, or alkyl alcohol as nucleophiles. Although the enzyme assay showed a weak inhibition effect against both EGFR and ErbB-2 tyrosine kinases, the cell-based antitumor activity turned out promising. Compounds having 5-anilino substituent exhibit high potency with 5-(4-methoxy)anilino-4-hydroxy-8-nitroquinazoline (1h) being the best dual EGFR/ErbB-2 inhibitors, which effectively inhibited the growth of both EGFR (MDA-MB-468, IC(50)<0.01microM) and ErbB-2 (SK-BR-3, IC(50)=13microM) overexpressing human tumor cell lines in vitro. More interestingly, the variation of the substituent(s) at the 3- and/or 4-position of the 5-anilino portion was found to modulate the selectivity and potency dramatically. However, compounds having an alkylamino or alkyloxy group at the 5-position of 4-hydroxy-8-nitroquinazolines are essentially inactive. These results are consistent with molecular modeling observations. This study was the first attempt to identify new structural types of dual EGFR/ErbB-2-related signaling inhibitors by incorporation of the anilino group at the 5-position of 4-hydroxy-8-nitroquinazolines' core structure, providing promising new templates for further development of potent inhibitors targeting both EGFR and ErbB-2 tyrosine kinases.

Antineoplastic Agents↗
PubMed2005

pH-dependent conformational flexibility of the SARS-CoV main proteinase (M(pro)) dimer: molecular dynamics simulations and multiple X-ray structure analyses.

The SARS coronavirus main proteinase (M(pro)) is a key enzyme in the processing of the viral polyproteins and thus an attractive target for the discovery of drugs directed against SARS. The enzyme has been shown by X-ray crystallography to undergo significant pH-dependent conformational changes. Here, we assess the conformational flexibility of the M(pro) by analysis of multiple crystal structures (including two new crystal forms) and by molecular dynamics (MD) calculations. The MD simulations take into account the different protonation states of two histidine residues in the substrate-binding site and explain the pH-activity profile of the enzyme. The low enzymatic activity of the M(pro) monomer and the need for dimerization are also discussed.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed2005

Binding affinity difference induced by the stereochemistry of the sulfoxide bridge of the cyclic peptide inhibitors of Grb2-SH2 domain: NMR studies for the structural origin.

The SAR study on a phage library-derived non-phosphorylated cyclic peptide ligand of Grb2-SH2 domain indicates that the configuration of the cyclization linkage is crucial for assuming the active binding conformation. When the thioether linkage was oxidized to the two chiral sulfoxides, the R-configured sulfoxide-cyclized peptide displayed 10-30 times more potency than the corresponding S-configured one in binding affinity to the Grb2-SH2 domain. In this paper, the solution structures of such a pair of sulfoxide-bridged cyclic peptide diastereoisomers, i.e., cyclo[CH(2)CO-Gla(1)-L-Y-E-N-V-G-NPG-Y-(R/S)C(O)(10)]-amide, were determined by NMR and molecular dynamics simulation. Results indicate that the consensus sequence of Y(3)-E(4)-N(5)-V(6) in both diastereoisomers adopt a beta-turn conformation; however, the R-configured peptide forms an extended structure with a circular backbone conformation, while the S-configured isomer forms a compact structure with key residues buried inside the molecule. The average root-mean-square deviations were found to be 0.756 and 0.804 A, respectively. It is apparent that the chiral S-->O group played a key role in the solution structures of the sulfoxide-bridged cyclic peptides. The R-sulfoxide group forms an intramolecular hydrogen bond with the C-terminal amide, conferring a more rigid conformation with all residues protruding outside except for Leu2, in which the Gla1 and Tyr3 share an overlapping function as previous SAR studies proposed. Additionally, the extended structure endows a more hydrophilic binding surface of the R-configured peptide to facilitate its capture by its targeted protein. In comparison, the S-configured sulfoxide was embedded inside the ligand peptide leading to a compact structure, in which the essential residues of Gla1, Tyr3, and Asn5 form multiple intramolecular hydrogen bonds resulting in an unfavorable conformational change and a substantial loss of the interaction with the protein. The solution structures disclosed by our NMR and molecular dynamics simulation studies provide a molecular basis for understanding how the chirality of the cyclization linkage remarkably discriminates in terms of the binding affinity, thus advancing the rational design of potent non-phosphorylated inhibitors of Grb2-SH2 domain as antitumor agents.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗
PubMed2004

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 3C-like proteinase N terminus is indispensable for proteolytic activity but not for enzyme dimerization. Biochemical and thermodynamic investigation in conjunction with molecular dynamics simulations.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus is a novel human coronavirus and is responsible for SARS infection. SARS coronavirus 3C-like proteinase (SARS 3CL(pro)) plays key roles in viral replication and transcription and is an attractive target for anti-SARS drug discovery. In this report, we quantitatively characterized the dimerization features of the full-length and N-terminal residues 1-7 deleted SARS 3CL(pro)s by using glutaraldehyde cross-linking SDS-PAGE, size-exclusion chromatography, and isothermal titration calorimeter techniques. Glutaraldehyde cross-linking SDS-PAGE and size-exclusion chromatography results show that, similar to the full-length SARS 3CL(pro), the N-terminal deleted SARS 3CL(pro) still remains a dimer/monomer mixture within a wide range of protein concentrations. Isothermal titration calorimeter determinations indicate that the equilibrium dissociation constant (K(d)) of the N-terminal deleted proteinase dimer (262 microm) is very similar to that of the full-length proteinase dimer (227 microm). Enzymatic activity assay using the fluorescence resonance energy transfer method reveals that N-terminal deletion results in almost complete loss of enzymatic activity for SARS 3CL(pro). Molecular dynamics and docking simulations demonstrate the N-terminal deleted proteinase dimer adopts a state different from that of the full-length proteinase dimer, which increases the angle between the two protomers and reduces the binding pocket that is not beneficial to the substrate binding. This conclusion is verified by the surface plasmon resonance biosensor determination, indicating that the model substrate cannot bind to the N-terminal deleted proteinase. These results suggest the N terminus is not indispensable for the proteinase dimerization but may fix the dimer at the active state and is therefore vital to enzymatic activity.

Binding Sites↗