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Virginia Tech

Pin1 Catalytic and WW Domain Ligands

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

Pin1 is a peptidyl prolyl isomerase (PPIase) enzyme with two domains, the catalytic domain and the WW domain. Both domains specifically bind pSer/pThr–Pro motifs. Pin1 plays an important role in regulating the cell cycle, and it is involved in many diseases, such as cancer, HIV-1, Alzheimer's disease, asthma, hepatitis B, and rheumatoid arthritis. Pin1 is a very promising target for new drug development. Three stereoisomers: (R,S)-, (S,R)- and (S,S)-Ac–pSer–Ψ[(Z)CH=C]–Pip–2-(2-naphthyl)ethylamine were synthesized as inhibitors binding to the Pin1 catalytic domain. The (R,S)- and (S,R)-isomers were synthesized via a 13-step route, with overall yields of 2.0% and 1.4%, respectively. The newly formed stereogenic center in the piperidyl ring was introduced by a Luche reduction, followed by a stereoselective [2,3]-Still-Wittig rearrangement. The configuration of the stereocenter was determined by NOESY of a bicyclic derivative. The (Z)- to (E)-alkene ratio in the rearrangement was (5.5:1). The (S,S)-isomer was obtained as the epimerized by-product resulting from the (S,R)-isomer in the Na/NH3 deprotection step. The IC50 values for Pin1 inhibition were: 52, 85, and 141 μM, respectively. We concluded that in this Z-alkene isostere, the R-configuration would be preferred at both stereogenic centers, as mimics of L-Ser and L-Pip, to improve the affinity. Combinatorial chemistry is a powerful method to discover biologically active compounds, and solid-phase synthesis is most commonly used to synthesize combinatorial libraries. To identify ligands for the Pin1 WW domain, a library, R1CO–pSer–Pro–NHR2, was designed. A new solid-phase phosphorylating reagent (SPPR) containing a phosphoramidite function was synthesized in one step from commercially available Wang resin. The SPPR was applied in the preparation of a designed library through parallel synthesis. The library contained 357 members (17 Ã 21), and was screened by an enzyme-linked enzyme binding assay (ELEBA). The best hits were resynthesized, and the competitive dissociation constants, Kd-rel, were measured by ELEBA, with a Kd-rel value of 130 μM for the best ligand. The absolute dissociation constants will be measured by our collaborator, Prof. Jefferey Peng, University of Notre Dame, using NMR methods. Besides the identification of the Pin1 WW domain ligands, I created a practical method for solid-phase synthesis of phosphopeptides.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Ph. D.
Level thesis:degree_level
doctoral
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Chemistry
Department dc:contributor.department
Chemistry
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2011

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Chen, Xingguo Ronald
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Etzkorn, Felicia A.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Yee, Gordon T.
  • Tanko, James M.
  • Carlier, Paul R.
  • Gandour, Richard D.

Subjects

dc:subject × 16

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
etd-05182011-001433
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/37824

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Chen, Xingguo Ronald. Pin1 Catalytic and WW Domain Ligands. doctoral thesis, Virginia Tech, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/37824