Chemically Induced Degradation of Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK)
JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
Authors: Powell, Chelsea E.; Gao, Yang; Tan, Li; Donovan, Katherine A.; Nowak, Radoslaw P.; Loehr, Amanda; Bahcall, Magda; Fischer, Eric S.; Janne, Pasi A.; George, Rani E.; Gray, Nathanael S.
Abstract
We present the development of the first small molecule degraders that can induce anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) degradation, including in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL), and neuroblastoma (NB) cell lines. These degraders were developed through conjugation of known pyrimidine-based ALK inhibitors, TAE684 or LDK378, and the cereblon ligand pomalidomide. We demonstrate that in some cell types degrader potency is compromised by expression of drug transporter ABCB1. In addition, proteomic profiling demonstrated that these compounds also promote the degradation of additional kinases including PTK2 (FAK), Aurora A, FER, and RPS6KA1 (RSK1).
Negative feedback via RSK modulates Erk-dependent progression from naive pluripotency
EMBO REPORTS
Authors: Nett, Isabelle R. E.; Mulas, Carla; Gatto, Laurent; Lilley, Kathryn S.; Smith, Austin
Abstract
Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signalling is implicated in initiation of embryonic stem (ES) cell differentiation. The pathway is subject to complex feedback regulation. Here, we examined the ERK-responsive phospho-proteome in ES cells and identified the negative regulator RSK1 as a prominent target. We used CRISPR/Cas9 to create combinatorial mutations in RSK family genes. Genotypes that included homozygous null mutations in Rps6ka1, encoding RSK1, resulted in elevated ERK phosphorylation. These RSK-depleted ES cells exhibit altered kinetics of transition into differentiation, with accelerated downregulation of naive pluripotency factors, precocious expression of transitional epiblast markers and early onset of lineage specification. We further show that chemical inhibition of RSK increases ERK phosphorylation and expedites ES cell transition without compromising multilineage potential. These findings demonstrate that the ERK activation profile influences the dynamics of pluripotency progression and highlight the role of signalling feedback in temporal control of cell state transitions.