The crystal structure of the protein kinase HIPK2 reveals a unique architecture of its CMGC-insert region
JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY
Authors: Agnew, Christopher; Liu, Lijun; Liu, Shu; Xu, Wei; You, Liang; Yeung, Wayland; Kannan, Natarajan; Jablons, David; Jura, Natalia
Abstract
The homeodomain-interacting protein kinase (HIPK) family is comprised of four nuclear protein kinases, HIPK1-4. HIPK proteins phosphorylate a diverse range of transcription factors involved in cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. HIPK2, thus far the best-characterized member of this largely understudied family of protein kinases, plays a role in the activation of p53 in response to DNA damage. Despite this tumor-suppressor function, HIPK2 is also found overexpressed in several cancers, and its hyperactivation causes chronic fibrosis. There are currently no structures of HIPK2 or of any other HIPK kinase. Here, we report the crystal structure of HIPK2's kinase domain bound to CX-4945, a casein kinase 2 alpha (CK2 alpha) inhibitor currently in clinical trials against several cancers. The structure, determined at 2.2 angstrom resolution, revealed that CX-4945 engages the HIPK2 active site in a hybrid binding mode between that seen in structures of CK2 alpha and Pim1 kinases. The HIPK2 kinase domain crystallized in the active conformation, which was stabilized by phosphorylation of the activation loop. We noted that the overall kinase domain fold of HIPK2 closely resembles that of evolutionarily related dual-specificity tyrosine-regulated kinases (DYRKs). Most significant structural differences between HIPK2 and DYRKs included an absence of the regulatory N-terminal domain and a unique conformation of the CMGC-insert region and of a newly defined insert segment in the alpha C-beta 4 loop. This first crystal structure of HIPK2 paves the way for characterizing the understudied members of the HIPK family and for developing HIPK2-directed therapies for managing cancer and fibrosis.
Meridianin derivatives as potent Dyrk1A inhibitors and neuroprotective agents
BIOORGANIC & MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
Authors: Yadav, Rammohan R.; Sharma, Sadhana; Joshi, Prashant; Wani, Abubakar; Vishwakarma, Ram A.; Kumar, Ajay; Bharate, Sandip B.
Abstract
Meridianins are a group of marine-derived indole alkaloids which are reported to possess kinase inhibitory activities. In the present Letter, we report synthesis of N1-substituted and C-ring modified meridianin derivatives and their evaluation as Dyrk1A inhibitors and neuroprotective agents. Among the library of 52 compounds screened, morpholinoyl linked derivative 26b and 2-nitro-4-trifluoromethyl phenyl sulfonyl derivative 29v displayed potent inhibition of Dyrk1A with IC50 values of 0.5 and 0.53 mu M, respectively. The derivative 26b also inhibited Dyrk2 and Dyrk3 with IC50 values of 1.4 and 2.2 mu M, respectively showing 2.2 and 4.4 fold selectivity for Dyrk1A with respect to Dyrk2 and Dyrk3. The compound 26b was not cytotoxic to human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells (IC50 > 100 mu M) and it displayed significant neuroprotection against glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in these cells at 10 mu M. Molecular modelling studies of compound 26b led to identification of key interactions in the binding site of Dyrk1A and the possible reasons for observed Dyrk1A selectivity over Dyrk2. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.