We have cloned and overexpressed a gene encoding a 43-kDa protein corresponding to the N-terminal fragment of the DNA gyrase B subunit. We show that this protein hydrolyzes ATP and binds coumarin drugs. The hydrolysis of ATP shows distinctly non-Michaelis-Menten kinetics and is consistent with a scheme in which the active form of the protein is a dimer, a conclusion supported by molecular weight studies. The coumarin drugs bind very tightly to the 43-kDa fragment, with novobiocin binding to the protein monomer and coumermycin A1 apparently inducing the formation of a dimer. The implications of these results with respect to the mechanism of supercoiling by DNA gyrase and the inhibition of gyrase by coumarin drugs are discussed.

The kinetic mechanism by which the DNA repair helicase UvrD of Escherichia coli unwinds duplex DNA was examined with the use of a series of oligodeoxynucleotides with duplex regions ranging from 10 to 40 base pairs. Single-turnover unwinding experiments showed distinct lag phases that increased with duplex length because partially unwound DNA intermediate states are highly populated during unwinding. Analysis of these kinetics indicates that UvrD unwinds duplex DNA in discrete steps, with an average "step size" of 4 to 5 base pairs (approximately one-half turn of the DNA helix). This suggests an unwinding mechanism in which alternating subunits of the dimeric helicase interact directly with duplex DNA.

Phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K)-δ and PI3K-γ are preferentially expressed in immune cells, and inhibitors targeting these isoforms are hypothesized to have anti-inflammatory activity by affecting the adaptive and innate immune response. We report on a potent oral PI3K-δ and PI3K-γ inhibitor (IPI-145) and characterize this compound in biochemical, cellular, and in vivo assays. These studies demonstrate that IPI-145 exerts profound effects on adaptive and innate immunity by inhibiting B and T cell proliferation, blocking neutrophil migration, and inhibiting basophil activation. We explored the therapeutic value of combined PI3K-δ and PI3K-γ blockade, and IPI-145 showed potent activity in collagen-induced arthritis, ovalbumin-induced asthma, and systemic lupus erythematosus rodent models. These findings support the hypothesis that inhibition of immune function can be achieved through PI3K-δ and PI3K-γ blockade, potentially leading to significant therapeutic effects in multiple inflammatory, autoimmune, and hematologic diseases.

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Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is an emerging therapeutic target of interest for the treatment of cancer. Its role in protein homeostasis and the selective chaperoning of key signaling proteins in cancer survival and proliferation pathways has made it an attractive target of small molecule therapeutic intervention. 17-Allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin (17-AAG), the most studied agent directed against Hsp90, suffers from poor physical-chemical properties that limit its clinical potential. Therefore, there exists a need for novel, patient-friendly Hsp90-directed agents for clinical investigation. IPI-504, the highly soluble hydroquinone hydrochloride derivative of 17-AAG, was synthesized as an Hsp90 inhibitor with favorable pharmaceutical properties. Its biochemical and biological activity was profiled in an Hsp90-binding assay, as well as in cancer-cell assays. Furthermore, the metabolic profile of IPI-504 was compared with that of 17-AAG, a geldanamycin analog currently in clinical trials. The anti-tumor activity of IPI-504 was tested as both a single agent as well as in combination with bortezomib in myeloma cell lines and in vivo xenograft models, and the retention of IPI-504 in tumor tissue was determined. In conclusion, IPI-504, a potent inhibitor of Hsp90, is efficacious in cellular and animal models of myeloma. It is synergistically efficacious with the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib and is preferentially retained in tumor tissues relative to plasma. Importantly, it was observed that IPI-504 interconverts with the known agent 17-AAG in vitro and in vivo via an oxidation-reduction equilibrium, and we demonstrate that IPI-504 is the slightly more potent inhibitor of Hsp90.T he heat shock response, first identified in 1962 by Ritossa (1), was initially characterized as the induction of select polypeptides in response to an acute cellular heat shock. These polypeptides were proteins that bound to partially unfolded proteins to prevent their aggregation and assist in their refolding (2, 3), and were termed chaperones. Of the heat shock proteins, heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) in particular has been the subject of intense investigation. Work over the last decade has revealed not only a general protein chaperone role for Hsp90, but also a specific chaperone role in the binding of select conformations or metastable forms of signaling proteins (clients), thereby attenuating their signaling activity (4-6). Client proteins include the targets of key cancer survival and proliferation pathways, including Akt, Bcr-Abl, Her-2, mutant EGFR, and c-Kit, many of which are the subject of individual investigation for points of therapeutic intervention. Therefore, two functions of Hsp90 exist: (i) a general protein chaperone function (protein homeostasis) and (ii) a specific function to modulate the integrity of cell-signaling pathways through the proper folding of pathway members that are Hsp90 clients.Multiple myeloma (MM) is a neoplasm of terminally differentiated B cells (plasma cells) (7). Because of the high protein secr...