Batson Jennifer, Toop Hamish D, Redondo Clara, Babaei-Jadidi Roya, Chaikuad Apirat, Wearmouth Stephen F, Gibbons Brian, Allen Claire, Tallant Cynthia, Zhang Jingxue, Du Chunyun, Hancox Jules C, Hawtrey Tom, Da Rocha Joana, Griffith Renate, Knapp Stefan, Bates David O, Morris Jonathan C
Exonate Ltd , Unit 23, Cambridge Science Park, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Cancer Biology, Division of Cancer and Stem Cells, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham , Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG2 7UH, United Kingdom.
ACS Chem Biol. 2017 Mar 17;12(3):825-832. doi: 10.1021/acschembio.6b01048. Epub 2017 Feb 6.
Serine/arginine-protein kinase 1 (SRPK1) regulates alternative splicing of VEGF-A to pro-angiogenic isoforms and SRPK1 inhibition can restore the balance of pro/antiangiogenic isoforms to normal physiological levels. The lack of potency and selectivity of available compounds has limited development of SRPK1 inhibitors, with the control of alternative splicing by splicing factor-specific kinases yet to be translated. We present here compounds that occupy a binding pocket created by the unique helical insert of SRPK1, and trigger a backbone flip in the hinge region, that results in potent (<10 nM) and selective inhibition of SRPK1 kinase activity. Treatment with these inhibitors inhibited SRPK1 activity and phosphorylation of serine/arginine splicing factor 1 (SRSF1), resulting in alternative splicing of VEGF-A from pro-angiogenic to antiangiogenic isoforms. This property resulted in potent inhibition of blood vessel growth in models of choroidal angiogenesis in vivo. This work identifies tool compounds for splice isoform selective targeting of pro-angiogenic VEGF, which may lead to new therapeutic strategies for a diversity of diseases where dysfunctional splicing drives disease development.
丝氨酸/精氨酸蛋白激酶1(SRPK1)调控血管内皮生长因子A(VEGF-A)向促血管生成异构体的可变剪接,抑制SRPK1可使促/抗血管生成异构体的平衡恢复到正常生理水平。现有化合物缺乏效力和选择性限制了SRPK1抑制剂的开发,剪接因子特异性激酶对可变剪接的调控尚未转化为实际应用。我们在此展示了一些化合物,它们占据了由SRPK1独特的螺旋插入结构形成的结合口袋,并在铰链区引发主链翻转,从而强效(<10 nM)且选择性地抑制SRPK1激酶活性。用这些抑制剂处理可抑制SRPK1活性以及丝氨酸/精氨酸剪接因子1(SRSF1)的磷酸化,导致VEGF-A从促血管生成异构体向抗血管生成异构体的可变剪接。这一特性在体内脉络膜血管生成模型中强效抑制了血管生长。这项工作确定了用于促血管生成VEGF剪接异构体选择性靶向的工具化合物,这可能为多种因剪接功能异常驱动疾病发展的疾病带来新的治疗策略。