@article {2289, title = {Target identification for small-molecule discovery in the FOXO3a tumor-suppressor pathway using a biodiverse peptide library.}, journal = {Cell Chem Biol}, year = {2021}, month = {2021 Jun 01}, abstract = {

Genetic screening technologies to identify and validate macromolecular interactions (MMIs) essential for complex pathways remain an important unmet need for systems biology and therapeutics development. Here, we use a library of peptides from diverse prokaryal genomes to screen MMIs promoting the nuclear relocalization of Forkhead Box O3 (FOXO3a), a tumor suppressor more frequently inactivated by post-translational modification than mutation. A hit peptide engages the 14-3-3 family of signal regulators through a phosphorylation-dependent interaction, modulates FOXO3a-mediated transcription, and suppresses cancer cell growth. In a crystal structure, the hit peptide occupies the phosphopeptide-binding groove of 14-3-3ε in a conformation distinct from its natural peptide substrates. A biophysical screen identifies drug-like small molecules that displace the hit peptide from 14-3-3ε, providing starting points for structure-guided development. Our findings exemplify "protein interference," an approach using evolutionarily diverse, natural peptides to rapidly identify, validate, and develop chemical probes against MMIs essential for complex cellular phenotypes.

}, issn = {2451-9448}, doi = {10.1016/j.chembiol.2021.05.009}, author = {Emery, Amy and Hardwick, Bryn S and Crooks, Alex T and Milech, Nadia and Watt, Paul M and Mithra, Chandan and Kumar, Vikrant and Giridharan, Saranya and Sadasivam, Gayathri and Mathivanan, Subashini and Sudhakar, Sneha and Bairy, Sneha and Bharatham, Kavitha and Hurakadli, Manjunath A and Prasad, Thazhe K and Kamariah, Neelagandan and Muellner, Markus and Coelho, Miguel and Torrance, Christopher J and McKenzie, Grahame J and Venkitaraman, Ashok R} }