Abnormal hyperphosphorylation and accumulation of tau protein play a pivotal role in neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease(AD)and many other tauopathies.Selective elimination of hyperphosphorylated tau is promisin...Abnormal hyperphosphorylation and accumulation of tau protein play a pivotal role in neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease(AD)and many other tauopathies.Selective elimination of hyperphosphorylated tau is promising for the therapy of these diseases.We have conceptualized a strategy,named dephosphorylation-targeting chimeras(DEPTACs),for specifically hijacking phosphatases to tau to debilitate its hyperphosphorylation.Here,we conducted the step-by-step optimization of each constituent motif to generate DEPTACs with reasonable effectiveness in facilitating the dephosphorylation and subsequent clearance of pathological tau.Specifically,for one of the selected chimeras,D16,we demonstrated its significant efficiency in rescuing the neurodegeneration caused by neurotoxic K18-tau seeds in vitro.Moreover,intravenous administration of D16 also alleviated tau pathologies in the brain and improved memory deficits in AD mice.These results suggested DEPTACs as targeted modulators of tau phosphorylation,which hold therapeutic potential for AD and other tauopathies.展开更多
Mixed lineage leukemia(MLL)is an aggressive and refractory blood cancer that predominantly occurs in pediatric patients and is often associated with poor prognosis and dismal outcomes.Thus far,no effective target ther...Mixed lineage leukemia(MLL)is an aggressive and refractory blood cancer that predominantly occurs in pediatric patients and is often associated with poor prognosis and dismal outcomes.Thus far,no effective target therapy for the treatment of MLL leukemia is available.MLL leukemia is caused by the rearrangement of MLL genes at 11q23,which generates various MLL chimeric proteins that promote leukemogenesis through transcriptional misregulation of MLL target genes.Biochemical studies on MLL chimeras have identified that the most common partners exist in the superelongation complex(SEC)and DOT1L complex,which activate or sustain MLL target gene expression through processive transcription elongation.The results of these studies indicate a transcription-related mechanism for MLL leukemogenesis and maintenance.In this study,we first review the history of MLL leukemia and its related clinical features.Then,we discuss the biological functions of MLL and MLL chimeras,significant cooperating events,and transcriptional addiction mechanisms in MLL leukemia with an emphasis on potential and rational therapy development.Collectively,we believe that targeting the transcriptional addiction mediated by SEC and the DOT1L complex will provide new avenues for target therapies in MLL leukemia and serve as a novel paradigm for targeting transcriptional addiction in other cancers.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(82230041,91949205,31730035,81721005)the National Key R&D Program of China(2016YFC1305800)the Guangdong Provincial Key S&T Program(018B030336001)。
文摘Abnormal hyperphosphorylation and accumulation of tau protein play a pivotal role in neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease(AD)and many other tauopathies.Selective elimination of hyperphosphorylated tau is promising for the therapy of these diseases.We have conceptualized a strategy,named dephosphorylation-targeting chimeras(DEPTACs),for specifically hijacking phosphatases to tau to debilitate its hyperphosphorylation.Here,we conducted the step-by-step optimization of each constituent motif to generate DEPTACs with reasonable effectiveness in facilitating the dephosphorylation and subsequent clearance of pathological tau.Specifically,for one of the selected chimeras,D16,we demonstrated its significant efficiency in rescuing the neurodegeneration caused by neurotoxic K18-tau seeds in vitro.Moreover,intravenous administration of D16 also alleviated tau pathologies in the brain and improved memory deficits in AD mice.These results suggested DEPTACs as targeted modulators of tau phosphorylation,which hold therapeutic potential for AD and other tauopathies.
基金supported by grant from the“Thousand Young Talent Program”awarded to K.L.
文摘Mixed lineage leukemia(MLL)is an aggressive and refractory blood cancer that predominantly occurs in pediatric patients and is often associated with poor prognosis and dismal outcomes.Thus far,no effective target therapy for the treatment of MLL leukemia is available.MLL leukemia is caused by the rearrangement of MLL genes at 11q23,which generates various MLL chimeric proteins that promote leukemogenesis through transcriptional misregulation of MLL target genes.Biochemical studies on MLL chimeras have identified that the most common partners exist in the superelongation complex(SEC)and DOT1L complex,which activate or sustain MLL target gene expression through processive transcription elongation.The results of these studies indicate a transcription-related mechanism for MLL leukemogenesis and maintenance.In this study,we first review the history of MLL leukemia and its related clinical features.Then,we discuss the biological functions of MLL and MLL chimeras,significant cooperating events,and transcriptional addiction mechanisms in MLL leukemia with an emphasis on potential and rational therapy development.Collectively,we believe that targeting the transcriptional addiction mediated by SEC and the DOT1L complex will provide new avenues for target therapies in MLL leukemia and serve as a novel paradigm for targeting transcriptional addiction in other cancers.
