Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.7.7.6 (RNA polymerase)
34,946 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Mithramycin is a DNA-binding antibiotic that has been reported to selectively affect c-myc expression [Snyder, R. C. et al., (1991) Biochemistry 30, 4290-4297]. We used in vitro transcription to investigate the specificity of mithramycin action. We found that mithramycin inhibited transcription from the human c-myc P1 and P2 promoters, as well as from a minimal adenovirus-2 major late promoter, with equal efficiencies. Mithramycin also inhibited transcription elongation by creating kinetic blockades to the passage of RNA polymerase II. These data suggest that mithramycin may inhibit transcription non-specifically by affecting general processes such as transcription elongation.
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PMID:In vitro inhibition of c-myc transcription by mithramycin. 153 93

Mithramycin(MTR, structure shown in Figure 1) [and the related compound Chromomycin A3(CHRA3)] are antitumor antibiotics which inhibit DNA dependent RNA polymerase activity via reversible interaction with DNA only in the presence of divalent metal ion such as Mg++. In order to understand the role of Mg++ in MTR-DNA interaction, absorbance and CD spectroscopic techniques are employed to study the binding of MTR to Mg++. These studies show: i) the drug alone binds to Mg++ and ii) two different types of drug-Mg++ complexes are formed at low(Complex I) and high(Complex II) ratios of the concentration of Mg++ and MTR. We propose that these two complexes would bind to the same DNA with different affinities and rates. This result suggests that the relative concentration of Mg++ is an important factor to be taken into account to understand the molecular basis of MTR-DNA interaction.
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PMID:Role of Mg++ in the mithramycin-DNA interaction: evidence for two types of mithramycin-Mg++ complex. 214 84

Mithramycin induces a reversible inhibition of cellular RNA synthesis without affecting DNA synthesis. The authors have shown this drug induces myeloid differentiation of HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells and is an effective agent in certain patients with chronic granulocytic leukemia. In order to investigate the mechanism by which this drug inhibits RNA synthesis we have compared the effect of mithramycin on RNA synthesis by whole cells, isolated nuclei, and RNA synthesis by isolated E. coli RNA polymerase and eukaryotic RNA polymerase II. Exposure of HL-60 cells to mithramycin at concentrations of 4.6 X 10(-7) m or higher for 48 hours causes an almost immediate inhibition of RNA synthesis (up to 85% at 4 hours) with only modest cytotoxicity at these concentrations. Endogenous RNA synthesis by isolated nuclei can be inhibited by mithramycin only at high concentrations (greater than 10(-5) m), suggesting that mithramycin primarily may inhibit initiation, rather than elongation. Mithramycin inhibits in vitro transcription of salmon sperm DNA by E. coli RNA polymerase at DNA:drug ratios similar to those required for RNA synthesis inhibition in whole cells. Similar DNA binding studies with synthetic oligonucleotides demonstrate that mithramycin is a potent inhibitor of transcription of Poly dG.dC by E. coli RNA polymerase but has no effect on transcription of Poly dA.dT. The rapid inhibition of whole cell and isolated RNA polymerase transcription, and the relative insensitivity of isolated nuclei, suggest mithramycin may interact with specific DNA sequences in order to inhibit the initiation of RNA synthesis in intact cells.
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PMID:Mithramycin selectively inhibits transcription of G-C containing DNA. 296 90

There is a need to develop novel approaches to improve the balance between efficacy and toxicity for transcription factor-targeted therapies. In this study, we exploit context-dependent differences in RNA polymerase II processivity as an approach to improve the activity and limit the toxicity of the EWS-FLI1-targeted small molecule, mithramycin, for Ewing sarcoma. The clinical activity of mithramycin for Ewing sarcoma is limited by off-target liver toxicity that restricts the serum concentration to levels insufficient to inhibit EWS-FLI1. In this study, we perform an siRNA screen of the druggable genome followed by a matrix drug screen to identify mithramycin potentiators and a synergistic "class" effect with cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK9) inhibitors. These CDK9 inhibitors enhanced the mithramycin-mediated suppression of the EWS-FLI1 transcriptional program leading to a shift in the IC50 and striking regressions of Ewing sarcoma xenografts. To determine whether these compounds may also be liver protective, we performed a qPCR screen of all known liver toxicity genes in HepG2 cells to identify mithramycin-driven transcriptional changes that contribute to the liver toxicity. Mithramycin induces expression of the BTG2 gene in HepG2 but not Ewing sarcoma cells, which leads to a liver-specific accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). siRNA silencing of BTG2 rescues the induction of ROS and the cytotoxicity of mithramycin in these cells. Furthermore, CDK9 inhibition blocked the induction of BTG2 to limit cytotoxicity in HepG2, but not Ewing sarcoma cells. These studies provide the basis for a synergistic and less toxic EWS-FLI1-targeted combination therapy for Ewing sarcoma.
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PMID:CDK9 Blockade Exploits Context-dependent Transcriptional Changes to Improve Activity and Limit Toxicity of Mithramycin for Ewing Sarcoma. 3212 64