Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P05412 (c-Jun)
 11,453 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The oncogenic transcription factor AP-1 (activator protein-1) is required for tumor promotion and progression. Identification of novel and specific AP-1 inhibitors would be beneficial for cancer prevention and therapy. The authors have developed a high-throughput assay to screen synthetic and natural product libraries for noncytotoxic inhibitors of mitogen-activated AP-1 activity. The cell-based high-throughput screen is conducted in a 384-well format using a fluorescent resonance energy transfer (FRET) substrate to quantify the activity of a beta-lactamase reporter under the control of an AP-1-dependent promoter. The ratiometric FRET readout makes this assay extremely robust and reproducible, particularly for use with natural product extracts. To eliminate false positives due to cell killing, a cytotoxicity assay was incorporated. The AP-1 beta-lactamase reporter was validated with inhibitors of kinases located upstream of AP-1 and with known natural product inhibitors of AP-1 (nordihydroguaiaretic acid and curcumin). The assay was able to identify other known AP-1 inhibitors and protein kinase C modulators, as well as a number of chemically diverse compounds with unknown mechanisms of action from natural products libraries. Application to natural product extracts identified hits from a range of taxonomic groups. Screening of synthetic compounds and natural products should identify novel AP-1 inhibitors that may be useful in the prevention and treatment of cancers.
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PMID:A high-throughput cell-based assay to identify specific inhibitors of transcription factor AP-1. 1717 22

We have developed a reliable genetic selection strategy for isolating interacting proteins based on the "hitchhiker" mechanism of the Escherichia coli twin-arginine translocation (Tat) pathway. This method, designated FLI-TRAP (functional ligand-binding identification by Tat-based recognition of associating proteins), is based on the unique ability of the Tat system to efficiently cotranslocate noncovalent complexes of 2 folded polypeptides. In the FLI-TRAP assay, the protein to be screened for interactions is engineered with an N-terminal Tat signal peptide, whereas the known or putative partner protein is fused to mature TEM-1 beta-lactamase (Bla). Using a series of c-Jun and c-Fos leucine zipper (JunLZ and FosLZ) variants of known affinities, we observed that only those chimeras that expressed well and interacted strongly in the cytoplasm were able to colocalize Bla into the periplasm and confer beta-lactam antibiotic resistance to cells. Likewise, the assay was able to efficiently detect interactions between intracellular single-chain Fv (scFv) antibodies and their cognate antigens. The utility of FLI-TRAP was then demonstrated through random library selections of amino acid substitutions that restored (i) heterodimerization to a noninteracting FosLZ variant, and (ii) antigen binding to a low-affinity scFv antibody. Because Tat substrates must be correctly folded before transport, FLI-TRAP favors the identification of soluble, nonaggregating, protease-resistant protein pairs and, thus, provides a powerful tool for routine selection of interacting partners (e.g., antibody-antigen), without the need for purification or immobilization of the binding target.
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PMID:Versatile selection technology for intracellular protein-protein interactions mediated by a unique bacterial hitchhiker transport mechanism. 1923 30