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Nathan David
Wright
,
Patrick
Collins
,
Lizbe
Koekemoer
,
Tobias
Krojer
,
Romain
Talon
,
Elliot
Nelson
,
Mingda
Ye
,
Radoslaw
Nowak
,
Joseph
Newman
,
Jia Tsing
Ng
,
Nick
Mitrovic
,
Helton
Wiggers
,
Frank
Von Delft
Open Access
Abstract: Despite the tremendous success of X-ray cryo-crystallography in recent decades, the transfer of crystals from the drops in which they are grown to diffractometer sample mounts remains a manual process in almost all laboratories. Here, the Shifter, a motorized, interactive microscope stage that transforms the entire crystal-mounting workflow from a rate-limiting manual activity to a controllable, high-throughput semi-automated process, is described. By combining the visual acuity and fine motor skills of humans with targeted hardware and software automation, it was possible to transform the speed and robustness of crystal mounting. Control software, triggered by the operator, manoeuvres crystallization plates beneath a clear protective cover, allowing the complete removal of film seals and thereby eliminating the tedium of repetitive seal cutting. The software, either upon request or working from an imported list, controls motors to position crystal drops under a hole in the cover for human mounting at a microscope. The software automatically captures experimental annotations for uploading to the user's data repository, removing the need for manual documentation. The Shifter facilitates mounting rates of 100–240 crystals per hour in a more controlled process than manual mounting, which greatly extends the lifetime of the drops and thus allows a dramatic increase in the number of crystals retrievable from any given drop without loss of X-ray diffraction quality. In 2015, the first in a series of three Shifter devices was deployed as part of the XChem fragment-screening facility at Diamond Light Source, where they have since facilitated the mounting of over 120 000 crystals. The Shifter was engineered to have a simple design, providing a device that could be readily commercialized and widely adopted owing to its low cost. The versatile hardware design allows use beyond fragment screening and protein crystallography.
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Jan 2021
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Abstract: Understanding allosteric regulation of proteins is fundamental to our study of protein structure and function. Moreover, allosteric binding pockets have become a major target of drug discovery efforts in recent years. However, even though the function of almost every protein can be influenced by allostery, it remains a challenge to discover, rationalise and validate putative allosteric binding pockets. This review examines how the discovery and analysis of putative allosteric binding sites have been influenced by the availability of centralised facilities for crystallographic fragment screening, along with newly developed computational methods for modelling low occupancy features. We discuss the experimental parameters required for success, and how new methods could influence the field in the future. Finally, we reflect on the general problem of how to translate these findings into actual ligand development programs.
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Dec 2020
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I04-1-Macromolecular Crystallography (fixed wavelength)
I04-Macromolecular Crystallography
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Alice
Douangamath
,
Daren
Fearon
,
Paul
Gehrtz
,
Tobias
Krojer
,
Petra
Lukacik
,
C. David
Owen
,
Efrat
Resnick
,
Claire
Strain-damerell
,
Anthony
Aimon
,
Péter
Ábrányi-balogh
,
Jose
Brandao-neto
,
Anna
Carbery
,
Gemma
Davison
,
Alexandre
Dias
,
Thomas D.
Downes
,
Louise
Dunnett
,
Michael
Fairhead
,
James D.
Firth
,
S. Paul
Jones
,
Aaron
Keeley
,
György M.
Keserü
,
Hanna F.
Klein
,
Mathew P.
Martin
,
Martin M.
Noble
,
Peter
O’brien
,
Ailsa
Powell
,
Rambabu N.
Reddi
,
Rachael
Skyner
,
Matthew
Snee
,
Michael J.
Waring
,
Conor
Wild
,
Nir
London
,
Frank
Von Delft
,
Martin A.
Walsh
Open Access
Abstract: COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, lacks effective therapeutics. Additionally, no antiviral drugs or vaccines were developed against the closely related coronavirus, SARS-CoV-1 or MERS-CoV, despite previous zoonotic outbreaks. To identify starting points for such therapeutics, we performed a large-scale screen of electrophile and non-covalent fragments through a combined mass spectrometry and X-ray approach against the SARS-CoV-2 main protease, one of two cysteine viral proteases essential for viral replication. Our crystallographic screen identified 71 hits that span the entire active site, as well as 3 hits at the dimer interface. These structures reveal routes to rapidly develop more potent inhibitors through merging of covalent and non-covalent fragment hits; one series of low-reactivity, tractable covalent fragments were progressed to discover improved binders. These combined hits offer unprecedented structural and reactivity information for on-going structure-based drug design against SARS-CoV-2 main protease.
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Oct 2020
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I04-1-Macromolecular Crystallography (fixed wavelength)
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Open Access
Abstract: Fragment based methods are now widely used to identify starting points in drug discovery and generation of tools for chemical biology. A significant challenge is optimization of these weak binding fragments to hit and lead compounds. We have developed an approach where individual reaction mixtures of analogues of hits can be evaluated without purification of the product. Here, we describe experiments to optimise the processes and then assess such mixtures in the high throughput crystal structure determination facility, XChem. Diffraction data for crystals of the proteins Hsp90 and PDHK2 soaked individually with 83 crude reaction mixtures are analysed manually or with the automated XChem procedures. The results of structural analysis are compared with binding measurements from other biophysical techniques. This approach can transform early hit to lead optimisation and the lessons learnt from this study provide a protocol that can be used by the community.
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Sep 2020
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I03-Macromolecular Crystallography
I24-Microfocus Macromolecular Crystallography
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Sarah L.
Kidd
,
Elaine
Fowler
,
Till
Reinhardt
,
Thomas
Compton
,
Natalia
Mateu
,
Hector
Newman
,
Dom
Bellini
,
Romain
Talon
,
Joseph
Mcloughlin
,
Tobias
Krojer
,
Anthony
Aimon
,
Anthony
Bradley
,
Michael
Fairhead
,
Paul
Brear
,
Laura
Diaz-saez
,
Katherine
Mcauley
,
Hannah F.
Sore
,
Andrew
Madin
,
Daniel H.
O'donovan
,
Kilian
Huber
,
Marko
Hyvonen
,
Frank
Von Delft
,
Christopher G.
Dowson
,
David R.
Spring
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[18145, 15649, 14303, 14493]
Open Access
Abstract: Organic synthesis underpins the evolution of weak fragment hits into potent lead compounds. Deficiencies within current screening collections often result in the requirement of significant synthetic investment to enable multidirectional fragment growth, limiting the efficiency of the hit evolution process. Diversity-oriented synthesis (DOS)-derived fragment libraries are constructed in an efficient and modular fashion and thus are well-suited to address this challenge. To demonstrate the effective nature of such libraries within fragment-based drug discovery, we herein describe the screening of a 40-member DOS library against three functionally distinct biological targets using X-Ray crystallography. Firstly, we demonstrate the importance for diversity in aiding hit identification with four fragment binders resulting from these efforts. Moreover, we also exemplify the ability to readily access a library of analogues from cheap commercially available materials, which ultimately enabled the exploration of a minimum of four synthetic vectors from each molecule. In total, 10–14 analogues of each hit were rapidly accessed in three to six synthetic steps. Thus, we showcase how DOS-derived fragment libraries enable efficient hit derivatisation and can be utilised to remove the synthetic limitations encountered in early stage fragment-based drug discovery.
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May 2020
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I03-Macromolecular Crystallography
I04-Macromolecular Crystallography
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Storm
Hassell-hart
,
Andrew
Runcie
,
Tobias
Krojer
,
Jordan
Doyle
,
Ella
Lineham
,
Cory A.
Ocasio
,
Brenno A. D.
Neto
,
Oleg
Fedorov
,
Graham
Marsh
,
Hannah
Maple
,
Robert
Felix
,
Rebecca
Banks
,
Alessio
Ciulli
,
Sarah
Picaud
,
Panagis
Filippakopoulos
,
Frank
Von Delft
,
Paul
Brennan
,
Helen J. S.
Stewart
,
Timothy J.
Chevassut
,
Martin
Walker
,
Carol
Austin
,
Simon
Morley
,
John
Spencer
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[19301]
Abstract: (+)-JD1, a rationally designed ferrocene analogue of the BET bromodomain (BRD) probe molecule (+)-JQ1, has been synthesized and evaluated in biophysical, cell-based assays as well as in pharmacokinetic studies. It displays nanomolar activity against BRD isoforms, and its cocrystal structure was determined in complex with the first bromodomain of BRD4 and compared with that of (+)-JQ1, a known BRD4 small-molecule probe. At 1 μM concentration, (+)-JD1 was able to inhibit c-Myc, a key driver in cancer and an indirect target of BRD4.
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Dec 2019
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I02-Macromolecular Crystallography
I04-Macromolecular Crystallography
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Inga
Pfeffer
,
Lennart
Brewitz
,
Tobias
Krojer
,
Sacha A.
Jensen
,
Grazyna T.
Kochan
,
Nadia J.
Kershaw
,
Kirsty S.
Hewitson
,
Luke A.
Mcneill
,
Holger
Kramer
,
Martin
Münzel
,
Richard J.
Hopkinson
,
Udo
Oppermann
,
Penny A.
Handford
,
Michael A.
Mcdonough
,
Christopher J.
Schofield
Open Access
Abstract: AspH is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane-anchored 2-oxoglutarate oxygenase whose C-terminal oxygenase and tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) domains present in the ER lumen. AspH catalyses hydroxylation of asparaginyl- and aspartyl-residues in epidermal growth factor-like domains (EGFDs). Here we report crystal structures of human AspH, with and without substrate, that reveal substantial conformational changes of the oxygenase and TPR domains during substrate binding. Fe(II)-binding by AspH is unusual, employing only two Fe(II)-binding ligands (His679/His725). Most EGFD structures adopt an established fold with a conserved Cys1–3, 2–4, 5–6 disulfide bonding pattern; an unexpected Cys3–4 disulfide bonding pattern is observed in AspH-EGFD substrate complexes, the catalytic relevance of which is supported by studies involving stable cyclic peptide substrate analogues and by effects of Ca(II) ions on activity. The results have implications for EGFD disulfide pattern processing in the ER and will enable medicinal chemistry efforts targeting human 2OG oxygenases.
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Oct 2019
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I03-Macromolecular Crystallography
I04-1-Macromolecular Crystallography (fixed wavelength)
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Efrat
Resnick
,
Anthony
Bradley
,
Jinrui
Gan
,
Alice
Douangamath
,
Tobias
Krojer
,
Ritika
Sethi
,
Paul P.
Geurink
,
Anthony
Aimon
,
Gabriel
Amitai
,
Dom
Bellini
,
James
Bennett
,
Michael
Fairhead
,
Oleg
Fedorov
,
Ronen
Gabizon
,
Jin
Gan
,
Jingxu
Guo
,
Alexander
Plotnikov
,
Nava
Reznik
,
Gian Filippo
Ruda
,
Laura
Diaz-saez
,
Verena M.
Straub
,
Tamas
Szommer
,
Srikannathasan
Velupillai
,
Daniel
Zaidman
,
Yanling
Zhang
,
Alun R.
Coker
,
Christopher G.
Dowson
,
Haim
Barr
,
Chu
Wang
,
Kilian V. M.
Huber
,
Paul E.
Brennan
,
Huib
Ovaa
,
Frank
Von Delft
,
Nir
London
Abstract: Covalent probes can display unmatched potency, selectivity and duration of action; however, their discovery is challenging. In principle, fragments that can irreversibly bind their target can overcome the low affinity that limits reversible fragment screening, but such electrophilic fragments were considered non-selective and were rarely screened. We hypothesized that mild electrophiles might overcome the selectivity challenge and constructed a library of 993 mildly electrophilic fragments. We characterized this library by a new high-throughput thiol-reactivity assay and screened them against ten cysteine-containing proteins. Highly reactive and promiscuous fragments were rare and could be easily eliminated. By contrast, we found hits for most targets. Combining our approach with high-throughput crystallography allowed rapid progression to potent and selective probes for two enzymes, the deubiquitinase OTUB2 and the pyrophosphatase NUDT7. No inhibitors were previously known for either. This study highlights the potential of electrophile-fragment screening as a practical and efficient tool for covalent-ligand discovery.
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May 2019
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I02-Macromolecular Crystallography
I03-Macromolecular Crystallography
I24-Microfocus Macromolecular Crystallography
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[1221, 7864, 9948, 15433]
Abstract: Biosynthesis of 6-deoxy sugars, including L-fucose, involves a mechanistically complex, enzymatic 4,6-dehydration of hex-ose nucleotide precursors as the first committed step. Here, we determined pre- and post-catalytic complex structures of the human GDP-mannose 4,6-dehydratase at atomic resolution. These structures together with results of molecular dynamics simulation and biochemical characterization of wildtype and mutant enzymes reveal elusive mechanistic details of water elimination from GDP-mannose C5’’ and C6’’, coupled to NADP-mediated hydride transfer from C4’’ to C6’’. We show that concerted acid-base catalysis from only two active-site groups, Tyr179 and Glu157, promotes a syn 1,4-elimination from an enol (not an enolate) intermediate. We also show that the overall multistep catalytic reaction involves least position changes of enzyme and substrate groups; and that it proceeds under conserved exploitation of the basic (minimal) catalytic machinery of short-chain dehydrogenase/reductases.
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Mar 2019
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Abstract: The XChem facility at Diamond Light Source offers fragment screening by X-ray crystallography as a general access user program. The main advantage of X-ray crystallography as a primary fragment screen is that it yields directly the location and pose of the fragment hits, whether within pockets of interest or merely on surface sites: this is the key information for structure-based design and for enabling synthesis of follow-up molecules. Extensive streamlining of the screening experiment at XChem has engendered a very active user program that is generating large amounts of data: in 2017, 36 academic and industry groups generated 35,000 datasets of uniquely soaked crystals. It has also generated a large number of learnings concerning the main remaining bottleneck, namely, obtaining a suitable crystal system that will support a successful fragment screen. Here we discuss the practicalities of generating screen-ready crystals that have useful electron density maps, and how to ensure they will be successfully reproduced and usable at a facility outside the home lab.
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Oct 2018
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