Identification of small molecule inhibitors of pre-mRNA splicing

TY - JOUR

T1 - Identification of small molecule inhibitors of pre-mRNA splicing

AU - Pawellek, Andrea

AU - McElroy, Stuart

AU - Samatov, Timur

AU - Mitchell, Lee

AU - Woodland, Andrew

AU - Ryder, Ursula

AU - Gray, David

AU - Lührmann, Reinhard

AU - Lamond, Angus I.

N1 - Copyright © 2014, The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

PY - 2014/12/12

Y1 - 2014/12/12

N2 - Eukaryotic pre-mRNA splicing is an essential step in gene expression for all genes that contain introns. In contrast with transcription and translation, few well-characterized chemical inhibitors are available with which to dissect the splicing process, particularly in cells. Therefore, the identification of specific, small molecules that either inhibit, or modify, pre-mRNA splicing would be valuable for research and potentially also for therapeutic applications. We have screened a highly curated library of 71,504 drug-like small molecules using a high throughput in vitro splicing assay. This identified 10 new compounds that both inhibit pre-mRNA splicing in vitro and modify splicing of endogenous pre-mRNA in cells. One of these splicing modulators, DDD00107587 (termed "madrasin" i.e., (2-((7methoxy-4-methylquinazolin-2-yl)amino)-5,6-dimethylpyrimidin-4(3H)-one RNA splicing inhibitor), was studied in more detail. Madrasin interferes with the early stages of spliceosome assembly and stalls spliceosome assembly at the A complex. Madrasin is cytotoxic at higher concentrations, while at lower concentrations it induces cell cycle arrest, promotes a specific reorganization of subnuclear protein localization and modulates splicing of multiple pre-mRNAs in both HeLa and HEK293 cells.

AB - Eukaryotic pre-mRNA splicing is an essential step in gene expression for all genes that contain introns. In contrast with transcription and translation, few well-characterized chemical inhibitors are available with which to dissect the splicing process, particularly in cells. Therefore, the identification of specific, small molecules that either inhibit, or modify, pre-mRNA splicing would be valuable for research and potentially also for therapeutic applications. We have screened a highly curated library of 71,504 drug-like small molecules using a high throughput in vitro splicing assay. This identified 10 new compounds that both inhibit pre-mRNA splicing in vitro and modify splicing of endogenous pre-mRNA in cells. One of these splicing modulators, DDD00107587 (termed "madrasin" i.e., (2-((7methoxy-4-methylquinazolin-2-yl)amino)-5,6-dimethylpyrimidin-4(3H)-one RNA splicing inhibitor), was studied in more detail. Madrasin interferes with the early stages of spliceosome assembly and stalls spliceosome assembly at the A complex. Madrasin is cytotoxic at higher concentrations, while at lower concentrations it induces cell cycle arrest, promotes a specific reorganization of subnuclear protein localization and modulates splicing of multiple pre-mRNAs in both HeLa and HEK293 cells.

U2 - 10.1074/jbc.M114.590976

DO - 10.1074/jbc.M114.590976

M3 - Article

C2 - 25281741

SN - 0021-9258

VL - 289

SP - 34683

EP - 34698

JO - Journal of Biological Chemistry

JF - Journal of Biological Chemistry

IS - 50

ER -