A model of oral peptide therapeutics for adult intestinal stem cell tumors

Citation:

Bajpai A, Quazi TA, Tang H-W, Manzar N, Singh V, Thakur A, et al. A model of oral peptide therapeutics for adult intestinal stem cell tumors. Dis Model Mech. 2020;13 (7).
2020_DMM_Bajpai.pdf6.34 MB

Date Published:

2020 07 23

Abstract:

Peptide therapeutics, unlike small-molecule drugs, display crucial advantages of target specificity and the ability to block large interacting interfaces, such as those of transcription factors. The transcription co-factor of the Hippo pathway, YAP/Yorkie (Yki), has been implicated in many cancers, and is dependent on its interaction with the DNA-binding TEAD/Sd proteins via a large Ω-loop. In addition, the mammalian vestigial-like (VGLL) proteins, specifically their TONDU domain, competitively inhibit YAP-TEAD interaction, resulting in arrest of tumor growth. Here, we show that overexpression of the TONDU peptide or its oral uptake leads to suppression of Yki-driven intestinal stem cell tumors in the adult midgut. In addition, comparative proteomic analyses of peptide-treated and untreated tumors, together with chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis, reveal that integrin pathway members are part of the Yki-oncogenic network. Collectively, our findings establish as a reliable platform to screen for cancer oral therapeutic peptides and reveal a tumor suppressive role for integrins in Yki-driven tumors.This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.

Last updated on 03/08/2021