Development of an Acrylamide-Based Inhibitor of Protein S-Acylation

09 February 2021, Version 1
This content is a preprint and has not undergone peer review at the time of posting.

Abstract

Protein S-acylation is a dynamic lipid post-translational modification that can modulate the localization and activity of target proteins. In humans, the installation of the lipid onto target proteins is catalyzed by a family of 23 Asp-His-His-Cys domain-containing protein acyltransferases (DHHC-PATs). DHHCs are increasingly recognized as critical players in cellular signaling events and in human disease. However, progress elucidating the functions and mechanisms of DHHC “writers” has been hampered by a lack of chemical tools to perturb their activity in live cells. Herein, we report the synthesis and characterization of PATi, a pan- DHHC inhibitor more potent than 2-bromopalmitate (2BP), the most commonly used DHHC inhibitor in the field. Possessing an acrylamide warhead, PATi pairs its gain in potency with decreases in both toxicity and inhibition of the S-acylation eraser enzymes – two of the major weaknesses of 2BP. Our studies show that PATi engages with DHHC family proteins in cells, inhibits protein S-acylation, and disrupts DHHC-regulated cellular events. PATi represents an improved chemical tool for untangling the complexities of DHHC-mediated cell signaling by protein S-acylation.

Keywords

Protein lipidation
S-acylation
DHHC
acyltransferases
s-palmitoylation
palmitoylation
post-translational modifications

Supplementary materials

Title
Description
Actions
Title
PATi SI
Description
Actions

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