Structure
Volume 23, Issue 2, 3 February 2015, Pages 407-417
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Article
Bortezomib-Resistant Mutant Proteasomes: Structural and Biochemical Evaluation with Carfilzomib and ONX 0914

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.str.2014.11.019Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • The crystal structure of carfilzomib bound to the yeast proteasome is reported

  • X-Ray structures visualize inhibitor binding to drug-resistant mutant proteasomes

  • Drug-resistant yeasts are defective in proteolytic activity and cell growth

  • Mutant proteasomes are less resistant to carfilzomib than bortezomib

Summary

Inhibition of the 20S proteasome by bortezomib (Velcade) constitutes a successfully applied therapy for blood cancer. However, emerging resistance restricts its medicinal use. For example, mutations in the proteolytically active β5-subunit of the proteasome, the main target of inhibitors, were reported to impair drug binding and thus to reduce therapeutic efficacy. Using yeast as a model system, we describe here a systematic evaluation of these mutations by cell growth analysis, proteasome inhibition assays, and X-ray crystallography. The 11 mutants examined display decreased proliferation rates, impaired proteolytic activity, and marked resistance to bortezomib as well as the α′,β′-epoxyketone inhibitors carfilzomib (Kyprolis) and ONX 0914, while the second-generation compound carfilzomib was the least affected. In total, 49 proteasome X-ray structures, including structural data on proteasome-carfilzomib complexes, reveal three distinct molecular mechanisms that hamper both drug binding and natural substrate turnover to an extent that is still compatible with cell survival.

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