Transglutaminase 2 (TG2) is a multifunctional enzyme primarily responsible for crosslinking proteins. Ubiquitously expressed in humans, TG2 can act either as a transamidase by crosslinking two substrates through formation of an Nε(ɣ-glutaminyl)lysine bond or as an intracellular G-protein. These discrete roles are tightly regulated by both allosteric and environmental stimuli and are associated with dramatic changes in the conformation of the enzyme. The pleiotropic nature of TG2 and multi-faceted activities have resulted in TG2 being implicated in numerous disease pathologies including celiac disease, fibrosis, and cancer. Targeted TG2 therapies have not been selective for subcellular localization, such that currently no tools exist to selectively target extracellular over intracellular TG2. Herein, we have designed novel TG2-selective inhibitors that are not only highly potent and irreversible, but also cell impermeable, targeting only extracellular TG2. We have also further derivatized the scaffold to develop probes that are intrinsically fluorescent or bear an alkyne handle, which target both intra- and extracellular TG2, in order to facilitate cellular labelling and pull-down assays. The fluorescent probes were internalized and imaged in cellulo, and provide the first implicit experimental evidence that by comparison with their cell-impermeable analogues, it is specifically intracellular TG2, and presumably its G-protein activity, that contributes to transglutaminase-associated cancer progression.
转谷氨酰胺酶 2(TG2)是一种多功能酶,主要负责交联蛋白质。TG2 在人体内无独有偶地表达,它既可以通过形成 Nε(ɣ-谷氨酰胺酰)赖氨酸键交联两个底物而充当转氨基酶,也可以充当细胞内的 G 蛋白。这些不同的作用受到异构和环境刺激的严格调控,并与酶构象的剧烈变化有关。TG2 的多效性和多方面活性导致 TG2 与乳糜泻、纤维化和癌症等多种疾病病理有关。靶向 TG2 的疗法对亚细胞定位没有选择性,因此目前还没有工具可以选择性地靶向细胞外而不是细胞内的 TG2。在此,我们设计出了新型 TG2 选择性抑制剂,不仅药效高、不可逆,而且不渗透细胞,只针对细胞外 TG2。我们还对该支架进行了进一步衍生,开发出了同时针对细胞内和细胞外 TG2 的本征荧光探针或带有炔柄的探针,以方便细胞标记和牵引检测。这些荧光探针在细胞内被内化并成像,首次提供了隐含的实验证据,证明与细胞不渗透的类似物相比,细胞内的 TG2(可能是其 G 蛋白活性)才是导致转谷氨酰胺酶相关癌症进展的原因。