Laurence Hurley

Photo of Laurence Hurley

Laurence Hurley

Associate Director, BIO5 Institute
Professor, Medicinal Chemistry-Pharmaceutical Sciences
Professor, Medicinal Chemistry-Pharmacology and Toxicology
Professor, Cancer Biology - GIDP
Professor, BIO5 Institute
Primary Department
Pharmacology and Toxicology
Department Affiliations
Pharmacology and Toxicology
Contact
(520) 626-5622
lhurley@arizona.edu

Work Summary

Laurence Hurley's long-time research interest is in molecular targeting of DNA, first by covalent binders (CC-1065 and psorospermin), then as compounds that target protein–DNA complexes (pluramycins and Et 743), and most recently as four-stranded DNA structures (G-quadruplexes and i-motifs). He was the first to show that targeting G-quadruplexes could inhibit telomerase (Sun et al. [1997] J. Med. Chem., 40, 2113) and that targeting G-quadruplexes in promoter complexes results in inhibition of transcription (Siddiqui-Jain et al. [2002] Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 99, 11593).

Research Interest

Laurence Hurley, PhD, embraces an overall objective to design and develop novel antitumor agents that will extend the productive lives of patients who have cancer. His research program in medicinal chemistry depends upon a structure-based approach to drug design that is intertwined with a clinical oncology program in cancer therapeutics directed by Professor Daniel Von Hoff at TGen at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale. Dr. Hurley directs a research group that consists of a team of graduate and postdoctoral students with expertise in structural and synthetic chemistry working alongside students in biochemistry and molecular biology. NMR and in vivo evaluations of novel agents are carried out in collaboration with other research groups in the Arizona Cancer Center. At present, they have a number of different groups of compounds that target a variety of intracellular receptors. These receptors include: (1) transcriptional regulatory elements, (2) those involved in cell signaling pathways, and (3) protein-DNA complexes, including transcriptional factor-DNA complexes.In close collaboration with Dr. Gary Flynn in Medicinal Chemistry, he has an ongoing program to target a number of important kinases, including aurora kinases A and B, p38, and B-raf. These studies involve structure-based approaches as well as virtual screening. Molecular modeling and synthetic medicinal chemistry are important tools.The protein–DNA complexes involved in transcriptional activation of promoter complexes using secondary DNA structures are also targets for drug design.

Publications

Tao, L. u., Shi, D., Sun, D., Han, H., & Hurley, L. H. (2005). Design, synthesis and biological activity of cationic porphyrins bearing mixed 3-quinolyl and 4-pyridyl meso groups. Journal of China Pharmaceutical University, 36(5), 393-397.

Abstract:

Aim: To search for the potent telomerase inhibitors with structures of cationic porphyrins to improve the interactions between G-quadruplex and porphyrins by systematically varying the meso substituents. Methods: Porphyrins bearing mixed 3-quinolyl/4-pyridyl meso groups were synthesized using the Adler-Longo method by condensation of aldehydes with pyrrole, and then followed by methylation and ion exchange. The compounds were tested for the telomerase inhibitory activity and c-Myc inhibitory activity. Results: All compounds were found to be potent and approximately equivalent in terms of their ability to inhibit the action of telomerase in a cell-free assay. Compound 4 had the best inhibitory activity on c-Myc. Conclusion: Cationic porphyrins would be the potential anticancer candidates.

Zewail-Foote, M., Li, V., Kohn, H., Bearss, D., Guzman, M., & Hurley, L. H. (2004). Erratum: The inefficiency of incisions of ecteinascidin 743-DNA adducts by the UvrABC nuclease and the unique structural feature of the DNA adducts can be used to explain the repair-dependent toxicities of this antitumor agent (Chemistry and Biology 8 (1033-1049)). Chemistry and Biology, 11(2), 283-.
Zewail-Foote, M., & Hurley, L. H. (1999). Ecteinascidin 743: A minor groove alkylator that bends DNA toward the major groove. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 42(14), 2493-2497.

PMID: 10411470;Abstract:

The ecteinascidins (Ets), which are natural products derived from marine tunicates, exhibit potent antitumor activity. Of the numerous Ets isolated, Et 743 is presently being evaluated in phase II clinical trials. Et 743 binds in the minor groove of DNA and alkylates N2 of guanine. Although structurally similar to saframycin, which exhibits poor activity in cellular assays, Et 743 has shown good efficacy as an antitumor agent. In this study, DNA structural distortions induced by Et 743 were examined to provide insight into the molecular basis for the antitumor activity of Et 743. Electrophoretic mobility shifts of ligated oligomers containing site-directed adducts were used to examine the extent and direction of the Et 743-induced bend. Surprisingly, we find that Et 743 bends DNA toward the major groove, which is a unique feature among DNA-interactive agents that occupy the minor groove.

González, V., & Hurley, L. H. (2010). The C-terminus of nucleolin promotes the formation of the c-MYC G-quadruplex and inhibits c-MYC promoter activity. Biochemistry, 49(45), 9706-9714.

PMID: 20932061;PMCID: PMC2976822;Abstract:

Nucleolin, the most abundant nucleolar phosphoprotein of eukaryotic cells, is known primarily for its role in ribosome biogenesis and cell proliferation. It is, however, a multifunctional protein that, depending on the cellular context, can drive either cell proliferation or apoptosis. Our laboratory recently demonstrated that nucleolin can function as a repressor of c-MYC transcription by binding to and stabilizing the formation of a G-quadruplex structure in a region of the c-MYC promoter responsible for controlling 85-90% of c-MYC's transcriptional activity. In this study, we investigate the structural elements of nucleolin that are required for c-MYC repression. The effect of nucleolin deletion mutants on the formation and stability of the c-MYC G-quadruplex, as well as c-MYC transcriptional activity, was assessed by circular dichroism spectropolarimetry, thermal stability, and in vitro transcription. Here we report that nucleolin's RNA binding domains 3 and 4, as well as the arginine-glycine-glycine (RGG) domain, are required to repress c-MYC transcription. © 2010 American Chemical Society.

Ostrander, J. M., Hurley, L. H., McInnes, A. G., Smith, D. G., Walter, J. A., & Wright, J. L. (1980). Proof for the biosynthetic conversion of L-[indole- 15N]tryptophan to [10- 15N]anthramycin using ( 13C, 15N) labelling in conjunction with 13C-NMR and mass spectral analysis. Journal of Antibiotics, 33(10), 1167-1171.

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