Alkylation of staurosporine to derive a kinase probe for fluorescence applications

The natural product staurosporine is a high-affinity inhibitor of nearly all mammalian protein kinases.The labelling of staurosporine has proven effective as a means of generating protein kinase research tools. Most tools have been generated by acylation of the 4’-methylamine of the sugar moiety of...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Disney, Alexander J.M., Kellam, Barrie, Dekker, Lodewijk V.
Format: Article
Published: Wiley-VCH Verlag 2016
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40837/
Description
Summary:The natural product staurosporine is a high-affinity inhibitor of nearly all mammalian protein kinases.The labelling of staurosporine has proven effective as a means of generating protein kinase research tools. Most tools have been generated by acylation of the 4’-methylamine of the sugar moiety of staurosporine. Herein we describe the alkylation of this group as a first step to generate a fluorescently labelled staurosporine. Following alkylation, a polyethylene glycol linker was installed, allowing subsequent attachment of fluorescein. We report that this fluorescein–staurosporine conjugate binds to cAMP-dependent protein kinase in the nanomolar range. Furthermore, its binding can be antagonised with unmodified staurosporine as well as ATP, indicating it targets the ATP binding site in a similar fashion to native staurosporine. This reagent has potential application as a screening tool for protein kinases of interest.