Xinlai Cheng
Junior Group Leader
Drug Development
Research Focus:
- In vitro and in vivo chemical screening
- Chemical synthesis and structure optimization
- Target identification and validation
Expertise and Technologies for FCI:
- Cell-based high throughput screening
- Chemical and organic synthesis
- PROTAC technology
Core Publications
- A Chemical Toolbox for Labeling and Degrading Engineered Cas Proteins
A proteome-wide analysis of PROTAC-FCPF-mediated Cas9FCPF protein degradation revealed a high target specificity, suggesting a wide range of applications of perfluoroaromatics-induced proximity in the regulation of stability, activity, and functionality of any FCPF-tagging protein. PubMed - A PROTAC targets splicing factor 3B1
Our finding demonstrates that SF3B1 is PROTACable by utilizing noninhibitory chemicals, which expands the list of PROTAC target proteins. PubMed - Imidazopyridines as Potent KDM5 Demethylase Inhibitors Promoting Reprogramming Efficiency of Human iPSCs
Thus our results introduce a new class of KDM5 chemical inhibitors and provide further insight into the pluripotency-related properties of KDM5 family members. PubMed
Research Summary
Although rapidly developing genome sequencing technology has helped to reveal potential disease-causing proteins, for chemists it does not mean that an effective drug will be designed. Approved drugs currently cover only 10% of the human therapeutic proteome, probably because a classic chemical inhibitor requires a well-defined hydrophobic binding site on the surface of target protein, like growth factor receptors and protein kinase. Transcription factors and other proteins lacking a defined active site are still hardly druggable.
The major aim of my research is to develop small molecules targeting currently undruggable proteome in the fields of anti-cancer therapy, regenerative medicine and CRISPR-Cas-based biotechnology. Since 2019 my lab has established a number of approaches, spanning from medicinal chemistry to molecular biology and (epi)genome editing for the discovery of new drug-candidates.
Publications
- Chem-CRISPR/dCas9FCPF: a platform for chemically induced epigenome editing
PubMed - Molecular Marvels: Small Molecules Paving the Way for Enhanced Gene Therapy
PubMed - Development of a next-generation endogenous OCT4 inducer and its anti-aging effect in vivo
PubMed - Recent Advances in Covalent Drug Discovery
PubMed - pVHL-mediated SMAD3 degradation suppresses TGF-β signaling
PubMed - A Chemical Toolbox for Labeling and Degrading Engineered Cas Proteins
PubMed - A PROTAC targets splicing factor 3B1
PubMed - Baicalein Induces Apoptosis of Pancreatic Cancer Cells by Regulating the Expression of miR-139-3p and miR-196b-5p
PubMed - Liver-Kidney-on-Chip To Study Toxicity of Drug Metabolites
PubMed - Valproic Acid Thermally Destabilizes and Inhibits SpyCas9 Activity
PubMed - Yin Zhi Huang, a traditional Chinese herbal formula, ameliorates diet-induced obesity and hepatic steatosis by activating the AMPK/SREBP-1 and the AMPK/ACC/CPT1A pathways
PubMed - NHC-gold compounds mediate immune suppression through induction of AHR-TGFβ1 signalling in vitro and in scurfy mice
PubMed - Pro-oxidant and lifespan extension effects of caffeine and related methylxanthines in Caenorhabditis elegans
PubMed - p53-Dependent Anti-Proliferative and Pro-Apoptotic Effects of a Gold(I) N-Heterocyclic Carbene (NHC) Complex in Colorectal Cancer Cells
PubMed - In vitro metabolic activation of vitamin D3 by using a multi-compartment microfluidic liver-kidney organ on chip platform
PubMed - Imidazopyridines as Potent KDM5 Demethylase Inhibitors Promoting Reprogramming Efficiency of Human iPSCs
PubMed - A Ruthenium(II) N-Heterocyclic Carbene (NHC) Complex with Naphthalimide Ligand Triggers Apoptosis in Colorectal Cancer Cells via Activating the ROS-p38 MAPK Pathway
PubMed - Fluorescent organometallic rhodium(I) and ruthenium(II) metallodrugs with 4-ethylthio-1,8-naphthalimide ligands: Antiproliferative effects, cellular uptake and DNA-interaction
PubMed - Author Correction: Essential role of mitochondrial Stat3 in p38MAPK mediated apoptosis under oxidative stress
PubMed - Monitoring cytochrome P450 activity in living hepatocytes by chromogenic substrates in response to drug treatment or during cell maturation
PubMed