Ashley M Smith

Pharmacyclics Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, USA

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Publications (4)29.83 Total impact

  • Article: The Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor PCI-32765 blocks B-cell activation and is efficacious in models of autoimmune disease and B-cell malignancy.
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    ABSTRACT: Activation of the B-cell antigen receptor (BCR) signaling pathway contributes to the initiation and maintenance of B-cell malignancies and autoimmune diseases. The Bruton tyrosine kinase (Btk) is specifically required for BCR signaling as demonstrated by human and mouse mutations that disrupt Btk function and prevent B-cell maturation at steps that require a functional BCR pathway. Herein we describe a selective and irreversible Btk inhibitor, PCI-32765, that is currently under clinical development in patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. We have used this inhibitor to investigate the biologic effects of Btk inhibition on mature B-cell function and the progression of B cell-associated diseases in vivo. PCI-32765 blocked BCR signaling in human peripheral B cells at concentrations that did not affect T cell receptor signaling. In mice with collagen-induced arthritis, orally administered PCI-32765 reduced the level of circulating autoantibodies and completely suppressed disease. PCI-32765 also inhibited autoantibody production and the development of kidney disease in the MRL-Fas(lpr) lupus model. Occupancy of the Btk active site by PCI-32765 was monitored in vitro and in vivo using a fluorescent affinity probe for Btk. Active site occupancy of Btk was tightly correlated with the blockade of BCR signaling and in vivo efficacy. Finally, PCI-32765 induced objective clinical responses in dogs with spontaneous B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. These findings support Btk inhibition as a therapeutic approach for the treatment of human diseases associated with activation of the BCR pathway.
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 07/2010; 107(29):13075-80. · 9.68 Impact Factor
  • Article: Identification of substrates of human protein-tyrosine phosphatase PTPN22.
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    ABSTRACT: Stimulation of mature T cells activates a downstream signaling cascade involving temporally and spatially regulated phosphorylation and dephosphorylation events mediated by protein-tyrosine kinases and phosphatases, respectively. PTPN22 (Lyp), a non-receptor protein-tyrosine phosphatase, is expressed exclusively in cells of hematopoietic origin, notably in T cells where it represses signaling through the T cell receptor. We used substrate trapping coupled with mass spectrometry-based peptide identification in an unbiased approach to identify physiological substrates of PTPN22. Several potential substrates were identified in lysates from pervanadate-stimulated Jurkat cells using PTPN22-D195A/C227S, an optimized substrate trap mutant of PTPN22. These included three novel PTPN22 substrates (Vav, CD3epsilon, and valosin containing protein) and two known substrates of PEP, the mouse homolog of PTPN22 (Lck and Zap70). T cell antigen receptor (TCR) zeta was also identified as a potential substrate in Jurkat lysates by direct immunoblotting. In vitro experiments with purified recombinant proteins demonstrated that PTPN22-D195A/C227S interacted directly with activated Lck, Zap70, and TCRzeta, confirming the initial substrate trap results. Native PTPN22 dephosphorylated Lck and Zap70 at their activating tyrosine residues Tyr-394 and Tyr-493, respectively, but not at the regulatory tyrosines Tyr-505 (Lck) or Tyr-319 (Zap70). Native PTPN22 also dephosphorylated TCRzeta in vitro and in cells, and its substrate trap variant co-immunoprecipitated with TCRzeta when both were coexpressed in 293T cells, establishing TCRzeta as a direct substrate of PTPN22.
    Journal of Biological Chemistry 05/2006; 281(16):11002-10. · 4.77 Impact Factor
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    Article: A missense single-nucleotide polymorphism in a gene encoding a protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTPN22) is associated with rheumatoid arthritis.
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    ABSTRACT: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common systemic autoimmune disease, affecting approximately 1% of the adult population worldwide, with an estimated heritability of 60%. To identify genes involved in RA susceptibility, we investigated the association between putative functional single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and RA among white individuals by use of a case-control study design; a second sample was tested for replication. Here we report the association of RA susceptibility with the minor allele of a missense SNP in PTPN22 (discovery-study allelic P=6.6 x 10(-4); replication-study allelic P=5.6 x 10(-8)), which encodes a hematopoietic-specific protein tyrosine phosphatase also known as "Lyp." We show that the risk allele, which is present in approximately 17% of white individuals from the general population and in approximately 28% of white individuals with RA, disrupts the P1 proline-rich motif that is important for interaction with Csk, potentially altering these proteins' normal function as negative regulators of T-cell activation. The minor allele of this SNP recently was implicated in type 1 diabetes, suggesting that the variant phosphatase may increase overall reactivity of the immune system and may heighten an individual carrier's risk for autoimmune disease.
    The American Journal of Human Genetics 09/2004; 75(2):330-7. · 10.60 Impact Factor
  • Article: Complex formation among the RNA export proteins Nup98, Rae1/Gle2, and TAP.
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    ABSTRACT: Most nucleocytoplasmic traffic through the nuclear pore complex is mediated by soluble receptors of the importin/exportin or karyopherin family. mRNA export is unique in that no receptor of this family has been implicated in trafficking of the bulk of mRNAs. Instead, many diverse proteins have been linked to mRNA export, but an all-encompassing model remains elusive. Understanding how these proteins interact with each other is central to the development of such a model. Here, we have focused on the interactions between three proteins implicated in mRNA export, Nup98, Rae1/Gle2, and TAP. We have defined the binary complexes that form among these proteins. We find that Gle2 requires two sites within TAP for stable interaction. Strikingly, rather than a general affinity for all nucleoporin FG repeats, TAP has highest affinity for a specific region within the GLFG domain of Nup98, indicating that not all repeats are identical in function. We have established that the ternary complex can form through simultaneous binding of both Gle2 and TAP to adjacent sites on Nup98. In contrast, Nup98 competes with TAP for Gle2 binding; when bound to Nup98, Gle2 no longer interacts directly with TAP. From these interactions, we propose that Gle2 may act to deliver TAP to Nup98 and that this may represent the first in a series of interactions between an export complex and a nucleoporin.
    Journal of Biological Chemistry 07/2003; 278(23):20979-88. · 4.77 Impact Factor