1
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Alboreggia G, Udompholkul P, Baggio C, Muzzarelli K, Assar Z, Pellecchia M. Histidine-Covalent Stapled Alpha-Helical Peptides Targeting hMcl-1. J Med Chem 2024; 67:8172-8185. [PMID: 38695666 PMCID: PMC11129181 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c00277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2024] [Revised: 03/28/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/24/2024]
Abstract
Several novel and effective cysteine targeting (Cys) covalent drugs are in clinical use. However, the target area containing a druggable Cys residue is limited. Therefore, methods for creating covalent drugs that target different residues are being looked for; examples of such ligands include those that target the residues lysine (Lys) and tyrosine (Tyr). Though the histidine (His) side chain is more frequently found in protein binding locations and has higher desirable nucleophilicity, surprisingly limited research has been done to specifically target this residue, and there are not many examples of His-targeting ligands that have been rationally designed. In the current work, we created novel stapled peptides that are intended to target hMcl-1 His 252 covalently. We describe the in vitro (biochemical, NMR, and X-ray) and cellular design and characterization of such agents. Our findings further suggest that the use of electrophiles to specifically target His residues is warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Alboreggia
- Division
of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Parima Udompholkul
- Division
of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Carlo Baggio
- Division
of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Kendall Muzzarelli
- Cayman
Chemical Co., 1180 E. Ellsworth road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108, United States
| | - Zahra Assar
- Cayman
Chemical Co., 1180 E. Ellsworth road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108, United States
| | - Maurizio Pellecchia
- Division
of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, California 92521, United States
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2
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Himmelbauer M, Bajrami B, Basile R, Capacci A, Chen T, Choi CK, Gilfillan R, Gonzalez-Lopez de Turiso F, Gu C, Hoemberger M, Johnson DS, Jones JH, Kadakia E, Kirkland M, Lin EY, Liu Y, Ma B, Magee T, Mantena S, Marx IE, Metrick CM, Mingueneau M, Murugan P, Muste CA, Nadella P, Nevalainen M, Parker Harp CR, Pattaropong V, Pietrasiewicz A, Prince RJ, Purgett TJ, Santoro JC, Schulz J, Sciabola S, Tang H, Vandeveer HG, Wang T, Yousaf Z, Helal CJ, Hopkins BT. Discovery and Preclinical Characterization of BIIB129, a Covalent, Selective, and Brain-Penetrant BTK Inhibitor for the Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis. J Med Chem 2024; 67:8122-8140. [PMID: 38712838 PMCID: PMC11129193 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c00220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2024] [Revised: 04/03/2024] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 05/08/2024]
Abstract
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease with an underlying pathology characterized by inflammation-driven neuronal loss, axonal injury, and demyelination. Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK), a nonreceptor tyrosine kinase and member of the TEC family of kinases, is involved in the regulation, migration, and functional activation of B cells and myeloid cells in the periphery and the central nervous system (CNS), cell types which are deemed central to the pathology contributing to disease progression in MS patients. Herein, we describe the discovery of BIIB129 (25), a structurally distinct and brain-penetrant targeted covalent inhibitor (TCI) of BTK with an unprecedented binding mode responsible for its high kinome selectivity. BIIB129 (25) demonstrated efficacy in disease-relevant preclinical in vivo models of B cell proliferation in the CNS, exhibits a favorable safety profile suitable for clinical development as an immunomodulating therapy for MS, and has a low projected total human daily dose.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin
K. Himmelbauer
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Bekim Bajrami
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Rebecca Basile
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Andrew Capacci
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - TeYu Chen
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Colin K. Choi
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Rab Gilfillan
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | | | - Chungang Gu
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Marc Hoemberger
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Douglas S. Johnson
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - J. Howard Jones
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Ekta Kadakia
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Melissa Kirkland
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Edward Y. Lin
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Ying Liu
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Bin Ma
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Tom Magee
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Srinivasa Mantena
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Isaac E. Marx
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Claire M. Metrick
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Michael Mingueneau
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Paramasivam Murugan
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Cathy A. Muste
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Prasad Nadella
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Marta Nevalainen
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Chelsea R. Parker Harp
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Vatee Pattaropong
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Alicia Pietrasiewicz
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Robin J. Prince
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Thomas J. Purgett
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Joseph C. Santoro
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Jurgen Schulz
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Simone Sciabola
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Hao Tang
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - H. George Vandeveer
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Ti Wang
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Zain Yousaf
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Christopher J. Helal
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Brian T. Hopkins
- Biogen Research and Development, 225 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
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3
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Kim HR, Byun DP, Thakur K, Ritchie J, Xie Y, Holewinski R, Suazo KF, Stevens M, Liechty H, Tagirasa R, Jing Y, Andresson T, Johnson SM, Yoo E. Discovery of a Tunable Heterocyclic Electrophile 4-Chloro-pyrazolopyridine That Defines a Unique Subset of Ligandable Cysteines. ACS Chem Biol 2024; 19:1082-1092. [PMID: 38629450 PMCID: PMC11107811 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.4c00025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2024] [Revised: 04/01/2024] [Accepted: 04/01/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
Electrophilic small molecules with novel reactivity are powerful tools that enable activity-based protein profiling and covalent inhibitor discovery. Here, we report a reactive heterocyclic scaffold, 4-chloro-pyrazolopyridine (CPzP) for selective modification of proteins via a nucleophilic aromatic substitution (SNAr) mechanism. Chemoproteomic profiling reveals that CPzPs engage cysteines within functionally diverse protein sites including ribosomal protein S5 (RPS5), inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase 2 (IMPDH2), and heat shock protein 60 (HSP60). Through the optimization of appended recognition elements, we demonstrate the utility of CPzP for covalent inhibition of prolyl endopeptidase (PREP) by targeting a noncatalytic active-site cysteine. This study suggests that the proteome reactivity of CPzPs can be modulated by both electronic and steric features of the ring system, providing a new tunable electrophile for applications in chemoproteomics and covalent inhibitor design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong-Rae Kim
- Chemical
Biology Laboratory, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - David P. Byun
- Chemical
Biology Laboratory, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - Kalyani Thakur
- Chemical
Biology Laboratory, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - Jennifer Ritchie
- Chemical
Biology Laboratory, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - Yixin Xie
- Chemical
Biology Laboratory, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - Ronald Holewinski
- Protein
Characterization Laboratory, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer
Research, Leidos Biomedical Research, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - Kiall F. Suazo
- Protein
Characterization Laboratory, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer
Research, Leidos Biomedical Research, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - Mckayla Stevens
- Department
of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana
University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202, United States
| | - Hope Liechty
- Department
of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana
University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202, United States
| | - Ravichandra Tagirasa
- Chemical
Biology Laboratory, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - Yihang Jing
- Chemical
Biology Laboratory, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - Thorkell Andresson
- Protein
Characterization Laboratory, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer
Research, Leidos Biomedical Research, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - Steven M. Johnson
- Department
of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana
University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202, United States
| | - Euna Yoo
- Chemical
Biology Laboratory, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
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4
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Labrecque CL, Fuglestad B. Ligandability at the membrane interface of GPx4 revealed through a reverse micelle fragment screening platform. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.09.593437. [PMID: 38766018 PMCID: PMC11100811 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.09.593437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
While they account for a large portion of drug targets, membrane proteins (MPs) present a unique challenge for drug discovery. Peripheral membrane proteins (PMPs), a class of proteins that bind reversibly to membranes, are also difficult targets, particularly those that function only while bound to membranes. The protein-membrane interface in PMPs is often where functional interactions and catalysis occur, making it a logical target for inhibition. However, interfaces are underexplored spaces in inhibitor design and there is a need for enhanced methods for small-molecule ligand discovery. In an effort to better initiate drug discovery efforts for PMPs, this study presents a screening methodology using membrane-mimicking reverse micelles (mmRM) and NMR-based fragment screening to assess ligandability in the protein-membrane interface. The proof-of-principle target, glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPx4), is a lipid hydroperoxidase which is essential for the oxidative protection of membranes and thereby the prevention of ferroptosis. GPx4 inhibition is promising for therapy-resistant cancer therapy, but current inhibitors are generally covalent ligands with limited clinical utility. Presented here is the discovery of non-covalent small-molecule ligands for membrane-bound GPx4 revealed through the mmRM fragment screening methodology. The fragments were tested against GPx4 in bulk aqueous conditions and displayed little to no binding to the protein without embedment into the membrane. The 9 hits had varying affinities and partitioning coefficients and revealed properties of fragments that bind within the protein-membrane interface. Additionally, a secondary screen confirmed the potential to progress the fragments by enhancing the affinity from > 200 μM to ~15 μM with the addition of certain hydrophobic groups. This study presents an advancement of screening capabilities for membrane associated proteins, reveals ligandability within the GPx4 protein-membrane interface, and may serve as a starting point for developing non-covalent inhibitors of GPx4.
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Affiliation(s)
- Courtney L. Labrecque
- Department of Chemistry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia 22384, United States
| | - Brian Fuglestad
- Department of Chemistry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia 22384, United States
- Institute for Structural Biology, Drug Discovery and Development, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia 23219, United States
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5
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Barragan AM, Ghaby K, Pond MP, Roux B. Computational Investigation of the Covalent Inhibition Mechanism of Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase by Ibrutinib. J Chem Inf Model 2024; 64:3488-3502. [PMID: 38546820 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.4c00023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
Covalent inhibitors represent a promising class of therapeutic compounds. Nonetheless, rationally designing covalent inhibitors to achieve a right balance between selectivity and reactivity remains extremely challenging. To better understand the covalent binding mechanism, a computational study is carried out using the irreversible covalent inhibitor of Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) ibrutinib as an example. A multi-μs classical molecular dynamics trajectory of the unlinked inhibitor is generated to explore the fluctuations of the compound associated with the kinase binding pocket. Then, the reaction pathway leading to the formation of the covalent bond with the cysteine residue at position 481 via a Michael addition is determined using the string method in collective variables on the basis of hybrid quantum mechanical-molecular mechanical (QM/MM) simulations. The reaction pathway shows a strong correlation between the covalent bond formation and the protonation/deprotonation events taking place sequentially in the covalent inhibition reaction, consistent with a 3-step reaction with transient thiolate and enolates intermediate states. Two possible atomistic mechanisms affecting deprotonation/protonation events from the thiolate to the enolate intermediate were observed: a highly correlated direct pathway involving proton transfer to the Cα of the acrylamide warhead from the cysteine involving one or a few water molecules and a more indirect pathway involving a long-lived enolate intermediate state following the escape of the proton to the bulk solution. The results are compared with experiments by simulating the long-time kinetics of the reaction using kinetic modeling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela M Barragan
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, 929 E 57th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - Kyle Ghaby
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, 929 E 57th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - Matthew P Pond
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, 929 E 57th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - Benoît Roux
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, 929 E 57th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Chicago, 5735 S Ellis Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
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6
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Liu R, Clayton J, Shen M, Bhatnagar S, Shen J. Machine Learning Models to Interrogate Proteome-Wide Covalent Ligandabilities Directed at Cysteines. JACS AU 2024; 4:1374-1384. [PMID: 38665640 PMCID: PMC11040703 DOI: 10.1021/jacsau.3c00749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2023] [Revised: 02/22/2024] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
Machine learning (ML) identification of covalently ligandable sites may accelerate targeted covalent inhibitor design and help expand the druggable proteome space. Here, we report the rigorous development and validation of the tree-based models and convolutional neural networks (CNNs) trained on a newly curated database (LigCys3D) of over 1000 liganded cysteines in nearly 800 proteins represented by over 10,000 three-dimensional structures in the protein data bank. The unseen tests yielded 94 and 93% area under the receiver operating characteristic curves for the tree models and CNNs, respectively. Based on the AlphaFold2 predicted structures, the ML models recapitulated the newly liganded cysteines in the PDB with over 90% recall values. To assist the community of covalent drug discoveries, we report the predicted ligandable cysteines in 392 human kinases and their locations in the sequence-aligned kinase structure, including the PH and SH2 domains. Furthermore, we disseminate a searchable online database LigCys3D (https://ligcys.computchem.org/) and a web prediction server DeepCys (https://deepcys.computchem.org/), both of which will be continuously updated and improved by including newly published experimental data. The present work represents an important step toward the ML-led integration of big genome data and structure models to annotate the human proteome space for the next-generation covalent drug discoveries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruibin Liu
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of
Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, United States
| | - Joseph Clayton
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of
Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, United States
- Division
of Applied Regulatory Science, Office of Clinical Pharmacology, Center
for Drug Evaluation and Research, U.S. Food
and Drug Administration, Silver
Spring, Maryland 20993, United States
| | - Mingzhe Shen
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of
Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, United States
| | - Shubham Bhatnagar
- Department
of Computer Science, University of Maryland
at College Park, College
Park, Maryland 20742, United States
| | - Jana Shen
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of
Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, United States
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7
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Awoonor-Williams E, Abu-Saleh AAAA. Molecular Insights into the Impact of Mutations on the Binding Affinity of Targeted Covalent Inhibitors of BTK. J Phys Chem B 2024; 128:2874-2884. [PMID: 38502552 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.4c00310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
Targeted covalent inhibitors (TCIs) have witnessed a significant resurgence in recent years, particularly in the kinase drug discovery field for treating diverse clinical indications. The inhibition of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) for treating B-cell cancers is a classic example where TCIs such as ibrutinib have had breakthroughs in targeted therapy. However, selectivity remains challenging, and the emergence of resistance mutations is a critical concern for clinical efficacy. Computational methods that can accurately predict the impact of mutations on inhibitor binding affinity could prove helpful in informing targeted approaches─providing insights into drug resistance mechanisms. In addition, such systems could help guide the systematic evaluation and impact of mutations in disease models for optimal experimental design. Here, we have employed in silico physics-based methods to understand the effects of mutations on the binding affinity and conformational dynamics of select TCIs of BTK. The TCIs studied include ibrutinib, acalabrutinib, and zanubrutinib─all of which are FDA-approved drugs for treating multiple forms of leukemia and lymphoma. Our results offer useful molecular insights into the structural determinants, thermodynamics, and conformational energies that impact ligand binding for this biological target of clinical relevance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ernest Awoonor-Williams
- Department of Chemistry, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL A1B 3X7, Canada
| | - Abd Al-Aziz A Abu-Saleh
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON N9B 3P4, Canada
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8
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Allende J, Olaizola I, Ochoa de Retana AM, Palacios F, de Los Santos JM. Diastereoselective ZnCl 2-Mediated Joullié-Ugi Three-Component Reaction for the Preparation of Phosphorylated N-Acylaziridines from 2 H-Azirines. Molecules 2024; 29:1023. [PMID: 38474535 DOI: 10.3390/molecules29051023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2024] [Revised: 02/22/2024] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
We disclose a direct approach to the diastereoselective synthesis of phosphorus substituted N-acylaziridines based on a one-pot ZnCl2-catalyzed Joullié-Ugi three-component reaction of phosphorylated 2H-azirines, carboxylic acids and isocyanides. Hence, this robust protocol offers rapid access to an array of N-acylaziridines in moderate-to-good yields and up to 98:2 dr for substrates over a wide scope. The relevance of this synthetic methodology was achieved via a gram-scale reaction and the further derivatization of the nitrogen-containing three-membered heterocycle. The diastereo- and regioselective ring expansion of the obtained N-acylaziridines to oxazole derivatives was accomplished in the presence of BF3·OEt2 as an efficient Lewid acid catalyst.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julene Allende
- Department of Organic Chemistry I, Faculty of Pharmacy, Lascaray Research Center, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Paseo de la Universidad 7, 01006 Vitoria, Spain
| | - Iurre Olaizola
- Department of Organic Chemistry I, Faculty of Pharmacy, Lascaray Research Center, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Paseo de la Universidad 7, 01006 Vitoria, Spain
| | - Ana M Ochoa de Retana
- Department of Organic Chemistry I, Faculty of Pharmacy, Lascaray Research Center, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Paseo de la Universidad 7, 01006 Vitoria, Spain
| | - Francisco Palacios
- Department of Organic Chemistry I, Faculty of Pharmacy, Lascaray Research Center, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Paseo de la Universidad 7, 01006 Vitoria, Spain
| | - Jesús M de Los Santos
- Department of Organic Chemistry I, Faculty of Pharmacy, Lascaray Research Center, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Paseo de la Universidad 7, 01006 Vitoria, Spain
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9
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Compain G, Monsarrat C, Blagojevic J, Brillet K, Dumas P, Hammann P, Kuhn L, Martiel I, Engilberge S, Oliéric V, Wolff P, Burnouf DY, Wagner J, Guichard G. Peptide-Based Covalent Inhibitors Bearing Mild Electrophiles to Target a Conserved His Residue of the Bacterial Sliding Clamp. JACS AU 2024; 4:432-440. [PMID: 38425897 PMCID: PMC10900491 DOI: 10.1021/jacsau.3c00572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Peptide-based covalent inhibitors targeted to nucleophilic protein residues have recently emerged as new modalities to target protein-protein interactions (PPIs) as they may provide some benefits over more classic competitive inhibitors. Covalent inhibitors are generally targeted to cysteine, the most intrinsically reactive amino acid residue, and to lysine, which is more abundant at the surface of proteins but much less frequently to histidine. Herein, we report the structure-guided design of targeted covalent inhibitors (TCIs) able to bind covalently and selectively to the bacterial sliding clamp (SC), by reacting with a well-conserved histidine residue located on the edge of the peptide-binding pocket. SC is an essential component of the bacterial DNA replication machinery, identified as a promising target for the development of new antibacterial compounds. Thermodynamic and kinetic analyses of ligands bearing different mild electrophilic warheads confirmed the higher efficiency of the chloroacetamide compared to Michael acceptors. Two high-resolution X-ray structures of covalent inhibitor-SC adducts were obtained, revealing the canonical orientation of the ligand and details of covalent bond formation with histidine. Proteomic studies were consistent with a selective SC engagement by the chloroacetamide-based TCI. Finally, the TCI of SC was substantially more active than the parent noncovalent inhibitor in an in vitro SC-dependent DNA synthesis assay, validating the potential of the approach to design covalent inhibitors of protein-protein interactions targeted to histidine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume Compain
- Univ.
Bordeaux, CNRS, Bordeaux INP, CBMN, UMR 5248, IECB, 2 Rue Robert Escarpit, F-33607 Pessac, France
| | - Clément Monsarrat
- Univ.
Bordeaux, CNRS, Bordeaux INP, CBMN, UMR 5248, IECB, 2 Rue Robert Escarpit, F-33607 Pessac, France
| | - Julie Blagojevic
- Université
de Strasbourg, CNRS, FR1589, Plateforme Protéomique Strasbourg
Esplanade, 2 Allée K. Roentgen, 67084 Strasbourg, France
| | - Karl Brillet
- Université
de Strasbourg, CNRS, Architecture et Réactivité de l’ARN,
UPR 9002, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire du
CNRS, 2 Allée
K. Roentgen, 67084 Strasbourg, France
| | - Philippe Dumas
- Department
of Integrative Structural Biology, IGBMC, Strasbourg University, ESBS, 1 Rue Laurent Fries, 67404 Illkirch, Cedex, France
| | - Philippe Hammann
- Université
de Strasbourg, CNRS, FR1589, Plateforme Protéomique Strasbourg
Esplanade, 2 Allée K. Roentgen, 67084 Strasbourg, France
| | - Lauriane Kuhn
- Université
de Strasbourg, CNRS, FR1589, Plateforme Protéomique Strasbourg
Esplanade, 2 Allée K. Roentgen, 67084 Strasbourg, France
| | - Isabelle Martiel
- Swiss
Light Source (SLS), Paul Scherrer Institute
(PSI), 5232 Villigen-PSI, Switzerland
| | - Sylvain Engilberge
- Swiss
Light Source (SLS), Paul Scherrer Institute
(PSI), 5232 Villigen-PSI, Switzerland
| | - Vincent Oliéric
- Swiss
Light Source (SLS), Paul Scherrer Institute
(PSI), 5232 Villigen-PSI, Switzerland
| | - Philippe Wolff
- Université
de Strasbourg, CNRS, Architecture et Réactivité de l’ARN,
UPR 9002, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire du
CNRS, 2 Allée
K. Roentgen, 67084 Strasbourg, France
| | - Dominique Y. Burnouf
- Université
de Strasbourg, CNRS, Architecture et Réactivité de l’ARN,
UPR 9002, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire du
CNRS, 2 Allée
K. Roentgen, 67084 Strasbourg, France
| | - Jérôme Wagner
- Université
de Strasbourg, CNRS, Architecture et Réactivité de l’ARN,
UPR 9002, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire du
CNRS, 2 Allée
K. Roentgen, 67084 Strasbourg, France
| | - Gilles Guichard
- Univ.
Bordeaux, CNRS, Bordeaux INP, CBMN, UMR 5248, IECB, 2 Rue Robert Escarpit, F-33607 Pessac, France
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10
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Serafim RAM, Gehringer M, Borsari C. Targeted Covalent Inhibitors in Drug Discovery, Chemical Biology and Beyond. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2024; 17:206. [PMID: 38399421 PMCID: PMC10891537 DOI: 10.3390/ph17020206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Covalent inhibitors have experienced a revival in medicinal chemistry and chemical biology in recent decades [...].
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo A. M. Serafim
- Department of Pharmaceutical/Medicinal Chemistry, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Matthias Gehringer
- Department of Pharmaceutical/Medicinal Chemistry, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC 2180) ‘Image-Guided & Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies’, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Chiara Borsari
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy
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11
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Liu R, Clayton J, Shen M, Bhatnagar S, Shen J. Machine Learning Models to Interrogate Proteomewide Covalent Ligandabilities Directed at Cysteines. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.08.17.553742. [PMID: 37662346 PMCID: PMC10473668 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.17.553742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/05/2023]
Abstract
Machine learning (ML) identification of covalently ligandable sites may accelerate targeted covalent inhibitor design and help expand the druggable proteome space. Here we report the rigorous development and validation of the tree-based models and convolutional neural networks (CNNs) trained on a newly curated database (LigCys3D) of over 1,000 liganded cysteines in nearly 800 proteins represented by over 10,000 three-dimensional structures in the protein data bank. The unseen tests yielded 94% and 93% AUCs (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve) for the tree models and CNNs, respectively. Based on the AlphaFold2 predicted structures, the ML models recapitulated the newly liganded cysteines in the PDB with over 90% recall values. To assist the community of covalent drug discoveries, we report the predicted ligandable cysteines in 392 human kinases and their locations in the sequence-aligned kinase structure including the PH and SH2 domains. Furthermore, we disseminate a searchable online database LigCys3D (https://ligcys.computchem.org/) and a web prediction server DeepCys (https://deepcys.computchem.org/), both of which will be continuously updated and improved by including newly published experimental data. The present work represents a first step towards the ML-led integration of big genome data and structure models to annotate the human proteome space for the next-generation covalent drug discoveries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruibin Liu
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Joseph Clayton
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
- Division of Applied Regulatory Science, Office of Clinical Pharmacology, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA
| | - Mingzhe Shen
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Shubham Bhatnagar
- Department of Computer Science, University of Maryland at College Park, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Jana Shen
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
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12
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Goullieux M, Zoete V, Röhrig UF. Two-Step Covalent Docking with Attracting Cavities. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:7847-7859. [PMID: 38049143 PMCID: PMC10751798 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c01055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023]
Abstract
Due to their various advantages, interest in the development of covalent drugs has been renewed in the past few years. It is therefore important to accurately describe and predict their interactions with biological targets by computer-aided drug design tools such as docking algorithms. Here, we report a covalent docking procedure for our in-house docking code Attracting Cavities (AC), which mimics the two-step mechanism of covalent ligand binding. Ligand binding to the protein cavity is driven by nonbonded interactions, followed by the formation of a covalent bond between the ligand and the protein through a chemical reaction. To test the performance of this method, we developed a diverse, high-quality, openly accessible re-docking benchmark set of 95 covalent complexes bound by 8 chemical reactions to 5 different reactive amino acids. Combination with structures from previous studies resulted in a set of 304 complexes, on which AC obtained a success rate (rmsd ≤ 2 Å) of 78%, outperforming two state-of-the-art covalent docking codes, genetic optimization for ligand docking (GOLD (66%)) and AutoDock (AD (35%)). Using a more stringent success criterion (rmsd ≤ 1.5 Å), AC reached a success rate of 71 vs 55% for GOLD and 26% for AD. We additionally assessed the cross-docking performance of AC on a set of 76 covalent complexes of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease. On this challenging test set of mainly small and highly solvent-exposed ligands, AC yielded success rates of 58 and 28% for re-docking and cross-docking, respectively, compared to 45 and 17% for GOLD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathilde Goullieux
- SIB
Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Molecular Modeling Group, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Vincent Zoete
- SIB
Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Molecular Modeling Group, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department
of Oncology UNIL-CHUV, Lausanne University, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research
Lausanne Branch, CH-1066 Epalinges, Switzerland
| | - Ute F. Röhrig
- SIB
Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Molecular Modeling Group, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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13
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Arutyunova E, Belovodskiy A, Chen P, Khan MB, Joyce M, Saffran H, Lu J, Turner Z, Bai B, Lamer T, Young HS, Vederas J, Tyrrell DL, Lemieux MJ, Nieman JA. The Effect of Deuteration and Homologation of the Lactam Ring of Nirmatrelvir on Its Biochemical Properties and Oxidative Metabolism. ACS BIO & MED CHEM AU 2023; 3:528-541. [PMID: 38144257 PMCID: PMC10739250 DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomedchemau.3c00039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2023] [Revised: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/26/2023]
Abstract
This study explores the relationship between structural alterations of nirmatrelvir, such as homologation and deuteration, and metabolic stability of newly synthesized derivatives. We developed a reliable synthetic protocol toward dideutero-nirmatrelvir and its homologated analogues with high isotopic incorporation. Deuteration of the primary metabolic site of nirmatrelvir provides a 3-fold improvement of its human microsomal stability but is accompanied by an increased metabolism rate at secondary sites. Homologation of the lactam ring allows the capping group modification to decrease and delocalize the molecule's lipophilicity, reducing the metabolic rate at secondary sites. The effect of deuteration was less pronounced for the 6-membered lactam than for its 5-membered analogue in human microsomes, but the trend is reversed in the case of mouse microsomes. X-ray data revealed that the homologation of the lactam ring favors the orientation of the drug's nitrile warhead for interaction with the catalytic sulfur of the SARS-CoV-2 Mpro, improving its binding. Comparable potency against SARS-CoV-2 Mpro from several variants of concern and selectivity over human cysteine proteases cathepsin B, L, and S was observed for the novel deuterated/homologated derivative and nirmatrelvir. Synthesized compounds displayed a large interspecies variability in hamster, rat, and human hepatocyte stability assays. Overall, we aimed to apply a rational approach in changing the physicochemical properties of the drug to refine its biochemical and biological parameters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Arutyunova
- Department
of Biochemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H7, Canada
- Li
Ka Shing Institute of Virology, University
of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada
| | - Alexandr Belovodskiy
- Li Ka
Shing Applied Virology Institute, University
of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada
- Department
of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada
| | - Pu Chen
- Department
of Biochemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H7, Canada
- Li
Ka Shing Institute of Virology, University
of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada
| | | | - Michael Joyce
- Li
Ka Shing Institute of Virology, University
of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada
- Department
of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada
| | - Holly Saffran
- Li
Ka Shing Institute of Virology, University
of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada
- Department
of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada
| | - Jimmy Lu
- Department
of Biochemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H7, Canada
- Li
Ka Shing Institute of Virology, University
of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada
| | - Zoe Turner
- Department
of Biochemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H7, Canada
| | - Bing Bai
- Li Ka
Shing Applied Virology Institute, University
of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada
- Department
of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada
| | - Tess Lamer
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2G2, Canada
| | - Howard S. Young
- Department
of Biochemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H7, Canada
| | - John
C. Vederas
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2G2, Canada
| | - D. Lorne Tyrrell
- Li
Ka Shing Institute of Virology, University
of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada
- Li Ka
Shing Applied Virology Institute, University
of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada
- Department
of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada
| | - M. Joanne Lemieux
- Department
of Biochemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H7, Canada
- Li
Ka Shing Institute of Virology, University
of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada
| | - James A. Nieman
- Li Ka
Shing Applied Virology Institute, University
of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada
- Department
of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada
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14
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ElNaggar MH, Elgazar AA, Gamal G, Hamed SM, Elsayed ZM, El-Ashrey MK, Abood A, El Hassab MA, Soliman AM, El-Domany RA, Badria FA, Supuran CT, Eldehna WM. Identification of sulphonamide-tethered N-((triazol-4-yl)methyl)isatin derivatives as inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 main protease. J Enzyme Inhib Med Chem 2023; 38:2234665. [PMID: 37434404 PMCID: PMC10405867 DOI: 10.1080/14756366.2023.2234665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2023] [Revised: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 07/13/2023] Open
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in the end of 2019 led to profound consequences on global health and economy. Till producing successful vaccination strategies, the healthcare sectors suffered from the lack of effective therapeutic agents that could control the spread of infection. Thus, academia and the pharmaceutical sector prioritise SARS-CoV-2 antiviral drug discovery. Here, we exploited previous reports highlighting the anti-SARS-CoV-2 activities of isatin-based molecules to develop novel triazolo-isatins for inhibiting main protease (Mpro) of the virus, a crucial enzyme for its replication in the host cells. Particularly, sulphonamide 6b showed promising inhibitory activity with an IC50= 0.249 µM. Additionally, 6b inhibited viral cell proliferation with an IC50 of 4.33 µg/ml, and was non-toxic to VERO-E6 cells (CC50 = 564.74 µg/ml) displaying a selectivity index of 130.4. In silico analysis of 6b disclosed its ability to interact with key residues in the enzyme active site, supporting the obtained in vitro findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mai H. ElNaggar
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh, Egypt
| | - Abdullah A. Elgazar
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh, Egypt
| | - Ghada Gamal
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh, Egypt
| | - Shimaa M. Hamed
- Scientific Research and Innovation Support Unit, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh, Egypt
| | - Zainab M. Elsayed
- Scientific Research and Innovation Support Unit, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh, Egypt
| | - Mohamed K. El-Ashrey
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Amira Abood
- Chemistry of Natural and microbial products, National Research center, Egypt
- Department of Bioscience, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Mahmoud A. El Hassab
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Salman International University (KSIU), Egypt
| | - Ahmed M. Soliman
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh, Egypt
| | - Ramadan A. El-Domany
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh, Egypt
| | - Farid A. Badria
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
| | - Claudiu T. Supuran
- Department of NEUROFARBA, Section of Pharmaceutical and Nutraceutical Sciences, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy
| | - Wagdy M. Eldehna
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh, Egypt
- School of Biotechnology, Badr University in Cairo, Badr City, Egypt
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15
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Thomas AM, Serafini M, Grant EK, Coombs EAJ, Bluck JP, Schiedel M, McDonough MA, Reynolds JK, Lee B, Platt M, Sharlandjieva V, Biggin PC, Duarte F, Milne TA, Bush JT, Conway SJ. Mutate and Conjugate: A Method to Enable Rapid In-Cell Target Validation. ACS Chem Biol 2023; 18:2405-2417. [PMID: 37874862 PMCID: PMC10660337 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.3c00437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023]
Abstract
Target validation remains a challenge in drug discovery, which leads to a high attrition rate in the drug discovery process, particularly in Phase II clinical trials. Consequently, new approaches to enhance target validation are valuable tools to improve the drug discovery process. Here, we report the combination of site-directed mutagenesis and electrophilic fragments to enable the rapid identification of small molecules that selectively inhibit the mutant protein. Using the bromodomain-containing protein BRD4 as an example, we employed a structure-based approach to identify the L94C mutation in the first bromodomain of BRD4 [BRD4(1)] as having a minimal effect on BRD4(1) function. We then screened a focused, KAc mimic-containing fragment set and a diverse fragment library against the mutant and wild-type proteins and identified a series of fragments that showed high selectivity for the mutant protein. These compounds were elaborated to include an alkyne click tag to enable the attachment of a fluorescent dye. These clickable compounds were then assessed in HEK293T cells, transiently expressing BRD4(1)WT or BRD4(1)L94C, to determine their selectivity for BRD4(1)L94C over other possible cellular targets. One compound was identified that shows very high selectivity for BRD4(1)L94C over all other proteins. This work provides a proof-of-concept that the combination of site-directed mutagenesis and electrophilic fragments, in a mutate and conjugate approach, can enable rapid identification of small molecule inhibitors for an appropriately mutated protein of interest. This technology can be used to assess the cellular phenotype of inhibiting the protein of interest, and the electrophilic ligand provides a starting point for noncovalent ligand development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam M. Thomas
- Department
of Chemistry, Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, United Kingdom
| | - Marta Serafini
- Department
of Chemistry, Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, United Kingdom
| | - Emma K. Grant
- Department
of Chemical Biology, GSK, Gunnels Wood Road, Stevenage, Hertfordshire SG1 2NY, United Kingdom
| | - Edward A. J. Coombs
- Department
of Chemistry, Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, United Kingdom
| | - Joseph P. Bluck
- Department
of Chemistry, Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, United Kingdom
- Department
of Biochemistry, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, United Kingdom
| | - Matthias Schiedel
- Department
of Chemistry, Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, United Kingdom
| | - Michael A. McDonough
- Department
of Chemistry, Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, United Kingdom
| | - Jessica K. Reynolds
- Department
of Chemistry, Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, United Kingdom
| | - Bernadette Lee
- Department
of Chemistry, Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, United Kingdom
| | - Michael Platt
- Department
of Chemistry, Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, United Kingdom
| | - Vassilena Sharlandjieva
- MRC
Molecular Haematology Unit, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular
Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DS, United
Kingdom
| | - Philip C. Biggin
- Department
of Biochemistry, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, United Kingdom
| | - Fernanda Duarte
- Department
of Chemistry, Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas A. Milne
- MRC
Molecular Haematology Unit, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular
Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DS, United
Kingdom
| | - Jacob T. Bush
- Department
of Chemical Biology, GSK, Gunnels Wood Road, Stevenage, Hertfordshire SG1 2NY, United Kingdom
| | - Stuart J. Conway
- Department
of Chemistry, Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, United Kingdom
- Department
of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University
of California Los Angeles, 607 Charles E. Young Drive East, P.O. Box 951569, Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States
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16
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Hasan MN, Ray M, Saha A. Landscape of In Silico Tools for Modeling Covalent Modification of Proteins: A Review on Computational Covalent Drug Discovery. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:9663-9684. [PMID: 37921534 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c04710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2023]
Abstract
Covalent drug discovery has been a challenging research area given the struggle of finding a sweet balance between selectivity and reactivity for these drugs, the lack of which often leads to off-target activities and hence undesirable side effects. However, there has been a resurgence in covalent drug design following the success of several covalent drugs such as boceprevir (2011), ibrutinib (2013), neratinib (2017), dacomitinib (2018), zanubrutinib (2019), and many others. Design of covalent drugs includes many crucial factors, where "evaluation of the binding affinity" and "a detailed mechanistic understanding on covalent inhibition" are at the top of the list. Well-defined experimental techniques are available to elucidate these factors; however, often they are expensive and/or time-consuming and hence not suitable for high throughput screens. Recent developments in in silico methods provide promise in this direction. In this report, we review a set of recent publications that focused on developing and/or implementing novel in silico techniques in "Computational Covalent Drug Discovery (CCDD)". We also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of these approaches along with what improvements are required to make it a great tool in medicinal chemistry in the near future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Md Nazmul Hasan
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin─Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53211, United States
| | - Manisha Ray
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60660, United States
| | - Arjun Saha
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin─Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53211, United States
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17
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Ye X, Zhang P, Tao J, Wang JCK, Mafi A, Grob NM, Quartararo AJ, Baddock HT, Chan LJG, McAllister FE, Foe I, Loas A, Eaton DL, Hao Q, Nile AH, Pentelute BL. Discovery of reactive peptide inhibitors of human papillomavirus oncoprotein E6. Chem Sci 2023; 14:12484-12497. [PMID: 38020382 PMCID: PMC10646941 DOI: 10.1039/d3sc02782a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections account for nearly all cervical cancer cases, which is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide. High-risk variants, including HPV16, drive tumorigenesis in part by promoting the degradation of the tumor suppressor p53. This degradation is mediated by the HPV early protein 6 (E6), which recruits the E3 ubiquitin ligase E6AP and redirects its activity towards ubiquitinating p53. Targeting the protein interaction interface between HPV E6 and E6AP is a promising modality to mitigate HPV-mediated degradation of p53. In this study, we designed a covalent peptide inhibitor, termed reactide, that mimics the E6AP LXXLL binding motif by selectively targeting cysteine 58 in HPV16 E6 with quantitative conversion. This reactide provides a starting point in the development of covalent peptidomimetic inhibitors for intervention against HPV-driven cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiyun Ye
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge MA 02139 USA
| | - Peiyuan Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge MA 02139 USA
| | - Jason Tao
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge MA 02139 USA
| | - John C K Wang
- Calico Life Sciences LLC 1170 Veterans Boulevard South San Francisco CA 94080 USA
| | - Amirhossein Mafi
- Calico Life Sciences LLC 1170 Veterans Boulevard South San Francisco CA 94080 USA
| | - Nathalie M Grob
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge MA 02139 USA
| | - Anthony J Quartararo
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge MA 02139 USA
| | - Hannah T Baddock
- Calico Life Sciences LLC 1170 Veterans Boulevard South San Francisco CA 94080 USA
| | - Leanne J G Chan
- Calico Life Sciences LLC 1170 Veterans Boulevard South San Francisco CA 94080 USA
| | - Fiona E McAllister
- Calico Life Sciences LLC 1170 Veterans Boulevard South San Francisco CA 94080 USA
| | - Ian Foe
- Calico Life Sciences LLC 1170 Veterans Boulevard South San Francisco CA 94080 USA
| | - Andrei Loas
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge MA 02139 USA
| | - Dan L Eaton
- Calico Life Sciences LLC 1170 Veterans Boulevard South San Francisco CA 94080 USA
| | - Qi Hao
- Calico Life Sciences LLC 1170 Veterans Boulevard South San Francisco CA 94080 USA
| | - Aaron H Nile
- Calico Life Sciences LLC 1170 Veterans Boulevard South San Francisco CA 94080 USA
| | - Bradley L Pentelute
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge MA 02139 USA
- The Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 500 Main Street Cambridge MA 02142 USA
- Center for Environmental Health Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge MA 02139 USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard 415 Main Street Cambridge MA 02142 USA
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18
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Alzyoud L, Mahgoub RE, Mohamed FE, Ali BR, Ferreira J, Rabeh WM, Atatreh N, Ghattas MA. The Discovery of Novel Small Oxindole-Based Inhibitors Targeting the SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease (M pro ). Chem Biodivers 2023; 20:e202301176. [PMID: 37861105 DOI: 10.1002/cbdv.202301176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Revised: 10/14/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
With the potential for coronaviruses to re-emerge and trigger future pandemics, the urgent development of antiviral inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2 is essential. The Mpro enzyme is crucial for disease progression and the virus's life cycle. It possesses allosteric sites that can hinder its catalytic activity, with some of these sites located at or near the dimerization interface. Among them, sites #2 and #5 possess druggable pockets and are predicted to bind drug-like molecules. Consequently, a commercially available ligand library containing ~7 million ligands was used to target site #2 via structure-based virtual screening. After extensive filtering, docking, and post-docking analyses, 53 compounds were chosen for biological testing. An oxindole derivative was identified as a Mpro non-competitive reversible inhibitor with a Ki of 115 μM and an IC50 of 101.9 μM. Throughout the 200 ns-long MD trajectories, our top hit has shown a very stable binding mode, forming several interactions with residues in sites #2 and #5. Moreover, derivatives of our top hit were acquired for biological testing to gain deeper insights into their structure-activity relationship. To sum up, drug-like allosteric inhibitors seem promising and can provide us with an additional weapon in our war against the recent pandemic, and possibly other coronaviruses-caused diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lara Alzyoud
- College of Pharmacy, Al Ain University, Abu, Dhabi, 64141, United Arab Emirates
- AAU Health and Biomedical Research Center, Al Ain University, Abu Dhabi, 64141, United Arab Emirates
| | - Radwa E Mahgoub
- College of Pharmacy, Al Ain University, Abu, Dhabi, 64141, United Arab Emirates
- AAU Health and Biomedical Research Center, Al Ain University, Abu Dhabi, 64141, United Arab Emirates
| | - Feda E Mohamed
- Department of Genetics and Genomics, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, 15551, United Arab Emirates
| | - Bassam R Ali
- Department of Genetics and Genomics, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, 15551, United Arab Emirates
- Zayed Centre for Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, 15551, United Arab Emirates
| | - Juliana Ferreira
- Science Division, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, 129188, United Arab Emirates
| | - Wael M Rabeh
- Science Division, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, 129188, United Arab Emirates
| | - Noor Atatreh
- College of Pharmacy, Al Ain University, Abu, Dhabi, 64141, United Arab Emirates
- AAU Health and Biomedical Research Center, Al Ain University, Abu Dhabi, 64141, United Arab Emirates
| | - Mohammad A Ghattas
- College of Pharmacy, Al Ain University, Abu, Dhabi, 64141, United Arab Emirates
- AAU Health and Biomedical Research Center, Al Ain University, Abu Dhabi, 64141, United Arab Emirates
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19
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de Munnik M, Lithgow J, Brewitz L, Christensen KE, Bates RH, Rodriguez-Miquel B, Schofield CJ. αβ,α'β'-Diepoxyketones are mechanism-based inhibitors of nucleophilic cysteine enzymes. Chem Commun (Camb) 2023; 59:12859-12862. [PMID: 37815791 PMCID: PMC10601815 DOI: 10.1039/d3cc02932h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/11/2023]
Abstract
Epoxides are an established class of electrophilic alkylating agents that react with nucleophilic protein residues. We report αβ,α'β'-diepoxyketones (DEKs) as a new type of mechanism-based inhibitors of nucleophilic cysteine enzymes. Studies with the L,D-transpeptidase LdtMt2 from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the main protease from SARS-CoV-2 (Mpro) reveal that following epoxide ring opening by a nucleophilic cysteine, further reactions can occur, leading to irreversible alkylation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariska de Munnik
- Chemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry and the Ineos Oxford Institute of Antimicrobial Research, University of Oxford, 12 Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3TA, UK.
| | - Jasper Lithgow
- Chemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry and the Ineos Oxford Institute of Antimicrobial Research, University of Oxford, 12 Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3TA, UK.
| | - Lennart Brewitz
- Chemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry and the Ineos Oxford Institute of Antimicrobial Research, University of Oxford, 12 Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3TA, UK.
| | - Kirsten E Christensen
- Chemical Crystallography, Chemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, 12 Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3TA, UK
| | - Robert H Bates
- Tres Cantos Medicines Development Campus, GlaxoSmithKline, Calle Severo Ochoa 2, Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Beatriz Rodriguez-Miquel
- Tres Cantos Medicines Development Campus, GlaxoSmithKline, Calle Severo Ochoa 2, Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Christopher J Schofield
- Chemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry and the Ineos Oxford Institute of Antimicrobial Research, University of Oxford, 12 Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3TA, UK.
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20
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Tian Y, Zhang M, Heng P, Hou H, Wang B. Computational Investigations on Reaction Mechanisms of the Covalent Inhibitors Ponatinib and Analogs Targeting the Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinases. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:15223. [PMID: 37894903 PMCID: PMC10607051 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242015223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2023] [Revised: 10/08/2023] [Accepted: 10/14/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
As an important cancer therapeutic target, extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) are involved in triggering various cellular responses in tumors. Regulation of the ERK signaling pathway by the small molecular inhibitors is highly desired for the sake of cancer therapy. In contrast to the routine inhibitors targeting ERKs through long-range non-bonding interactions, Ponatinib, a covalent inhibitor to ERK2 with a macrocyclic structure characterized by the α,β-C=C unsaturated ketone, can form the stable -C(S)-C(H)-type complex via the four-center barrier due to the nucleophilic addition reaction of the thiol group of the Cys166 residue of ERK2 with the C=C double bond of Ponatinib with reaction free-energy barrier of 47.2 kcal/mol. Reaction mechanisms for the covalent binding were calculated using QM/MM methods and molecular dynamics simulations. The interaction modes and the corresponding binding free energies were obtained for the non-covalent and covalent complexation. The binding free energies of the non-covalent and covalent inhibitions are 14.8 kcal/mol and 33.4 kcal/mol, respectively. The mechanistic study stimulated a rational design on the modified Ponatinib structure by substituting the C=C bond with the C=N bond. It was demonstrated that the new compound exhibits better inhibition activity toward ERK2 in term of both thermodynamic and kinetic aspects through the covalent binding with a lower reaction free-energy barrier of 23.1 kcal/mol. The present theoretical work sheds new light on the development of the covalent inhibitors for the regulation of ERKs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Baoshan Wang
- College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China; (Y.T.); (M.Z.); (P.H.); (H.H.)
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21
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Gilbertson B, Subbarao K. What Have We Learned by Resurrecting the 1918 Influenza Virus? Annu Rev Virol 2023; 10:25-47. [PMID: 37774132 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-virology-111821-104408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/01/2023]
Abstract
The 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic was one of the deadliest infectious disease events in recorded history, resulting in approximately 50-100 million deaths worldwide. The origins of the 1918 virus and the molecular basis for its exceptional virulence remained a mystery for much of the 20th century because the pandemic predated virologic techniques to isolate, passage, and store influenza viruses. In the late 1990s, overlapping fragments of influenza viral RNA preserved in the tissues of several 1918 victims were amplified and sequenced. The use of influenza reverse genetics then permitted scientists to reconstruct the 1918 virus entirely from cloned complementary DNA, leading to new insights into the origin of the virus and its pathogenicity. Here, we discuss some of the advances made by resurrection of the 1918 virus, including the rise of innovative molecular research, which is a topic in the dual use debate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brad Gilbertson
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Kanta Subbarao
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia;
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22
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Bhujbal SP, Hah JM. An Innovative Approach to Address Neurodegenerative Diseases through Kinase-Targeted Therapies: Potential for Designing Covalent Inhibitors. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 16:1295. [PMID: 37765103 PMCID: PMC10537995 DOI: 10.3390/ph16091295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Revised: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Owing to the dysregulation of protein kinase activity in various diseases such as cancer and autoimmune, cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, and inflammatory conditions, the protein kinase family has emerged as a crucial drug target in the 21st century. Notably, many kinases have been targeted to address cancer and neurodegenerative diseases using conventional ATP-mimicking kinase inhibitors. Likewise, irreversible covalent inhibitors have also been developed for different types of cancer. The application of covalent modification to target proteins has led to significant advancements in the treatment of cancer. However, while covalent drugs have significantly impacted medical treatment, their potential for neurodegenerative diseases remains largely unexplored. Neurodegenerative diseases present significant risks to brain function, leading to progressive deterioration in sensory, motor, and cognitive abilities. Alzheimer's disease (AD), Huntington's disease (HD), Parkinson's disease (PD), and multiple sclerosis (MS) are among the various examples of such disorders. Numerous research groups have already reported insights through reviews and research articles on FDA-approved covalent inhibitors, revealing their mechanisms and the specific covalent warheads that preferentially interact with particular amino acid residues in intricate detail. Hence, in this review, we aim to provide a concise summary of these critical topics. This summary endeavors to guide medicinal chemists in their quest to design covalent inhibitors for protein kinases, specifically targeting neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Swapnil P. Bhujbal
- College of Pharmacy, Hanyang University, Ansan 426-791, Republic of Korea;
| | - Jung-Mi Hah
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Hanyang University, Ansan 426-791, Republic of Korea
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23
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Wang G, Moitessier N, Mittermaier AK. Computational and biophysical methods for the discovery and optimization of covalent drugs. Chem Commun (Camb) 2023; 59:10866-10882. [PMID: 37609777 DOI: 10.1039/d3cc03285j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/24/2023]
Abstract
Drugs that act by covalently attaching to their targets have been used to treat human diseases for over a hundred years. However, the deliberate design of covalent drugs was discouraged due to concerns of toxicity and off-target effects. Recent successes in covalent drug discovery have sparked fresh interest in this field. New screening and testing methods aimed at covalent inhibitors can play pivotal roles in facilitating the discovery process. This feature article focuses on computational and biophysical advances originating from our labs over the past decade and how these approaches have contributed to the design of prolyl oligopeptidase (POP) and SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro covalent inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guanyu Wang
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, 801 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0B8, Canada.
| | - Nicolas Moitessier
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, 801 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0B8, Canada.
| | - Anthony K Mittermaier
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, 801 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0B8, Canada.
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24
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Xie X, Yu T, Li X, Zhang N, Foster LJ, Peng C, Huang W, He G. Recent advances in targeting the "undruggable" proteins: from drug discovery to clinical trials. Signal Transduct Target Ther 2023; 8:335. [PMID: 37669923 PMCID: PMC10480221 DOI: 10.1038/s41392-023-01589-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Revised: 07/22/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Undruggable proteins are a class of proteins that are often characterized by large, complex structures or functions that are difficult to interfere with using conventional drug design strategies. Targeting such undruggable targets has been considered also a great opportunity for treatment of human diseases and has attracted substantial efforts in the field of medicine. Therefore, in this review, we focus on the recent development of drug discovery targeting "undruggable" proteins and their application in clinic. To make this review well organized, we discuss the design strategies targeting the undruggable proteins, including covalent regulation, allosteric inhibition, protein-protein/DNA interaction inhibition, targeted proteins regulation, nucleic acid-based approach, immunotherapy and others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, College of Medical Technology and School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 611137, Chengdu, China
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Tingting Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, College of Medical Technology and School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 611137, Chengdu, China
| | - Xiang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, College of Medical Technology and School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 611137, Chengdu, China
| | - Nan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, College of Medical Technology and School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 611137, Chengdu, China
- Department of Dermatology and State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 610041, Chengdu, China
| | - Leonard J Foster
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Cheng Peng
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, College of Medical Technology and School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 611137, Chengdu, China.
| | - Wei Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, College of Medical Technology and School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 611137, Chengdu, China.
| | - Gu He
- Department of Dermatology and State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 610041, Chengdu, China.
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25
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Srinivasan B. Non-equilibrium modalities of inhibition: Characterizing irreversible inhibition for the ErbB receptor family members. Methods Enzymol 2023; 690:85-108. [PMID: 37858541 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2023.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
Most drug target interactions for clinically approved small-molecules are non-equilibrium slow-onset, tight-binding or irreversible in nature, with pronounced element of time-dependence of inhibition. Analysis of such modality of inhibition requires a continuous enzyme kinetic measurement that can yield complete progress curves and an automated high-throughput analysis pipeline. Given the increasing emphasis on designing non-equilibrium modes of inhibiting an enzyme target (especially irreversible), the above specified pipeline for data generation and analysis is essential for extracting parameters to guide decisions in early drug discovery. In this manuscript, the methodology and data analysis protocol from our irreversible inhibitor characterization campaigns for the ErbB receptor family members is presented. Guidance is provided on the appropriate design of assay to generate quality data, setting up the analysis and estimation of inactivation rate (kinact) and the pseudo-equilibrium binding affinity (KI) constant (or their ratio kinact/KI) in a high-throughput manner for the inhibitor interacting with the protein target of interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bharath Srinivasan
- Mechanistic and Structural Biology, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
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26
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Oyedele AQK, Ogunlana AT, Boyenle ID, Adeyemi AO, Rita TO, Adelusi TI, Abdul-Hammed M, Elegbeleye OE, Odunitan TT. Docking covalent targets for drug discovery: stimulating the computer-aided drug design community of possible pitfalls and erroneous practices. Mol Divers 2023; 27:1879-1903. [PMID: 36057867 PMCID: PMC9441019 DOI: 10.1007/s11030-022-10523-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
The continuous approval of covalent drugs in recent years for the treatment of diseases has led to an increased search for covalent agents by medicinal chemists and computational scientists worldwide. In the computational parlance, molecular docking which is a popular tool to investigate the interaction of a ligand and a protein target, does not account for the formation of covalent bond, and the increasing application of these conventional programs to covalent targets in early drug discovery practice is a matter of utmost concern. Thus, in this comprehensive review, we sought to educate the docking community about the realization of covalent docking and the existence of suitable programs to make their future virtual-screening events on covalent targets worthwhile and scientifically rational. More interestingly, we went beyond the classical description of the functionality of covalent-docking programs down to selecting the 'best' program to consult with during a virtual-screening campaign based on receptor class and covalent warhead chemistry. In addition, we made a highlight on how covalent docking could be achieved using random conventional docking software. And lastly, we raised an alert on the growing erroneous molecular docking practices with covalent targets. Our aim is to guide scientists in the rational docking pursuit when dealing with covalent targets, as this will reduce false-positive results and also increase the reliability of their work for translational research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdul-Quddus Kehinde Oyedele
- Computational Biology/Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria
- Department of Chemistry, University of New Haven, West Haven, CT, USA
| | - Abdeen Tunde Ogunlana
- Computational Biology/Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria
| | - Ibrahim Damilare Boyenle
- Computational Biology/Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria.
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemsitry, University of Maryland, Maryland, USA.
- College of Health Sciences, Crescent University, Abeokuta, Nigeria.
| | | | - Temionu Oluwakemi Rita
- Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Lagos State College of Health, Lagos, Nigeria
| | - Temitope Isaac Adelusi
- Computational Biology/Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria
| | - Misbaudeen Abdul-Hammed
- Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria
| | - Oluwabamise Emmanuel Elegbeleye
- Computational Biology/Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria
| | - Tope Tunji Odunitan
- Department of Biochemistry, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria
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27
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Lucero B, Francisco KR, Liu LJ, Caffrey CR, Ballatore C. Protein-protein interactions: developing small-molecule inhibitors/stabilizers through covalent strategies. Trends Pharmacol Sci 2023; 44:474-488. [PMID: 37263826 PMCID: PMC11003449 DOI: 10.1016/j.tips.2023.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2023] [Revised: 04/15/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
The development of small-molecule inhibitors or stabilizers of selected protein-protein interactions (PPIs) of interest holds considerable promise for the development of research tools as well as candidate therapeutics. In this context, the covalent modification of selected residues within the target protein has emerged as a promising mechanism of action to obtain small-molecule modulators of PPIs with appropriate selectivity and duration of action. Different covalent labeling strategies are now available that can potentially allow for a rational, ground-up discovery and optimization of ligands as PPI inhibitors or stabilizers. This review article provides a synopsis of recent developments and applications of such tactics, with a particular focus on site-directed fragment tethering and proximity-enabled approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bobby Lucero
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Karol R Francisco
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Lawrence J Liu
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Conor R Caffrey
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Carlo Ballatore
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
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28
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Lanne A, E J Usselmann L, Llowarch P, Michaelides IN, Fillmore M, Holdgate GA. A perspective on the changing landscape of HTS. Drug Discov Today 2023:103670. [PMID: 37328053 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2023.103670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2023] [Revised: 05/14/2023] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Recently, there has been a change in the types of drug target entering early drug discovery portfolios. A significant increase in the number of challenging targets or which would have historically been classed as intractable has been observed. Such targets often have shallow or non-existent ligand-binding sites, can have disordered structures or domains or can be involved in protein-protein or protein-DNA interactions. The nature of the screens required to identify useful hits has, by necessity, also changed. The range of drug modalities explored has also increased and the chemistry required to design and optimise these molecules has adapted. In this review, we discuss this changing landscape and provide insights into the future requirements for small-molecule hit and lead generation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Lanne
- High Throughput Screening, Hit Discovery, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Alderley Park, UK
| | - Laura E J Usselmann
- High Throughput Screening, Hit Discovery, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Alderley Park, UK
| | - Poppy Llowarch
- High Throughput Screening, Hit Discovery, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Alderley Park, UK
| | - Iacovos N Michaelides
- Fragment Based Lead Generation, Hit Discovery, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | - Martin Fillmore
- DNA Encoded Library, Hit Discovery, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
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29
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Leusmann S, Ménová P, Shanin E, Titz A, Rademacher C. Glycomimetics for the inhibition and modulation of lectins. Chem Soc Rev 2023; 52:3663-3740. [PMID: 37232696 PMCID: PMC10243309 DOI: 10.1039/d2cs00954d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Carbohydrates are essential mediators of many processes in health and disease. They regulate self-/non-self- discrimination, are key elements of cellular communication, cancer, infection and inflammation, and determine protein folding, function and life-times. Moreover, they are integral to the cellular envelope for microorganisms and participate in biofilm formation. These diverse functions of carbohydrates are mediated by carbohydrate-binding proteins, lectins, and the more the knowledge about the biology of these proteins is advancing, the more interfering with carbohydrate recognition becomes a viable option for the development of novel therapeutics. In this respect, small molecules mimicking this recognition process become more and more available either as tools for fostering our basic understanding of glycobiology or as therapeutics. In this review, we outline the general design principles of glycomimetic inhibitors (Section 2). This section is then followed by highlighting three approaches to interfere with lectin function, i.e. with carbohydrate-derived glycomimetics (Section 3.1), novel glycomimetic scaffolds (Section 3.2) and allosteric modulators (Section 3.3). We summarize recent advances in design and application of glycomimetics for various classes of lectins of mammalian, viral and bacterial origin. Besides highlighting design principles in general, we showcase defined cases in which glycomimetics have been advanced to clinical trials or marketed. Additionally, emerging applications of glycomimetics for targeted protein degradation and targeted delivery purposes are reviewed in Section 4.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steffen Leusmann
- Chemical Biology of Carbohydrates (CBCH), Helmholtz-Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany.
- Department of Chemistry, Saarland University, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
- Deutsches Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (DZIF), Standort Hannover-Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Petra Ménová
- University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Technická 5, 16628 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Elena Shanin
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Vienna, Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
- Department of Microbiology, Immunobiology and Genetics, Max F. Perutz Laboratories, University of Vienna, Biocenter 5, 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Alexander Titz
- Chemical Biology of Carbohydrates (CBCH), Helmholtz-Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany.
- Department of Chemistry, Saarland University, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
- Deutsches Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (DZIF), Standort Hannover-Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Christoph Rademacher
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Vienna, Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
- Department of Microbiology, Immunobiology and Genetics, Max F. Perutz Laboratories, University of Vienna, Biocenter 5, 1030 Vienna, Austria
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30
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Udompholkul P, Garza-Granados A, Alboreggia G, Baggio C, McGuire J, Pegan SD, Pellecchia M. Characterization of a Potent and Orally Bioavailable Lys-Covalent Inhibitor of Apoptosis Protein (IAP) Antagonist. J Med Chem 2023. [PMID: 37262387 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c00467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
We have recently reported on the use of aryl-fluorosulfates in designing water- and plasma-stable agents that covalently target Lys, Tyr, or His residues in the BIR3 domain of the inhibitor of the apoptosis protein (IAP) family. Here, we report further structural, cellular, and pharmacological characterizations of this agent, including the high-resolution structure of the complex between the Lys-covalent agent and its target, the BIR3 domain of X-linked IAP (XIAP). We also compared the cellular efficacy of the agent in two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) cell cultures, side by side with the clinical candidate reversible IAP inhibitor LCL161. Finally, in vivo pharmacokinetic studies indicated that the agent was long-lived and orally bioavailable. Collectively our data further corroborate that aryl-fluorosulfates, when incorporated correctly in a ligand, can result in Lys-covalent agents with pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties that warrant their use in the design of pharmacological probes or even therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parima Udompholkul
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California, Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Ana Garza-Granados
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California, Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Giulia Alboreggia
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California, Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Carlo Baggio
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California, Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Jack McGuire
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California, Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Scott D Pegan
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California, Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Maurizio Pellecchia
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California, Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, California 92521, United States
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31
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Krämer J, Bar-Or A, Turner TJ, Wiendl H. Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitors for multiple sclerosis. Nat Rev Neurol 2023; 19:289-304. [PMID: 37055617 PMCID: PMC10100639 DOI: 10.1038/s41582-023-00800-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 04/15/2023]
Abstract
Current therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS) reduce both relapses and relapse-associated worsening of disability, which is assumed to be mainly associated with transient infiltration of peripheral immune cells into the central nervous system (CNS). However, approved therapies are less effective at slowing disability accumulation in patients with MS, in part owing to their lack of relevant effects on CNS-compartmentalized inflammation, which has been proposed to drive disability. Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) is an intracellular signalling molecule involved in the regulation of maturation, survival, migration and activation of B cells and microglia. As CNS-compartmentalized B cells and microglia are considered central to the immunopathogenesis of progressive MS, treatment with CNS-penetrant BTK inhibitors might curtail disease progression by targeting immune cells on both sides of the blood-brain barrier. Five BTK inhibitors that differ in selectivity, strength of inhibition, binding mechanisms and ability to modulate immune cells within the CNS are currently under investigation in clinical trials as a treatment for MS. This Review describes the role of BTK in various immune cells implicated in MS, provides an overview of preclinical data on BTK inhibitors and discusses the (largely preliminary) data from clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Krämer
- Department of Neurology with Institute of Translational Neurology, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Amit Bar-Or
- Center for Neuroinflammation and Neurotherapeutics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | | | - Heinz Wiendl
- Department of Neurology with Institute of Translational Neurology, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany.
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Schaefer D, Cheng X. Recent Advances in Covalent Drug Discovery. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 16:ph16050663. [PMID: 37242447 DOI: 10.3390/ph16050663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2023] [Revised: 04/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
In spite of the increasing number of biologics license applications, the development of covalent inhibitors is still a growing field within drug discovery. The successful approval of some covalent protein kinase inhibitors, such as ibrutinib (BTK covalent inhibitor) and dacomitinib (EGFR covalent inhibitor), and the very recent discovery of covalent inhibitors for viral proteases, such as boceprevir, narlaprevir, and nirmatrelvir, represent a new milestone in covalent drug development. Generally, the formation of covalent bonds that target proteins can offer drugs diverse advantages in terms of target selectivity, drug resistance, and administration concentration. The most important factor for covalent inhibitors is the electrophile (warhead), which dictates selectivity, reactivity, and the type of protein binding (i.e., reversible or irreversible) and can be modified/optimized through rational designs. Furthermore, covalent inhibitors are becoming more and more common in proteolysis, targeting chimeras (PROTACs) for degrading proteins, including those that are currently considered to be 'undruggable'. The aim of this review is to highlight the current state of covalent inhibitor development, including a short historical overview and some examples of applications of PROTAC technologies and treatment of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Schaefer
- Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Chemical Biology, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 15. R. 3.652, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Xinlai Cheng
- Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Chemical Biology, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 15. R. 3.652, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Frankfurt Cancer Institute, 60596 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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Yu W, Yang K, Zhao M, Liu H, You Z, Liu Z, Qiao X, Song Y. Design, synthesis and biological activity evaluation of novel covalent S-acylation inhibitors. Mol Divers 2023:10.1007/s11030-023-10633-7. [PMID: 37093341 DOI: 10.1007/s11030-023-10633-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 04/25/2023]
Abstract
In order to obtain diverse S-acylation inhibitors and address the defects of existing S-acylation inhibitors, a series of novel covalent S-acylation inhibitors are designed through synthesis. According to the results of MTT assay, most compounds produce a better anti-proliferation effect on MCF-7, MGC-803 and U937 cell lines than 2-BP. Among them, 8d, 8i, 8j and 10e exert a significant inhibitory effect on MCF-7 cell, with the IC50 values falling below 20 μM. Besides, the toxic effects of some compounds on 3T3 cell line are less significant than 2-BP. According to the results of acyl-biotin exchange (ABE) experiment, most of them could inhibit S-acylation, and 8i performs best in this respect, with the inhibitory rate reaching 89.3% at the concentration of 20 μM. The results of molecular docking show the conjugation of 8i with surrounding amino acids. Additionally, 8i could not only suppress the migration of MCF-7 cell line, but also cause it to stagnate in G0/G1 phase, thus promoting cell apoptosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Yu
- Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Quality Control of Hebei Province, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding, 071002, Hebei, China
| | - Kan Yang
- Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Quality Control of Hebei Province, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding, 071002, Hebei, China
| | - Mengmiao Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Quality Control of Hebei Province, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding, 071002, Hebei, China
| | - Han Liu
- Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Quality Control of Hebei Province, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding, 071002, Hebei, China
| | - Zhihao You
- Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Quality Control of Hebei Province, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding, 071002, Hebei, China
| | - Zhenming Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Xiaoqiang Qiao
- Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Quality Control of Hebei Province, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding, 071002, Hebei, China.
- Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Diagnosis, Ministry of Education, Hebei University, Baoding, 071002, Hebei, China.
| | - Yali Song
- Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Quality Control of Hebei Province, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding, 071002, Hebei, China.
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Mons E, Kim RQ, Mulder MPC. Technologies for Direct Detection of Covalent Protein—Drug Adducts. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 16:ph16040547. [PMID: 37111304 PMCID: PMC10146396 DOI: 10.3390/ph16040547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Revised: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 04/08/2023] Open
Abstract
In the past two decades, drug candidates with a covalent binding mode have gained the interest of medicinal chemists, as several covalent anticancer drugs have successfully reached the clinic. As a covalent binding mode changes the relevant parameters to rank inhibitor potency and investigate structure-activity relationship (SAR), it is important to gather experimental evidence on the existence of a covalent protein–drug adduct. In this work, we review established methods and technologies for the direct detection of a covalent protein–drug adduct, illustrated with examples from (recent) drug development endeavors. These technologies include subjecting covalent drug candidates to mass spectrometric (MS) analysis, protein crystallography, or monitoring intrinsic spectroscopic properties of the ligand upon covalent adduct formation. Alternatively, chemical modification of the covalent ligand is required to detect covalent adducts by NMR analysis or activity-based protein profiling (ABPP). Some techniques are more informative than others and can also elucidate the modified amino acid residue or bond layout. We will discuss the compatibility of these techniques with reversible covalent binding modes and the possibilities to evaluate reversibility or obtain kinetic parameters. Finally, we expand upon current challenges and future applications. Overall, these analytical techniques present an integral part of covalent drug development in this exciting new era of drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elma Mons
- Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands
- Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, 2333 BE Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Robbert Q. Kim
- Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Monique P. C. Mulder
- Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands
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Awoonor-Williams E, Golosov AA, Hornak V. Benchmarking In Silico Tools for Cysteine p Ka Prediction. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:2170-2180. [PMID: 36996330 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c00004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/01/2023]
Abstract
Accurate estimation of the pKa's of cysteine residues in proteins could inform targeted approaches in hit discovery. The pKa of a targetable cysteine residue in a disease-related protein is an important physiochemical parameter in covalent drug discovery, as it influences the fraction of nucleophilic thiolate amenable to chemical protein modification. Traditional structure-based in silico tools are limited in their predictive accuracy of cysteine pKa's relative to other titratable residues. Additionally, there are limited comprehensive benchmark assessments for cysteine pKa predictive tools. This raises the need for extensive assessment and evaluation of methods for cysteine pKa prediction. Here, we report the performance of several computational pKa methods, including single-structure and ensemble-based approaches, on a diverse test set of experimental cysteine pKa's retrieved from the PKAD database. The dataset consisted of 16 wildtype and 10 mutant proteins with experimentally measured cysteine pKa values. Our results highlight that these methods are varied in their overall predictive accuracies. Among the test set of wildtype proteins evaluated, the best method (MOE) yielded a mean absolute error of 2.3 pK units, highlighting the need for improvement of existing pKa methods for accurate cysteine pKa estimation. Given the limited accuracy of these methods, further development is needed before these approaches can be routinely employed to drive design decisions in early drug discovery efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ernest Awoonor-Williams
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 181 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Andrei A Golosov
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 181 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Viktor Hornak
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 181 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
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Wang Y, Gao Q, Yao P, Yao Q, Zhang J. Multidimensional virtual screening approaches combined with drug repurposing to identify potential covalent inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023; 41:15262-15285. [PMID: 36961210 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2193994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2022] [Accepted: 02/26/2023] [Indexed: 03/25/2023]
Abstract
The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused an unprecedented global pandemic, and new cases are still on the rise due to the absence of effective medicines. However, developing new drugs within a short time is extremely difficult. Repurposing the existing drugs provides a fast and effective strategy to identify promising inhibitors. Here we focus on the screening of drugs database for discovering potential covalent inhibitors that target 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLpro), an essential enzyme mediating viral replication and transcription. Firstly, we constructed a receptor-ligand pharmacophore model and verified it through decoy set. The importance of pharmacophore features was evaluated by combining molecular dynamics simulation with interaction analyses. Then, covalent docking was used to perform further screening. According to docking score and Prime/Molecular Mechanics Generalized Born Surface Area (MM-GBSA) score, total ten compounds obtained good scores and successfully established covalent bonds with the catalytic Cys145 residue. They also formed favorable interactions with key residues in active sites and closely integrated with 3CLpro with binding modes similar to known 3CLpro inhibitor. Finally, the top four hits DB08732, DB04653, DB01871 and DB07299 were further subjected to 100 ns molecular dynamics (MD) simulation and MM-GBSA binding free energy calculations. The results suggest that the four candidates show good binding affinities for 3CLpro, which warrants further evaluation for their in-vitro/in-vivo activities. Overall, our research methods provide a valuable reference for discovering promising inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2 and help to fight against the epidemic.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Wang
- Department of Physical Chemistry, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Qiushuang Gao
- Department of Physical Chemistry, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Peng Yao
- Department of Physical Chemistry, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Qizheng Yao
- School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Ji Zhang
- Department of Physical Chemistry, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
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Behring L, Ruiz-Gómez G, Trapp C, Morales M, Wodtke R, Köckerling M, Kopka K, Pisabarro MT, Pietzsch J, Löser R. Dipeptide-Derived Alkynes as Potent and Selective Irreversible Inhibitors of Cysteine Cathepsins. J Med Chem 2023; 66:3818-3851. [PMID: 36867428 PMCID: PMC10041539 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c01360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/04/2023]
Abstract
The potential of designing irreversible alkyne-based inhibitors of cysteine cathepsins by isoelectronic replacement in reversibly acting potent peptide nitriles was explored. The synthesis of the dipeptide alkynes was developed with special emphasis on stereochemically homogeneous products obtained in the Gilbert-Seyferth homologation for C≡C bond formation. Twenty-three dipeptide alkynes and 12 analogous nitriles were synthesized and investigated for their inhibition of cathepsins B, L, S, and K. Numerous combinations of residues at positions P1 and P2 as well as terminal acyl groups allowed for the derivation of extensive structure-activity relationships, which were rationalized by computational covalent docking for selected examples. The determined inactivation constants of the alkynes at the target enzymes span a range of >3 orders of magnitude (3-10 133 M-1 s-1). Notably, the selectivity profiles of alkynes do not necessarily reflect those of the nitriles. Inhibitory activity at the cellular level was demonstrated for selected compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lydia Behring
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Bautzner Landstraße 400, 01328 Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, School of Science, Faculty of Chemistry and Food Chemistry, Mommsenstraße 4, 01069 Dresden, Germany
| | - Gloria Ruiz-Gómez
- BIOTEC, Technische Universität Dresden, Tatzberg 47-51, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Christian Trapp
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Bautzner Landstraße 400, 01328 Dresden, Germany
| | - Maryann Morales
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Bautzner Landstraße 400, 01328 Dresden, Germany
| | - Robert Wodtke
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Bautzner Landstraße 400, 01328 Dresden, Germany
| | - Martin Köckerling
- Institute of Chemistry, University of Rostock, Albert-Einstein-Straße 3a, 18059 Rostock, Germany
| | - Klaus Kopka
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Bautzner Landstraße 400, 01328 Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, School of Science, Faculty of Chemistry and Food Chemistry, Mommsenstraße 4, 01069 Dresden, Germany
| | - M Teresa Pisabarro
- BIOTEC, Technische Universität Dresden, Tatzberg 47-51, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Jens Pietzsch
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Bautzner Landstraße 400, 01328 Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, School of Science, Faculty of Chemistry and Food Chemistry, Mommsenstraße 4, 01069 Dresden, Germany
| | - Reik Löser
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Bautzner Landstraße 400, 01328 Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, School of Science, Faculty of Chemistry and Food Chemistry, Mommsenstraße 4, 01069 Dresden, Germany
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38
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Donzelli L, Bolgi O, Geiss-Friedlander R. The amino-dipeptidyl peptidases DPP8 and DPP9: Purification and enzymatic assays. Methods Enzymol 2023; 684:289-323. [PMID: 37230592 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2023.02.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Proline residues highly impact protein stability when present either in the first or second N-terminal position. While the human genome encodes for more than 500 proteases, only few proteases are capable of hydrolyzing a proline-containing peptide bond. The two intra-cellular amino-dipeptidyl peptidases DPP8 and DPP9 are exceptional as they possess the rare ability to cleave post-proline. By removing N-terminal Xaa-Pro dipeptides, DPP8 and DPP9 expose a neo N-terminus of their substates, which can consequently alter inter- or intra-molecular interactions of the modified protein. Both DPP8 and DPP9 play key roles in the immune response and are linked to cancer progression, emerging as attractive drug targets. DPP9 is more abundant than DPP8 and is rate limiting for cleavage of cytosolic proline-containing peptides. Only few DPP9 substrates have been characterized; these include Syk, a central kinase for B-cell receptor mediated signaling; Adenylate Kinase 2 (AK2) which is important for cellular energy homeostasis; and the tumor suppressor Breast cancer type 2 susceptibility protein (BRCA2) that is critical for repair of DNA double strand breaks. N-terminal processing of these proteins by DPP9 triggers their rapid turn-over by the proteasome, highlighting a role for DPP9 as upstream components of the N-degron pathway. Whether N-terminal processing by DPP9 leads to substrate-degradation in all cases, or whether additional outcomes are possible, remains to be tested. In this chapter we will describe methods for purification of DPP8 and DPP9 as well as protocols for biochemical and enzymatic characterization of these proteases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Donzelli
- Institute of Molecular Medicine and Cell Research, Medical Faculty, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Oguz Bolgi
- Institute of Molecular Medicine and Cell Research, Medical Faculty, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Ruth Geiss-Friedlander
- Institute of Molecular Medicine and Cell Research, Medical Faculty, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
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39
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Rathod LS, Dabhade PS, Mokale SN. Recent progress in targeting KRAS mutant cancers with covalent G12C-specific inhibitors. Drug Discov Today 2023; 28:103557. [PMID: 36934967 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2023.103557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2023]
Abstract
KRASG12C has been identified as a potential target in the treatment of solid tumors. One of the most often transformed proteins in human cancers is the small Kirsten rat sarcoma homolog (KRAS) subunit of GTPase, which is typically the oncogene driver. KRASG12C is altered to keep the protein in an active GTP-binding form. KRAS has long been considered an 'undrugable' target, but sustained research efforts focusing on the KRASG12C mutant cysteine have achieved promising results. For example, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has passed emergency approval for sotorasib and adagrasib for the treatment of metastatic lung cancer. Such achievements have sparked several original approaches to KRASG12C. In this review, we focus on the design, development, and history of KRASG12C inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lala S Rathod
- Y.B. Chavan College of Pharmacy, Aurangabad, Maharashtra Pin-431001, India
| | - Pratap S Dabhade
- Y.B. Chavan College of Pharmacy, Aurangabad, Maharashtra Pin-431001, India
| | - Santosh N Mokale
- Y.B. Chavan College of Pharmacy, Aurangabad, Maharashtra Pin-431001, India.
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40
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Schiemer J, Maxwell A, Horst R, Liu S, Uccello DP, Borzilleri K, Rajamohan N, Brown MF, Calabrese MF. A covalent BTK ternary complex compatible with targeted protein degradation. Nat Commun 2023; 14:1189. [PMID: 36864023 PMCID: PMC9981747 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36738-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Targeted protein degradation using heterobifunctional chimeras holds the potential to expand target space and grow the druggable proteome. Most acutely, this provides an opportunity to target proteins that lack enzymatic activity or have otherwise proven intractable to small molecule inhibition. Limiting this potential, however, is the remaining need to develop a ligand for the target of interest. While a number of challenging proteins have been successfully targeted by covalent ligands, unless this modification affects form or function, it may lack the ability to drive a biological response. Bridging covalent ligand discovery with chimeric degrader design has emerged as a potential mechanism to advance both fields. In this work, we employ a set of biochemical and cellular tools to deconvolute the role of covalent modification in targeted protein degradation using Bruton's tyrosine kinase. Our results reveal that covalent target modification is fundamentally compatible with the protein degrader mechanism of action.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Schiemer
- Discovery Sciences, Pfizer Worldwide Research and Development, Groton, CT, USA
| | - Andrew Maxwell
- Discovery Sciences, Pfizer Worldwide Research and Development, Groton, CT, USA
| | - Reto Horst
- Discovery Sciences, Pfizer Worldwide Research and Development, Groton, CT, USA
| | - Shenping Liu
- Discovery Sciences, Pfizer Worldwide Research and Development, Groton, CT, USA
| | - Daniel P Uccello
- Discovery Sciences, Pfizer Worldwide Research and Development, Groton, CT, USA
| | - Kris Borzilleri
- Discovery Sciences, Pfizer Worldwide Research and Development, Groton, CT, USA
| | - Nisha Rajamohan
- Discovery Sciences, Pfizer Worldwide Research and Development, Groton, CT, USA
| | - Matthew F Brown
- Discovery Sciences, Pfizer Worldwide Research and Development, Groton, CT, USA
| | - Matthew F Calabrese
- Discovery Sciences, Pfizer Worldwide Research and Development, Groton, CT, USA.
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41
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Zhang YH, Yang SS, Zhang Q, Zhang TT, Zhang TY, Zhou BH, Zhou L. Discovery of N-Phenylpropiolamide as a Novel Succinate Dehydrogenase Inhibitor Scaffold with Broad-Spectrum Antifungal Activity on Phytopathogenic Fungi. JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY 2023; 71:3681-3693. [PMID: 36790098 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.2c07712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Based on the structural features of both succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors (SDHIs) and targeted covalent inhibitors, a series of N-phenylpropiolamides containing a Michael acceptor moiety were designed to find new antifungal compounds. Nineteen compounds showed potent inhibition activity in vitro on nine species of plant pathogenic fungi. Compounds 9 and 13 showed higher activity on most of the fungi than the standard drug azoxystrobin. Compound 13 could completely inhibit Physalospora piricola infection on apples at 200 μg/mL concentration over 7 days and showed high safety to seed germination and seedling growth of plants at ≤100 μg/mL concentration. The action mechanism showed that 13 is an SDH inhibitor with a median inhibitory concentration, IC50, value of 0.55 μg/mL, comparable with that of the positive drug boscalid. Molecular docking studies revealed that 13 can bind well to the ubiquinone-binding region of SDH by hydrogen bonds and undergoes π-alkyl interaction and π-cation interaction. At the cellular level, 1 as the parent compound could destruct the mycelial structure of P. piricola and partly dissolve the cell wall and/or membrane. Structure-activity relationship analysis showed that the acetenyl group should be a structure determinant for the activity, and the substitution pattern of the phenyl ring can significantly impact the activity. Thus, N-phenylpropiolamide emerged as a novel and promising lead scaffold for the development of new SDHIs for plant protection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Hao Zhang
- College of Chemistry & Pharmacy, Northwest A&F University, 22 Xinong Road, Yangling, 712100 Shaanxi, China
| | - Shan-Shan Yang
- College of Chemistry & Pharmacy, Northwest A&F University, 22 Xinong Road, Yangling, 712100 Shaanxi, China
- Taizhou Polytechnic College, 8 Tianxing Road, Taizhou, 225300 Jiangsu, China
| | - Qi Zhang
- College of Chemistry & Pharmacy, Northwest A&F University, 22 Xinong Road, Yangling, 712100 Shaanxi, China
| | - Tian-Tian Zhang
- College of Chemistry & Pharmacy, Northwest A&F University, 22 Xinong Road, Yangling, 712100 Shaanxi, China
| | - Tian-Yi Zhang
- College of Chemistry & Pharmacy, Northwest A&F University, 22 Xinong Road, Yangling, 712100 Shaanxi, China
| | - Bo-Hang Zhou
- Bio-Agriculture Institute of Shaanxi, Xi'an, 710043 Shaanxi, China
| | - Le Zhou
- College of Chemistry & Pharmacy, Northwest A&F University, 22 Xinong Road, Yangling, 712100 Shaanxi, China
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42
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Karges J, Cohen SM. Rhenium(V) Complexes as Cysteine-Targeting Coordinate Covalent Warheads. J Med Chem 2023; 66:3088-3105. [PMID: 36752718 PMCID: PMC9969397 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c02074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/09/2023]
Abstract
Interest in covalent enzyme inhibitors as therapeutic agents has seen a recent resurgence. Covalent enzyme inhibitors typically possess an organic functional group that reacts with a key feature of the target enzyme, often a nucleophilic cysteine residue. Herein, the application of small, modular ReV complexes as inorganic cysteine-targeting warheads is described. These metal complexes were found to react with cysteine residues rapidly and selectively. To demonstrate the utility of these ReV complexes, their reactivity with SARS-CoV-2-associated cysteine proteases is presented, including the SARS-CoV-2 main protease and papain-like protease and human enzymes cathepsin B and L. As all of these proteins are cysteine proteases, these enzymes were found to be inhibited by the ReV complexes through the formation of adducts. These findings suggest that these ReV complexes could be used as a new class of warheads for targeting surface accessible cysteine residues in disease-relevant target proteins.
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43
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Duong C, Nguyen PTV. Exploration of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro Noncovalent Natural Inhibitors Using Structure-Based Approaches. ACS OMEGA 2023; 8:6679-6688. [PMID: 36844600 PMCID: PMC9947982 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c07259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
With the emergence of antibody-evasive omicron subvariants (BA.2.12.1, BA.4, and BA.5), which can compromise the efficacy of vaccination, it is of utmost importance to widen the finite therapeutic options for COVID-19. Although more than 600 co-crystal complexes of Mpro with inhibitors have been revealed, utilizing them to search for novel Mpro inhibitors remains limited. Although there were two major groups of Mpro inhibitors, covalent and noncovalent inhibitors, noncovalent inhibitors were our main focus due to the safety concerns with their covalent counterparts. Hence, this study aimed to explore Mpro noncovalent inhibition ability of phytochemicals extracted from Vietnamese herbals by combining multiple structure-based approaches. By closely inspecting 223 complexes of Mpro with noncovalent inhibitors, a 3D-pharmacophore model representing typical chemical features of Mpro noncovalent inhibitors was generated with good validation scores (sensitivity = 92.11%, specificity = 90.42%, accuracy = 90.65%, and goodness-of-hit score = 0.61). Afterward, the pharmacophore model was applied to explore the potential Mpro inhibitors from our in-house Vietnamese phytochemical database, revealing 18 substances, 5 of which were in vitro assayed. The remaining 13 substances were then examined by induced-fit molecular docking, revealing 12 suitable compounds. A machine-learning activity prediction model was developed to rank the hit, suggesting nigracin and calycosin-7-O-β-glucopyranoside as promising Mpro natural noncovalent inhibitors.
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44
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Racioppo B, Qiu N, Adibekian A. Serine Hydrolase Activity‐Based Probes for use in Chemical Proteomics. Isr J Chem 2023. [DOI: 10.1002/ijch.202300016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Brittney Racioppo
- Department of Chemistry University of Illinois Chicago Chicago Illinois 60607 United States
- Skaggs Doctoral Program in the Chemical and Biological Sciences, Scripps Research La Jolla California 92037 United States
| | - Nan Qiu
- Department of Chemistry University of Illinois Chicago Chicago Illinois 60607 United States
- Skaggs Doctoral Program in the Chemical and Biological Sciences, Scripps Research La Jolla California 92037 United States
| | - Alexander Adibekian
- Department of Chemistry University of Illinois Chicago Chicago Illinois 60607 United States
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45
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bioTCIs: Middle-to-Macro Biomolecular Targeted Covalent Inhibitors Possessing Both Semi-Permanent Drug Action and Stringent Target Specificity as Potential Antibody Replacements. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24043525. [PMID: 36834935 PMCID: PMC9968108 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24043525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2022] [Revised: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Monoclonal antibody therapies targeting immuno-modulatory targets such as checkpoint proteins, chemokines, and cytokines have made significant impact in several areas, including cancer, inflammatory disease, and infection. However, antibodies are complex biologics with well-known limitations, including high cost for development and production, immunogenicity, a limited shelf-life because of aggregation, denaturation, and fragmentation of the large protein. Drug modalities such as peptides and nucleic acid aptamers showing high-affinity and highly selective interaction with the target protein have been proposed alternatives to therapeutic antibodies. The fundamental limitation of short in vivo half-life has prevented the wide acceptance of these alternatives. Covalent drugs, also known as targeted covalent inhibitors (TCIs), form permanent bonds to target proteins and, in theory, eternally exert the drug action, circumventing the pharmacokinetic limitation of other antibody alternatives. The TCI drug platform, too, has been slow in gaining acceptance because of its potential prolonged side-effect from off-target covalent binding. To avoid the potential risks of irreversible adverse drug effects from off-target conjugation, the TCI modality is broadening from the conventional small molecules to larger biomolecules possessing desirable properties (e.g., hydrolysis resistance, drug-action reversal, unique pharmacokinetics, stringent target specificity, and inhibition of protein-protein interactions). Here, we review the historical development of the TCI made of bio-oligomers/polymers (i.e., peptide-, protein-, or nucleic-acid-type) obtained by rational design and combinatorial screening. The structural optimization of the reactive warheads and incorporation into the targeted biomolecules enabling a highly selective covalent interaction between the TCI and the target protein is discussed. Through this review, we hope to highlight the middle to macro-molecular TCI platform as a realistic replacement for the antibody.
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Reja S, Sarkar K, Mukherjee D, Fayaz T, Kumar P, Das P, Sanphui P, Das RK. 3, 3′-[succinylbis(diazaneyl)]bis(N,N,N-trimethylpropan-1-ammonium) perchlorate: Synthesis, characterization, computational studies and in vitro anticancer activity against the human colon carcinoma cell line (HT-29). J Mol Struct 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molstruc.2022.134377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Rodríguez Á, Maneiro M, Lence E, Otero JM, van Raaij MJ, Thompson P, Hawkins AR, González-Bello C. Quinate-based ligands for irreversible inactivation of the bacterial virulence factor DHQ1 enzyme-A molecular insight. Front Mol Biosci 2023; 10:1111598. [PMID: 36762206 PMCID: PMC9902378 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1111598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Irreversible inhibition of the enzyme type I dehydroquinase (DHQ1), a promising target for anti-virulence drug development, has been explored by enhancing the electrophilicity of specific positions of the ligand towards covalent lysine modification. For ligand design, we made use of the advantages offered by the intrinsic acid-base properties of the amino substituents introduced in the quinate scaffold, namely compounds 6-7 (R configuration at C3), to generate a potential leaving group, as well as the recognition pattern of the enzyme. The reactivity of the C2-C3 bond (Re face) in the scaffold was also explored using compound 8. The results of the present study show that replacement of the C3 hydroxy group of (-)-quinic acid by a hydroxyamino substituent (compound 6) provides a time-dependent irreversible inhibitor, while compound 7, in which the latter functionality was substituted by an amino group, and the introduction of an oxirane ring at C2-C3 bond, compound 8, do not allow covalent modification of the enzyme. These outcomes were supported by resolution of the crystal structures of DHQ1 from Staphylococcus aureus (Sa-DHQ1) and Salmonella typhi (St-DHQ1) chemically modified by 6 at a resolution of 1.65 and 1.90 Å, respectively, and of St-DHQ1 in the complex with 8 (1.55 Å). The combination of these structural studies with extensive molecular dynamics simulation studies allowed us to understand the molecular basis of the type of inhibition observed. This study is a good example of the importance of achieving the correct geometry between the reactive center of the ligand (electrophile) and the enzyme nucleophile (lysine residue) to allow selective covalent modification. The outcomes obtained with the hydroxyamino derivative 6 also open up new possibilities in the design of irreversible inhibitors based on the use of amino substituents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ángela Rodríguez
- Centro Singular de Investigación en Química Biolóxica e Materiais Moleculares (CiQUS), Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - María Maneiro
- Centro Singular de Investigación en Química Biolóxica e Materiais Moleculares (CiQUS), Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Emilio Lence
- Centro Singular de Investigación en Química Biolóxica e Materiais Moleculares (CiQUS), Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - José M. Otero
- Centro Singular de Investigación en Química Biolóxica e Materiais Moleculares (CiQUS), Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Mark J. van Raaij
- Departamento de Estructura de Macromoléculas, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Paul Thompson
- Newcastle University Biosciences Institute, The Medical School, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Alastair R. Hawkins
- Newcastle University Biosciences Institute, The Medical School, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Concepción González-Bello
- Centro Singular de Investigación en Química Biolóxica e Materiais Moleculares (CiQUS), Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain,*Correspondence: Concepción González-Bello,
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Kilgas S, Ramadan K. Inhibitors of the ATPase p97/VCP: From basic research to clinical applications. Cell Chem Biol 2023; 30:3-21. [PMID: 36640759 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2022.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Revised: 11/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Protein homeostasis deficiencies underlie various cancers and neurodegenerative diseases. The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) and autophagy are responsible for most of the protein degradation in mammalian cells and, therefore, represent attractive targets for cancer therapy and that of neurodegenerative diseases. The ATPase p97, also known as VCP, is a central component of the UPS that extracts and disassembles its substrates from various cellular locations and also regulates different steps in autophagy. Several UPS- and autophagy-targeting drugs are in clinical trials. In this review, we focus on the development of various p97 inhibitors, including the ATPase inhibitors CB-5083 and CB-5339, which reached clinical trials by demonstrating effective anti-tumor activity across various tumor models, providing an effective alternative to targeting protein degradation for cancer therapy. Here, we provide an overview of how different p97 inhibitors have evolved over time both as basic research tools and effective UPS-targeting cancer therapies in the clinic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan Kilgas
- Medical Research Council Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology, Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK.
| | - Kristijan Ramadan
- Medical Research Council Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology, Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK.
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Zhan X, Li Q, Xu G, Xiao X, Bai Z. The mechanism of NLRP3 inflammasome activation and its pharmacological inhibitors. Front Immunol 2023; 13:1109938. [PMID: 36741414 PMCID: PMC9889537 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1109938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 12/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
NLRP3 (NOD-, LRR-, and pyrin domain-containing protein 3) is a cytosolic pattern recognition receptor (PRR) that recognizes multiple pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). Once activated, NLRP3 initiates the inflammasome assembly together with the adaptor ASC and the effector caspase-1, leading to caspase-1 activation and subsequent cleavage of IL-1β and IL-18. Aberrant NLRP3 inflammasome activation is linked with the pathogenesis of multiple inflammatory diseases, such as cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, gout, and neurodegenerative diseases. Thus, NLRP3 is an important therapeutic target, and researchers are putting a lot of effort into developing its inhibitors. The review summarizes the latest advances in the mechanism of NLRP3 inflammasome activation and its pharmacological inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyan Zhan
- Department of Hepatology, Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China,China Military Institute of Chinese Materia, Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Qiang Li
- Department of Hepatology, Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China,China Military Institute of Chinese Materia, Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Guang Xu
- Department of Hepatology, Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China,China Military Institute of Chinese Materia, Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaohe Xiao
- Department of Hepatology, Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China,China Military Institute of Chinese Materia, Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China,*Correspondence: Xiaohe Xiao, ; Zhaofang Bai,
| | - Zhaofang Bai
- Department of Hepatology, Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China,China Military Institute of Chinese Materia, Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China,*Correspondence: Xiaohe Xiao, ; Zhaofang Bai,
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Short KM, Estiarte MA, Pham SM, Williams DC, Igoudin L, Dash S, Sandoval N, Datta A, Pozzi N, Di Cera E, Kita DB. Discovery of novel N-acylpyrazoles as potent and selective thrombin inhibitors. Eur J Med Chem 2023; 246:114855. [PMID: 36462436 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.114855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Revised: 10/08/2022] [Accepted: 10/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs), which includes thrombin and factor Xa inhibitors, have emerged as the preferred therapeutics for thrombotic disorders, penetrating a market previously dominated by warfarin and heparin. This article describes the discovery and profiling of a novel series of N-acylpyrazoles, which act as selective, covalent, reversible, non-competitive inhibitors of thrombin. We describe in vitro stability issues associated with this chemotype and, importantly, demonstrate that N-acylpyrazoles successfully act in vivo as anticoagulants in basic thrombotic animal models. Crucially, this anticoagulant nature is unaccompanied by the higher bleeding risk profile that has become an undesirable characteristic of the DTIs and factor Xa inhibitors. We propose that the N-acylpyrazole chemotype shows intriguing promise as next-generation oral anticoagulants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin M Short
- Verseon, 47071 Bayside Parkway, Fremont, CA, 94538, USA.
| | | | - Son M Pham
- Verseon, 47071 Bayside Parkway, Fremont, CA, 94538, USA
| | | | - Lev Igoudin
- Verseon, 47071 Bayside Parkway, Fremont, CA, 94538, USA
| | - Subhadra Dash
- Verseon, 47071 Bayside Parkway, Fremont, CA, 94538, USA
| | | | - Anirban Datta
- Verseon, 47071 Bayside Parkway, Fremont, CA, 94538, USA
| | - Nicola Pozzi
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Edward A. Doisy Research Center, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, 1100 South Grand Blvd., St. Louis, MO, 63104, USA
| | - Enrico Di Cera
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Edward A. Doisy Research Center, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, 1100 South Grand Blvd., St. Louis, MO, 63104, USA
| | - David B Kita
- Verseon, 47071 Bayside Parkway, Fremont, CA, 94538, USA
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