1
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Granberg KL, Sakamaki S, Fuchigami R, Niwa Y, Fujio M, Kato H, Bergström F, Larsson N, Persson M, Villar IC, Fujita T, Sugikawa E, Althage M, Yano N, Yokoyama Y, Kimura J, Lal M, Mochida H. Identification of Novel Series of Potent and Selective Relaxin Family Peptide Receptor 1 (RXFP1) Agonists. J Med Chem 2024. [PMID: 38502780 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c02183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
Relaxin H2 is a clinically relevant peptide agonist for relaxin family peptide receptor 1 (RXFP1), but a combination of this hormone's short plasma half-life and the need for injectable delivery limits its therapeutic potential. We sought to overcome these limitations through the development of a potent small molecule (SM) RXFP1 agonist. Although two large SM HTS campaigns failed in identifying suitable hit series, we uncovered novel chemical space starting from the only known SM RXFP1 agonist series, represented by ML290. Following a design-make-test-analyze strategy based on improving early dose to man ranking, we discovered compound 42 (AZ7976), a highly selective RXFP1 agonist with sub-nanomolar potency. We used AZ7976, its 10 000-fold less potent enantiomer 43 and recombinant relaxin H2 to evaluate in vivo pharmacology and demonstrate that AZ7976-mediated heart rate increase in rats was a result of RXFP1 agonism. As a result, AZ7976 was selected as lead for continued optimization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth L Granberg
- Medicinal Chemistry, Research and Early Development, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism (CVRM), BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Mölndal 43183, Sweden
| | - Shigeki Sakamaki
- Sohyaku. Innovative Research Division, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, 1000 Kamoshida-cho, Aoba-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 227-0033, Japan
| | - Ryuichi Fuchigami
- Sohyaku. Innovative Research Division, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, 1000 Kamoshida-cho, Aoba-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 227-0033, Japan
| | - Yasuki Niwa
- Sohyaku. Innovative Research Division, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, 1000 Kamoshida-cho, Aoba-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 227-0033, Japan
| | - Masakazu Fujio
- Sohyaku. Innovative Research Division, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, 1000 Kamoshida-cho, Aoba-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 227-0033, Japan
| | - Harutoshi Kato
- Sohyaku. Innovative Research Division, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, 1000 Kamoshida-cho, Aoba-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 227-0033, Japan
| | - Fredrik Bergström
- Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics (DMPK), Cardiovascular, Research and Early Development, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism (CVRM), BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Mölndal 431 83, Sweden
| | - Niklas Larsson
- Discovery Biology, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Mölndal 431 83, Sweden
| | - Mikael Persson
- Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism Safety, Clinical Pharmacology & Safety Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Mölndal 431 83, Sweden
| | - Inmaculada C Villar
- Regulatory Toxicology & Safety Pharmacology, Clinical Pharmacology & Safety Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge CB2 0AA, U.K
| | - Takuya Fujita
- Sohyaku. Innovative Research Division, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, 1000 Kamoshida-cho, Aoba-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 227-0033, Japan
| | - Emiko Sugikawa
- Sohyaku. Innovative Research Division, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, 1000 Kamoshida-cho, Aoba-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 227-0033, Japan
| | - Magnus Althage
- Translational Science and Experimental Medicine, Research and Early Development, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism (CVRM), Biopharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Mölndal 431 83, Sweden
| | - Naoko Yano
- Sohyaku. Innovative Research Division, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, 1000 Kamoshida-cho, Aoba-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 227-0033, Japan
| | - Yoshito Yokoyama
- Sohyaku. Innovative Research Division, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, 1000 Kamoshida-cho, Aoba-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 227-0033, Japan
| | - Junpei Kimura
- Sohyaku. Innovative Research Division, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, 1000 Kamoshida-cho, Aoba-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 227-0033, Japan
| | - Mark Lal
- Bioscience Renal, Research and Early Development, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism (CVRM), Biopharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Mölndal 431 83, Sweden
| | - Hideki Mochida
- Sohyaku. Innovative Research Division, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, 1000 Kamoshida-cho, Aoba-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 227-0033, Japan
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2
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Erlandson SC, Rawson S, Osei-Owusu J, Brock KP, Liu X, Paulo JA, Mintseris J, Gygi SP, Marks DS, Cong X, Kruse AC. The relaxin receptor RXFP1 signals through a mechanism of autoinhibition. Nat Chem Biol 2023; 19:1013-1021. [PMID: 37081311 PMCID: PMC10530065 DOI: 10.1038/s41589-023-01321-6] [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: 09/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 04/22/2023]
Abstract
The relaxin family peptide receptor 1 (RXFP1) is the receptor for relaxin-2, an important regulator of reproductive and cardiovascular physiology. RXFP1 is a multi-domain G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) with an ectodomain consisting of a low-density lipoprotein receptor class A (LDLa) module and leucine-rich repeats. The mechanism of RXFP1 signal transduction is clearly distinct from that of other GPCRs, but remains very poorly understood. In the present study, we determine the cryo-electron microscopy structure of active-state human RXFP1, bound to a single-chain version of the endogenous agonist relaxin-2 and the heterotrimeric Gs protein. Evolutionary coupling analysis and structure-guided functional experiments reveal that RXFP1 signals through a mechanism of autoinhibition. Our results explain how an unusual GPCR family functions, providing a path to rational drug development targeting the relaxin receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah C Erlandson
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Shaun Rawson
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - James Osei-Owusu
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Kelly P Brock
- Department of Systems Biology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Xinyue Liu
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Joao A Paulo
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Julian Mintseris
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Steven P Gygi
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Debora S Marks
- Department of Systems Biology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Xiaojing Cong
- Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, INSERM, Montpellier, France
| | - Andrew C Kruse
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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3
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Klepper A, Kung A, Vazquez SE, Mitchell A, Mann S, Zorn K, Avila-Vargas I, Kari S, Tekeste M, Castro J, Lee B, Duarte M, Khalili M, Yang M, Wolters P, Price J, Perito E, Feng S, Maher JJ, Lai J, Weiler-Normann C, Lohse AW, DeRisi J, Tana M. Novel autoantibody targets identified in patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) by PhIP-Seq reveals pathogenic insights. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2023:2023.06.12.23291297. [PMID: 37398174 PMCID: PMC10312872 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.12.23291297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a severe autoimmune disease, characterized by the presence of autoantibodies. However, the role of autoantibodies in the pathophysiology of AIH remains uncertain. Here, we employed Phage Immunoprecipitation-Sequencing (PhIP-Seq) to identify novel autoantibodies in AIH. Using these results, a logistic regression classifier was able to predict which patients had AIH, indicating the presence of a distinct humoral immune signature. To further investigate the autoantibodies most specific to AIH, significant peptides were identified relative to a broad array of controls (298 patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), or healthy controls). Top ranked autoreactive targets included SLA, the target of a well-recognized autoantibody in AIH, and disco interacting protein 2 homolog A (DIP2A). The autoreactive fragment of DIP2A shares a 9-amino acid stretch nearly identical to the U27 protein of HHV-6B, a virus found in the liver. In addition, antibodies against peptides derived from the leucine rich repeat N-terminal (LRRNT) domain of the relaxin family peptide receptor 1 (RXFP1) were highly enriched and specific to AIH. The enriched peptides map to a motif adjacent to the receptor binding domain, which is required for RXFP1 signaling. RXFP1 is a G protein-coupled receptor that binds relaxin-2, an anti-fibrogenic molecule shown to reduce the myofibroblastic phenotype of hepatic stellate cells. Eight of nine patients with antibodies to RXFP1 had evidence of advanced fibrosis (F3 or greater). Furthermore, serum from AIH patients positive for anti-RFXP1 antibody was able to significantly inhibit relaxin-2 signaling in the human monocytic cell line, THP1. Depletion of IgG from anti-RXFP1 positive serum abrogated this effect. These data provide supporting evidence that HHV6 plays a role in the development of AIH and point to a potential pathogenic role for anti-RXFP1 IgG in some patients. Identification of anti-RXFP1 in patient serum may enable risk stratification of AIH patients for fibrosis progression and lead to the development of novel strategies for disease intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrew Kung
- University of California, San Francisco, USA
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub; San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Sara E Vazquez
- University of California, San Francisco, USA
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub; San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Anthea Mitchell
- University of California, San Francisco, USA
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub; San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Sabrina Mann
- University of California, San Francisco, USA
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub; San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Kelsey Zorn
- University of California, San Francisco, USA
| | | | - Swathi Kari
- University of California, San Francisco, USA
| | | | | | - Briton Lee
- University of California, San Francisco, USA
| | | | - Mandana Khalili
- University of California, San Francisco, USA
- UCSF Liver Center
| | - Monica Yang
- University of California, San Francisco, USA
| | | | - Jennifer Price
- University of California, San Francisco, USA
- UCSF Liver Center
| | - Emily Perito
- University of California, San Francisco, USA
- UCSF Liver Center
| | - Sandy Feng
- University of California, San Francisco, USA
- UCSF Liver Center
| | | | - Jennifer Lai
- University of California, San Francisco, USA
- UCSF Liver Center
| | | | - Ansgar W Lohse
- Medical Department, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, DE
| | - Joseph DeRisi
- University of California, San Francisco, USA
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub; San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Michele Tana
- University of California, San Francisco, USA
- UCSF Liver Center
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4
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Hossain MA, Praveen P, Noorzi NA, Wu H, Harrison IP, Handley T, Selemidis S, Samuel CS, Bathgate RAD. Development of Novel High-Affinity Antagonists for the Relaxin Family Peptide Receptor 1. ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci 2023; 6:842-853. [PMID: 37200817 PMCID: PMC10186362 DOI: 10.1021/acsptsci.3c00053] [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: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
H2 relaxin is a peptide hormone that exerts its biological actions through the G protein-coupled receptor, RXFP1. The numerous important biological functions of H2 relaxin, including potent renal, vasodilatory, cardioprotective, and anti-fibrotic actions, have resulted in considerable interest in its use as a therapeutic for various cardiovascular diseases and other fibrotic indications. Interestingly though, H2 relaxin and RXFP1 have been shown to be overexpressed in prostate cancer, allowing for the downregulation or blocking of relaxin/RXFP1 to decrease prostate tumor growth. These findings suggest the application of an RXFP1 antagonist for the treatment of prostate cancer. However, these therapeutically relevant actions are still poorly understood and have been hindered by the lack of a high-affinity antagonist. In this study, we chemically synthesized three novel H2 relaxin analogues that have complex insulin-like structures with two chains (A and B) and three disulfide bridges. We report here the structure-activity relationship studies on H2 relaxin that resulted in the development of a novel high-affinity RXFP1 antagonist, H2 B-R13HR (∼40 nM), that has only one extra methylene group in the side chain of arginine 13 in the B-chain (ArgB13) of H2 relaxin. Most notably, the synthetic peptide was shown to be active in a mouse model of prostate tumor growth in vivo where it inhibited relaxin-mediated tumor growth. Our compound H2 B-R13HR will be an important research tool to understand relaxin actions through RXFP1 and may be a potential lead compound for the treatment of prostate cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammed Akhter Hossain
- Florey
Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Victoria, Australia
- School
of Chemistry, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Victoria, Australia
- Department
of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, University
of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Victoria, Australia
| | - Praveen Praveen
- Florey
Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Victoria, Australia
| | - Nurhayati Ahmad Noorzi
- Cardiovascular
Disease Program, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton 3800, Victoria, Australia
- Department
of Pharmacology, Monash University, Clayton 3800, Victoria, Australia
| | - Hongkang Wu
- Florey
Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Victoria, Australia
- Department
of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, University
of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Victoria, Australia
| | - Ian P. Harrison
- Cardiovascular
Disease Program, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton 3800, Victoria, Australia
- Department
of Pharmacology, Monash University, Clayton 3800, Victoria, Australia
| | - Thomas Handley
- Florey
Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Victoria, Australia
| | - Stavros Selemidis
- School
of
Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Bundoora 3083, Victoria, Australia
| | - Chrishan S. Samuel
- Cardiovascular
Disease Program, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton 3800, Victoria, Australia
- Department
of Pharmacology, Monash University, Clayton 3800, Victoria, Australia
| | - Ross A. D. Bathgate
- Florey
Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Victoria, Australia
- Department
of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, University
of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Victoria, Australia
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5
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D'Ercole A, Nistri S, Pacini L, Carotenuto A, Santoro F, Papini AM, Bathgate RAD, Bani D, Rovero P. Synthetic short-chain peptide analogues of H1 relaxin lack affinity for the RXFP1 receptor and relaxin-like bioactivity. Clues to a better understanding of relaxin agonist design. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:942178. [PMID: 36034864 PMCID: PMC9402926 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.942178] [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: 05/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The peptide hormone relaxin (RLX), also available as clinical-grade recombinant protein (serelaxin), holds great promise as a cardiovascular and anti-fibrotic agent but is limited by the pharmacokinetic issues common to all peptide drugs. In this study, by a computational modelling chemistry approach, we have synthesized and tested a set of low molecular weight peptides based on the putative receptor-binding domain of the B chain of human H1 RLX isoform, with the objective to obtain RLX analogues with improved pharmacokinetic features. Some of them were stabilized to induce the appropriate 3-D conformation by intra-chain tri-azolic staples, which should theoretically enhance their resistance to digestive enzymes making them suited for oral administration. Despite these favourable premises, none of these H1 peptides, either linear or stapled, revealed a sufficient affinity to the specific RLX receptor RXFP1. Moreover, none of them was endowed with any RLX-like biological effects in RXFP1-expressing THP-1 human monocytic cells and mouse NIH-3T3-derived myofibroblasts in in vitro culture, in terms of significantly relevant cAMP elevation and ERK1/2 phosphorylation, which represent two major signal transduction events downstream RXFP1 activation. This was at variance with authentic serelaxin, which induced a clear-cut, significant activation of both these classical RLX signaling pathways. Albeit negative, the results of this study offer additional information about the structural requirements that new peptide therapeutics shall possess to effectively behave as RXFP1 agonists and RLX analogues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annunziata D'Ercole
- Interdepartmental Research Unit of Peptide and Protein Chemistry and Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
- Department of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff”, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Silvia Nistri
- Research Unit of Histology & Embryology, Department of Experimental & Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Pacini
- Interdepartmental Research Unit of Peptide and Protein Chemistry and Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
- Department of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff”, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | | | - Federica Santoro
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Anna Maria Papini
- Interdepartmental Research Unit of Peptide and Protein Chemistry and Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
- Department of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff”, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Ross A. D. Bathgate
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Unviversity of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Daniele Bani
- Research Unit of Histology & Embryology, Department of Experimental & Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
- *Correspondence: Daniele Bani, ; Paolo Rovero,
| | - Paolo Rovero
- Interdepartmental Research Unit of Peptide and Protein Chemistry and Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
- Department of NeuroFarBa, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
- *Correspondence: Daniele Bani, ; Paolo Rovero,
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