Structural Basis of Inhibitor Selectivity in Human Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase 1 and Tryptophan Dioxygenase

Exploring a repurposed candidate with dual hIDO1/hTDO2 inhibitory potential for anticancer efficacy identified through pharmacophore-based virtual screening and in vitro evaluation

Discovering effective anti-cancer agents poses a formidable challenge given the limited efficacy of current therapeutic modalities against various cancer types due to intrinsic resistance mechanisms. Cancer immunochemotherapy is an alternative strategy for breast cancer treatment and overcoming cancer resistance. Human Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (hIDO1) and human Tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase 2 (hTDO2) play pivotal roles in tryptophan metabolism, leading to the generation of kynurenine and other bioactive metabolites. This process facilitates the de novo synthesis of Nicotinamide Dinucleotide (NAD), promoting cancer resistance. This study identified a new dual hIDO1/hTDO2 inhibitor using a drug repurposing strategy of FDA-approved drugs. Herein, we delineate the development of a ligand-based pharmacophore model based on a training set of 12 compounds with reported hIDO1/hTDO2 inhibitory activity. We conducted a pharmacophore search followed by high-throughput virtual screening of 2568 FDA-approved drugs against both enzymes, resulting in ten hits, four of them with high potential of dual inhibitory activity. For further in silico and in vitro biological investigation, the anti-hypercholesterolemic drug Pitavastatin deemed the drug of choice in this study. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations demonstrated that Pitavastatin forms stable complexes with both hIDO1 and hTDO2 receptors, providing a structural basis for its potential therapeutic efficacy. At nanomolar (nM) concentration, it exhibited remarkable in vitro enzyme inhibitory activity against both examined enzymes. Additionally, Pitavastatin demonstrated potent cytotoxic activity against BT-549, MCF-7, and HepG2 cell lines (IC50 = 16.82, 9.52, and 1.84 µM, respectively). Its anticancer activity was primarily due to the induction of G1/S phase arrest as discovered through cell cycle analysis of HepG2 cancer cells. Ultimately, treating HepG2 cancer cells with Pitavastatin affected significant activation of caspase-3 accompanied by down-regulation of cellular apoptotic biomarkers such as IDO, TDO, STAT3, P21, P27, IL-6, and AhR.

Discovery of novel IDO1/TDO2 dual inhibitors: a consensus Virtual screening approach with molecular dynamics simulations, and binding free energy analysis

The pursuit of effective cancer immunotherapy drugs remains challenging, with overexpression of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) and tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase 2 (TDO2) allowing cancer cells to evade immune attacks. While several IDO1 inhibitors have undergone clinical testing, only three dual IDO1/TDO2 inhibitors have reached human trials. Hence, this study focuses on identifying novel IDO1/TDO2 dual inhibitors through consensus structure-based virtual screening (SBVS). ZINC15 natural products library was refined based on molecular descriptors, and the selected compounds were docked to the holo form IDO1 and TDO2 using two different software programs and ranked according to their consensus docking scores. The top-scoring compounds underwent in silico evaluations for pharmacokinetics, toxicity, CYP3A4 affinity, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and MM-GBSA binding free energy calculations. Five compounds (ZINC00000079405/10, ZINC00004028612/11, ZINC00013380497/12, ZINC00014613023/13, and ZINC00103579819/14) were identified as potential IDO1/TDO2 dual inhibitors due to their high consensus docking scores, key residue interactions with the enzymes, favorable pharmacokinetics, and avoidance of CYP3A4 binding. MD simulations of the top three hits with IDO1 indicated conformational changes and compactness, while MM-GBSA analysis revealed strong binding free energy for compounds 10 (ΔG: -20.13 kcal/mol) and 11 (ΔG: -16.22 kcal/mol). These virtual hits signify a promising initial step in identifying candidates as supplementary therapeutics to immune checkpoint inhibitors in cancer treatment. Their potential to deliver potent dual inhibition of IDO1/TDO2, along with safety and favorable pharmacokinetics, makes them compelling. Validation through in vitro and in vivo assays should be conducted to confirm their activity, selectivity, and preclinical potential as holo IDO1/TDO2 dual inhibitors.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

The kynurenine pathway presents multi-faceted metabolic vulnerabilities in cancer

The kynurenine pathway (KP) and associated catabolites play key roles in promoting tumor progression and modulating the host anti-tumor immune response. To date, considerable focus has been on the role of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) and its catabolite, kynurenine (Kyn). However, increasing evidence has demonstrated that downstream KP enzymes and their associated metabolite products can also elicit tumor-microenvironment immune suppression. These advancements in our understanding of the tumor promotive role of the KP have led to the conception of novel therapeutic strategies to target the KP pathway for anti-cancer effects and reversal of immune escape. This review aims to 1) highlight the known biological functions of key enzymes in the KP, and 2) provide a comprehensive overview of existing and emerging therapies aimed at targeting discrete enzymes in the KP for anti-cancer treatment.

N-Heterocyclic carbene-catalyzed enantioselective annulation of 2-amino-1H-indoles and bromoenals for the synthesis of chiral 2-aryl-2,3-dihydropyrimido[1,2-a]indol-4 (1H)-ones

An efficient N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-catalyzed enantioselective [3 + 3] annulation of 2-bromoenals with 2-amino-1H-indoles has been developed. A series of functionalized 2-aryl-2,3-dihydropyrimido[1,2-a]indol-4(1H)-ones were synthesized using NHCs as the catalyst in good yields with high to excellent enantioselectivities.

Indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase 1 inhibitory compounds from natural sources

L-tryptophan metabolism is involved in the regulation of many important physiological processes, such as, immune response, inflammation, and neuronal function. Indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) is a key enzyme that catalyzes the first rate-limiting step of tryptophan conversion to kynurenine. Thus, inhibiting IDO1 may have therapeutic benefits for various diseases, such as, cancer, autoimmune disease, and depression. In the search for potent IDO1 inhibitors, natural quinones were the first reported IDO1 inhibitors with potent inhibitory activity. Subsequently, natural compounds with diverse structures have been found to have anti-IDO1 inhibitory activity. In this review, we provide a summary of these natural IDO1 inhibitors, which are classified as quinones, polyphenols, alkaloids and others. The overview of in vitro IDO1 inhibitory activity of natural compounds will help medicinal chemists to understand the mode of action and medical benefits of them. The scaffolds of these natural compounds can also be used for further optimization of potent IDO1 inhibitors.

3-Carbamoylmethyl-Indole-1-Carboxylic Acid Ethyl Ester

3-Carbamoylmethyl-Indole-1-Carboxylic Acid Ethyl Ester (an ethoxycarbonyl derivative of indole-3-acetamide) is obtained by Friedel–Crafts type cyclocondensation of γ-functionalized acetoacetamide in neat polyphosphoric acid.

Temporary Intermediates of L-Trp Along the Reaction Pathway of Human Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase 1 and Identification of an Exo Site

Protein dynamics governs most of the fundamental processes in the human body. Particularly, the dynamics of loops located near an active site can be involved in the positioning of the substrate and the reaction mechanism. The understanding of the functioning of dynamic loops is therefore a challenge, and often requires the use of a multi-disciplinary approach mixing, for example, crystallographic experiments and molecular dynamics simulations. In the present work, the dynamic behavior of the JK-loop of the human indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 hemoprotein, a target for immunotherapy, is investigated. To overcome the lack of knowledge on this dynamism, the study reported here is based on 3 crystal structures presenting different conformations of the loop, completed with molecular dynamics trajectories and MM-GBSA analyses, in order to trace the reaction pathway of the enzyme. In addition, the crystal structures identify an exo site in the small unit of the enzyme, that is populated redundantly by the substrate or the product of the reaction. The role of this newer reported exo site still needs to be investigated.

Structure and Plasticity of Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase 1 (IDO1)

Since the discovery of the implication of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) in tumoral immune resistance in 2003, the search for inhibitors has been intensely pursued both in academia and in pharmaceutical companies, supported by the publication of the first crystal structure of IDO1 in 2006. More recently, it has become clear that IDO1 is an important player in various biological pathways and diseases ranging from neurodegenerative diseases to infection and autoimmunity. Its inhibition may lead to clinical benefit in different therapeutic settings. At present, over 50 experimental structures of IDO1 in complex with different ligands are available in the Protein Data Bank. Our analysis of this wealth of structural data sheds new light on several open issues regarding IDO1's structure and function.

AncPhore: A versatile tool for anchor pharmacophore steered drug discovery with applications in discovery of new inhibitors targeting metallo-β-lactamases and indoleamine/tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenases

We herein describe AncPhore, a versatile tool for drug discovery, which is characterized by pharmacophore feature analysis and anchor pharmacophore (i.e., most important pharmacophore features) steered molecular fitting and virtual screening. Comparative analyses of numerous protein–ligand complexes using AncPhore revealed that anchor pharmacophore features are biologically important, commonly associated with protein conservative characteristics, and have significant contributions to the binding affinity. Performance evaluation of AncPhore showed that it had substantially improved prediction ability on different types of target proteins including metalloenzymes by considering the specific contributions and diversity of anchor pharmacophore features. To demonstrate the practicability of AncPhore, we screened commercially available chemical compounds and discovered a set of structurally diverse inhibitors for clinically relevant metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs); of them, 4 and 6 manifested potent inhibitory activity to VIM-2, NDM-1 and IMP-1 MBLs. Crystallographic analyses of VIM-2:4 complex revealed the precise inhibition mode of 4 with VIM-2, highly consistent with the defined anchor pharmacophore features. Besides, we also identified new hit compounds by using AncPhore for indoleamine/tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenases (IDO/TDO), another class of clinically relevant metalloenzymes. This work reveals anchor pharmacophore as a valuable concept for target-centered drug discovery and illustrates the potential of AncPhore to efficiently identify new inhibitors for different types of protein targets.

Structural Basis of Selective Human Indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase 1 (hIDO1) Inhibition

hIDO1 is a heme-dioxygenase overexpressed in the tumor microenvironment and is implicated in the survival of cancer cells. Metabolism of tryptophan to N-formyl-kynurenine by hIDO1 leads to immune suppression to result in cancer cell immune escape. In this article, we discuss the discovery of selective hIDO1 inhibitors for therapeutic intervention that have been promoted to clinical trials and for which crystallographic structural information is available for the respective inhibitor-enzyme complex. The structural insights are based on the complex crystal structures and the relative biological data profiles. The structural basis of selective hIDO1 inhibition, as discussed herein, opens new avenues to the discovery of novel inhibitors with improved activity profiles, selectivity, and distinct structure frameworks.

A Series of 2-((1-Phenyl-1H-imidazol-5-yl)methyl)-1H-indoles as Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) Inhibitors

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) is a promising therapeutic target in cancer immunotherapy and neurological disease. Thus, searching for highly active inhibitors for use in human cancers is now a focus of widespread research and development efforts. In this study, we report the structure-based design of 2-(5-imidazolyl)indole derivatives, a series of novel IDO1 inhibitors which have been designed and synthesized based on our previous study using N1-substituted 5-indoleimidazoles. Among these, we have identified one with a strong IDO1 inhibitory activity (IC₅₀ =0.16 μM, EC₅₀ =0.3 μM). Structural-activity relationship (SAR) and computational docking simulations suggest that a hydroxyl group favorably interacts with a proximal Ser167 residue in Pocket A, improving IDO1 inhibitory potency. The brain penetrance of potent compounds was estimated by calculation of the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) Score and Brain Exposure Efficiency (BEE) Score. Many compounds had favorable scores and the two most promising compounds were advanced to a pharmacokinetic study which demonstrated that both compounds were brain penetrant. We have thus discovered a flexible scaffold for brain penetrant IDO1 inhibitors, exemplified by several potent, brain penetrant, agents. With this promising scaffold, we provide herein a basis for further development of brain penetrant IDO1 inhibitors.

Tryptophan: A Rheostat of Cancer Immune Escape Mediated by Immunosuppressive Enzymes IDO1 and TDO

Blockade of the immunosuppressive tryptophan catabolism mediated by indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) and tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (TDO) holds enormous promise for sensitising cancer patients to immune checkpoint blockade. Yet, only IDO1 inhibitors had entered clinical trials so far, and those agents have generated disappointing clinical results. Improved understanding of molecular mechanisms involved in the immune-regulatory function of the tryptophan catabolism is likely to optimise therapeutic strategies to block this pathway. The immunosuppressive role of tryptophan metabolite kynurenine is becoming increasingly clear, but it remains a mystery if tryptophan exerts functions beyond serving as a precursor for kynurenine. Here we hypothesise that tryptophan acts as a rheostat of kynurenine-mediated immunosuppression by competing with kynurenine for entry into immune T-cells through the amino acid transporter called System L. This hypothesis stems from the observations that elevated tryptophan levels in TDO-knockout mice relieve immunosuppression instigated by IDO1, and that the vacancy of System L transporter modulates kynurenine entry into CD4+ T-cells. This hypothesis has two potential therapeutic implications. Firstly, potent TDO inhibitors are expected to indirectly inhibit IDO1 hence development of TDO-selective inhibitors appears advantageous compared to IDO1-selective and dual IDO1/TDO inhibitors. Secondly, oral supplementation with System L substrates such as leucine represents a novel potential therapeutic modality to restrain the immunosuppressive kynurenine and restore anti-tumour immunity.

A theranostic probe of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) for small molecule cancer immunotherapy

Discovering novel small molecules for cancer immunotherapy represents a promising but challenging strategy in future cancer treatment. Herein, we designed the first theranostic fluorescent probes to efficiently detect and inhibit the enzymatic activity of 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1). Probe 6b is a highly active IDO1 inhibitor (IC₅₀ = 12 nM, Cellular IC₅₀ = 10 nM), which can sensitively and specifically detect endogenous IDO1 in living cells. Furthermore, as a theranostic probe, 6b showed excellent in vivo antitumor efficacy in the CT26 xenograft mouse model as well. Therefore, it can be applied as a valuable chemical tool for better understanding the immunotherapy mechanism of IDO1 and improving the therapeutic efficiency.

Conformational Plasticity in Human Heme-Based Dioxygenases

Human indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (hIDO1) and human tryptophan dioxygenase (hTDO) are two important heme proteins that degrade the essential amino acid, l-tryptophan (Trp), along the kynurenine pathway. The two enzymes share a similar active site structure and an analogous catalytic mechanism, but they exhibit a variety of distinct functional properties. Here we used carbon monoxide (CO) as a structural probe to interrogate how the functionalities of the two enzymes are encoded in their structures. With X-ray crystallography, we detected an unexpected photochemical intermediate trapped in a crystal of the hIDO1-CO-Trp complex, where CO is photolyzed from the heme iron by X-rays at cryogenic temperatures (100 K). The CO photolysis triggers a large-scale migration of the substrate Trp, as well as the photolyzed CO, from the active site to a temporary binding site, Sa*. It is accompanied by a large conformational change to an active site loop, JK-Loop^C, despite the severely restricted protein motion under the frozen conditions, which highlights the remarkable conformational plasticity of the hIDO1 protein. Comparative studies of a crystal of the hTDO-CO-Trp complex show that CO and Trp remain bound in the active site under comparable X-ray illumination, indicating a much more rigid protein architecture. The data offer important new insights into the structure and function relationships of the heme-based dioxygenases and provide new guidelines for structure-based design of inhibitors targeting them.

Development of Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase 1 Inhibitors for Cancer Therapy and Beyond: A Recent Perspective

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) has received increasing attention due to its immunosuppressive function in connection with various diseases, including cancer. A recent increase in the understanding of IDO1 has significantly contributed to the discovery of numerous novel inhibitors, but the latest clinical outcomes raised questions and have indicated a future direction of IDO1 inhibition for therapeutic approaches. Herein, we present a comprehensive review of IDO1, discussing the latest advances in understanding the IDO1 structure and mechanism, an overview of recent IDO1 inhibitor discoveries and potential therapeutic applications to provide helpful information for medicinal chemists investigating IDO1 inhibitors.

Influence of the presence of the heme cofactor on the JK-loop structure in indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 has sparked interest as an immunotherapeutic target in cancer research. Its structure includes a loop, named the JK-loop, that controls the orientation of the substrate or inhibitor within the active site. However, little has been reported about the crystal structure of this loop. In the present work, the conformation of the JK-loop is determined for the first time in the presence of the heme cofactor in the active site through X-ray diffraction experiments (2.44 Å resolution). Molecular-dynamics trajectories were also obtained to provide dynamic information about the loop according to the presence of cofactor. This new structural and dynamic information highlights the importance of the JK-loop in confining the labile heme cofactor to the active site.

Indoleamine and tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenases as important future therapeutic targets

Conversion of tryptophan to N-formylkynurenine is the first and rate-limiting step of the tryptophan metabolic pathway (i.e., the kynurenine pathway). This conversion is catalyzed by three enzyme isoforms: indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1), indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 2 (IDO2), and tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (TDO). As this pathway generates numerous metabolites that are involved in various pathological conditions, IDOs and TDO represent important targets for therapeutic intervention. This pathway has especially drawn attention due to its importance in tumor resistance. Over the last decade, a large number of IDO and TDO inhibitors have been developed, many of which have entered clinical trials. Here, detailed structural comparisons of these three enzymes (with emphasis on their active sites), their involvement in cellular signaling, and their role(s) in pathological conditions are discussed. Furthermore, the most important recent inhibitors described in papers and patents and involved in clinical trials are reviewed, with a focus on both selective and multiple inhibitors. A short overview of the biochemical and cellular assays used for inhibitory potency evaluation is also presented. This review summarizes recent advances on IDO and TDO as potential drug targets, and provides the key features and perspectives for further research and development of potent inhibitors of the kynurenine pathway.