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Structure-Based Discovery of Novel Chemical Classes of Autotaxin Inhibitors. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21197002. [PMID: 32977539 PMCID: PMC7582705 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21197002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2020] [Revised: 09/18/2020] [Accepted: 09/19/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Autotaxin (ATX) is a secreted glycoprotein, widely present in biological fluids, largely responsible for extracellular lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) production. LPA is a bioactive growth-factor-like lysophospholipid that exerts pleiotropic effects in almost all cell types, exerted through at least six G-protein-coupled receptors (LPAR1-6). Increased ATX expression has been detected in different chronic inflammatory diseases, while genetic or pharmacological studies have established ATX as a promising therapeutic target, exemplified by the ongoing phase III clinical trial for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. In this report, we employed an in silico drug discovery workflow, aiming at the identification of structurally novel series of ATX inhibitors that would be amenable to further optimization. Towards this end, a virtual screening protocol was applied involving the search into molecular databases for new small molecules potentially binding to ATX. The crystal structure of ATX in complex with a known inhibitor (HA-155) was used as a molecular model docking reference, yielding a priority list of 30 small molecule ATX inhibitors, validated by a well-established enzymatic assay of ATX activity. The two most potent, novel and structurally different compounds were further structurally optimized by deploying further in silico tools, resulting to the overall identification of six new ATX inhibitors that belong to distinct chemical classes than existing inhibitors, expanding the arsenal of chemical scaffolds and allowing further rational design.
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Matralis AN, Afantitis A, Aidinis V. Development and therapeutic potential of autotaxin small molecule inhibitors: From bench to advanced clinical trials. Med Res Rev 2018; 39:976-1013. [PMID: 30462853 DOI: 10.1002/med.21551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2018] [Revised: 09/21/2018] [Accepted: 10/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Several years after its isolation from melanoma cells, an increasing body of experimental evidence has established the involvement of Autotaxin (ATX) in the pathogenesis of several diseases. ATX, an extracellular enzyme responsible for the hydrolysis of lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) into the bioactive lipid lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), is overexpressed in a variety of human metastatic cancers and is strongly implicated in chronic inflammation and liver toxicity, fibrotic diseases, and thrombosis. Accordingly, the ATX-LPA signaling pathway is considered a tractable target for therapeutic intervention substantiated by the multitude of research campaigns that have been successful in identifying ATX inhibitors by both academia and industry. Furthermore, from a therapeutic standpoint, the entry and the so far promising results of the first ATX inhibitor in advanced clinical trials against idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) lends support to the viability of this approach, bringing it to the forefront of drug discovery efforts. The present review article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the most important series of ATX inhibitors developed so far. Special weight is lent to the design, structure activity relationship and mode of binding studies carried out, leading to the identification of advanced leads. The most significant in vitro and in vivo pharmacological results of these advanced leads are also summarized. Lastly, the development of the first ATX inhibitor entered in clinical trials accompanied by its phase 1 and 2a clinical trial data is disclosed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexios N Matralis
- Division of Immunology, Biomedical Sciences Research Center "Alexander Fleming", Athens, Greece
| | - Antreas Afantitis
- Division of Immunology, Biomedical Sciences Research Center "Alexander Fleming", Athens, Greece.,NovaMechanics Ltd Cheminformatics Company, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Vassilis Aidinis
- Division of Immunology, Biomedical Sciences Research Center "Alexander Fleming", Athens, Greece
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Murph MM, Jiang GW, Altman MK, Jia W, Nguyen DT, Fambrough JM, Hardman WJ, Nguyen HT, Tran SK, Alshamrani AA, Madan D, Zhang J, Prestwich GD. Vinyl sulfone analogs of lysophosphatidylcholine irreversibly inhibit autotaxin and prevent angiogenesis in melanoma. Bioorg Med Chem 2015; 23:5999-6013. [PMID: 26190462 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2015.06.054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2015] [Revised: 06/12/2015] [Accepted: 06/20/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Autotaxin (ATX) is an enzyme discovered in the conditioned medium of cultured melanoma cells and identified as a protein that strongly stimulates motility. This unique ectonucleotide pyrophosphatase and phosphodiesterase facilitates the removal of a choline headgroup from lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) to yield lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), which is a potent lipid stimulator of tumorigenesis. Thus, ATX has received renewed attention because it has a prominent role in malignant progression with significant translational potential. Specifically, we sought to develop active site-targeted irreversible inhibitors as anti-cancer agents. Herein we describe the synthesis and biological activity of an LPC-mimetic electrophilic affinity label that targets the active site of ATX, which has a critical threonine residue that acts as a nucleophile in the lysophospholipase D reaction to liberate choline. We synthesized a set of quaternary ammonium derivative-containing vinyl sulfone analogs of LPC that function as irreversible inhibitors of ATX and inactivate the enzyme. The analogs were tested in cell viability assays using multiple cancer cell lines. The IC50 values ranged from 6.74 to 0.39 μM, consistent with a Ki of 3.50 μM for inhibition of ATX by the C16H33 vinyl sulfone analog CVS-16 (10b). A phenyl vinyl sulfone control compound, PVS-16, lacking the choline-like quaternary ammonium mimicking head group moiety, had little effect on cell viability and did not inhibit ATX. Most importantly, CVS-16 (10b) significantly inhibited melanoma progression in an in vivo tumor model by preventing angiogenesis. Taken together, this suggests that CVS-16 (10b) is a potent and irreversible ATX inhibitor with significant biological activity both in vitro and in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mandi M Murph
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Georgia, College of Pharmacy, 240 W. Green Street, Athens, GA 30602, United States.
| | - Guowei W Jiang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, The University of Utah, 419 Wakara Way, Suite 205, Salt Lake City, UT 84108-1257, United States
| | - Molly K Altman
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Georgia, College of Pharmacy, 240 W. Green Street, Athens, GA 30602, United States
| | - Wei Jia
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Georgia, College of Pharmacy, 240 W. Green Street, Athens, GA 30602, United States
| | - Duy T Nguyen
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Georgia, College of Pharmacy, 240 W. Green Street, Athens, GA 30602, United States
| | - Jada M Fambrough
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Georgia, College of Pharmacy, 240 W. Green Street, Athens, GA 30602, United States
| | - William J Hardman
- The University of Georgia and Georgia Regents University Medical Partnership, 1425 Prince Avenue, Athens, GA 30606, United States
| | - Ha T Nguyen
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Georgia, College of Pharmacy, 240 W. Green Street, Athens, GA 30602, United States
| | - Sterling K Tran
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Georgia, College of Pharmacy, 240 W. Green Street, Athens, GA 30602, United States
| | - Ali A Alshamrani
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Georgia, College of Pharmacy, 240 W. Green Street, Athens, GA 30602, United States
| | - Damian Madan
- Echelon Biosciences Incorporated, 675 Arapeen Way, Suite 302, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, United States
| | - Jianxing Zhang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, The University of Utah, 419 Wakara Way, Suite 205, Salt Lake City, UT 84108-1257, United States
| | - Glenn D Prestwich
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, The University of Utah, 419 Wakara Way, Suite 205, Salt Lake City, UT 84108-1257, United States.
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Jankowski M. Autotaxin: its role in biology of melanoma cells and as a pharmacological target. Enzyme Res 2011; 2011:194857. [PMID: 21423677 PMCID: PMC3057024 DOI: 10.4061/2011/194857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2010] [Accepted: 01/12/2011] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Autotaxin (ATX) is an extracellular lysophospholipase D (lysoPLD) released from normal cells and cancer cells. Activity of ATX is detected in various biological fluids. The lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is the main product of ATX. LPA acting through specific G protein-coupled receptors (LPA1-LPA6) affects immunological response, normal development, and malignant tumors' formation and progression. In this review, the impact of autotoxin on biology of melanoma cells and potential treatment is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maciej Jankowski
- Department of Therapy Monitoring and Pharmacogenetics, Medical University of Gdańsk, Debinki 7, 80-211 Gdańsk, Poland
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