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Blough B, Namjoshi O. Small Molecule Neuropeptide S and Melanocortin 4 Receptor Ligands as Potential Treatments for Substance Use Disorders. Handb Exp Pharmacol 2019; 258:61-87. [PMID: 31628605 DOI: 10.1007/164_2019_313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
There is a vital need for novel approaches and biological targets for drug discovery and development. Treatment strategies for substance use disorders (SUDs) to date have been mostly ineffective other than substitution-like therapeutics. Two such targets are the peptide G-protein-coupled receptors neuropeptide S (NPS) and melanocortin 4 (MC4). Preclinical evidence suggests that antagonists, inverse agonists, or negative allosteric modulators of these receptors might be novel therapeutics for SUDs. NPS is a relatively unexplored receptor with high potential for treating SUD. MC4 has a strong link to early-onset obesity, and emerging evidence suggests significant overlap between food-maintained and drug-maintained behaviors making MC4 an intriguing target for SUD. This chapter provides an overview of the literature in relation to the roles of NPS and MC4 in drug-seeking behaviors and then provides a medicinal chemistry-based survey of the small molecule ligands for each receptor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruce Blough
- Center for Drug Discovery, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
| | - Ojas Namjoshi
- Center for Drug Discovery, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
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Zafar A, Sari S, Leung E, Pilkington LI, van Rensburg M, Barker D, Reynisson J. GPCR Modulation of Thieno[2,3-b]pyridine Anti-Proliferative Agents. Molecules 2017; 22:E2254. [PMID: 29258235 DOI: 10.3390/molecules22122254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2017] [Revised: 12/11/2017] [Accepted: 12/15/2017] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
A panel of docking scaffolds was developed for the known molecular targets of the anticancer agents, thieno[2,3-b]pyridines, in order to glean insight into their mechanism of action. The reported targets are the copper-trafficking antioxidant 1 protein, tyrosyl DNA phosphodiesterase 1, the colchicine binding site in tubulin, adenosine A2A receptor, and, finally, phospholipase C-δ1. According to the panel, the A2A receptor showed the strongest binding, inferring it to be the most plausible target, closely followed by tubulin. To investigate whether the thieno[2,3-b]pyridines modulate G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) other than A2A, a screen against 168 GPCRs was conducted. According to the results, ligand 1 modulates five receptors in the low µM region, four as an antagonist; CRL-RAMP3 (IC50—11.9 µM), NPSR1B (IC50—1.0 µM), PRLHR (IC50—9.3 µM), and CXCR4 (IC50—6.9 µM). Finally, one agonist, GPRR35, was found (EC50 of 7.5 µM). Molecular modelling showed good binding to all of the receptors investigated; however, none of these surpass the A2A receptor. Furthermore, the newly-identified receptors are relatively modestly expressed in the cancer cell lines most affected by the thieno[2,3-b]pyridines, making them less likely to be the main targets of the mechanism of action for this compound class. Nevertheless, new modulators against GPCRs are of an interest as potential hits for further drug development.
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Abstract
The neuropeptide S receptor (NPSR) belongs to the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) superfamily and is activated by the neuropeptide S (NPS). Although recently discovered, the vertebrate NPSR-NPS system has been established as an important signaling system in the central nervous system and is involved in physiological processes such as locomotor activity, wakefulness, asthma pathogenesis, anxiety and food intake. The availability of a large number of genome sequences from multiple bilaterian lineages has provided an opportunity to establish the evolutionary history of the system. This review describes the origin and the molecular evolution of the NPSR-NPS system using data derived primarily from comparative genomic analyses. These analyses indicate that the NPSR-NPS system and the vasopressin-like receptor-vasopressin/oxytocin peptide (VPR-VP/OT) system originated from a single system in an ancestral bilaterian. Multiple duplications of this ancestral system gave rise to the bilaterian VPR-VP/OT system and to the protostomian cardioacceleratory peptide receptor-cardioacceleratory peptide (CCAPR-CCAP) system and to the NPSR-NPS system in the deuterostomes. Gene structure features of the receptors were consistent with the orthology annotations derived from phylogenetic analyses. The orthology of the peptide precursors closely paralleled that of the receptors suggesting an ancient coevolution of the receptor-peptide pair. An important challenge for the coevolution hypothesis will be to establish the molecular and structural basis of the divergence between orthologous receptor-ligand pairs in this system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ravisankar Valsalan
- Department of Biotechnology, Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India.
| | - Narayanan Manoj
- Department of Biotechnology, Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India.
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Abstract
The neuropeptide S receptor (NPSR) is a recently deorphanized member of the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) superfamily and is activated by the neuropeptide S (NPS). NPSR and NPS are widely expressed in central nervous system and are known to have crucial roles in asthma pathogenesis, locomotor activity, wakefulness, anxiety and food intake. The NPS-NPSR system was previously thought to have first evolved in the tetrapods. Here we examine the origin and the molecular evolution of the NPSR using in-silico comparative analyses and document the molecular basis of divergence of the NPSR from its closest vertebrate paralogs. In this study, NPSR-like sequences have been identified in a hemichordate and a cephalochordate, suggesting an earlier emergence of a NPSR-like sequence in the metazoan lineage. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the NPSR is most closely related to the invertebrate cardioacceleratory peptide receptor (CCAPR) and the group of vasopressin-like receptors. Gene structure features were congruent with the phylogenetic clustering and supported the orthology of NPSR to the invertebrate NPSR-like and CCAPR. A site-specific analysis between the vertebrate NPSR and the well studied paralogous vasopressin-like receptor subtypes revealed several putative amino acid sites that may account for the observed functional divergence between them. The data can facilitate experimental studies aiming at deciphering the common features as well as those related to ligand binding and signal transduction processes specific to the NPSR.
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Anedda F, Zucchelli M, Schepis D, Hellquist A, Corrado L, D'Alfonso S, Achour A, McInerney G, Bertorello A, Lördal M, Befrits R, Björk J, Bresso F, Törkvist L, Halfvarson J, Kere J, D'Amato M. Multiple polymorphisms affect expression and function of the neuropeptide S receptor (NPSR1). PLoS One 2011; 6:e29523. [PMID: 22216302 PMCID: PMC3244468 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0029523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2011] [Accepted: 11/29/2011] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND neuropeptide S (NPS) and its receptor NPSR1 act along the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis to modulate anxiety, fear responses, nociception and inflammation. The importance of the NPS-NPSR1 signaling pathway is highlighted by the observation that, in humans, NPSR1 polymorphism associates with asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, panic disorders, and intermediate phenotypes of functional gastrointestinal disorders. Because of the genetic complexity at the NPSR1 locus, however, true causative variations remain to be identified, together with their specific effects on receptor expression or function. To gain insight into the mechanisms leading to NPSR1 disease-predisposing effects, we performed a thorough functional characterization of all NPSR1 promoter and coding SNPs commonly occurring in Caucasians (minor allele frequency >0.02). PRINCIPAL FINDINGS we identified one promoter SNP (rs2530547 [-103]) that significantly affects luciferase expression in gene reporter assays and NPSR1 mRNA levels in human leukocytes. We also detected quantitative differences in NPS-induced genome-wide transcriptional profiles and CRE-dependent luciferase activities associated with three NPSR1 non-synonymous SNPs (rs324981 [Ile107Asn], rs34705969 [Cys197Phe], rs727162 [Arg241Ser]), with a coding variant exhibiting a loss-of-function phenotype (197Phe). Potential mechanistic explanations were sought with molecular modelling and bioinformatics, and a pilot study of 2230 IBD cases and controls provided initial support to the hypothesis that different cis-combinations of these functional SNPs variably affect disease risk. SIGNIFICANCE these findings represent a first step to decipher NPSR1 locus complexity and its impact on several human conditions NPS antagonists have been recently described, and our results are of potential pharmacogenetic relevance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Anedda
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Institute of Neurogenetics and Neuropharmacology - CNR, Monserrato, Italy
| | - Marco Zucchelli
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Danika Schepis
- Department of Microbiology Tumor Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anna Hellquist
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Lucia Corrado
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Eastern Piedmont and IRCAD, Novara, Italy
| | - Sandra D'Alfonso
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Eastern Piedmont and IRCAD, Novara, Italy
| | - Adnane Achour
- Department of Microbiology Tumor Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Center for Infectious Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Gerald McInerney
- Department of Microbiology Tumor Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Mikael Lördal
- Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ragnar Befrits
- Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jan Björk
- Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Francesca Bresso
- Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Leif Törkvist
- Department for Clinical Science Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jonas Halfvarson
- Department of Internal Medicine, Örebro University Hospital, Örebro, Sweden
- School of Health and Medical Sciences, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
| | - Juha Kere
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Center for Biosciences, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of Helsinki, and Folkhälsan Institute of Genetics, Helsinki, Finland
- Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mauro D'Amato
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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Dal Ben D, Antonini I, Buccioni M, Lambertucci C, Marucci G, Thomas A, Volpini R, Cristalli G. Neuropeptide S receptor: recent updates on nonpeptide antagonist discovery. ChemMedChem 2011; 6:1163-71. [PMID: 21452188 DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.201100038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2011] [Revised: 02/24/2011] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Neuropeptide S (NPS) is a 20-amino acid peptide of great interest due to its possible involvement in several biological processes, including food intake, locomotion, wakefulness, arousal, and anxiety. Structure-activity relationship studies of NPS have identified key points for structural modifications with the goal of modulating NPS receptor (NPSR) agonist activity or achieving antagonism at the same receptor. Only limited information is available for nonpeptide NPSR antagonists. In the last year, several studies have been reported in literature which present various series of small molecules as antagonists of this receptor. The results allow a comparison of the structures and activities of these molecules, leading to the design of new ligands with increased potency and improved pharmacological and pharmacokinetic profiles. This work presents a brief overview of the available information regarding structural features and pharmacological characterization of published nonpeptide NPSR antagonists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Dal Ben
- School of Pharmacy, Medicinal Chemistry Unit, University of Camerino via S. Agostino 1, 62032 Camerino, MC, Italy.
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