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Thompson AA, Harbut MB, Kung PP, Karpowich NK, Branson JD, Grant JC, Hagan D, Pascual HA, Bai G, Zavareh RB, Coate HR, Collins BC, Côte M, Gelin CF, Damm-Ganamet KL, Gholami H, Huff AR, Limon L, Lumb KJ, Mak PA, Nakafuku KM, Price EV, Shih AY, Tootoonchi M, Vellore NA, Wang J, Wei N, Ziff J, Berger SB, Edwards JP, Gardet A, Sun S, Towne JE, Venable JD, Shi Z, Venkatesan H, Rives ML, Sharma S, Shireman BT, Allen SJ. Identification of small-molecule protein-protein interaction inhibitors for NKG2D. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2216342120. [PMID: 37098070 PMCID: PMC10160951 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2216342120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2023] [Indexed: 04/26/2023] Open
Abstract
NKG2D (natural-killer group 2, member D) is a homodimeric transmembrane receptor that plays an important role in NK, γδ+, and CD8+ T cell-mediated immune responses to environmental stressors such as viral or bacterial infections and oxidative stress. However, aberrant NKG2D signaling has also been associated with chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, and as such NKG2D is thought to be an attractive target for immune intervention. Here, we describe a comprehensive small-molecule hit identification strategy and two distinct series of protein-protein interaction inhibitors of NKG2D. Although the hits are chemically distinct, they share a unique allosteric mechanism of disrupting ligand binding by accessing a cryptic pocket and causing the two monomers of the NKG2D dimer to open apart and twist relative to one another. Leveraging a suite of biochemical and cell-based assays coupled with structure-based drug design, we established tractable structure-activity relationships with one of the chemical series and successfully improved both the potency and physicochemical properties. Together, we demonstrate that it is possible, albeit challenging, to disrupt the interaction between NKG2D and multiple protein ligands with a single molecule through allosteric modulation of the NKG2D receptor dimer/ligand interface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron A. Thompson
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, San Diego, CA92121
| | - Michael B. Harbut
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, Lower Gwynedd Township, PA19002
| | - Pei-Pei Kung
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, San Diego, CA92121
| | - Nathan K. Karpowich
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, Lower Gwynedd Township, PA19002
| | - Jeffrey D. Branson
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, Lower Gwynedd Township, PA19002
| | - Joanna C. Grant
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, San Diego, CA92121
| | - Deborah Hagan
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, Lower Gwynedd Township, PA19002
| | - Heather A. Pascual
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, San Diego, CA92121
| | - Guoyun Bai
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, San Diego, CA92121
| | | | - Heather R. Coate
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, San Diego, CA92121
| | - Bernard C. Collins
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, San Diego, CA92121
| | - Marjorie Côte
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, San Diego, CA92121
| | - Christine F. Gelin
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, San Diego, CA92121
| | | | - Hadi Gholami
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, San Diego, CA92121
| | - Adam R. Huff
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, Lower Gwynedd Township, PA19002
| | - Luis Limon
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, San Diego, CA92121
| | - Kevin J. Lumb
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, Lower Gwynedd Township, PA19002
| | - Puiying A. Mak
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, San Diego, CA92121
| | - Kohki M. Nakafuku
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, San Diego, CA92121
| | - Edmund V. Price
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, Lower Gwynedd Township, PA19002
| | - Amy Y. Shih
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, San Diego, CA92121
| | - Mandana Tootoonchi
- Discovery Immunology, Janssen Research & Development, San Diego, CA92121
| | - Nadeem A. Vellore
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, San Diego, CA92121
| | - Jocelyn Wang
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, San Diego, CA92121
| | - Na Wei
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, San Diego, CA92121
| | - Jeannie Ziff
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, San Diego, CA92121
| | - Scott B. Berger
- Discovery Immunology, Janssen Research & Development, Lower Gwynedd Township, PA19002
| | - James P. Edwards
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, San Diego, CA92121
| | - Agnès Gardet
- Discovery Immunology, Janssen Research & Development, San Diego, CA92121
| | - Siquan Sun
- Discovery Immunology, Janssen Research & Development, San Diego, CA92121
| | - Jennifer E. Towne
- Discovery Immunology, Janssen Research & Development, San Diego, CA92121
| | | | - Zhicai Shi
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, Lower Gwynedd Township, PA19002
| | | | - Marie-Laure Rives
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, San Diego, CA92121
| | - Sujata Sharma
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, Lower Gwynedd Township, PA19002
| | - Brock T. Shireman
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, San Diego, CA92121
| | - Samantha J. Allen
- Therapeutics Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, Lower Gwynedd Township, PA19002
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Song J, Liu X, Zhu J, Tootoonchi M, Keith JM, Meduna SP, Dvorak CA, Eccles W, Krawczuk PJ, Blevitt JM, Wu J, Rao NL, Lebsack AD, Milla ME. Polypharmacology of Small-Molecule Modulators of the 5-Lipoxygenase Activating Protein (FLAP) Observed via a High-throughput Lipidomics Platform. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015; 21:127-35. [DOI: 10.1177/1087057115607815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2015] [Accepted: 08/23/2015] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Leukotrienes (LTs) and related species are proinflammatory lipid mediators derived from arachidonic acid (AA) that have pathological roles in autoimmune and inflammatory conditions, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. 5-Lipoxygenase activating protein (FLAP) plays a critical accessory role in the conversion of AA to LTA4, and its subsequent conversion to LTC4 by LTC4 synthase. Pharmacological inhibition of FLAP results in a loss of LT production by preventing the biosynthesis of both LTB4 and LTC4, making it an attractive target for the treatment of inflammatory diseases in which LTs likely play a role. Small-molecule (SM) drugs often exhibit polypharmacology through various pathways, which may explain the differential therapeutic efficacies of compounds sharing structural similarity. We have profiled a series of SM FLAP modulators for their selectivity across enzymes of AA cascade in human whole blood (HWB), using a recently developed LC/MS (liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry)-based high-throughput lipidomics platform that monitors 122 eicosanoids in multiplex. Highly efficient data acquisition coupled with fast and accurate data analysis allowed facile compound profiling from ex vivo study samples. This platform allowed us to quantitatively map the effects of those SMs on the entire AA cascade, demonstrating its potential to discriminate structurally related compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiao Song
- Discovery Sciences, Janssen Research & Development, LLC, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Xuejun Liu
- Immunology, Janssen Research & Development, LLC, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Jian Zhu
- Immunology, Janssen Research & Development, LLC, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | | | - John M. Keith
- Immunology, Janssen Research & Development, LLC, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Steven P. Meduna
- Immunology, Janssen Research & Development, LLC, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Curt A. Dvorak
- Immunology, Janssen Research & Development, LLC, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Wendy Eccles
- Immunology, Janssen Research & Development, LLC, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Paul J. Krawczuk
- Immunology, Janssen Research & Development, LLC, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | | | - Jiejun Wu
- Discovery Sciences, Janssen Research & Development, LLC, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Navin L. Rao
- Immunology, Janssen Research & Development, LLC, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Alec D. Lebsack
- Immunology, Janssen Research & Development, LLC, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Marcos E. Milla
- Discovery Sciences, Janssen Research & Development, LLC, La Jolla, CA, USA
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