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Labani N, Gbahou F, Lian S, Liu J, Jockers R. 2023 Julius Axelrod Symposium: Plant-Derived Molecules Acting on G Protein-Coupled Receptors. Mol Pharmacol 2024; 105:328-347. [PMID: 38458772 DOI: 10.1124/molpharm.123.000854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2023] [Revised: 02/12/2024] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 03/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Plant extracts have played a significant role in traditional medicine for centuries, contributing to improved health and the treatment of various human illnesses. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are crucial in numerous physiologic functions, and there is growing evidence suggesting their involvement in the therapeutic effects of many plant extracts. In recent years, scientists have identified an expanding number of isolated molecules responsible for the biologic activity of these extracts, with many believed to act on GPCRs. This article critically reviews the evidence supporting the modulation of GPCR function by these plant-derived molecules through direct binding. Structural information is now available for some of these molecules, allowing for a comparison of their binding mode with that of endogenous GPCR ligands. The final section explores future trends and challenges, focusing on the identification of new plant-derived molecules with both orthosteric and allosteric binding modes, as well as innovative strategies for designing GPCR ligands inspired by these plant-derived compounds. In conclusion, plant-derived molecules are anticipated to play an increasingly vital role as therapeutic drugs and serve as templates for drug design. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: This minireview summarizes the most pertinent publications on isolated plant-derived molecules interacting with G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and comments on available structural information on GPCR/plant-derived ligand pairs. Future challenges and trends for the isolation and characterization of plant-derived molecules and drug design are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nedjma Labani
- Cellular Signaling Laboratory, International Research Center for Sensory Biology and Technology of MOST, Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China (N.L., J.L.) and Université Paris Cité, Institut Cochin, INSERM, CNRS, F-75014 PARIS, France (N.L., F.G., S.L., R.J.)
| | - Florence Gbahou
- Cellular Signaling Laboratory, International Research Center for Sensory Biology and Technology of MOST, Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China (N.L., J.L.) and Université Paris Cité, Institut Cochin, INSERM, CNRS, F-75014 PARIS, France (N.L., F.G., S.L., R.J.)
| | - Shuangyu Lian
- Cellular Signaling Laboratory, International Research Center for Sensory Biology and Technology of MOST, Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China (N.L., J.L.) and Université Paris Cité, Institut Cochin, INSERM, CNRS, F-75014 PARIS, France (N.L., F.G., S.L., R.J.)
| | - Jianfeng Liu
- Cellular Signaling Laboratory, International Research Center for Sensory Biology and Technology of MOST, Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China (N.L., J.L.) and Université Paris Cité, Institut Cochin, INSERM, CNRS, F-75014 PARIS, France (N.L., F.G., S.L., R.J.)
| | - Ralf Jockers
- Cellular Signaling Laboratory, International Research Center for Sensory Biology and Technology of MOST, Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China (N.L., J.L.) and Université Paris Cité, Institut Cochin, INSERM, CNRS, F-75014 PARIS, France (N.L., F.G., S.L., R.J.)
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Helmi YY, Papenkordt N, Rennar G, Gbahou F, El-Hady AK, Labani N, Schmidtkunz K, Boettcher S, Jockers R, Abdel-Halim M, Jung M, Zlotos DP. Melatonin-vorinostat hybrid ligands show higher histone deacetylase and cancer cell growth inhibition than vorinostat. Arch Pharm (Weinheim) 2023; 356:e2300149. [PMID: 37339785 DOI: 10.1002/ardp.202300149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 06/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/22/2023]
Abstract
Anticancer drug conjugates are an emerging approach for future cancer treatment. Here, we report a series of hybrid ligands merging the neurohormone melatonin with the approved histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor vorinostat, using melatonin's amide side chain (3a-e), its indolic nitrogen (5a-d), and its ether oxygen (7a-d) as attachment points. Several hybrid ligands showed higher potency thanvorinostat in both HDAC inhibition and cellular assays on different cultured cancer cell lines. In the most potent HDAC1 and HDAC6 inhibitors, 3e, 5c, and 7c, the hydroxamic acid moiety of vorinostat is linked to melatonin through a hexamethylene spacer. Hybrid ligands 5c and 7c were also found to be potent growth inhibitors of MCF-7, PC-3M-Luc, and HL-60 cancer cell lines. As these compounds showed only weak agonist activity at melatonin MT1 receptors, the findings indicate that their anticancer actions are driven by HDAC inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Youssef Y Helmi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, The German University in Cairo, New Cairo City, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Niklas Papenkordt
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Georg Rennar
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Florence Gbahou
- Université Paris Cité, Institut Cochin, INSERM, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Ahmed K El-Hady
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, The German University in Cairo, New Cairo City, Cairo, Egypt
- Department of Organic and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Life and Medical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire hosted by Global Academic Foundation, New Administrative Capitol, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Nedjma Labani
- Université Paris Cité, Institut Cochin, INSERM, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Karin Schmidtkunz
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Stefan Boettcher
- Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Saarland University, Saarbruecken, Germany
| | - Ralf Jockers
- Université Paris Cité, Institut Cochin, INSERM, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Mohammad Abdel-Halim
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, The German University in Cairo, New Cairo City, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Manfred Jung
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Darius P Zlotos
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, The German University in Cairo, New Cairo City, Cairo, Egypt
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Labani N, Gbahou F, Noblet M, Masri B, Broussaud O, Liu J, Jockers R. Pistacia vera Extract Potentiates the Effect of Melatonin on Human Melatonin MT 1 and MT 2 Receptors with Functional Selectivity. Pharmaceutics 2023; 15:1845. [PMID: 37514032 PMCID: PMC10386454 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15071845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Melatonin is a tryptophan derivative synthesized in plants and animals. In humans, melatonin acts on melatonin MT1 and MT2 receptors belonging to the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) family. Synthetic melatonin receptor agonists are prescribed for insomnia and depressive and circadian-related disorders. Here, we tested 25 commercial plant extracts, reported to have beneficial properties in sleep disorders and anxiety, using cellular assays (2─[125I]iodomelatonin binding, cAMP inhibition, ERK1/2 activation and β-arrestin2 recruitment) in mock-transfected and HEK293 cells expressing MT1 or MT2. Various melatonin receptor-dependent and -independent effects were observed. Extract 18 (Ex18) from Pistacia vera dried fruits stood out with very potent effects in melatonin receptor expressing cells. The high content of endogenous melatonin in Ex18 (5.28 ± 0.46 mg/g extract) is consistent with this observation. Ex18 contains an additional active principle that potentiates the effect of melatonin on Gi protein-dependent pathways but not on β-arrestin2 recruitment. Further active principles potentiating exogenous melatonin were detected in several extracts. In conclusion, we identified plant extracts with various effects in GPCR-based binding and signalling assays and identified high melatonin levels and a melatonin-potentiating activity in Pistacia vera dried fruit extracts that might be of therapeutic potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nedjma Labani
- Cellular Signaling Laboratory, International Research Center for Sensory Biology and Technology of MOST, Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
- Institut Cochin, CNRS, INSERM, University of Paris, F-75014 Paris, France
| | - Florence Gbahou
- Institut Cochin, CNRS, INSERM, University of Paris, F-75014 Paris, France
| | - Marc Noblet
- Science Hub, Sanofi Consumer Healthcare, F-75017 Paris, France
| | - Bernard Masri
- Institut Cochin, CNRS, INSERM, University of Paris, F-75014 Paris, France
| | | | - Jianfeng Liu
- Cellular Signaling Laboratory, International Research Center for Sensory Biology and Technology of MOST, Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Ralf Jockers
- Institut Cochin, CNRS, INSERM, University of Paris, F-75014 Paris, France
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Chauhan J, Cecon E, Labani N, Gbahou F, Real F, Bomsel M, Dubey KD, Das R, Dam J, Jockers R, Sen S. Development of indolealkylamine derivatives as potential multi-target agents for COVID-19 treatment. Eur J Med Chem 2023; 249:115152. [PMID: 36724633 PMCID: PMC9882955 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2022] [Revised: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
COVID-19 is a complex disease with short-term and long-term respiratory, inflammatory and neurological symptoms that are triggered by the infection with SARS-CoV-2. As many drugs targeting single targets showed only limited effectiveness against COVID-19, here, we aimed to explore a multi-target strategy. We synthesized a focused compound library based on C2-substituted indolealkylamines (tryptamines and 5-hydroxytryptamines) with activity for three potential COVID-19-related proteins, namely melatonin receptors, calmodulin and human angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (hACE2). Two molecules from the library, 5e and h, exhibit affinities in the high nanomolar range for melatonin receptors, inhibit the calmodulin-dependent calmodulin kinase II activity and the interaction of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein with hACE2 at micromolar concentrations. Both compounds inhibit SARS-CoV-2 entry into host cells and 5h decreases SARS-CoV-2 replication and MPro enzyme activity in addition. In conclusion, we provide a proof-of-concept for the successful design of multi-target compounds based on the tryptamine scaffold. Optimization of these preliminary hit compounds could potentially provide drug candidates to treat COVID-19 and other coronavirus diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jyoti Chauhan
- Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, Dadri, Chithera, Gautam Buddha Nagar, UP, 201314, India
| | - Erika Cecon
- Université Paris Cité, Institut Cochin, INSERM, CNRS, F-75014, PARIS, France
| | - Nedjma Labani
- Université Paris Cité, Institut Cochin, INSERM, CNRS, F-75014, PARIS, France
| | - Florence Gbahou
- Université Paris Cité, Institut Cochin, INSERM, CNRS, F-75014, PARIS, France
| | - Fernando Real
- Université Paris Cité, Institut Cochin, INSERM, CNRS, F-75014, PARIS, France
| | - Morgane Bomsel
- Université Paris Cité, Institut Cochin, INSERM, CNRS, F-75014, PARIS, France
| | - Kshatresh Dutta Dubey
- Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, Dadri, Chithera, Gautam Buddha Nagar, UP, 201314, India
| | - Ranajit Das
- Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, Dadri, Chithera, Gautam Buddha Nagar, UP, 201314, India
| | - Julie Dam
- Université Paris Cité, Institut Cochin, INSERM, CNRS, F-75014, PARIS, France
| | - Ralf Jockers
- Université Paris Cité, Institut Cochin, INSERM, CNRS, F-75014, PARIS, France.
| | - Subhabrata Sen
- Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, Dadri, Chithera, Gautam Buddha Nagar, UP, 201314, India.
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Abstract
The neurohormone N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine, better known as melatonin, is a tryptophan derivative with a wide range of biological effects that is present in many organisms. These effects are believed to rely either on the chemical properties of melatonin itself as scavenger of free radicals or on the binding of melatonin to protein targets. More than 15 proteins, including receptors (MT1, MT2, Mel1c, CAND2, ROR, VDR), enzymes (QR2, MMP-9, pepsin, PP2A, PR-10 proteins), pores (mtPTP), transporters (PEPT1/2, Glut1), and other proteins (HBS, CaM, tubulin, calreticuline), have been suggested to interact with melatonin at sub-nanomolar to millimolar melatonin concentrations. In this review we assemble for the first time the available information on proposed melatonin targets and discuss them in a comprehensive manner to evaluate the robustness of these findings in terms of methodology, physiological relevance, and independent replication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Liu
- Cellular Signaling Laboratory, International Research Center for Sensory Biology and Technology of MOST, Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Université de Paris, Institut Cochin, CNRS, INSERM, Paris, France
| | - Nedjma Labani
- Cellular Signaling Laboratory, International Research Center for Sensory Biology and Technology of MOST, Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Université de Paris, Institut Cochin, CNRS, INSERM, Paris, France
| | - Erika Cecon
- Université de Paris, Institut Cochin, CNRS, INSERM, Paris, France
| | - Ralf Jockers
- Université de Paris, Institut Cochin, CNRS, INSERM, Paris, France
- *Correspondence: Ralf Jockers
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