SMM-chemokines: a class of unnatural synthetic molecules as chemical probes of chemokine receptor biology and leads for therapeutic development.
ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2006;
13:69-79. [PMID:
16426973 DOI:
10.1016/j.chembiol.2005.10.012]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2005] [Revised: 09/27/2005] [Accepted: 10/19/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Chemokines and their receptors play important roles in numerous physiological and pathological processes. To develop natural chemokines into receptor probes and inhibitors of pathological processes, the lack of chemokine-receptor selectivity must be overcome. Here, we apply chemical synthesis and the concept of modular modifications to generate unnatural synthetically and modularly modified (SMM)-chemokines that have high receptor selectivity and affinity, and reduced toxicity. A proof of the concept was shown by transforming the nonselective viral macrophage inflammatory protein-II into new analogs with enhanced selectivity and potency for CXCR4 or CCR5, two principal coreceptors for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 entry. These new analogs provided insights into receptor binding and signaling mechanisms and acted as potent HIV-1 inhibitors. These results support the concept of SMM-chemokines for studying and controlling the function of other chemokine receptors.
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