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Saleh N, Kleinau G, Heyder N, Clark T, Hildebrand PW, Scheerer P. Binding, Thermodynamics, and Selectivity of a Non-peptide Antagonist to the Melanocortin-4 Receptor. Front Pharmacol 2018; 9:560. [PMID: 29910730 PMCID: PMC5992272 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2018.00560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2018] [Accepted: 05/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) is a potential drug target for treatment of obesity, anxiety, depression, and sexual dysfunction. Crystal structures for MC4R are not yet available, which has hindered successful structure-based drug design. Using microsecond-scale molecular-dynamics simulations, we have investigated selective binding of the non-peptide antagonist MCL0129 to a homology model of human MC4R (hMC4R). This approach revealed that, at the end of a multi-step binding process, MCL0129 spontaneously adopts a binding mode in which it blocks the agonistic-binding site. This binding mode was confirmed in subsequent metadynamics simulations, which gave an affinity for human hMC4R that matches the experimentally determined value. Extending our simulations of MCL0129 binding to hMC1R and hMC3R, we find that receptor subtype selectivity for hMC4R depends on few amino acids located in various structural elements of the receptor. These insights may support rational drug design targeting the melanocortin systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noureldin Saleh
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Berlin, Germany.,Computational Modelling and Dynamics of Molecular Complexes, Berlin, Germany
| | - Gunnar Kleinau
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Berlin, Germany.,Group Protein X-ray Crystallography and Signal Transduction, Berlin, Germany
| | - Nicolas Heyder
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Berlin, Germany.,Group Protein X-ray Crystallography and Signal Transduction, Berlin, Germany
| | - Timothy Clark
- Computer-Chemie-Centrum, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Peter W Hildebrand
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Berlin, Germany.,Computational Modelling and Dynamics of Molecular Complexes, Berlin, Germany.,Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Patrick Scheerer
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Berlin, Germany.,Group Protein X-ray Crystallography and Signal Transduction, Berlin, Germany
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Lensing CJ, Freeman KT, Schnell SM, Speth RC, Zarth AT, Haskell-Luevano C. Developing a Biased Unmatched Bivalent Ligand (BUmBL) Design Strategy to Target the GPCR Homodimer Allosteric Signaling (cAMP over β-Arrestin 2 Recruitment) Within the Melanocortin Receptors. J Med Chem 2018; 62:144-158. [PMID: 29669202 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.8b00238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the functional relevance of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) homodimerization has been limited by the insufficient tools to assess asymmetric signaling occurring within dimers comprised of the same receptor type. We present unmatched bivalent ligands (UmBLs) to study the asymmetric function of melanocortin homodimers. UmBLs contain one agonist and one antagonist pharmacophore designed to target a melanocortin homodimer such that one receptor is occupied by an agonist and the other receptor by an antagonist pharmacophore. First-in-class biased UmBLs (BUmBLs) targeting the human melanocortin-4 receptor (hMC4R) were discovered. The BUmBLs displayed biased agonism by potently stimulating cAMP signaling (EC50 ∼ 2-6 nM) but minimally activating the β-arrestin recruitment pathway (≤55% maximum signal at 10 μM). To our knowledge, we report the first single-compound strategy to pharmacologically target melanocortin receptor allosteric signaling that occurs between homodimers that can be applied straightforwardly in vitro and in vivo to other GPCR systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cody J Lensing
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Institute for Translational Neuroscience , University of Minnesota , 308 Harvard Street SE , Minneapolis , Minnesota 55455 , United States
| | - Katie T Freeman
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Institute for Translational Neuroscience , University of Minnesota , 308 Harvard Street SE , Minneapolis , Minnesota 55455 , United States
| | - Sathya M Schnell
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Institute for Translational Neuroscience , University of Minnesota , 308 Harvard Street SE , Minneapolis , Minnesota 55455 , United States
| | - Robert C Speth
- College of Pharmacy , Nova Southeastern University , Fort Lauderdale , Florida 33328-2018 , United States.,Department of Pharmacology and Physiology , Georgetown University , Washington, D.C. 20057 , United States
| | - Adam T Zarth
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Institute for Translational Neuroscience , University of Minnesota , 308 Harvard Street SE , Minneapolis , Minnesota 55455 , United States.,Masonic Cancer Center , University of Minnesota , 2231 Sixth Street SE, 2-210 CCRB , Minneapolis , Minnesota 55455 , United States
| | - Carrie Haskell-Luevano
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Institute for Translational Neuroscience , University of Minnesota , 308 Harvard Street SE , Minneapolis , Minnesota 55455 , United States
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MC4R agonism promotes durable weight loss in patients with leptin receptor deficiency. Nat Med 2018; 24:551-555. [PMID: 29736023 DOI: 10.1038/s41591-018-0015-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 190] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2017] [Accepted: 02/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Genetic defects underlying the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) signaling pathway lead to severe obesity. Three severely obese LEPR-deficient individuals were administered the MC4R agonist setmelanotide, resulting in substantial and durable reductions in hyperphagia and body weight over an observation period of 45-61 weeks. Compared to formerly developed and tested MC4R agonists, setmelanotide has the unique capability of activating nuclear factor of activated T cell (NFAT) signaling and restoring function of this signaling pathway for selected MC4R variants. Our data demonstrate the potency of setmelanotide in treatment of individuals with diverse MC4R-related pathway deficiencies.
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Evaluation of a melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) agonist (Setmelanotide) in MC4R deficiency. Mol Metab 2017; 6:1321-1329. [PMID: 29031731 PMCID: PMC5641599 DOI: 10.1016/j.molmet.2017.06.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 178] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2017] [Revised: 06/26/2017] [Accepted: 06/28/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective Pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC)-derived peptides act on neurons expressing the Melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) to reduce body weight. Setmelanotide is a highly potent MC4R agonist that leads to weight loss in diet-induced obese animals and in obese individuals with complete POMC deficiency. While POMC deficiency is very rare, 1–5% of severely obese individuals harbor heterozygous mutations in MC4R. We sought to assess the efficacy of Setmelanotide in human MC4R deficiency. Methods We studied the effects of Setmelanotide on mutant MC4Rs in cells and the weight loss response to Setmelanotide administration in rodent studies and a human clinical trial. We annotated the functional status of 369 published MC4R variants. Results In cells, we showed that Setmelanotide is significantly more potent at MC4R than the endogenous ligand alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone and can disproportionally rescue signaling by a subset of severely impaired MC4R mutants. Wild-type rodents appear more sensitive to Setmelanotide when compared to MC4R heterozygous deficient mice, while MC4R knockout mice fail to respond. In a 28-day Phase 1b clinical trial, Setmelanotide led to weight loss in obese MC4R variant carriers. Patients with POMC defects upstream of MC4R show significantly more weight loss with Setmelanotide than MC4R deficient patients or obese controls. Conclusions Setmelanotide led to weight loss in obese people with MC4R deficiency; however, further studies are justified to establish whether Setmelanotide can elicit clinically meaningful weight loss in a subset of the MC4R deficient obese population.
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