Emerging Approaches to GPCR Ligand Screening for Drug Discovery

Biased Opioid Receptor Ligands: Gain without Pain

Kappa opioid receptor (κ-OR) agonists are promising therapeutic candidates for pain and itch; however, they also exhibit the adverse effects of sedation and dysphoria. A recent study has demonstrated that a G protein-biased agonist for κ-OR provides effective pain and itch relief without causing sedation or dysphoria, in animal models.

Allosteric "beta-blocker" isolated from a DNA-encoded small molecule library

The β₂-adrenergic receptor (β₂AR) has been a model system for understanding regulatory mechanisms of G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) actions and plays a significant role in cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. Because all known β-adrenergic receptor drugs target the orthosteric binding site of the receptor, we set out to isolate allosteric ligands for this receptor by panning DNA-encoded small-molecule libraries comprising 190 million distinct compounds against purified human β₂AR. Here, we report the discovery of a small-molecule negative allosteric modulator (antagonist), compound 15 [([4-((2S)-3-(((S)-3-(3-bromophenyl)-1-(methylamino)-1-oxopropan-2-yl)amino)-2-(2-cyclohexyl-2-phenylacetamido)-3-oxopropyl)benzamide], exhibiting a unique chemotype and low micromolar affinity for the β₂AR. Binding of 15 to the receptor cooperatively enhances orthosteric inverse agonist binding while negatively modulating binding of orthosteric agonists. Studies with a specific antibody that binds to an intracellular region of the β₂AR suggest that 15 binds in proximity to the G-protein binding site on the cytosolic surface of the β₂AR. In cell-signaling studies, 15 inhibits cAMP production through the β₂AR, but not that mediated by other Gs-coupled receptors. Compound 15 also similarly inhibits β-arrestin recruitment to the activated β₂AR. This study presents an allosteric small-molecule ligand for the β₂AR and introduces a broadly applicable method for screening DNA-encoded small-molecule libraries against purified GPCR targets. Importantly, such an approach could facilitate the discovery of GPCR drugs with tailored allosteric effects.

A label-free screening approach targeted protease-activated receptor 1 based on dynamic mass redistribution in living cells

Protease-activated receptor 1 (PAR-1) antagonists strongly inhibit thrombin-induced platelet aggregation and are proved to be effective as anti-thrombotic drugs.

Molecular Modelling Approaches for the Analysis of Histamine Receptors and Their Interaction with Ligands

Several experimental techniques to analyse histamine receptors are available, e.g. pharmacological characterisation of known or new compounds by different types of assays or mutagenesis studies. To obtain insights into the histamine receptors on a molecular and structural level, crystal structures have to be determined and molecular modelling studies have to be performed. It is widely accepted to generate homology models of the receptor of interest based on an appropriate crystal structure as a template and to refine the resulting models by molecular dynamic simulations. A lot of modelling techniques, e.g. docking, QSAR or interaction fingerprint methods, are used to predict binding modes of ligands and pharmacological data, e.g. affinity or even efficacy. However, within the last years, molecular dynamic simulations got more and more important: First of all, molecular dynamic simulations are very helpful to refine the binding mode of a ligand to a histamine receptor, obtained by docking studies. Furthermore, with increasing computational performance it got possible to simulate complete binding pathways of ions or ligands from the aqueous extracellular phase into the allosteric or orthosteric binding pocket of histamine receptors.

Rapid analysis of interaction between six drugs and β2 -adrenergic receptor by injection amount-dependent method

Drug-protein interaction analysis has become a considerable topic in life science which includes clarifying protein functions, explaining drug action mechanisms and uncovering novel drug candidates. This work was to determine the association constants (K_A ) of six drugs to β₂ -adrenergic receptor by injection amount-dependent method using stationary phase containing the immobilized receptor. The values of K_A were calculated to be (25.85 ± 0.035) × 10⁴  m^-1 for clorprenaline, (42.51 ± 0.054) × 10⁴  m^-1 for clenbuterol, (6.67 ± 0.008) × 10⁴  m^-1 for terbutaline, (33.99 ± 0.025) × 10⁴  m^-1 for tulobuterol, (7.59 ± 0.011) × 10⁴  m^-1 for salbutamol and (78.52 ± 0.087) × 10⁴  m^-1 for bambuterol. This rank order agreed well with the data determined by zonal elution, frontal analysis and nonlinear chromatography, even using different batches of β₂ -AR column. A good correlation was found between the association constants by the current method and radio-ligand binding assay. Our data indicates that the injection amount-dependent method is a powerful alternative for rapid analysis of ligand-receptor interactions.

Quantitative MALDI-MS Binding Assays: An Alternative to Radiolabeling

Radiolabeling of ligands is still the gold standard in the study of high-affinity receptor-ligand interactions. In an effort toward safer and simpler alternatives to the use of radioisotopes, we developed a quantitative and highly sensitive matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) method that relies on the use of chemically tagged ligands designed to be specifically detectable when present as traces in complex biological mixtures such as cellular lysates. This innovative technology allows easy, sensitive detection and accurate quantification of analytes at the sub-nanomolar level. After statistical validation, we were able to perform pharmacological evaluations of G protein-coupled receptor (V1A-R)-ligand interactions. Both saturation and competitive binding assays were successfully processed.

Structural studies of G protein-coupled receptors

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) comprise the largest membrane protein family. These receptors sense a variety of signaling molecules, activate multiple intracellular signal pathways, and act as the targets of over 40% of marketed drugs. Recent progress on GPCR structural studies provides invaluable insights into the structure-function relationship of the GPCR superfamily, deepening our understanding about the molecular mechanisms of GPCR signal transduction. Here, we review recent breakthroughs on GPCR structure determination and the structural features of GPCRs, and take the structures of chemokine receptor CCR5 and purinergic receptors P2Y₁ R and P2Y₁₂ R as examples to discuss the importance of GPCR structures on functional studies and drug discovery. In addition, we discuss the prospect of GPCR structure-based drug discovery. © 2016 IUBMB Life, 68(11):894-903, 2016.

Extracellular cues influencing oligodendrocyte differentiation and (re)myelination

There is an increasing number of neurologic disorders found to be associated with loss and/or dysfunction of the CNS myelin sheath, ranging from the classic demyelinating disease, multiple sclerosis, through CNS injury, to neuropsychiatric diseases. The disabling burden of these diseases has sparked a growing interest in gaining a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating the differentiation of the myelinating cells of the CNS, oligodendrocytes (OLGs), and the process of (re)myelination. In this context, the importance of the extracellular milieu is becoming increasingly recognized. Under pathological conditions, changes in inhibitory as well as permissive/promotional cues are thought to lead to an overall extracellular environment that is obstructive for the regeneration of the myelin sheath. Given the general view that remyelination is, even though limited in human, a natural response to demyelination, targeting pathologically 'dysregulated' extracellular cues and their downstream pathways is regarded as a promising approach toward the enhancement of remyelination by endogenous (or if necessary transplanted) OLG progenitor cells. In this review, we will introduce the extracellular cues that have been implicated in the modulation of (re)myelination. These cues can be soluble, part of the extracellular matrix (ECM) or mediators of cell-cell interactions. Their inhibitory and permissive/promotional roles with regard to remyelination as well as their potential for therapeutic intervention will be discussed.

Total synthesis and structure-activity relationship studies of a series of selective G protein inhibitors

G proteins are key mediators of G protein-coupled receptor signalling, which facilitates a plethora of important physiological processes. The cyclic depsipeptides YM-254890 and FR900359 are the only known specific inhibitors of the G_q subfamily of G proteins; however, no synthetic route has been reported previously for these complex natural products and they are not easily isolated from natural sources. Here we report the first total synthesis of YM-254890 and FR900359, as well as of two known analogues, YM-385780 and YM-385781. The versatility of the synthetic approach also enabled the design and synthesis of ten analogues, which provided the first structure-activity relationship study for this class of compounds. Pharmacological characterization of all the compounds at G_q-, G_i- and G_s-mediated signalling provided succinct information on the structural requirements for inhibition, and demonstrated that both YM-254890 and FR900359 are highly potent inhibitors of G_q signalling, with FR900359 being the most potent. These natural products and their analogues represent unique tools for explorative studies of G protein inhibition.