1
|
Purić E, Nilsson UJ, Anderluh M. Galectin-8 inhibition and functions in immune response and tumor biology. Med Res Rev 2024; 44:2236-2265. [PMID: 38613488 DOI: 10.1002/med.22041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2023] [Revised: 03/03/2024] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/15/2024]
Abstract
Galectins are among organisms' most abundantly expressed lectins (carbohydrate-binding proteins) that specifically bind β-galactosides. They act not only outside the cell, where they bind to extracellular matrix glycans, but also inside the cell, where they have a significant impact on signaling pathways. Galectin-8 is a galectin family protein encoded by the LGALS8 gene. Its role is evident in both T- and B-cell immunity and in the innate immune response, where it acts directly on dendritic cells and induces some pro-inflammatory cytokines. Galectin-8 also plays an important role in the defense against bacterial and viral infections. It is known to promote antibacterial autophagy by recognizing and binding glycans present on the vacuolar membrane, thus acting as a danger receptor. The most important role of galectin-8 is the regulation of cancer growth, metastasis, tumor progression, and tumor cell survival. Importantly, the expression of galectins is typically higher in tumor tissues than in noncancerous tissues. In this review article, we focus on galectin-8 and its function in immune response, microbial infections, and cancer. Given all of these functions of galectin-8, we emphasize the importance of developing new and selective galectin-8 inhibitors and report the current status of their development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Edvin Purić
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Ulf J Nilsson
- Department of Chemistry, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Marko Anderluh
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
van Klaveren S, Hassan M, Håkansson M, Johnsson RE, Larsson J, Jakopin Ž, Anderluh M, Leffler H, Tomašič T, Nilsson UJ. Galectin-8N-Selective 4-Halophenylphthalazinone-Galactals Double π-Stack in a Unique Pocket. ACS Med Chem Lett 2024; 15:1319-1324. [PMID: 39140038 PMCID: PMC11318003 DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.4c00212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2024] [Revised: 07/17/2024] [Accepted: 07/17/2024] [Indexed: 08/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Galectin-8 contains two different carbohydrate recognition domains (CRDs). Selective inhibitors for at least one CRD are desirable for galectin-8 biology studies and potentially for pharmacological purposes. Structure-guided design led to the discovery of potent and selective glycomimetic-heterocycle hybrid ligands, with a 4-(p-bromophenyl)phthalazinone derivative displaying a 34 μM K d for galectin-8N (N-terminal CRD), no binding to galectin-8C (C-terminal CRD), -1, -3, -4N, -7, -9C, or -9N, and >40-fold selectivity over galectin-4C. Selectivity was achieved with the halogenated 4-phenylphthalazinone moiety occupying a galectin-8N-specific sub-pocket. A 1.30 Å resolution X-ray structure revealed the phthalazinone moiety stacking with Arg45 and the 4-bromophenyl moiety stacking both Arg59 and Tyr141 of galectin-8N. Physicochemical and in vitro ADME studies revealed a desirable LogD, which also translated to good passive permeability. The chemical, microsome, and plasma stability support these compounds as promising tool compounds and candidates for hit-to-lead optimization.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sjors van Klaveren
- Department
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Lund University, Naturvetarvägen 14, 223 62, Lund, Sweden
- Pharmaceutical
Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University
of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva
cesta 7, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Mujtaba Hassan
- Department
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Lund University, Naturvetarvägen 14, 223 62, Lund, Sweden
| | - Maria Håkansson
- SARomics
Biostructures AB, Medicon
Village, SE-223 81, Lund, Sweden
| | | | - Jessica Larsson
- Red
Glead Discovery AB, Medicon
Village, SE-223 81, Lund, Sweden
| | - Žiga Jakopin
- Pharmaceutical
Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University
of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva
cesta 7, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Marko Anderluh
- Pharmaceutical
Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University
of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva
cesta 7, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Hakon Leffler
- Department
of Laboratory Medicine, Section MIG, Lund
University, BMC-C1228b, Klinikgatan 28, 221 84, Lund, Sweden
| | - Tihomir Tomašič
- Pharmaceutical
Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University
of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva
cesta 7, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Ulf J. Nilsson
- Department
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Lund University, Naturvetarvägen 14, 223 62, Lund, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Vrbata D, Červený J, Kulik N, Hovorková M, Balogová S, Vlachová M, Pelantová H, Křen V, Bojarová P. Glycomimetic inhibitors of tandem-repeat galectins: Simple and efficient. Bioorg Chem 2024; 145:107231. [PMID: 38394919 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2024.107231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2023] [Revised: 02/13/2024] [Accepted: 02/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
The binding of human galectins by glycomimetic inhibitors is a promising therapeutic approach. The structurally distinct group of tandem-repeat galectins has scarcely been studied so far, and there is hardly any knowledge on their ligand specificity or their inhibitory potential, particularly concerning non-natural carbohydrates. Here, we present the synthesis of a library of seven 3-O-disubstituted thiodigalactoside-derived glycomimetics and their affinity to two tandem-repeat galectins, Gal-8 and Gal-9. The straightforward synthesis of these glycomimetics involved dibutyltin oxide-catalyzed 3,3́-O-disubstitution of commercially available unprotected thiodigalactoside, and conjugation of various aryl substituents by copper-catalyzed Huisgen azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC). The inhibitory potential of the prepared glycomimetics for Gal-8 and Gal-9 was assessed, and compared with the established galectins Gal-1 and Gal-3. The introduction of C-3 substituents resulted in an over 40-fold increase in affinity compared with unmodified TDG. The structure-affinity relations within the studied series were discussed using molecular modeling. Furthermore, the prepared glycomimetics were shown to scavenge Gal-8 and Gal-9 from the surface of cancer cells. This pioneering study on the synthetic inhibitors especially of Gal-9 identified lead compounds that may be used in further biomedical research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David Vrbata
- Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Vídeňská 1083, CZ-142 00, Prague 4, Czech Republic
| | - Jakub Červený
- Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Vídeňská 1083, CZ-142 00, Prague 4, Czech Republic; Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Hlavova 8, CZ-128 43 Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Natalia Kulik
- Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Vídeňská 1083, CZ-142 00, Prague 4, Czech Republic
| | - Michaela Hovorková
- Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Vídeňská 1083, CZ-142 00, Prague 4, Czech Republic; Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 5, CZ-128 43 Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Soňa Balogová
- Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Vídeňská 1083, CZ-142 00, Prague 4, Czech Republic; Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Hlavova 8, CZ-128 43 Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Miluše Vlachová
- Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Vídeňská 1083, CZ-142 00, Prague 4, Czech Republic
| | - Helena Pelantová
- Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Vídeňská 1083, CZ-142 00, Prague 4, Czech Republic
| | - Vladimír Křen
- Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Vídeňská 1083, CZ-142 00, Prague 4, Czech Republic
| | - Pavla Bojarová
- Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Vídeňská 1083, CZ-142 00, Prague 4, Czech Republic; Department of Health Care Disciplines and Population Protection, Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, nám. Sítná 3105, CZ-272 01 Kladno, Czech Republic.
| |
Collapse
|