Fostering venture research: A case study of the discovery that ascorbate enhances adrenergic drug activity

Biased, Bitopic, Opioid–Adrenergic Tethered Compounds May Improve Specificity, Lower Dosage and Enhance Agonist or Antagonist Function with Reduced Risk of Tolerance and Addiction

This paper proposes the design of combination opioid–adrenergic tethered compounds to enhance efficacy and specificity, lower dosage, increase duration of activity, decrease side effects, and reduce risk of developing tolerance and/or addiction. Combinations of adrenergic and opioid drugs are sometimes used to improve analgesia, decrease opioid doses required to achieve analgesia, and to prolong the duration of analgesia. Recent mechanistic research suggests that these enhanced functions result from an allosteric adrenergic binding site on opioid receptors and, conversely, an allosteric opioid binding site on adrenergic receptors. Dual occupancy of the receptors maintains the receptors in their high affinity, most active states; drops the concentration of ligand required for full activity; and prevents downregulation and internalization of the receptors, thus inhibiting tolerance to the drugs. Activation of both opioid and adrenergic receptors also enhances heterodimerization of the receptors, additionally improving each drug’s efficacy. Tethering adrenergic drugs to opioids could produce new drug candidates with highly desirable features. Constraints—such as the locations of the opioid binding sites on adrenergic receptors and adrenergic binding sites on opioid receptors, length of tethers that must govern the design of such novel compounds, and types of tethers—are described and examples of possible structures provided.

Co-Evolution of Opioid and Adrenergic Ligands and Receptors: Shared, Complementary Modules Explain Evolution of Functional Interactions and Suggest Novel Engineering Possibilities

Cross-talk between opioid and adrenergic receptors is well-characterized and involves second messenger systems, the formation of receptor heterodimers, and the presence of extracellular allosteric binding regions for the complementary ligand; however, the evolutionary origins of these interactions have not been investigated. We propose that opioid and adrenergic ligands and receptors co-evolved from a common set of modular precursors so that they share binding functions. We demonstrate the plausibility of this hypothesis through a review of experimental evidence for molecularly complementary modules and report unexpected homologies between the two receptor types. Briefly, opioids form homodimers also bind adrenergic compounds; opioids bind to conserved extracellular regions of adrenergic receptors while adrenergic compounds bind to conserved extracellular regions of opioid receptors; opioid-like modules appear in both sets of receptors within key ligand-binding regions. Transmembrane regions associated with homodimerization of each class of receptors are also highly conserved across receptor types and implicated in heterodimerization. This conservation of multiple functional modules suggests opioid–adrenergic ligand and receptor co-evolution and provides mechanisms for explaining the evolution of their crosstalk. These modules also suggest the structure of a primordial receptor, providing clues for engineering receptor functions.

Glutathione and Glutathione-Like Sequences of Opioid and Aminergic Receptors Bind Ascorbic Acid, Adrenergic and Opioid Drugs Mediating Antioxidant Function: Relevance for Anesthesia and Abuse

Opioids and their antagonists alter vitamin C metabolism. Morphine binds to glutathione (l-γ-glutamyl-l-cysteinyl-glycine), an intracellular ascorbic acid recycling molecule with a wide range of additional activities. The morphine metabolite morphinone reacts with glutathione to form a covalent adduct that is then excreted in urine. Morphine also binds to adrenergic and histaminergic receptors in their extracellular loop regions, enhancing aminergic agonist activity. The first and second extracellular loops of adrenergic and histaminergic receptors are, like glutathione, characterized by the presence of cysteines and/or methionines, and recycle ascorbic acid with similar efficiency. Conversely, adrenergic drugs bind to extracellular loops of opioid receptors, enhancing their activity. These observations suggest functional interactions among opioids and amines, their receptors, and glutathione. We therefore explored the relative binding affinities of ascorbic acid, dehydroascorbic acid, opioid and adrenergic compounds, as well as various control compounds, to glutathione and glutathione-like peptides derived from the extracellular loop regions of the human beta 2-adrenergic, dopamine D1, histamine H1, and mu opioid receptors, as well as controls. Some cysteine-containing peptides derived from these receptors do bind ascorbic acid and/or dehydroascorbic acid and the same peptides generally bind opioid compounds. Glutathione binds not only morphine but also naloxone, methadone, and methionine enkephalin. Some adrenergic drugs also bind to glutathione and glutathione-like receptor regions. These sets of interactions provide a novel basis for understanding some ways that adrenergic, opioid and antioxidant systems interact during anesthesia and drug abuse and may have utility for understanding drug interactions.

Mutual Enhancement of Opioid and Adrenergic Receptors by Combinations of Opioids and Adrenergic Ligands Is Reflected in Molecular Complementarity of Ligands: Drug Development Possibilities

Crosstalk between opioid and adrenergic receptors is well characterized and due to interactions between second messenger systems, formation of receptor heterodimers, and extracellular allosteric binding regions. Both classes of receptors bind both sets of ligands. We propose here that receptor crosstalk may be mirrored in ligand complementarity. We demonstrate that opioids bind to adrenergic compounds with micromolar affinities. Additionally, adrenergic compounds bind with micromolar affinities to extracellular loops of opioid receptors while opioids bind to extracellular loops of adrenergic receptors. Thus, each compound type can bind to the complementary receptor, enhancing the activity of the other compound type through an allosteric mechanism. Screening for ligand complementarity may permit the identification of other mutually-enhancing sets of compounds as well as the design of novel combination drugs or tethered compounds with improved duration and specificity of action.

Adrenergic Agonists Bind to Adrenergic-Receptor-Like Regions of the Mu Opioid Receptor, Enhancing Morphine and Methionine-Enkephalin Binding: A New Approach to "Biased Opioids"?

Extensive evidence demonstrates functional interactions between the adrenergic and opioid systems in a diversity of tissues and organs. While some effects are due to receptor and second messenger cross-talk, recent research has revealed an extracellular, allosteric opioid binding site on adrenergic receptors that enhances adrenergic activity and its duration. The present research addresses whether opioid receptors may have an equivalent extracellular, allosteric adrenergic binding site that has similar enhancing effects on opioid binding. Comparison of adrenergic and opioid receptor sequences revealed that these receptors share very significant regions of similarity, particularly in some of the extracellular and transmembrane regions associated with adrenergic binding in the adrenergic receptors. Five of these shared regions from the mu opioid receptor (muOPR) were synthesized as peptides and tested for binding to adrenergic, opioid and control compounds using ultraviolet spectroscopy. Adrenergic compounds bound to several of these muOPR peptides with low micromolar affinity while acetylcholine, histamine and various adrenergic antagonists did not. Similar studies were then conducted with purified, intact muOPR with similar results. Combinations of epinephrine with methionine enkephalin or morphine increased the binding of both by about half a log unit. These results suggest that muOPR may be allosterically enhanced by adrenergic agonists.

Enzymatic recycling of ascorbic acid from dehydroascorbic acid by glutathione-like peptides in the extracellular loops of aminergic G-protein coupled receptors

The intracellular recycling of ascorbic acid from dehydroascorbic acid by the glutathione-glutathione reductase system has been well-characterized. We propose that extracellular recycling of ascorbic acid is performed in a similar manner by cysteine-rich, glutathione-like regions of the first and second extracellular loops of some aminergic receptors including adrenergic, histaminergic, and dopaminergic receptors. Previous research in our laboratory demonstrated that ascorbic acid binds to these receptors at a site on their first or second extracellular loops, significantly enhancing ligand activity, and apparently recycling hundreds of times their own concentration of ascorbate in an enzymatic fashion. In this study, we have synthesized 25 peptides from the first and second extracellular loops of aminergic and insulin receptors and compared them directly to glutathione for their ability to prevent the oxidation of ascorbate and to regenerate ascorbate from dehydroascorbic acid. Peptide sequences that mimic glutathione in containing a cysteine and a glutamic acid-like amino acid also mimic glutathione activity in effects and in kinetics. Some (but not all) peptide sequences that contain one or more methionines instead of cysteine can significantly retard the oxidation of ascorbic acid but do not recycle it from dehydroascorbate into ascorbate. Peptides lacking both cysteines and methionines uniformly failed to alter significantly ascorbate or dehydroascorbate oxidation or reduction. We believe that this is the first proof that receptors may carry out both ligand binding and enzymatic activity extracellularly. Our results suggest the existence of a previously unknown extracellular system for recycling ascorbate. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A modular hierarchy-based theory of the chemical origins of life based on molecular complementarity

Albert Szent-Gyorgyi once defined discovery as seeing what everyone else sees and thinking what no one else thinks. I often find that phenomena that are obvious to other people are not obvious to me. Molecular complementarity is one of these phenomena: while rare among any random set of compounds, it is ubiquitous in living systems. Because every molecule in a living system binds more or less specifically to several others, we now speak of "interactomes". What explains the ubiquity of molecular complementarity in living systems? What might such an explanation reveal about the chemical origins of life and the principles that have governed its evolution? Beyond this, what might complementarity tell us about the optimization of integrated systems in general? My research combines theoretical and experimental approaches to molecular complementarity relating to evolution from prebiotic chemical systems to superorganismal interactions. Experimentally, I have characterized complementarity involving specific binding between small molecules and explored how these small-molecule modules have been incorporated into macromolecular systems such as receptors and transporters. Several general principles have emerged from this research. Molecules that bind to each other almost always alter each other's physiological effects; and conversely, molecules that have antagonistic or synergistic physiological effects almost always bind to each other. This principle suggests a chemical link between biological structure and function. Secondly, modern biological systems contain an embedded molecular paleontology based on complementarity that can reveal their chemical origins. This molecular paleontology is often manifested through modules involving small, molecularly complementary subunits that are built into modern macromolecular structures such as receptors and transporters. A third principle is that complementary modules are conserved and repurposed at every stage of evolution. Molecular complementarity plays critical roles in the evolution of chemical systems and resolves a significant number of outstanding problems in the emergence of complex systems. All physical and mathematical models of organization within complex systems rely upon nonrandom linkage between components. Molecular complementarity provides a naturally occurring nonrandom linker. More importantly, the formation of hierarchically organized stable modules vastly improves the probability of achieving self-organization, and molecular complementarity provides a mechanism by which hierarchically organized stable modules can form. Finally, modularity based on molecular complementarity produces a means for storing and replicating information. Linear replicating molecules such as DNA or RNA are not required to transmit information from one generation of compounds to the next: compositional replication is as ubiquitous in living systems as genetic replication and is equally important to its functions. Chemical systems composed of complementary modules mediate this compositional replication and gave rise to linear replication schemes. In sum, I propose that molecular complementarity is ubiquitous in living systems because it provides the physicochemical basis for modular, hierarchical ordering and replication necessary for the evolution of the chemical systems upon which life is based. I conjecture that complementarity more generally is an essential agent that mediates evolution at every level of organization.

Receptor-mediated enhancement of beta adrenergic drug activity by ascorbate in vitro and in vivo

Rationale

Previous in vitro research demonstrated that ascorbate enhances potency and duration of activity of agonists binding to alpha 1 adrenergic and histamine receptors.

Objectives

Extending this work to beta 2 adrenergic systems in vitro and in vivo.

Methods

Ultraviolet spectroscopy was used to study ascorbate binding to adrenergic receptor preparations and peptides. Force transduction studies on acetylcholine-contracted trachealis preparations from pigs and guinea pigs measured the effect of ascorbate on relaxation due to submaximal doses of beta adrenergic agonists. The effect of inhaled albuterol with and without ascorbate was tested on horses with heaves and sheep with carbachol-induced bronchoconstriction.

Measurements

Binding constants for ascorbate binding to beta adrenergic receptor were derived from concentration-dependent spectral shifts. Dose- dependence curves were obtained for the relaxation of pre-contracted trachealis preparations due to beta agonists in the presence and absence of varied ascorbate. Tachyphylaxis and fade were also measured. Dose response curves were determined for the effect of albuterol plus-and-minus ascorbate on airway resistance in horses and sheep.

Main Results

Ascorbate binds to the beta 2 adrenergic receptor at physiological concentrations. The receptor recycles dehydroascorbate. Physiological and supra-physiological concentrations of ascorbate enhance submaximal epinephrine and isoproterenol relaxation of trachealis, producing a 3–10-fold increase in sensitivity, preventing tachyphylaxis, and reversing fade. In vivo, ascorbate improves albuterol's effect on heaves and produces a 10-fold enhancement of albuterol activity in “asthmatic” sheep.

Conclusions

Ascorbate enhances beta-adrenergic activity via a novel receptor-mediated mechanism; increases potency and duration of beta adrenergic agonists effective in asthma and COPD; prevents tachyphylaxis; and reverses fade. These novel effects are probably caused by a novel mechanism involving phosphorylation of aminergic receptors and have clinical and drug-development applications.

Ascorbate enhancement of H1 histamine receptor sensitivity coincides with ascorbate oxidation inhibition by histamine receptors

Ascorbate has previously been shown to enhance both alpha(1)- and beta(2)-adrenergic activity. This activity is mediated by ascorbate binding to the extracellular domain of the adrenergic receptor, which also decreases the oxidation rate of ascorbate. H1 histamine receptors have extracellular agonist or ascorbate binding sites with strong similarities to alpha(1-) and beta(2)-adrenergic receptors. Physiological concentrations of ascorbate (50 microM) significantly enhanced histamine contractions of rabbit aorta on the lower half of the histamine dose-response curve, increasing contractions of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 microM histamine by two- to threefold. Increases in ascorbate concentration significantly enhanced 0.2 microM histamine (5-500 microM ascorbate) and 0.3 microM histamine (15-500 microM ascorbate) in a dose-dependent manner. Histamine does not measurably oxidize over 20 h in oxygenated PSS at 37 degrees C. Thus the ascorbate enhancement is independent of ascorbate's antioxidant effects. Ascorbate in solution oxidizes rapidly. Transfected histamine receptor membrane suspension with protein concentration at >3.1 microg/ml (56 nM maximum histamine receptor) decreases the oxidation rate of 392 microM ascorbate, and virtually no ascorbate oxidation occurs at >0.0004 mol histamine receptor/mol ascorbate. Histamine receptor membrane had an initial ascorbate oxidation inhibition rate of 0.094 min.microg protein(-1).ml(-1), compared with rates for transfected ANG II membrane (0.055 min.microg protein(-1).ml(-1)), untransfected membrane (0.052 min.microg protein(-1).ml(-1)), creatine kinase (0.0082 min.microg protein(-1).ml(-1)), keyhole limpet hemocyanin (0.00092 min.microg protein(-1).ml(-1)), and osmotically lysed aortic rings (0.00057 min.microg wet weight(-1).ml(-1)). Ascorbate enhancement of seven-transmembrane-spanning membrane receptor activity occurs in both adrenergic and histaminergic receptors. These receptors may play a significant role in maintaining extracellular ascorbate in a reduced state.

Molecular shielding of electric field complex dissociation

We have previously demonstrated the ability of electric fields to dissociate ascorbate and catecholamines and shown that the electric field generated by cell membranes is sufficient to produce dissociation of these complexes up to 8 nm from the cell membrane. We show here that this process is applicable to a wide range of biological complexes including small molecules (norepinephrine-morphine sulfate), protein-protein complexes (insulin-glucagon), and small molecule-protein complexes (epinephrine-bovine serum albumin). The extrapolation of the slope of the electric field dependence to zero electric field can be used to estimate the log of the dissociation constant (K(D)) of a complex and, by multiplying the log(K(D)) by -2.303RT, the association energy (E) of the complex. The slope of the electric field dependence is inversely related to the molecular radii, with the best fit of the slope related to E*(1/r1 + 1/r2), where r is the estimated radius of each molecule in the complementary pair. This indicates that the binding site of the pair is shielded by the remaining parts of the molecules, and the larger the molecule the greater the shielding. When the slope of the electric field dependence goes to 0 as r goes to infinity and 1/r goes to 0, the molecular shielding constant is 7.04 x 10(-8) cm2/V. Very large complexes will be minimally affected by the electric field due to molecular shielding and reduced electric field as their radius restricts approach to the membrane. Large protein receptors will deflect the membrane electric field and allow agonist binding.