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Shahpasand-Kroner H, Siddique I, Malik R, Linares GR, Ivanova MI, Ichida J, Weil T, Münch J, Sanchez-Garcia E, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Bitan G. Molecular Tweezers: Supramolecular Hosts with Broad-Spectrum Biological Applications. Pharmacol Rev 2023; 75:263-308. [PMID: 36549866 PMCID: PMC9976797 DOI: 10.1124/pharmrev.122.000654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Revised: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Lysine-selective molecular tweezers (MTs) are supramolecular host molecules displaying a remarkably broad spectrum of biologic activities. MTs act as inhibitors of the self-assembly and toxicity of amyloidogenic proteins using a unique mechanism. They destroy viral membranes and inhibit infection by enveloped viruses, such as HIV-1 and SARS-CoV-2, by mechanisms unrelated to their action on protein self-assembly. They also disrupt biofilm of Gram-positive bacteria. The efficacy and safety of MTs have been demonstrated in vitro, in cell culture, and in vivo, suggesting that these versatile compounds are attractive therapeutic candidates for various diseases, infections, and injuries. A lead compound called CLR01 has been shown to inhibit the aggregation of various amyloidogenic proteins, facilitate their clearance in vivo, prevent infection by multiple viruses, display potent anti-biofilm activity, and have a high safety margin in animal models. The inhibitory effect of CLR01 against amyloidogenic proteins is highly specific to abnormal self-assembly of amyloidogenic proteins with no disruption of normal mammalian biologic processes at the doses needed for inhibition. Therapeutic effects of CLR01 have been demonstrated in animal models of proteinopathies, lysosomal-storage diseases, and spinal-cord injury. Here we review the activity and mechanisms of action of these intriguing compounds and discuss future research directions. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Molecular tweezers are supramolecular host molecules with broad biological applications, including inhibition of abnormal protein aggregation, facilitation of lysosomal clearance of toxic aggregates, disruption of viral membranes, and interference of biofilm formation by Gram-positive bacteria. This review discusses the molecular and cellular mechanisms of action of the molecular tweezers, including the discovery of distinct mechanisms acting in vitro and in vivo, and the application of these compounds in multiple preclinical disease models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hedieh Shahpasand-Kroner
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine (H.S.-K., I.S., R.M., G.B.), Brain Research Institute (G.B.), and Molecular Biology Institute (G.B.), University of California, Los Angeles, California; Department of Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California (G.R.L., J.I.); Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (M.I.I.); Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany (T.W., J.M.); and Department of Computational Biochemistry (E.S.-G.) and Faculty of Chemistry (F-G.K., T.S.), University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Ibrar Siddique
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine (H.S.-K., I.S., R.M., G.B.), Brain Research Institute (G.B.), and Molecular Biology Institute (G.B.), University of California, Los Angeles, California; Department of Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California (G.R.L., J.I.); Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (M.I.I.); Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany (T.W., J.M.); and Department of Computational Biochemistry (E.S.-G.) and Faculty of Chemistry (F-G.K., T.S.), University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Ravinder Malik
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine (H.S.-K., I.S., R.M., G.B.), Brain Research Institute (G.B.), and Molecular Biology Institute (G.B.), University of California, Los Angeles, California; Department of Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California (G.R.L., J.I.); Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (M.I.I.); Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany (T.W., J.M.); and Department of Computational Biochemistry (E.S.-G.) and Faculty of Chemistry (F-G.K., T.S.), University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Gabriel R Linares
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine (H.S.-K., I.S., R.M., G.B.), Brain Research Institute (G.B.), and Molecular Biology Institute (G.B.), University of California, Los Angeles, California; Department of Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California (G.R.L., J.I.); Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (M.I.I.); Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany (T.W., J.M.); and Department of Computational Biochemistry (E.S.-G.) and Faculty of Chemistry (F-G.K., T.S.), University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Magdalena I Ivanova
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine (H.S.-K., I.S., R.M., G.B.), Brain Research Institute (G.B.), and Molecular Biology Institute (G.B.), University of California, Los Angeles, California; Department of Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California (G.R.L., J.I.); Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (M.I.I.); Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany (T.W., J.M.); and Department of Computational Biochemistry (E.S.-G.) and Faculty of Chemistry (F-G.K., T.S.), University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Justin Ichida
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine (H.S.-K., I.S., R.M., G.B.), Brain Research Institute (G.B.), and Molecular Biology Institute (G.B.), University of California, Los Angeles, California; Department of Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California (G.R.L., J.I.); Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (M.I.I.); Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany (T.W., J.M.); and Department of Computational Biochemistry (E.S.-G.) and Faculty of Chemistry (F-G.K., T.S.), University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Tatjana Weil
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine (H.S.-K., I.S., R.M., G.B.), Brain Research Institute (G.B.), and Molecular Biology Institute (G.B.), University of California, Los Angeles, California; Department of Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California (G.R.L., J.I.); Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (M.I.I.); Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany (T.W., J.M.); and Department of Computational Biochemistry (E.S.-G.) and Faculty of Chemistry (F-G.K., T.S.), University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Jan Münch
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine (H.S.-K., I.S., R.M., G.B.), Brain Research Institute (G.B.), and Molecular Biology Institute (G.B.), University of California, Los Angeles, California; Department of Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California (G.R.L., J.I.); Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (M.I.I.); Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany (T.W., J.M.); and Department of Computational Biochemistry (E.S.-G.) and Faculty of Chemistry (F-G.K., T.S.), University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Elsa Sanchez-Garcia
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine (H.S.-K., I.S., R.M., G.B.), Brain Research Institute (G.B.), and Molecular Biology Institute (G.B.), University of California, Los Angeles, California; Department of Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California (G.R.L., J.I.); Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (M.I.I.); Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany (T.W., J.M.); and Department of Computational Biochemistry (E.S.-G.) and Faculty of Chemistry (F-G.K., T.S.), University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Frank-Gerrit Klärner
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine (H.S.-K., I.S., R.M., G.B.), Brain Research Institute (G.B.), and Molecular Biology Institute (G.B.), University of California, Los Angeles, California; Department of Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California (G.R.L., J.I.); Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (M.I.I.); Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany (T.W., J.M.); and Department of Computational Biochemistry (E.S.-G.) and Faculty of Chemistry (F-G.K., T.S.), University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Thomas Schrader
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine (H.S.-K., I.S., R.M., G.B.), Brain Research Institute (G.B.), and Molecular Biology Institute (G.B.), University of California, Los Angeles, California; Department of Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California (G.R.L., J.I.); Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (M.I.I.); Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany (T.W., J.M.); and Department of Computational Biochemistry (E.S.-G.) and Faculty of Chemistry (F-G.K., T.S.), University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Gal Bitan
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine (H.S.-K., I.S., R.M., G.B.), Brain Research Institute (G.B.), and Molecular Biology Institute (G.B.), University of California, Los Angeles, California; Department of Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California (G.R.L., J.I.); Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (M.I.I.); Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany (T.W., J.M.); and Department of Computational Biochemistry (E.S.-G.) and Faculty of Chemistry (F-G.K., T.S.), University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
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Despres C, Di J, Cantrelle FX, Li Z, Huvent I, Chambraud B, Zhao J, Chen J, Chen S, Lippens G, Zhang F, Linhardt R, Wang C, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Landrieu I, Bitan G, Smet-Nocca C. Major Differences between the Self-Assembly and Seeding Behavior of Heparin-Induced and in Vitro Phosphorylated Tau and Their Modulation by Potential Inhibitors. ACS Chem Biol 2019; 14:1363-1379. [PMID: 31046227 PMCID: PMC6636790 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.9b00325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
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Self-assembly of
the microtubule-associated protein tau into neurotoxic
oligomers, fibrils, and paired helical filaments, and cell-to-cell
spreading of these pathological tau species are critical processes
underlying the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease and other
tauopathies. Modulating the self-assembly process and inhibiting formation
and spreading of such toxic species are promising strategies for therapy
development. A challenge in investigating tau self-assembly in vitro
is that, unlike most amyloidogenic proteins, tau does not aggregate
in the absence of posttranslational modifications (PTM), aggregation
inducers, or preformed seeds. The most common induction method is
addition of polyanions, such as heparin; yet, this artificial system
may not represent adequately tau self-assembly in vivo, which is driven
by aberrant phosphorylation and other PTMs, potentially leading to
in vitro data that do not reflect the behavior of tau and its interaction
with modulators in vivo. To tackle these challenges, methods for in
vitro phosphorylation of tau to produce aggregation-competent forms
recently have been introduced (Despres
et al. (2017) , 114, 9080−908528784767). However, the oligomerization, seeding, and interaction
with assembly modulators of the different forms of tau have not been
studied to date. To address these knowledge gaps, we compared here
side-by-side the self-assembly and seeding activity of heparin-induced
tau with two forms of in vitro phosphorylated tau and tested how the
molecular tweezer CLR01, a negatively charged compound, affected these
processes. Tau was phosphorylated by incubation either with activated
extracellular signal-regulated kinase 2 or with a whole rat brain
extract. Seeding activity was measured using a fluorescence-resonance
energy transfer-based biosensor-cell method. We also used solution-state
NMR to investigate the binding sites of CLR01 on tau and how they
were impacted by phosphorylation. Our systematic structure–activity
relationship study demonstrates that heparin-induced tau behaves differently
from in vitro phosphorylated tau. The aggregation rates of the different
forms are distinct as is the intracellular localization of the induced
aggregates, which resemble brain-derived tau strains suggesting that
heparin-induced tau and in vitro phosphorylated tau have different
conformations, properties, and activities. CLR01 inhibits aggregation
and seeding of both heparin-induced and in vitro phosphorylated tau
dose-dependently, although heparin induction interferes with the interaction
between CLR01 and tau.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Jianle Chen
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310029, China
| | - Shiguo Chen
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310029, China
| | - Guy Lippens
- Lille University CNRS UMR 8576, UGSF, F-59000 Lille, France
| | | | - Robert Linhardt
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310029, China
| | | | - Frank-Gerrit Klärner
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, 45141 Essen, Germany
| | - Thomas Schrader
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, 45141 Essen, Germany
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10
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Lopes DHJ, Attar A, Nair G, Hayden EY, Du Z, McDaniel K, Dutt S, Bandmann H, Bravo-Rodriguez K, Mittal S, Klärner FG, Wang C, Sanchez-Garcia E, Schrader T, Bitan G. Molecular tweezers inhibit islet amyloid polypeptide assembly and toxicity by a new mechanism. ACS Chem Biol 2015; 10:1555-69. [PMID: 25844890 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.5b00146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
In type-2 diabetes (T2D), islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) self-associates into toxic assemblies causing islet β-cell death. Therefore, preventing IAPP toxicity is a promising therapeutic strategy for T2D. The molecular tweezer CLR01 is a supramolecular tool for selective complexation of K residues in (poly)peptides. Surprisingly, it inhibits IAPP aggregation at substoichiometric concentrations even though IAPP has only one K residue at position 1, whereas efficient inhibition of IAPP toxicity requires excess CLR01. The basis for this peculiar behavior is not clear. Here, a combination of biochemical, biophysical, spectroscopic, and computational methods reveals a detailed mechanistic picture of the unique dual inhibition mechanism for CLR01. At low concentrations, CLR01 binds to K1, presumably nucleating nonamyloidogenic, yet toxic, structures, whereas excess CLR01 binds also to R11, leading to nontoxic structures. Encouragingly, the CLR01 concentrations needed for inhibition of IAPP toxicity are safe in vivo, supporting its development toward disease-modifying therapy for T2D.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Zhenming Du
- Department of Biology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, United States
| | | | - Som Dutt
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, 45141 Essen, Germany
| | - Heinz Bandmann
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, 45141 Essen, Germany
| | | | - Sumit Mittal
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, 45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany
| | - Frank-Gerrit Klärner
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, 45141 Essen, Germany
| | - Chunyu Wang
- Department of Biology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, United States
| | | | - Thomas Schrader
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, 45141 Essen, Germany
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