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De Neve J, Breault É, Previti S, Vangeloven E, Loranger B, Chartier M, Brouillette R, Lanoie A, Holleran BJ, Longpré JM, Gendron L, Tourwé D, Sarret P, Ballet S. Design, Synthesis, and In Vitro Characterization of Proteolytically-Stable Opioid-Neurotensin Hybrid Peptidomimetics. ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci 2024; 7:2784-2798. [PMID: 39296263 PMCID: PMC11406707 DOI: 10.1021/acsptsci.4c00236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2024] [Revised: 07/26/2024] [Accepted: 07/31/2024] [Indexed: 09/21/2024]
Abstract
Linking an opioid to a nonopioid pharmacophore represents a promising approach for reducing opioid-induced side effects during pain management. Herein, we describe the optimization of the previously reported opioid-neurotensin hybrids (OPNT-hybrids), SBL-OPNT-05 & -10, containing the μ-/δ-opioid agonist H-Dmt-d-Arg-Aba-β-Ala-NH2 and NT(8-13) analogs optimized for NTS2 affinity. In the present work, the constrained dipeptide Aba-β-Ala was modified to investigate the optimal linker length between the two pharmacophores, as well as the effect of expanding the aromatic moiety within constrained dipeptide analogs, via the inclusion of a naphthyl moiety. Additionally, the N-terminal Arg residue of the NT(8-13) pharmacophore was substituted with β3 hArg. For all analogs, affinity was determined at the MOP, DOP, NTS1, and NTS2 receptors. Several of the hybrid ligands showed a subnanomolar affinity for MOP, improved binding for DOP compared to SBL-OPNT-05 & -10, as well as an excellent NTS2-affinity with high selectivity over NTS1. Subsequently, the Gαi1 and β-arrestin-2 pathways were evaluated for all hybrids, along with their stability in rat plasma. Upon MOP activation, SBL-OPNT-13 and -18 were the least effective at recruiting β-arrestin-2 (E max = 17 and 12%, respectively), while both compounds were also found to be partial agonists at the Gαi1 pathway, despite improved potency compared to DAMGO. Importantly, these analogs also showed a half-life in rat plasma in excess of 48 h, making them valuable tools for future in vivo investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jolien De Neve
- Research Group of Organic Chemistry, Departments of Chemistry and Bioengineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Émile Breault
- Institut de Pharmacologie de Sherbrooke, Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001, 12e Avenue Nord, J1H 5N4 Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
| | - Santo Previti
- Research Group of Organic Chemistry, Departments of Chemistry and Bioengineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Esaü Vangeloven
- Research Group of Organic Chemistry, Departments of Chemistry and Bioengineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Bobbi Loranger
- Institut de Pharmacologie de Sherbrooke, Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001, 12e Avenue Nord, J1H 5N4 Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
| | - Magali Chartier
- Institut de Pharmacologie de Sherbrooke, Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001, 12e Avenue Nord, J1H 5N4 Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
| | - Rebecca Brouillette
- Institut de Pharmacologie de Sherbrooke, Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001, 12e Avenue Nord, J1H 5N4 Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
| | - Annik Lanoie
- Institut de Pharmacologie de Sherbrooke, Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001, 12e Avenue Nord, J1H 5N4 Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
| | - Brian J Holleran
- Institut de Pharmacologie de Sherbrooke, Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001, 12e Avenue Nord, J1H 5N4 Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
| | - Jean-Michel Longpré
- Institut de Pharmacologie de Sherbrooke, Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001, 12e Avenue Nord, J1H 5N4 Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
| | - Louis Gendron
- Institut de Pharmacologie de Sherbrooke, Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001, 12e Avenue Nord, J1H 5N4 Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
| | - Dirk Tourwé
- Research Group of Organic Chemistry, Departments of Chemistry and Bioengineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Philippe Sarret
- Institut de Pharmacologie de Sherbrooke, Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001, 12e Avenue Nord, J1H 5N4 Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
| | - Steven Ballet
- Research Group of Organic Chemistry, Departments of Chemistry and Bioengineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
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Previti S, Desgagné M, Tourwé D, Cavelier F, Sarret P, Ballet S. Opening the amino acid toolbox for peptide-based NTS2-selective ligands as promising lead compounds for pain management. J Pept Sci 2022; 29:e3471. [PMID: 36539999 DOI: 10.1002/psc.3471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Revised: 12/17/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Chronic pain is one of the most critical health issues worldwide. Despite considerable efforts to find therapeutic alternatives, opioid drugs remain the gold standard for pain management. The administration of μ-opioid receptor (MOR) agonists is associated with detrimental and limiting adverse effects. Overall, these adverse effects strongly overshadow the effectiveness of opioid therapy. In this context, the development of neurotensin (NT) ligands has shown to be a promising approach for the management of chronic and acute pain. NT exerts its opioid-independent analgesic effects through the binding of two G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), NTS1 and NTS2. In the last decades, modified NT analogues have been proven to provide potent analgesia in vivo. However, selective NTS1 and nonselective NTS1/NTS2 ligands cause antinociception associated with hypothermia and hypotension, whereas selective NTS2 ligands induce analgesia without altering the body temperature and blood pressure. In light of this, various structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies provided findings addressing the binding affinity of ligands towards NTS2. Herein, we comprehensively review peptide-based NTS2-selective ligands as a robust alternative for future pain management. Particular emphasis is placed on SAR studies governing the desired selectivity and associated in vivo results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Santo Previti
- Research Group of Organic Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.,Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Michael Desgagné
- Department of Pharmacology-Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Institut de Pharmacologie de Sherbrooke, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
| | - Dirk Tourwé
- Research Group of Organic Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Florine Cavelier
- Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron, IBMM, UMR 5247, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, ENSCM, Montpellier, France
| | - Philippe Sarret
- Department of Pharmacology-Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Institut de Pharmacologie de Sherbrooke, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
| | - Steven Ballet
- Research Group of Organic Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
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Vivancos M, Fanelli R, Besserer-Offroy É, Beaulieu S, Chartier M, Resua-Rojas M, Mona CE, Previti S, Rémond E, Longpré JM, Cavelier F, Sarret P. Metabolically stable neurotensin analogs exert potent and long-acting analgesia without hypothermia. Behav Brain Res 2021; 405:113189. [PMID: 33607165 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2020] [Revised: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 02/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The endogenous tridecapeptide neurotensin (NT) has emerged as an important inhibitory modulator of pain transmission, exerting its analgesic action through the activation of the G protein-coupled receptors, NTS1 and NTS2. Whereas both NT receptors mediate the analgesic effects of NT, NTS1 activation also produces hypotension and hypothermia, which may represent obstacles for the development of new pain medications. In the present study, we implemented various chemical strategies to improve the metabolic stability of the biologically active fragment NT(8-13) and assessed their NTS1/NTS2 relative binding affinities. We then determined their ability to reduce the nociceptive behaviors in acute, tonic, and chronic pain models and to modulate blood pressure and body temperature. To this end, we synthesized a series of NT(8-13) analogs carrying a reduced amide bond at Lys8-Lys9 and harboring site-selective modifications with unnatural amino acids, such as silaproline (Sip) and trimethylsilylalanine (TMSAla). Incorporation of Sip and TMSAla respectively in positions 10 and 13 of NT(8-13) combined with the Lys8-Lys9 reduced amine bond (JMV5296) greatly prolonged the plasma half-life time over 20 h. These modifications also led to a 25-fold peptide selectivity toward NTS2. More importantly, central delivery of JMV5296 was able to induce a strong antinociceptive effect in acute (tail-flick), tonic (formalin), and chronic inflammatory (CFA) pain models without inducing hypothermia. Altogether, these results demonstrate that the chemically-modified NT(8-13) analog JMV5296 exhibits a better therapeutic profile and may thus represent a promising avenue to guide the development of new stable NT agonists and improve pain management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mélanie Vivancos
- Department of Pharmacology-Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada; Institut de Pharmacologie de Sherbrooke, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada.
| | - Roberto Fanelli
- Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron (IBMM), UMR-CNRS 5247, Université Montpellier, ENSCM, Montpellier, France.
| | - Élie Besserer-Offroy
- Department of Pharmacology-Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada; Institut de Pharmacologie de Sherbrooke, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada.
| | - Sabrina Beaulieu
- Department of Pharmacology-Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada; Institut de Pharmacologie de Sherbrooke, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada.
| | - Magali Chartier
- Department of Pharmacology-Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada; Institut de Pharmacologie de Sherbrooke, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada
| | - Martin Resua-Rojas
- Department of Pharmacology-Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada; Institut de Pharmacologie de Sherbrooke, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada.
| | - Christine E Mona
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Santo Previti
- Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron (IBMM), UMR-CNRS 5247, Université Montpellier, ENSCM, Montpellier, France.
| | - Emmanuelle Rémond
- Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron (IBMM), UMR-CNRS 5247, Université Montpellier, ENSCM, Montpellier, France.
| | - Jean-Michel Longpré
- Department of Pharmacology-Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada; Institut de Pharmacologie de Sherbrooke, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada.
| | - Florine Cavelier
- Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron (IBMM), UMR-CNRS 5247, Université Montpellier, ENSCM, Montpellier, France.
| | - Philippe Sarret
- Department of Pharmacology-Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada; Institut de Pharmacologie de Sherbrooke, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada.
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