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Foster DJ, Dunnavant K, Shrader CW, LoPresti M, Seay S, Kharel Y, Brown AM, Huang T, Lynch KR, Santos WL. Discovery of Potent, Orally Bioavailable Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Transporter (Spns2) Inhibitors. J Med Chem 2024; 67:11273-11295. [PMID: 38952222 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c00879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/03/2024]
Abstract
Targeting the S1P pathway has resulted in the development of S1P1 receptor modulators for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and ulcerative colitis. We hypothesize that targeting an upstream node of the S1P pathway may provide an improved adverse event profile. In this report, we performed a structure-activity relationship study focusing on the benzoxazole scaffold in SLB1122168, which lead to the discovery of 11i (SLF80821178) as a potent inhibitor of S1P release from HeLa cells (IC50: 51 ± 3 nM). Administration of SLF80821178 to mice induced ∼50% reduction in circulating lymphocyte counts, recapitulating the lymphopenia characteristic of Spns2 null animals. Molecular modeling studies suggest that SLF80821178 binds Spns2 in its occluded inward-facing state and forms hydrogen bonds with Asn112 and Ser211 and π stacking with Phe234. Taken together, SLF80821178 can serve as a scaffold for future inhibitor development and represents a chemical tool to study the therapeutic implication of inhibiting Spns2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J Foster
- Department of Chemistry and Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, United States
| | - Kyle Dunnavant
- Department of Chemistry and Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, United States
| | - Christopher W Shrader
- Department of Chemistry and Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, United States
| | - Marion LoPresti
- Department of Biochemistry and Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, United States
| | - Sarah Seay
- Department of Chemistry and Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, United States
| | - Yugesh Kharel
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22908, United States
| | - Anne M Brown
- Department of Biochemistry and Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, United States
| | - Tao Huang
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22908, United States
| | - Kevin R Lynch
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22908, United States
| | - Webster L Santos
- Department of Chemistry and Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, United States
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Kharel Y, Huang T, Dunnavant K, Foster D, Souza G, Nimchuk KE, Merchak AR, Pavelec CM, Juskiewicz ZJ, Gaultier A, Abbott S, Shin JB, Isakson BE, Xu W, Leitinger N, Santos WL, Lynch KR. Assessing Spns2-dependent S1P Transport as a Prospective Therapeutic Target. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.26.586765. [PMID: 38746194 PMCID: PMC11092524 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.26.586765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
S1P (sphingosine 1-phosphate) receptor modulator (SRM) drugs interfere with lymphocyte trafficking by downregulating lymphocyte S1P receptors. While the immunosuppressive activity of SRM drugs has proved useful in treating autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, that drug class is beset by on-target liabilities such as initial dose bradycardia. The S1P that binds to cell surface lymphocyte S1P receptors is provided by S1P transporters. Mice born deficient in one of these, spinster homolog 2 (Spns2), are lymphocytopenic and have low lymph S1P concentrations. Such observations suggest that inhibition of Spns2-mediated S1P transport might provide another therapeutically beneficial method to modulate immune cell positioning. We report here results using a novel S1P transport blocker (STB), SLF80821178, to investigate the consequences of S1P transport inhibition in rodents. We found that SLF80821178 is efficacious in a multiple sclerosis model but - unlike the SRM fingolimod - neither decreases heart rate nor compromises lung endothelial barrier function. Notably, although Spns2 null mice have a sensorineural hearing defect, mice treated chronically with SLF80821178 have normal hearing acuity. STBs such as SLF80821178 evoke a dose-dependent decrease in peripheral blood lymphocyte counts, which affords a reliable pharmacodynamic marker of target engagement. However, the maximal reduction in circulating lymphocyte counts in response to SLF80821178 is substantially less than the response to SRMs such as fingolimod (50% vs. 90%) due to a lesser effect on T lymphocyte sub-populations by SLF80821178. Finally, in contrast to results obtained with Spns2 deficient mice, lymph S1P concentrations were not significantly changed in response to administration of STBs at doses that evoke maximal lymphopenia, which indicates that current understanding of the mechanism of action of S1P transport inhibitors is incomplete.
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Pang B, Yu L, Li T, Jiao H, Wu X, Wang J, He R, Zhang Y, Wang J, Hu H, Dai W, Chen L, Ren R. Molecular basis of Spns2-facilitated sphingosine-1-phosphate transport. Cell Res 2024; 34:173-176. [PMID: 38123824 PMCID: PMC10837133 DOI: 10.1038/s41422-023-00908-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Bin Pang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Metabolic Remodeling and Health, Institute of Metabolism and Integrative Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Kobilka Institute of Innovative Drug Discovery, School of Medicine, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Leiye Yu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Metabolic Remodeling and Health, Institute of Metabolism and Integrative Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Kobilka Institute of Innovative Drug Discovery, School of Medicine, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Tong Li
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Metabolic Remodeling and Health, Institute of Metabolism and Integrative Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Haizhan Jiao
- Kobilka Institute of Innovative Drug Discovery, School of Medicine, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Xiaomei Wu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Metabolic Remodeling and Health, Institute of Metabolism and Integrative Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jinxin Wang
- School of Pharmacy, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ruiping He
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Metabolic Remodeling and Health, Institute of Metabolism and Integrative Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yurou Zhang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Metabolic Remodeling and Health, Institute of Metabolism and Integrative Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Juan Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Metabolic Remodeling and Health, Institute of Metabolism and Integrative Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Hongli Hu
- Kobilka Institute of Innovative Drug Discovery, School of Medicine, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Wei Dai
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Metabolic Remodeling and Health, Institute of Metabolism and Integrative Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
| | - Li Chen
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Metabolic Remodeling and Health, Institute of Metabolism and Integrative Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
- Shanghai Qi Zhi Institute, Shanghai, China.
| | - Ruobing Ren
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Metabolic Remodeling and Health, Institute of Metabolism and Integrative Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
- Shanghai Qi Zhi Institute, Shanghai, China.
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Shrader CW, Foster D, Kharel Y, Huang T, Lynch KR, Santos WL. Imidazole-based sphingosine-1-phosphate transporter Spns2 inhibitors. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2023; 96:129516. [PMID: 37832799 PMCID: PMC10842094 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2023.129516] [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: 07/29/2023] [Revised: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023]
Abstract
Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a chemotactic lipid that influences immune cell positioning. S1P concentration gradients are necessary for proper egress of lymphocytes from the thymus and secondary lymphoid tissues. This trafficking is interdicted by S1P receptor modulators, and it is expected that S1P transporter (Spns2) inhibitors, by reshaping S1P concentration gradients, will do the same. We previously reported SLF1081851 as a prototype Spns2 inhibitor, which provided a scaffold to investigate the importance of the oxadiazole core and the terminal amine. In this report, we disclose a structure-activity relationship study by incorporating imidazole as both a linker and surrogate for a positive charge in SLF1081851. In vitro inhibition of Spns2-dependent S1P transport in HeLa cells identified 7b as an inhibitor with an IC50 of 1.4 ± 0.3 µM. The SAR studies reported herein indicate that imidazolium can be a substitute for the terminal amine in SLF1081851 and that Spns2 inhibition is highly dependent on the lipid alkyl tail length.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher W Shrader
- Department of Chemistry and Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24060, United States
| | - Daniel Foster
- Department of Chemistry and Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24060, United States
| | - Yugesh Kharel
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, United States
| | - Tao Huang
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, United States
| | - Kevin R Lynch
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, United States
| | - Webster L Santos
- Department of Chemistry and Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24060, United States.
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Kharel Y, Huang T, Santos WL, Lynch KR. Assay of Sphingosine 1-phosphate Transporter Spinster Homolog 2 (Spns2) Inhibitors. SLAS DISCOVERY : ADVANCING LIFE SCIENCES R & D 2023; 28:284-287. [PMID: 37454972 DOI: 10.1016/j.slasd.2023.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2022] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
The sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) pathway remains an active area of research for drug discovery because S1P modulators are effective medicine for autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and ulcerative colitis. As such, other nodes in the pathway can be probed for alternative therapeutic candidates. As S1P elicits its function in an 'outside-in' fashion, targeting the transporter, Spns2, which is upstream of the receptors, is of great interest. To support our medicinal chemistry campaign to inhibit S1P transport, we developed a mammalian cell-based assay. In this protocol, Spns2 inhibition is assessed by treating HeLa, U-937, and THP-1 cells with inhibitors and S1P exported in the extracellular milieu is quantified by LC-MS/MS. Our studies demonstrated that the amount of S1P in the media in inversely proportional to inhibitor concentration. The details of our investigations are described herein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yugesh Kharel
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
| | - Tao Huang
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
| | - Webster L Santos
- Department of Chemistry and VT Center for Drug Discovery, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Kevin R Lynch
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA.
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Nguyen LA, Phaenok S, Le DL, Nguyen TTT, Ngo QA, Nguyen TB. Fe/S-Catalyzed Redox Condensation of o-Nitrophenols with Isothiocyanates to 2-Aminobenzoxazoles. Org Lett 2023. [PMID: 37393601 DOI: 10.1021/acs.orglett.3c01897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
As frequently encountered byproducts of isocyanate chemistry, hydrogen sulfide and related sulfur containing compounds should be treated in a safe way to lower their adverse health and environmental effects, especially in large scale syntheses. As a proof of concept, we report herein an example of in situ recycling of sulfur byproduct to reductant in the synthesis of bioactive 2-aminobenzoxazoles 3. Using an Fe/S catalytic system, this heterocyclic scaffold could be obtained from o-nitrophenols 1 with isothiocyates 2 via direct redox condensation consisting of reduction of the nitro group of 1 by the sulfur moiety of 2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Le Anh Nguyen
- Institute of Chemistry, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam
- Graduate University of Science and Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Supasorn Phaenok
- Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles, CNRS UPR 2301, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, 1, av de la Terrasse, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Duc Long Le
- Institute of Chemistry, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam
- Graduate University of Science and Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Thi Thu Tram Nguyen
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Basic Science, Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Can Tho, Vietnam
| | - Quoc Anh Ngo
- Institute of Chemistry, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam
- Graduate University of Science and Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Thanh Binh Nguyen
- Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles, CNRS UPR 2301, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, 1, av de la Terrasse, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
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