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Eliasof A, Liu-Chen LY, Li Y. Peptide-derived ligands for the discovery of safer opioid analgesics. Drug Discov Today 2024; 29:103950. [PMID: 38514040 PMCID: PMC11127667 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2024.103950] [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: 12/08/2023] [Revised: 03/03/2024] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024]
Abstract
Drugs targeting the μ-opioid receptor (MOR) remain the most efficacious analgesics for the treatment of pain, but activation of MOR with current opioid analgesics also produces harmful side effects, notably physical dependence, addiction, and respiratory depression. Opioid peptides have been accepted as promising candidates for the development of safer and more efficacious analgesics. To develop peptide-based opioid analgesics, strategies such as modification of endogenous opioid peptides, development of multifunctional opioid peptides, G protein-biased opioid peptides, and peripherally restricted opioid peptides have been reported. This review seeks to provide an overview of the opioid peptides that produce potent antinociception with much reduced side effects in animal models and highlight the potential advantages of peptides as safer opioid analgesics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abbe Eliasof
- College of Pharmacy, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
| | - Lee-Yuan Liu-Chen
- Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA
| | - Yangmei Li
- College of Pharmacy, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
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Li Y, Eans SO, Ganno-Sherwood M, Eliasof A, Houghten RA, McLaughlin JP. Identification and Pharmacological Characterization of a Low-Liability Antinociceptive Bifunctional MOR/DOR Cyclic Peptide. Molecules 2023; 28:7548. [PMID: 38005269 PMCID: PMC10674865 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28227548] [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: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 11/04/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Peptide-based opioid ligands are important candidates for the development of novel, safer, and more effective analgesics to treat pain. To develop peptide-based safer analgesics, we synthesized a mixture-based cyclic pentapeptide library containing a total of 24,624 pentapeptides and screened the mixture-based library samples using a 55 °C warm water tail-withdrawal assay. Using this phenotypic screening approach, we deconvoluted the mixture-based samples to identify a novel cyclic peptide Tyr-[D-Lys-Dap(Ant)-Thr-Gly] (CycloAnt), which produced dose- and time-dependent antinociception with an ED50 (and 95% confidence interval) of 0.70 (0.52-0.97) mg/kg i.p. mediated by the mu-opioid receptor (MOR). Additionally, higher doses (≥3 mg/kg, i.p.) of CycloAnt antagonized delta-opioid receptors (DOR) for at least 3 h. Pharmacological characterization of CycloAnt showed the cyclic peptide did not reduce breathing rate in mice at doses up to 15 times the analgesic ED50 value, and produced dramatically less hyperlocomotion than the MOR agonist, morphine. While chronic administration of CycloAnt resulted in antinociceptive tolerance, it was without opioid-induced hyperalgesia and with significantly reduced signs of naloxone-precipitated withdrawal, which suggested reduced physical dependence compared to morphine. Collectively, the results suggest this dual MOR/DOR multifunctional ligand is an excellent lead for the development of peptide-based safer analgesics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yangmei Li
- College of Pharmacy, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA;
| | - Shainnel O. Eans
- Department of Pharmacodynamics, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA;
| | - Michelle Ganno-Sherwood
- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, Port St. Lucie, FL 34987, USA; (M.G.-S.); (R.A.H.)
| | - Abbe Eliasof
- College of Pharmacy, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA;
| | - Richard A. Houghten
- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, Port St. Lucie, FL 34987, USA; (M.G.-S.); (R.A.H.)
| | - Jay P. McLaughlin
- Department of Pharmacodynamics, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA;
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The chronological evolution of fluorescent GPCR probes for bioimaging. Coord Chem Rev 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ccr.2023.215040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
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Drakopoulos A, Decker M. Development and Biological Applications of Fluorescent Opioid Ligands. Chempluschem 2020; 85:1354-1364. [DOI: 10.1002/cplu.202000212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2020] [Revised: 05/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Antonios Drakopoulos
- Pharmaceutical and Medicinal ChemistryInstitute of Pharmacy and Food ChemistryJulius Maximilian University of Würzburg 97074 Würzburg Germany
| | - Michael Decker
- Pharmaceutical and Medicinal ChemistryInstitute of Pharmacy and Food ChemistryJulius Maximilian University of Würzburg 97074 Würzburg Germany
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Madariaga-Mazón A, Marmolejo-Valencia AF, Li Y, Toll L, Houghten RA, Martinez-Mayorga K. Mu-Opioid receptor biased ligands: A safer and painless discovery of analgesics? Drug Discov Today 2017; 22:1719-1729. [PMID: 28743488 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2017.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2017] [Revised: 06/24/2017] [Accepted: 07/07/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Biased activation of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) is shifting drug discovery efforts and appears promising for the development of safer drugs. The most effective analgesics to treat acute pain are agonists of the μ opioid receptor (μ-OR), a member of the GPCR superfamily. However, the analgesic use of opioid drugs, such as morphine, is hindered by adverse effects. Only a few μ-OR agonists have been reported to selectively activate the Gi over β-arrestin signaling pathway, resulting in lower gastrointestinal dysfunction and respiratory suppression. Here, we discuss the strategies that led to the development of biased μ-OR agonists, and potential areas for improvement, with an emphasis on structural aspects of the ligand-receptor recognition process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abraham Madariaga-Mazón
- Instituto de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 3000, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | - Andrés F Marmolejo-Valencia
- Instituto de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 3000, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | - Yangmei Li
- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, 11350 SW Village Pkwy, Port St. Lucie, FL 34987, USA
| | - Lawrence Toll
- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, 11350 SW Village Pkwy, Port St. Lucie, FL 34987, USA
| | - Richard A Houghten
- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, 11350 SW Village Pkwy, Port St. Lucie, FL 34987, USA
| | - Karina Martinez-Mayorga
- Instituto de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 3000, Mexico City 04510, Mexico.
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Li Y, Cazares M, Wu J, Houghten RA, Toll L, Dooley C. Potent μ-Opioid Receptor Agonists from Cyclic Peptides Tyr-c[D-Lys-Xxx-Tyr-Gly]: Synthesis, Biological, and Structural Evaluation. J Med Chem 2016; 59:1239-45. [PMID: 26789491 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.5b01899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
To optimize the structure of a μ-opioid receptor ligand, analogs H-Tyr-c[D-Lys-Xxx-Tyr-Gly] were synthesized and their biological activity was tested. The analog containing a Phe(3) was identified as not only exhibiting binding affinity 14-fold higher than the original hit but also producing agonist activity 3-fold more potent than morphine. NMR study suggested that a trans conformation at D-Lys(2)-Xxx(3) is crucial for these cyclic peptides to maintain high affinity, selectivity, and functional activity toward the μ-opioid receptor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yangmei Li
- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies , 11350 SW Village Parkway, Port St. Lucie, Florida 34987, United States
| | - Margret Cazares
- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies , 11350 SW Village Parkway, Port St. Lucie, Florida 34987, United States
| | - Jinhua Wu
- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies , 11350 SW Village Parkway, Port St. Lucie, Florida 34987, United States
| | - Richard A Houghten
- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies , 11350 SW Village Parkway, Port St. Lucie, Florida 34987, United States
| | - Laurence Toll
- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies , 11350 SW Village Parkway, Port St. Lucie, Florida 34987, United States
| | - Colette Dooley
- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies , 11350 SW Village Parkway, Port St. Lucie, Florida 34987, United States
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Armishaw CJ, Banerjee J, Ganno ML, Reilley KJ, Eans SO, Mizrachi E, Gyanda R, Hoot MR, Houghten RA, McLaughlin JP. Discovery of novel antinociceptive α-conotoxin analogues from the direct in vivo screening of a synthetic mixture-based combinatorial library. ACS COMBINATORIAL SCIENCE 2013; 15:153-61. [PMID: 23414173 DOI: 10.1021/co300152x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Marine cone snail venoms consist of large, naturally occurring combinatorial libraries of disulfide-constrained peptide neurotoxins known as conotoxins, which have profound potential in the development of analgesics. In this study, we report a synthetic combinatorial strategy that probes the hypervariable regions of conotoxin frameworks to discover novel analgesic agents by utilizing high diversity mixture-based positional-scanning synthetic combinatorial libraries (PS-SCLs). We hypothesized that the direct in vivo testing of these mixture-based combinatorial library samples during the discovery phase would facilitate the identification of novel individual compounds with desirable antinociceptive profiles while simultaneously eliminating many compounds with poor activity or liabilities of locomotion and respiration. A PS-SCL was designed based on the α-conotoxin RgIA-ΔR n-loop region and consisted of 10,648 compounds systematically arranged into 66 mixture samples. Mixtures were directly screened in vivo using the mouse 55 °C warm-water tail-withdrawal assay, which allowed deconvolution of amino acid residues at each position that confer antinociceptive activity. A second generation library of 36 individual α-conotoxin analogues was synthesized using systematic combinations of amino acids identified from PS-SCL deconvolution and further screened for antinociceptive activity. Six individual analogues exhibited comparable antinociceptive activity to that of the recognized analgesic α-conotoxin RgIA-ΔR, and were selected for further examination of antinociceptive, respiratory, and locomotor effects. Three lead compounds were identified that produced dose-dependent antinociception without significant respiratory depression or decreased locomotor activity. Our results represent a unique approach for rapidly developing novel lead α-conotoxin analogues as low-liability analgesics with promising therapeutic potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher J. Armishaw
- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, 11350 SW Village Pkwy, Port St. Lucie, Florida
34987, United States
| | - Jayati Banerjee
- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, 11350 SW Village Pkwy, Port St. Lucie, Florida
34987, United States
| | - Michelle L. Ganno
- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, 11350 SW Village Pkwy, Port St. Lucie, Florida
34987, United States
| | - Kate J. Reilley
- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, 11350 SW Village Pkwy, Port St. Lucie, Florida
34987, United States
| | - Shainnel O. Eans
- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, 11350 SW Village Pkwy, Port St. Lucie, Florida
34987, United States
| | - Elisa Mizrachi
- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, 11350 SW Village Pkwy, Port St. Lucie, Florida
34987, United States
| | - Reena Gyanda
- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, 11350 SW Village Pkwy, Port St. Lucie, Florida
34987, United States
| | - Michelle R. Hoot
- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, 11350 SW Village Pkwy, Port St. Lucie, Florida
34987, United States
| | - Richard A. Houghten
- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, 11350 SW Village Pkwy, Port St. Lucie, Florida
34987, United States
| | - Jay P. McLaughlin
- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, 11350 SW Village Pkwy, Port St. Lucie, Florida
34987, United States
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