1
|
Lu L, Sun N, Wang Y. Development and therapeutic potential of allosteric retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor γt (RORγt) inverse agonists for autoimmune diseases. Eur J Med Chem 2023; 258:115574. [PMID: 37336069 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 06/21/2023]
Abstract
The transcription factor retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor γt (RORγt) is an attractive drug target for some autoimmune diseases owing to its roles in the differentiation of human T helper 17 (Th17) cells which produce pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-17. RORγt agonists and inverse agonists are classically targeted to the hydrophobic and highly conserved orthosteric binding pocket of RORγt ligand binding domain (LBD). Although successful, this approach also brings some challenges, including off-target effects due to lack of selectivity over other nuclear receptors (NRs). Allosteric regulation of RORγt by synthetic small molecules has recently emerged as novel research interests for its interesting modes of action (MOA), satisfying bioactivity profile and improved selectivity. In this review, we delineated the discovery and identification of the allosteric pocket of RORγt. Subsequently, we focused on examples of small molecules that allosterically inhibit RORγt, with a central attention on structural-activity-relationship (SAR) information, biological activity, pharmacokinetic (PK) property, and the ligand binding mode of these compounds. We also discussed the potential role of RORγt allosteric inverse agonists as small molecule therapeutics for autoimmune diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lixue Lu
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, 826 Zhangheng Road, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Nannan Sun
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, 826 Zhangheng Road, Shanghai, 201203, China; School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China
| | - Yonghui Wang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, 826 Zhangheng Road, Shanghai, 201203, China.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Fouda A, Negi S, Zaremba O, Gaidar RS, Moroz YS, Rusanov E, Paraskevas S, Tchervenkov J. Discovery, Synthesis, and In Vitro Characterization of 2,3 Derivatives of 4,5,6,7-Tetrahydro-Benzothiophene as Potent Modulators of Retinoic Acid Receptor-Related Orphan Receptor γt. J Med Chem 2023; 66:7355-7373. [PMID: 37172324 PMCID: PMC10259452 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c00021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor γt (RORγt) is a nuclear receptor that is expressed in a variety of tissues and is a potential drug target for the treatment of inflammatory and auto-immune diseases, metabolic diseases, and resistant cancer types. We herein report the discovery of 2,3 derivatives of 4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-benzothiophene modulators of RORγt. We also report the solubility in acidic/neutral pH, mouse/human/dog/rat microsomal stability, Caco-2, and MDR1-MDCKII permeabilities of a set of these derivatives. For this group of modulators, inverse agonism by steric clashes and push-pull mechanisms induce greater instability to protein conformation compared to agonist lock hydration. Independent of the two mechanisms, we observed a basal modulatory activity of the tested 2,3 derivatives of 4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-benzothiophene toward RORγt due to the interactions with the Cys320-Glu326 and Arg364-Phe377 hydrophilic regions. The drug discovery approach reported in the current study can be employed to discover modulators of nuclear receptors and other globular protein targets.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed Fouda
- Department
of Experimental Surgery, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3G 1A4, Canada
- Research
Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montréal, Québec H3H 2R9, Canada
| | - Sarita Negi
- Research
Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montréal, Québec H3H 2R9, Canada
| | | | | | - Yurii S. Moroz
- Chemspace
LLC, Kyïv 02094, Ukraine
- Taras
Shevchenko National University of Kyïv, Kyïv 01601, Ukraine
| | - Eduard Rusanov
- Institute
of Organic Chemistry, National Academy of
Sciences of Ukraine, Kyïv 02094, Ukraine
- Department
of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH
Zürich, Zürich CH-8093, Switzerland
| | - Steven Paraskevas
- Department
of Experimental Surgery, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3G 1A4, Canada
- Research
Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montréal, Québec H3H 2R9, Canada
- Department
of Surgery, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3G 1A4, Canada
- McGill
University Health Centre, Montréal, Québec H4A 3J1, Canada
| | - Jean Tchervenkov
- Department
of Experimental Surgery, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3G 1A4, Canada
- Research
Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montréal, Québec H3H 2R9, Canada
- Department
of Surgery, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3G 1A4, Canada
- McGill
University Health Centre, Montréal, Québec H4A 3J1, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Pitsillou E, Liang JJ, Beh RC, Hung A, Karagiannis TC. Identification of dietary compounds that interact with the circadian clock machinery: Molecular docking and structural similarity analysis. J Mol Graph Model 2023; 123:108529. [PMID: 37263157 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmgm.2023.108529] [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: 03/20/2023] [Revised: 05/11/2023] [Accepted: 05/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
The molecular clock is vital for regulating circadian rhythms in various physiological processes, and its dysregulation is associated with multiple diseases. As such, the use of small molecule modulators to regulate the molecular clock presents a promising therapeutic approach. In this study, we generated a homology model of the human circadian locomotor output cycles kaput (CLOCK) protein to evaluate its ligand binding sites. Using molecular docking, we obtained further insights into the binding mode of the control compound CLK8 and explored a selection of dietary compounds. Our investigation of dietary compounds was guided by their potential interactions with the retinoic acid-related orphan receptors RORα/γ, which are involved in circadian regulation. Through the molecular similarity and docking analyses, we identified oleanolic acid demethyl, 3-epi-lupeol, and taraxasterol as potential ROR-interacting compounds. These compounds may exert therapeutic effects through their modulation of RORα/γ activity and subsequently influence the molecular clock. Overall, our study highlights the potential of small molecule modulators in regulating the molecular clock and the importance of exploring dietary compounds as a source of such modulators. Our findings also provide insights into the binding mechanisms of CLK8 and shed light on potential compounds that can interact with RORs to regulate the molecular clock. Future investigations could focus on validating the efficacy of these compounds in modulating the molecular clock and their potential use as therapeutic agents.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eleni Pitsillou
- Epigenomic Medicine Laboratory at ProspED, Carlton, VIC, 3053, Australia; School of Science, STEM College, RMIT University, VIC, 3001, Australia
| | - Julia J Liang
- Epigenomic Medicine Laboratory at ProspED, Carlton, VIC, 3053, Australia; School of Science, STEM College, RMIT University, VIC, 3001, Australia
| | - Raymond C Beh
- Epigenomic Medicine Laboratory at ProspED, Carlton, VIC, 3053, Australia; School of Science, STEM College, RMIT University, VIC, 3001, Australia
| | - Andrew Hung
- School of Science, STEM College, RMIT University, VIC, 3001, Australia
| | - Tom C Karagiannis
- Epigenomic Medicine Laboratory at ProspED, Carlton, VIC, 3053, Australia; Department of Clinical Pathology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Sun N, Yu M, Jiang Z, Yang F, Lu L, Xia Y, Zhao Y, Huang Y, Chen S, Chen S, Luo C, Wang Y, Xie Q. Optimization of carbazole carboxamide RORγt agonists: Challenges in improving the metabolic stability and maintaining the agonistic activity. Eur J Med Chem 2023; 251:115213. [PMID: 36905917 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115213] [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: 11/22/2022] [Revised: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023]
Abstract
Based on two previously discovered carbazole carboxamide retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor-γt (RORγt) agonists 6 and 7 (t1/2 = 8.7 min and 16.4 min in mouse liver microsome, respectively), new carbazole carboxamides were designed and synthesized according to the molecular mechanism of action (MOA) and metabolic site analysis with the aim of identifying novel RORγt agonists with optimal pharmacological and metabolic profiles. By modifying the "agonist lock" touching substitutions on carbazole ring, introducing heteroatoms into different parts of the molecule and attaching a side chain to the sulfonyl benzyl moiety, several potent RORγt agonists were identified with greatly improved metabolic stability. Best overall properties were achieved in compound (R)-10f with high agonistic activities in RORγt dual FRET (EC50 = 15.6 nM) and Gal4 reporter gene (EC50 = 141 nM) assays and greatly improved metabolic stability (t1/2 > 145 min) in mouse liver microsome. Besides, the binding modes of (R)-10f and (S)-10f in RORγt ligand binding domain (LBD) were also studied. Altogether, the optimization of carbazole carboxamides led to the discovery of (R)-10f as a potential small molecule therapeutics for cancer immunotherapy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nannan Sun
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, 826 Zhangheng Road, Pudong, Shanghai, 201203, China; Fudan Zhangjiang Institute, Shanghai, 201203, China; School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China
| | - Mingcheng Yu
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, 826 Zhangheng Road, Pudong, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Zhengyuan Jiang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, 826 Zhangheng Road, Pudong, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Feng Yang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, 826 Zhangheng Road, Pudong, Shanghai, 201203, China; Drug Discovery and Design Center, State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 555 Zuchongzhi Road, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Lixue Lu
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, 826 Zhangheng Road, Pudong, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Yuehan Xia
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, 826 Zhangheng Road, Pudong, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Yunpeng Zhao
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, 826 Zhangheng Road, Pudong, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Yafei Huang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, 826 Zhangheng Road, Pudong, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Song Chen
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, 826 Zhangheng Road, Pudong, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Shijie Chen
- Drug Discovery and Design Center, State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 555 Zuchongzhi Road, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Cheng Luo
- Drug Discovery and Design Center, State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 555 Zuchongzhi Road, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Yonghui Wang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, 826 Zhangheng Road, Pudong, Shanghai, 201203, China.
| | - Qiong Xie
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, 826 Zhangheng Road, Pudong, Shanghai, 201203, China; Fudan Zhangjiang Institute, Shanghai, 201203, China.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Zhang J, Chen B, Zhang C, Sun N, Huang X, Wang W, Fu W. Modes of action insights from the crystallographic structures of retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor-γt (RORγt). Eur J Med Chem 2023; 247:115039. [PMID: 36566711 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.115039] [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: 10/26/2022] [Revised: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
RORγt plays an important role in mediating IL-17 production and some tumor cells. It has four functional domains, of which the ligand-binding domain (LBD) is responsible for binding agonists to recruit co-activators or inverse agonists to prevent co-activator recruiting the agonists. Thus, potent ligands targeting the LBD of this protein could provide novel treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases. In this perspective, we summarized and discussed various modes of action (MOA) of RORγt-ligand binding structures. The ligands can bind with RORγt at either orthosteric site or the allosteric site, and the binding modes at these two sites are different for agonists and inverse agonist. At the orthosteric site, the binding of agonist is to stabilize the H479-Y502-F506 triplet interaction network of RORγt. The binding of inverse agonist features as these four apparent ways: (1) blocking the entrance of the agonist pocket in RORγt; (2) directly breaking the H479-Y502 pair interactions; (3) destabilizing the triplet H479-Y502-F506 interaction network through perturbing the conformation of the side chain in M358 at the bottom of the binding pocket; (4) and destabilizing the triplet H479-Y502-F506 through changing the conformation of the side chain of residue W317 side chain. At the allosteric site of RORγt, the binding of inverse agonist was found recently to inhibit the activation of protein by interacting directly with H12, which results in unfolding of helix 11' and orientation of H12 to directly block cofactor peptide binding. This overview of recent advances in the RORγt structures is expected to provide a guidance of designing more potent drugs to treat RORγt-related diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Junjie Zhang
- School of Pharmacy & Minhang Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201301, PR China
| | - Baiyu Chen
- School of Pharmacy & Minhang Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201301, PR China
| | - Chao Zhang
- School of Pharmacy & Minhang Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201301, PR China
| | - Nannan Sun
- School of Pharmacy & Minhang Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201301, PR China
| | - Xiaoqin Huang
- Center for Research Computing, Office of Information Technology, Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Wuqing Wang
- School of Pharmacy & Minhang Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201301, PR China
| | - Wei Fu
- School of Pharmacy & Minhang Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201301, PR China.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Govindaraj RG, Thangapandian S, Schauperl M, Denny RA, Diller DJ. Recent applications of computational methods to allosteric drug discovery. Front Mol Biosci 2023; 9:1070328. [PMID: 36710877 PMCID: PMC9877542 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.1070328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Interest in exploiting allosteric sites for the development of new therapeutics has grown considerably over the last two decades. The chief driving force behind the interest in allostery for drug discovery stems from the fact that in comparison to orthosteric sites, allosteric sites are less conserved across a protein family, thereby offering greater opportunity for selectivity and ultimately tolerability. While there is significant overlap between structure-based drug design for orthosteric and allosteric sites, allosteric sites offer additional challenges mostly involving the need to better understand protein flexibility and its relationship to protein function. Here we examine the extent to which structure-based drug design is impacting allosteric drug design by highlighting several targets across a variety of target classes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rajiv Gandhi Govindaraj
- Computational Chemistry, HotSpot Therapeutics Inc., Boston, MA, United States,*Correspondence: Rajiv Gandhi Govindaraj,
| | | | - Michael Schauperl
- Computational Chemistry, HotSpot Therapeutics Inc., Boston, MA, United States
| | | | - David J. Diller
- Computational Chemistry, HotSpot Therapeutics Inc., Boston, MA, United States
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Yu MC, Yang F, Ding XY, Sun NN, Jiang ZY, Huang YF, Yan YR, Zhu C, Xie Q, Chen ZF, Guo SQ, Jiang HL, Chen KX, Luo C, Luo XM, Chen SJ, Wang YH. Crystallography-guided discovery of carbazole-based retinoic acid-related orphan receptor gamma-t (RORγt) modulators: insights into different protein behaviors with "short" and "long" inverse agonists. Acta Pharmacol Sin 2021; 42:1524-1534. [PMID: 33239687 PMCID: PMC8379218 DOI: 10.1038/s41401-020-00552-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2020] [Accepted: 10/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A series of 6-substituted carbazole-based retinoic acid-related orphan receptor gamma-t (RORγt) modulators were discovered through 6-position modification guided by insights from the crystallographic profiles of the "short" inverse agonist 6. With the increase in the size of the 6-position substituents, the "short" inverse agonist 6 first reversed its function to agonists and then to "long" inverse agonists. The cocrystal structures of RORγt complexed with the representative "short" inverse agonist 6 (PDB: 6LOB), the agonist 7d (PDB: 6LOA) and the "long" inverse agonist 7h (PDB: 6LO9) were revealed by X-ray analysis. However, minor differences were found in the binding modes of "short" inverse agonist 6 and "long" inverse agonist 7h. To further reveal the molecular mechanisms of different RORγt inverse agonists, we performed molecular dynamics simulations and found that "short" or "long" inverse agonists led to different behaviors of helixes H11, H11', and H12 of RORγt. The "short" inverse agonist 6 destabilizes H11' and dislocates H12, while the "long" inverse agonist 7h separates H11 and unwinds H12. The results indicate that the two types of inverse agonists may behave differently in downstream signaling, which may help identify novel inverse agonists with different regulatory mechanisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ming-Cheng Yu
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Feng Yang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201203, China
- Drug Discovery and Design Center, State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Xiao-Yu Ding
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
- Drug Discovery and Design Center, State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Nan-Nan Sun
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201203, China
- Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, The Ministry of Education, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Zheng-Yuan Jiang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Ya-Fei Huang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Yu-Rong Yan
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Chen Zhu
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Qiong Xie
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201203, China
- Fudan Zhangjiang Institute, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Zhi-Feng Chen
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
- Drug Discovery and Design Center, State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Si-Qi Guo
- Drug Discovery and Design Center, State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Hua-Liang Jiang
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
- Drug Discovery and Design Center, State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201203, China
- School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, UCAS, Hangzhou, 310024, China
| | - Kai-Xian Chen
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
- Drug Discovery and Design Center, State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Cheng Luo
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
- Drug Discovery and Design Center, State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201203, China
- School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, UCAS, Hangzhou, 310024, China
| | - Xiao-Min Luo
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
- Drug Discovery and Design Center, State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201203, China.
| | - Shi-Jie Chen
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
- Drug Discovery and Design Center, State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201203, China.
| | - Yong-Hui Wang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201203, China.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Leijten-van de Gevel IA, Brunsveld L. Delineation of the molecular determinants of the unique allosteric binding site of the orphan nuclear receptor RORγt. J Biol Chem 2020; 295:9183-9191. [PMID: 32439807 PMCID: PMC7335795 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra120.013581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2020] [Revised: 05/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Nuclear receptors (NRs) are high-interest targets in drug discovery because of their involvement in numerous biological processes and diseases. Classically, NRs are targeted via their hydrophobic, orthosteric pocket. Although successful, this approach comes with challenges, including off-target effects due to lack of selectivity. Allosteric modulation of NR activity constitutes a promising pharmacological strategy. The retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor-γt (RORγt) is a constitutively active NR that positively regulates the expression of interleukin-17 in T helper 17 cells. Inhibiting this process is an emerging strategy for managing autoimmune diseases. Recently, an allosteric binding pocket in the C-terminal region of the ligand-binding domain (LBD) of RORγt was discovered that is amenable to small-molecule drug discovery. Compounds binding this pocket induce a reorientation of helix 12, thereby preventing coactivator recruitment. Therefore, inverse agonists binding this site with high affinity are actively being pursued. To elucidate the pocket formation mechanism, verify the uniqueness of this pocket, and substantiate the relevance of targeting this site, here we identified the key characteristics of the RORγt allosteric region. We evaluated the effects of substitutions in the LBD on coactivator, orthosteric, and allosteric ligand binding. We found that two molecular elements unique to RORγt, the length of helix 11' and a Gln-487 residue, are crucial for the formation of the allosteric pocket. The unique combination of elements present in RORγt suggests a high potential for subtype-selective targeting of this NR to more effectively treat patients with autoimmune diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Iris A Leijten-van de Gevel
- Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, Eindhoven, the Netherlands
| | - Luc Brunsveld
- Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Discovery of novel N-sulfonamide-tetrahydroquinolines as potent retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor γt inverse agonists for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Eur J Med Chem 2020; 187:111984. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2019.111984] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2019] [Revised: 12/11/2019] [Accepted: 12/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
|