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Lin G, Feng Y, Cai X, Zhou C, Shao L, Chen Y, Chen L, Liu Q, Zhou Q, Bathgate RA, Yang D, Wang MW. High-Throughput Screening Campaign Identified a Potential Small Molecule RXFP3/4 Agonist. Molecules 2021; 26:molecules26247511. [PMID: 34946593 PMCID: PMC8709172 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26247511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Revised: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Relaxin/insulin-like family peptide receptor 3 (RXFP3) belongs to class A G protein-coupled receptor family. RXFP3 and its endogenous ligand relaxin-3 are mainly expressed in the brain with important roles in the regulation of appetite, energy metabolism, endocrine homeostasis and emotional processing. It is therefore implicated as a potential target for treatment of various central nervous system diseases. Since selective agonists of RXFP3 are restricted to relaxin-3 and its analogs, we conducted a high-throughput screening campaign against 32,021 synthetic and natural product-derived compounds using a cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) measurement-based method. Only one compound, WNN0109-C011, was identified following primary screening, secondary screening and dose-response studies. Although displayed agonistic effect in cells overexpressing the human RXFP3, it also showed cross-reactivity with the human RXFP4. This hit compound may provide not only a chemical probe to investigate the function of RXFP3/4, but also a novel scaffold for the development of RXFP3/4 agonists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangyao Lin
- The National Center for Drug Screening, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China; (G.L.); (Y.F.); (X.C.); (C.Z.); (L.C.); (Q.L.)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;
| | - Yang Feng
- The National Center for Drug Screening, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China; (G.L.); (Y.F.); (X.C.); (C.Z.); (L.C.); (Q.L.)
| | - Xiaoqing Cai
- The National Center for Drug Screening, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China; (G.L.); (Y.F.); (X.C.); (C.Z.); (L.C.); (Q.L.)
| | - Caihong Zhou
- The National Center for Drug Screening, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China; (G.L.); (Y.F.); (X.C.); (C.Z.); (L.C.); (Q.L.)
| | - Lijun Shao
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;
- School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai 201210, China
| | - Yan Chen
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; (Y.C.); (Q.Z.)
| | - Linhai Chen
- The National Center for Drug Screening, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China; (G.L.); (Y.F.); (X.C.); (C.Z.); (L.C.); (Q.L.)
| | - Qing Liu
- The National Center for Drug Screening, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China; (G.L.); (Y.F.); (X.C.); (C.Z.); (L.C.); (Q.L.)
| | - Qingtong Zhou
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; (Y.C.); (Q.Z.)
| | - Ross A.D. Bathgate
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia;
| | - Dehua Yang
- The National Center for Drug Screening, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China; (G.L.); (Y.F.); (X.C.); (C.Z.); (L.C.); (Q.L.)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;
- The CAS Key Laboratory of Receptor Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China
- Research Center for Deepsea Bioresources, Sanya 572025, Hainan, China
- Correspondence: (D.Y.); (M.-W.W.)
| | - Ming-Wei Wang
- The National Center for Drug Screening, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China; (G.L.); (Y.F.); (X.C.); (C.Z.); (L.C.); (Q.L.)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;
- School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai 201210, China
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; (Y.C.); (Q.Z.)
- The CAS Key Laboratory of Receptor Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China
- Research Center for Deepsea Bioresources, Sanya 572025, Hainan, China
- Correspondence: (D.Y.); (M.-W.W.)
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Lin L, Lin G, Zhou Q, Bathgate RAD, Gong GQ, Yang D, Liu Q, Wang MW. Design, synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of tricyclic derivatives as selective RXFP4 agonists. Bioorg Chem 2021; 110:104782. [PMID: 33730669 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2021.104782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2020] [Revised: 02/07/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Relaxin family peptide receptors (RXFPs) are the potential therapeutic targets for neurological, cardiovascular, and metabolic indications. Among them, RXFP3 and RXFP4 (formerly known as GPR100 or GPCR142) are homologous class A G protein-coupled receptors with short N-terminal domain. Ligands of RXFP3 or RXFP4 are only limited to endogenous peptides and their analogues, and no natural product or synthetic agonists have been reported to date except for a scaffold of indole-containing derivatives as dual agonists of RXFP3 and RXFP4. In this study, a new scaffold of tricyclic derivatives represented by compound 7a was disclosed as a selective RXFP4 agonist after a high-throughput screening campaign against a diverse library of 52,000 synthetic and natural compounds. Two rounds of structural modification around this scaffold were performed focusing on three parts: 2-chlorophenyl group, 4-hydroxylphenyl group and its skeleton including cyclohexane-1,3-dione and 1,2,4-triazole group. Compound 14b with a new skeleton of 7,9-dihydro-4H-thiopyrano[3,4-d][1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidin-8(5H)-one was thus obtained. The enantiomers of 7a and 14b were also resolved with their 9-(S)-conformer favoring RXFP4 agonism. Compared with 7a, compound 9-(S)-14b exhibited 2.3-fold higher efficacy and better selectivity for RXFP4 (selective ratio of RXFP4 vs. RXFP3 for 9-(S)-14b and 7a were 26.9 and 13.9, respectively).
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Lin
- School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Guangyao Lin
- School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai 201210, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Qingtong Zhou
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Ross A D Bathgate
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Grace Qun Gong
- The National Center for Drug Screening and CAS Key Laboratory of Receptor Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Dehua Yang
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; The National Center for Drug Screening and CAS Key Laboratory of Receptor Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai 201203, China.
| | - Qing Liu
- The National Center for Drug Screening and CAS Key Laboratory of Receptor Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai 201203, China.
| | - Ming-Wei Wang
- School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, China; School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai 201210, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; The National Center for Drug Screening and CAS Key Laboratory of Receptor Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai 201203, China.
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3
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Li HZ, Li N, Shao XX, Liu YL, Xu ZG, Guo ZY. Hydrophobic interactions of relaxin family peptide receptor 3 with ligands identified using a NanoBiT-based binding assay. Biochimie 2020; 177:117-126. [PMID: 32810565 DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2020.08.008] [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: 04/22/2020] [Revised: 06/23/2020] [Accepted: 08/12/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Relaxin family peptide receptor 3 (RXFP3) is a G protein-coupled receptor implicated in the regulation of food intake and stress response upon activation by the neuropeptide relaxin-3. In recent studies, interactions of RXFP3 with some natural or synthetic ligands have been investigated. In the present study, we identified the hydrophobic interactions of human RXFP3 with the chimeric agonist R3/I5 and the chimeric antagonist R3(ΔB23-27)R/I5 using a newly developed NanoBiT-based homogenous binding assay. We first demonstrated that the conserved large aliphatic B15Ile and B19Ile were important for the binding of the agonist and antagonist to RXFP3, because alanine replacement significantly decreased their receptor-binding potency. Thereafter, we demonstrated that the conserved large aliphatic Leu246 and Leu248 in extracellular loop 2 were important for RXFP3 binding to the agonist and antagonist, because alanine replacement significantly decreased the binding affinity of RXFP3 for both ligands. Finally, we deduced probable hydrophobic interactions based on the ability of RXFP3 mutants to distinguish the wild-type and mutant ligands: Leu246 of RXFP3 interacted with B15Ile of both ligands, while Leu248 of RXFP3 interacted with both B15Ile and B19Ile of the agonist and antagonist. The present results not only provided new insights into the interaction mechanism of RXFP3 with agonists and antagonists, but also demonstrated usefulness of the NanoBiT-based homogenous binding assay to study the interaction mechanism of certain receptors with their ligands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao-Zheng Li
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ning Li
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiao-Xia Shao
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ya-Li Liu
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zeng-Guang Xu
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhan-Yun Guo
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
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DeChristopher B, Park SH, Vong L, Bamford D, Cho HH, Duvadie R, Fedolak A, Hogan C, Honda T, Pandey P, Rozhitskaya O, Su L, Tomlinson E, Wallace I. Discovery of a small molecule RXFP3/4 agonist that increases food intake in rats upon acute central administration. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2019; 29:991-994. [PMID: 30824200 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2019.02.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2018] [Revised: 01/04/2019] [Accepted: 02/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
The relaxin family peptide receptors have been implicated in numerous physiological processes including energy homeostasis, cardiac function, wound healing, and reproductive function. Two family members, RXFP3 and RXFP4, are class A GPCRs with endogenous peptide ligands (relaxin-3 and insulin-like peptide 5 (INSL5), respectively). Polymorphisms in relaxin-3 and RXFP3 have been associated with obesity, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia. Moreover, central administration of relaxin-3 in rats has been shown to increase food intake, leading to body weight gain. Reported RXFP3 and RXFP4 ligands have been restricted to peptides (both endogenous and synthetic) as well as a low molecular weight positive allosteric modulator requiring a non-endogenous orthosteric ligand. Described here is the discovery of the first potent low molecular weight dual agonists of RXFP3/4. The scaffold identified is competitive with a chimeric relaxin-3/INSL5 peptide for RXFP3 binding, elicits similar downstream signaling as relaxin-3, and increases food intake in rats following acute central administration. This is the first report of small molecule RXFP3/4 agonism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian DeChristopher
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 250 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States.
| | - Soo-Hee Park
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 250 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Linh Vong
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 250 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Derek Bamford
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 250 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Hyun-Hee Cho
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 250 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Rohit Duvadie
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 250 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Allison Fedolak
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 250 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Christopher Hogan
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 250 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Toshiyuki Honda
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 250 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Pramod Pandey
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 250 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Olga Rozhitskaya
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 250 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Liansheng Su
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 250 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Elizabeth Tomlinson
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 250 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Iain Wallace
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 250 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
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5
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Wang JH, Shao XX, Hu MJ, Liu YL, Xu ZG, Guo ZY. Functionality of an absolutely conserved glycine residue in the chimeric relaxin family peptide R3/I5. Amino Acids 2019; 51:619-626. [PMID: 30604098 DOI: 10.1007/s00726-018-02694-y] [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: 10/11/2018] [Accepted: 12/22/2018] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
The insulin superfamily is a group of homologous proteins that are further divided into the insulin family and relaxin family according to their distinct receptors. All insulin superfamily members contain three absolutely conserved disulfide linkages and a nonchiral Gly residue immediately following the first B-chain cysteine. The functionality of this conserved Gly residue in the insulin family has been studied by replacing it with natural L-amino acids or the corresponding unnatural D-amino acids. However, such analysis has not been conducted on relaxin family members. In the present study, we conducted chiral mutagenesis on the conserved B11Gly of the chimeric relaxin family peptide R3/I5, which is an efficient agonist for receptor RXFP3 and RXFP4. Similar to the effects on insulin family foldability, L-Ala or L-Ser substitution completely abolished the in vitro refolding of a recombinant R3/I5 precursor; whereas, D-Ala or D-Ser substitution had no detrimental effect on refolding of a semi-synthetic R3/I5 precursor, suggesting that the conserved Gly residue controls the foldability of relaxin family members. In contrast to the effect on insulin family activity, D-Ala or D-Ser replacement had no detrimental effect on the binding and activation potencies of the mature R3/I5 towards both RXFP3 and RXFP4, suggesting that the conserved Gly residue is irrelevant to the relaxin family's activity. The present study revealed functionality of the conserved B-chain Gly residue for a relaxin family peptide for the first time, providing an overview of its contribution to foldability and activity of the insulin superfamily.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia-Hui Wang
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiao-Xia Shao
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Meng-Jun Hu
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ya-Li Liu
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zeng-Guang Xu
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhan-Yun Guo
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
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6
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Wang JH, Hu MJ, Zhang L, Shao XX, Lv CH, Liu YL, Xu ZG, Guo ZY. Exploring receptor selectivity of the chimeric relaxin family peptide R3/I5 by incorporating unnatural amino acids. Biochimie 2018; 154:77-85. [PMID: 30102931 DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2018.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2018] [Accepted: 08/07/2018] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Relaxin family peptides perform a variety of biological functions by activating four G protein-coupled receptors, namely RXFP1-4. Our recent study demonstrated that selectivity of the chimeric relaxin family peptide R3/I5 towards the homologous RXFP3 and RXFP4 can be modulated by replacement of the highly conserved nonchiral B23Gly or B24Gly with some natural l-amino acids. To investigate the mechanism of this modulating effect, in the present study we incorporated unnatural amino acids into the B23 or B24 position of a semi-synthetic R3/I5 that was prepared by a novel sortase-catalysed ligation approach using synthetic relaxin-3 B-chain and recombinant INSL5 A-chain. R3/I5 was a weak agonist for RXFP3 after B23Gly was replaced by D-Ala or D-Ser, but a strong antagonist for this receptor after B23Gly was replaced by corresponding l-amino acids. However, these replacements always resulted in a weak agonist for RXFP4. Thus, configuration of the B23 residue of R3/I5 affected activation of RXFP3 but not RXFP4. For the B24 residue, both size and configuration affected receptor selectivity of R3/I5. l-amino acids with an appropriate size, such as L-Ser and L-Abu, had the greatest effect on increasing the selectivity of R3/I5 towards RXFP3 over the homologous RXFP4. Our present results provided new insights into receptor selectivity of R3/I5, and would facilitate design of novel agonists or antagonists for RXFP3 and RXFP4 in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia-Hui Wang
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Meng-Jun Hu
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Lei Zhang
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiao-Xia Shao
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Cai-Hong Lv
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ya-Li Liu
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zeng-Guang Xu
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhan-Yun Guo
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
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Hu MJ, Shao XX, Li HZ, Nie WH, Wang JH, Liu YL, Xu ZG, Guo ZY. Development of a novel ligand binding assay for relaxin family peptide receptor 3 and 4 using NanoLuc complementation. Amino Acids 2018; 50:1111-1119. [PMID: 29770870 DOI: 10.1007/s00726-018-2588-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2018] [Accepted: 05/11/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Relaxin family peptides perform a variety of biological functions by binding and activating relaxin family peptide receptor 1-4 (RXFP1-4), four A-class G protein-coupled receptors. In the present work, we developed a novel ligand binding assay for RXFP3 and RXFP4 based on NanoLuc complementation technology (NanoBiT). A synthetic ligation version of the low-affinity small complementation tag (SmBiT) was efficiently ligated to the A-chain N terminus of recombinant chimeric agonist R3/I5 using recombinant circular sortase A. After the ligation product R3/I5-SmBiT was mixed with human RXFP3 or RXFP4 genetically fused with a secretory large NanoLuc fragment (sLgBiT) at the N terminus, NanoLuc complementation was induced by high-affinity ligand-receptor binding. Binding kinetics and affinities of R3/I5-SmBiT with sLgBiT-fused RXFP3 and RXFP4 were conveniently measured according to the complementation-induced bioluminescence. Using R3/I5-SmBiT and the sLgBiT-fused receptor as a complementation pair, binding potencies of various ligands with RXFP3 and RXFP4 were quantitatively measured without the cumbersome washing step. The novel NanoBiT-based ligand binding assay is convenient for use and suitable for automation, thus will facilitate interaction studies of RXFP3 and RXFP4 with ligands in future. This assay can also be applied to some other plasma membrane receptors for pharmacological characterization of ligands in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng-Jun Hu
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiao-Xia Shao
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Hao-Zheng Li
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Wei-Han Nie
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jia-Hui Wang
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ya-Li Liu
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zeng-Guang Xu
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhan-Yun Guo
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
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8
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Wang JH, Hu MJ, Shao XX, Wei D, Liu YL, Xu ZG, Guo ZY. Cholesterol modulates the binding properties of human relaxin family peptide receptor 3 with its ligands. Arch Biochem Biophys 2018; 646:24-30. [PMID: 29601823 DOI: 10.1016/j.abb.2018.03.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2018] [Revised: 03/10/2018] [Accepted: 03/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Relaxin family peptide receptor 3 (RXFP3) is implicated in the regulation of food intake and stress response upon activation by its cognate agonist relaxin-3. As an A-class G protein-coupled receptor, RXFP3 is an integral plasma membrane protein with seven transmembrane domains, yet influence of the membrane lipids on its function remains unknown. In the present study, we disclosed that cholesterol, an essential membrane lipid for mammalian cells, modulated the binding properties of human RXFP3 with its ligands. We first demonstrated that depletion of cholesterol from host human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293T cells by methyl-β-cyclodextrin altered ligand-binding properties of the overexpressed human RXFP3, such as increasing its binding potency with some antagonists and decreasing its binding affinity with a NanoLuc-conjugated R3/I5 tracer. Thereafter, we demonstrated that two B-chain residues, B5Tyr and B12Arg, were primarily responsible for the increased binding potency of these antagonists with human RXFP3 under the cholesterol depletion condition. Our results suggest that cell membrane cholesterol interacts with human RXFP3 and modulates its ligand-binding properties, providing new insights into the influence of membrane lipids on RXFP3 function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia-Hui Wang
- Research Centre for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Meng-Jun Hu
- Research Centre for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiao-Xia Shao
- Research Centre for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Dian Wei
- Research Centre for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ya-Li Liu
- Research Centre for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zeng-Guang Xu
- Research Centre for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhan-Yun Guo
- Research Centre for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
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9
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Hossain MA, Bathgate RAD. Challenges in the design of insulin and relaxin/insulin-like peptide mimetics. Bioorg Med Chem 2017; 26:2827-2841. [PMID: 28988628 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2017.09.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2017] [Revised: 09/19/2017] [Accepted: 09/19/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Peptidomimetics are designed to overcome the poor pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics associated with the native peptide or protein on which they are based. The design of peptidomimetics starts from developing structure-activity relationships of the native ligand-target pair that identify the key residues that are responsible for the biological effect of the native peptide or protein. Then minimization of the structure and introduction of constraints are applied to create the core active site that can interact with the target with high affinity and selectivity. Developing peptidomimetics is not trivial and often challenging, particularly when peptides' interaction mechanism with their target is complex. This review will discuss the challenges of developing peptidomimetics of therapeutically important insulin superfamily peptides, particularly those which have two chains (A and B) and three disulfide bonds and whose receptors are known, namely insulin, H2 relaxin, H3 relaxin, INSL3 and INSL5.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammed Akhter Hossain
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia; School of Chemistry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
| | - Ross A D Bathgate
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
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