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Lu Y, Hatzipantelis CJ, Langmead CJ, Stewart GD. Molecular insights into orphan G protein-coupled receptors relevant to schizophrenia. Br J Pharmacol 2024; 181:2095-2113. [PMID: 37605621 DOI: 10.1111/bph.16221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2023] [Revised: 06/25/2023] [Accepted: 07/23/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia remains a sizable socio-economic burden that continues to be treated with therapeutics based on 70-year old science. All currently approved therapeutics primarily target the dopamine D2 receptor to achieve their efficacy. Whilst dopaminergic dysregulation is a key feature in this disorder, the targeting of dopaminergic machinery has yielded limited efficacy and an appreciable side effect burden. Over the recent decades, numerous drugs that engage non-dopaminergic G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) have yielded a promise of efficacy without the deleterious side effect profile, yet none have successfully completed clinical studies and progressed to the market. More recently, there has been increased attention around non-dopaminergic GPCR-targeting drugs, which demonstrated efficacy in some schizophrenia symptom domains. This provides renewed hope that effective schizophrenia treatment may lie outside of the dopaminergic space. Despite the potential for muscarinic receptor- (and other well-characterised GPCR families) targeting drugs to treat schizophrenia, they are often plagued with complications such as lack of receptor subtype selectivity and peripheral on-target side effects. Orphan GPCR studies have opened a new avenue of exploration with many demonstrating schizophrenia-relevant mechanisms and a favourable expression profile, thus offering potential for novel drug development. This review discusses centrally expressed orphan GPCRs: GPR3, GPR6, GPR12, GPR52, GPR85, GPR88 and GPR139 and their relationship to schizophrenia. We review their expression, signalling mechanisms and cellular function, in conjunction with small molecule development and structural insights. We seek to provide a snapshot of the growing evidence and development potential of new classes of schizophrenia therapeutics. LINKED ARTICLES: This article is part of a themed issue Therapeutic Targeting of G Protein-Coupled Receptors: hot topics from the Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists 2021 Virtual Annual Scientific Meeting. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v181.14/issuetoc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yao Lu
- Drug Discovery Biology and Neuroscience & Mental Health Therapeutic Program Area, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Australia
- ARC Centre for Cryo-electron Microscopy of Membrane Proteins, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Australia
| | | | - Christopher J Langmead
- Drug Discovery Biology and Neuroscience & Mental Health Therapeutic Program Area, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Australia
- ARC Centre for Cryo-electron Microscopy of Membrane Proteins, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Australia
- Neuromedicines Discovery Centre, Monash University, Parkville, Australia
- Phrenix Therapeutics, Parkville, Australia
| | - Gregory D Stewart
- Drug Discovery Biology and Neuroscience & Mental Health Therapeutic Program Area, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Australia
- ARC Centre for Cryo-electron Microscopy of Membrane Proteins, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Australia
- Neuromedicines Discovery Centre, Monash University, Parkville, Australia
- Phrenix Therapeutics, Parkville, Australia
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Chen G, Staffen N, Wu Z, Xu X, Pan J, Inoue A, Shi T, Gmeiner P, Du Y, Xu J. Structural and functional characterization of the endogenous agonist for orphan receptor GPR3. Cell Res 2024; 34:262-265. [PMID: 38287118 PMCID: PMC10907609 DOI: 10.1038/s41422-023-00919-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Geng Chen
- Kobilka Institute of Innovative Drug Discovery, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Steroid Drug Discovery and Development, School of Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Nico Staffen
- Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Medicinal Chemistry, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Nikolaus-Fiebiger-Straße 10, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Zhangsong Wu
- Kobilka Institute of Innovative Drug Discovery, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Steroid Drug Discovery and Development, School of Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Xinyu Xu
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Jinheng Pan
- Mass Spectrometry & Metabolomics Core Facility, Biomedical Research Core Facilities, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Asuka Inoue
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Tingyi Shi
- Kobilka Institute of Innovative Drug Discovery, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Steroid Drug Discovery and Development, School of Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Peter Gmeiner
- Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Medicinal Chemistry, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Nikolaus-Fiebiger-Straße 10, Erlangen, Germany.
| | - Yang Du
- Kobilka Institute of Innovative Drug Discovery, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Steroid Drug Discovery and Development, School of Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
| | - Jun Xu
- Kobilka Institute of Innovative Drug Discovery, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Steroid Drug Discovery and Development, School of Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
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Bresinsky M, Shahraki A, Kolb P, Pockes S, Schihada H. Development of Fluorescent AF64394 Analogues Enables Real-Time Binding Studies for the Orphan Class A GPCR GPR3. J Med Chem 2023; 66:15025-15041. [PMID: 37907069 PMCID: PMC10641823 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c01707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2023] [Revised: 10/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023]
Abstract
The orphan G protein-coupled receptor (oGPCR) GPR3 represents a potential drug target for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and metabolic disorders. However, the limited toolbox of pharmacological assays hampers the development of advanced ligands. Here, we developed a signaling pathway-independent readout of compound-GPR3 interaction. Starting from computational binding pose predictions of the most potent GPR3 ligand, we designed a series of fluorescent AF64394 analogues and assessed their suitability for BRET-based binding studies. The most potent ligand, 45 (UR-MB-355), bound to GPR3 and closely related receptors, GPR6 and GPR12, with similar submicromolar affinities. Furthermore, we found that 45 engages GPR3 in a distinct mode compared to AF64394, and coincubation studies with the GPR3 agonist diphenyleneiodonium chloride revealed allosteric modulation of 45 binding. These insights provide new cues for the pharmacological manipulation of GPR3 activity. This novel binding assay will foster the development of future drugs acting through these pharmacologically attractive oGPCRs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Merlin Bresinsky
- Institute
of Pharmacy, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Aida Shahraki
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University
of Marburg, Marbacher Weg 8, 35032 Marburg, Germany
| | - Peter Kolb
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University
of Marburg, Marbacher Weg 8, 35032 Marburg, Germany
| | - Steffen Pockes
- Institute
of Pharmacy, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
- Department
of Medicinal Chemistry, Institute for Therapeutics Discovery and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55414, United States
| | - Hannes Schihada
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University
of Marburg, Marbacher Weg 8, 35032 Marburg, Germany
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4
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Gay EA, Harris DL, Wilson JW, Blough BE. The development of diphenyleneiodonium analogs as GPR3 agonists. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2023; 94:129427. [PMID: 37541631 PMCID: PMC10631289 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2023.129427] [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: 06/02/2023] [Revised: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 07/29/2023] [Indexed: 08/06/2023]
Abstract
G protein-coupled receptor 3 (GPR3) is an orphan receptor potentially involved in many important physiological processes such as drug abuse, neuropathic pain, and anxiety and depression related disorders. Pharmacological studies of GPR3 have been limited due to the restricted number of known agonists and inverse agonists for this constitutively active receptor. In this medicinal chemistry study, we report the discovery of GPR3 agonists based off the diphenyleneiodonium (DPI) scaffold. The most potent full agonist was the 3-trifluoromethoxy analog (32) with an EC50 of 260 nM and 90% efficacy compared to DPI. Investigation of a homology model of GPR3 from multiple sequence alignment resulted in the finding of a binding site rich in potential π-π and π-cation interactions stabilizing DPI-scaffold agonists. MMGBSA free energy analysis showed a good correlation with trends in observed EC50s. DPI analogs retained the same high receptor selectivity for GPR3 over GPR6 and GPR12 as observed with DPI. Collectively, the DPI analog series shows that order of magnitude improvements in potency with the scaffold were attainable; however, attempts to replace the iodonium ion to make the scaffold more druggable failed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elaine A Gay
- Center for Drug Discovery, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA.
| | - Danni L Harris
- Center for Drug Discovery, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
| | - Joseph W Wilson
- Center for Drug Discovery, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
| | - Bruce E Blough
- Center for Drug Discovery, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
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Feng S, Park S, Choi YK, Im W. CHARMM-GUI Membrane Builder: Past, Current, and Future Developments and Applications. J Chem Theory Comput 2023; 19:2161-2185. [PMID: 37014931 PMCID: PMC10174225 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.2c01246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/06/2023]
Abstract
Molecular dynamics simulations of membranes and membrane proteins serve as computational microscopes, revealing coordinated events at the membrane interface. As G protein-coupled receptors, ion channels, transporters, and membrane-bound enzymes are important drug targets, understanding their drug binding and action mechanisms in a realistic membrane becomes critical. Advances in materials science and physical chemistry further demand an atomistic understanding of lipid domains and interactions between materials and membranes. Despite a wide range of membrane simulation studies, generating a complex membrane assembly remains challenging. Here, we review the capability of CHARMM-GUI Membrane Builder in the context of emerging research demands, as well as the application examples from the CHARMM-GUI user community, including membrane biophysics, membrane protein drug-binding and dynamics, protein-lipid interactions, and nano-bio interface. We also provide our perspective on future Membrane Builder development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shasha Feng
- Departments of Biological Sciences and Chemistry, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015, United States
| | - Soohyung Park
- Departments of Biological Sciences and Chemistry, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015, United States
| | - Yeol Kyo Choi
- Departments of Biological Sciences and Chemistry, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015, United States
| | - Wonpil Im
- Departments of Biological Sciences and Chemistry, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015, United States
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