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Kaplan AL, Confair DN, Kim K, Barros-Álvarez X, Rodriguiz RM, Yang Y, Kweon OS, Che T, McCorvy JD, Kamber DN, Phelan JP, Martins LC, Pogorelov VM, DiBerto JF, Slocum ST, Huang XP, Kumar JM, Robertson MJ, Panova O, Seven AB, Wetsel AQ, Wetsel WC, Irwin JJ, Skiniotis G, Shoichet BK, Roth BL, Ellman JA. Bespoke library docking for 5-HT 2A receptor agonists with antidepressant activity. Nature 2022; 610:582-591. [PMID: 36171289 PMCID: PMC9996387 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05258-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2021] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
There is considerable interest in screening ultralarge chemical libraries for ligand discovery, both empirically and computationally1-4. Efforts have focused on readily synthesizable molecules, inevitably leaving many chemotypes unexplored. Here we investigate structure-based docking of a bespoke virtual library of tetrahydropyridines-a scaffold that is poorly sampled by a general billion-molecule virtual library but is well suited to many aminergic G-protein-coupled receptors. Using three inputs, each with diverse available derivatives, a one pot C-H alkenylation, electrocyclization and reduction provides the tetrahydropyridine core with up to six sites of derivatization5-7. Docking a virtual library of 75 million tetrahydropyridines against a model of the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor (5-HT2AR) led to the synthesis and testing of 17 initial molecules. Four of these molecules had low-micromolar activities against either the 5-HT2A or the 5-HT2B receptors. Structure-based optimization led to the 5-HT2AR agonists (R)-69 and (R)-70, with half-maximal effective concentration values of 41 nM and 110 nM, respectively, and unusual signalling kinetics that differ from psychedelic 5-HT2AR agonists. Cryo-electron microscopy structural analysis confirmed the predicted binding mode to 5-HT2AR. The favourable physical properties of these new agonists conferred high brain permeability, enabling mouse behavioural assays. Notably, neither had psychedelic activity, in contrast to classic 5-HT2AR agonists, whereas both had potent antidepressant activity in mouse models and had the same efficacy as antidepressants such as fluoxetine at as low as 1/40th of the dose. Prospects for using bespoke virtual libraries to sample pharmacologically relevant chemical space will be considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anat Levit Kaplan
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | - Kuglae Kim
- Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Pharmacy, Yonsei University, Incheon, Republic of Korea
| | - Ximena Barros-Álvarez
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Ramona M Rodriguiz
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
- Mouse Behavioral and Neuroendocrine Analysis Core Facility, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Ying Yang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Oh Sang Kweon
- Department of Chemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Tao Che
- Center for Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
| | - John D McCorvy
- Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA
| | - David N Kamber
- Department of Chemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - James P Phelan
- Department of Chemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Luan Carvalho Martins
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Biochemistry Department, Institute for Biological Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Vladimir M Pogorelov
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Jeffrey F DiBerto
- Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Samuel T Slocum
- Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Xi-Ping Huang
- National Institute of Mental Health Psychoactive Drug Screening Program, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Jain Manish Kumar
- Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Michael J Robertson
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Ouliana Panova
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Alpay B Seven
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Autumn Q Wetsel
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - William C Wetsel
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
- Mouse Behavioral and Neuroendocrine Analysis Core Facility, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
| | - John J Irwin
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
| | - Georgios Skiniotis
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
| | - Brian K Shoichet
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
| | - Bryan L Roth
- Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
- Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
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