Alchemical Design of Pharmacological Chaperones with Higher Affinity for Phenylalanine Hydroxylase.

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a rare metabolic disease caused by variations in a human gene, PAH, encoding phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH), and the enzyme converting the essential amino acid phenylalanine into tyrosine. Many PKU-causing variations compromise the conformational stability of the encoded enzyme, decreasing or abolishing its catalytic activity, and leading to an elevated concentration of phenylalanine in the blood, which is neurotoxic. Several therapeutic approaches have been developed to treat the more severe manifestations of the disorder, but they are either not entirely effective or difficult to adhere to throughout life. In a search for novel pharmacological chaperones to treat PKU, a lead compound was discovered (compound IV) that exhibited promising in vitro and in vivo chaperoning activity on PAH. The structure of the PAH-IV complex has been reported. Here, using alchemical free energy calculations (AFEC) on the structure of the PAH-IV complex, we design a new generation of compound IV-analogues with a higher affinity for the enzyme. Seventeen novel analogues were synthesized, and thermal shift and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) assays were performed to experimentally evaluate their stabilizing effect and their affinity for the enzyme. Most of the new derivatives bind to PAH tighter than lead compound IV and induce a greater thermostabilization of the enzyme upon binding. Importantly, the correspondence between the calculated alchemical binding free energies and the experimentally determined ΔΔGb values is excellent, which supports the use of AFEC to design pharmacological chaperones to treat PKU using the X-ray structure of their complexes with the target PAH enzyme.

Small molecule inhibits α-synuclein aggregation, disrupts amyloid fibrils, and prevents degeneration of dopaminergic neurons.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by a progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons, a process that current therapeutic approaches cannot prevent. In PD, the typical pathological hallmark is the accumulation of intracellular protein inclusions, known as Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites, which are mainly composed of α-synuclein. Here, we exploited a high-throughput screening methodology to identify a small molecule (SynuClean-D) able to inhibit α-synuclein aggregation. SynuClean-D significantly reduces the in vitro aggregation of wild-type α-synuclein and the familiar A30P and H50Q variants in a substoichiometric molar ratio. This compound prevents fibril propagation in protein-misfolding cyclic amplification assays and decreases the number of α-synuclein inclusions in human neuroglioma cells. Computational analysis suggests that SynuClean-D can bind to cavities in mature α-synuclein fibrils and, indeed, it displays a strong fibril disaggregation activity. The treatment with SynuClean-D of two PD Caenorhabditis elegans models, expressing α-synuclein either in muscle or in dopaminergic neurons, significantly reduces the toxicity exerted by α-synuclein. SynuClean-D-treated worms show decreased α-synuclein aggregation in muscle and a concomitant motility recovery. More importantly, this compound is able to rescue dopaminergic neurons from α-synuclein-induced degeneration. Overall, SynuClean-D appears to be a promising molecule for therapeutic intervention in Parkinson's disease.

Unravelling the Complex Denaturant and Thermal-Induced Unfolding Equilibria of Human Phenylalanine Hydroxylase.

Human phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) is a metabolic enzyme involved in the catabolism of L-Phe in liver. Loss of conformational stability and decreased enzymatic activity in PAH variants result in the autosomal recessive disorder phenylketonuria (PKU), characterized by developmental and psychological problems if not treated early. One current therapeutic approach to treat PKU is based on pharmacological chaperones (PCs), small molecules that can displace the folding equilibrium of unstable PAH variants toward the native state, thereby rescuing the physiological function of the enzyme. Understanding the PAH folding equilibrium is essential to develop new PCs for different forms of the disease. We investigate here the urea and the thermal-induced denaturation of full-length PAH and of a truncated form lacking the regulatory and the tetramerization domains. For either protein construction, two distinct transitions are seen in chemical denaturation followed by fluorescence emission, indicating the accumulation of equilibrium unfolding intermediates where the catalytic domains are partly unfolded and dissociated from each other. According to analytical centrifugation, the chemical denaturation intermediates of either construction are not well-defined species but highly polydisperse ensembles of protein aggregates. On the other hand, each protein construction similarly shows two transitions in thermal denaturation measured by fluorescence or differential scanning calorimetry, also indicating the accumulation of equilibrium unfolding intermediates. The similar temperatures of mid denaturation of the two constructions, together with their apparent lack of response to protein concentration, indicate the catalytic domains are unfolded in the full-length PAH thermal intermediate, where they remain associated. That the catalytic domain unfolds in the first thermal transition is relevant for the choice of PCs identified in high throughput screening of chemical libraries using differential scanning fluorimetry.

Selective Targeting of Human and Animal Pathogens of the Helicobacter Genus by Flavodoxin Inhibitors: Efficacy, Synergy, Resistance and Mechanistic Studies.

Antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria constitute a global health concern. Helicobacter pylori is a Gram-negative bacterium that infects about half of the human population and is a major cause of peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer. Increasing resistance to triple and quadruple H. pylori eradication therapies poses great challenges and urges the development of novel, ideally narrow spectrum, antimicrobials targeting H. pylori. Here, we describe the antimicrobial spectrum of a family of nitrobenzoxadiazol-based antimicrobials initially discovered as inhibitors of flavodoxin: an essential H. pylori protein. Two groups of inhibitors are described. One group is formed by narrow-spectrum compounds, highly specific for H. pylori, but ineffective against enterohepatic Helicobacter species and other Gram-negative or Gram-positive bacteria. The second group includes extended-spectrum antimicrobials additionally targeting Gram-positive bacteria, the Gram-negative Campylobacter jejuni, and most Helicobacter species, but not affecting other Gram-negative pathogens. To identify the binding site of the inhibitors in the flavodoxin structure, several H. pylori-flavodoxin variants have been engineered and tested using isothermal titration calorimetry. An initial study of the inhibitors capacity to generate resistances and of their synergism with antimicrobials commonly used in H. pylori eradication therapies is described. The narrow-spectrum inhibitors, which are expected to affect the microbiota less dramatically than current antimicrobial drugs, offer an opportunity to develop new and specific H. pylori eradication combinations to deal with AMR in H. pylori. On the other hand, the extended-spectrum inhibitors constitute a new family of promising antimicrobials, with a potential use against AMR Gram-positive bacterial pathogens.

A pyrene-inhibitor fluorescent probe with large Stokes shift for the staining of Aß1-42, α-synuclein, and amylin amyloid fibrils as well as amyloid-containing Staphylococcus aureus biofilms.

Amyloid fibrils formed by a variety of peptides are biological markers of different human diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and type II diabetes, and are structural constituents of bacterial biofilms. Novel fluorescent probes offering improved sensitivity or specificity toward that diversity of amyloid fibrils or providing alternative spectral windows are needed to improve the detection or the identification of amyloid structures. One potential source for such new probes is offered by molecules known to interact with fibrils, such as the inhibitors of amyloid aggregation found in drug discovery projects. Here we show the feasibility of the approach by designing, synthesizing, and testing several pyrene-based fluorescent derivatives of a previously discovered inhibitor of the aggregation of the Aß1-42 peptide. All the derivatives tested retain the interaction with the amyloid architecture and allow its staining. The most soluble derivative, N-acetyl-2-(2-methyl-4-oxo-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-4H-benzo[4,5]thieno[2,3-d][1,3]oxazin-7-yl)-N-(pyren-1-ylmethyl)acetamide (compound 1D), stains similarly well amyloid fibrils formed by Aß1-42, α-synuclein, or amylin, provides a sensitivity only slightly lower than that of thioflavin T, displays a large Stokes shift, allows efficient excitation in the UV spectral region, and is not cytotoxic. Compound 1D can also stain amyloid fibrils formed by staphylococcal peptides present in biofilm matrices and can be used to distinguish, by direct staining, Staphylococcus aureus biofilms containing amyloid-forming phenol-soluble modulins from those lacking them. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

High-Throughput Screening Methodology to Identify Alpha-Synuclein Aggregation Inhibitors.

An increasing number of neurodegenerative diseases are being found to be associated with the abnormal accumulation of aggregated proteins in the brain. In Parkinson's disease, this process involves the aggregation of alpha-synuclein (α-syn) into intraneuronal inclusions. Thus, compounds that inhibit α-syn aggregation represent a promising therapeutic strategy as disease-modifying agents for neurodegeneration. The formation of α-syn amyloid aggregates can be reproduced in vitro by incubation of the recombinant protein. However, the in vitro aggregation of α-syn is exceedingly slow and highly irreproducible, therefore precluding fast high throughput anti-aggregation drug screening. Here, we present a simple and easy-to-implement in-plate method for screening large chemical libraries in the search for α-syn aggregation modulators. It allows us to monitor aggregation kinetics with high reproducibility, while being faster and requiring lower protein amounts than conventional aggregation assays. We illustrate how the approach enables the identification of strong aggregation inhibitors in a library of more than 14,000 compounds.

Inhibition of α-Synuclein Aggregation and Mature Fibril Disassembling With a Minimalistic Compound, ZPDm.

Synucleinopathies are a group of disorders characterized by the accumulation of α-Synuclein amyloid inclusions in the brain. Preventing α-Synuclein aggregation is challenging because of the disordered nature of the protein and the stochastic nature of fibrillogenesis, but, at the same time, it is a promising approach for therapeutic intervention in these pathologies. A high-throughput screening initiative allowed us to discover ZPDm, the smallest active molecule in a library of more than 14.000 compounds. Although the ZPDm structure is highly related to that of the previously described ZPD-2 aggregation inhibitor, we show here that their mechanisms of action are entirely different. ZPDm inhibits the aggregation of wild-type, A30P, and H50Q α-Synuclein variants in vitro and interferes with α-Synuclein seeded aggregation in protein misfolding cyclic amplification assays. However, ZPDm distinctive feature is its strong potency to dismantle preformed α-Synuclein amyloid fibrils. Studies in a Caenorhabditis elegans model of Parkinson's Disease, prove that these in vitro properties are translated into a significant reduction in the accumulation of α-Synuclein inclusions in ZPDm treated animals. Together with previous data, the present work illustrates how different chemical groups on top of a common molecular scaffold can result in divergent but complementary anti-amyloid activities.

ZPD-2, a Small Compound That Inhibits α-Synuclein Amyloid Aggregation and Its Seeded Polymerization.

α-Synuclein (α-Syn) forms toxic intracellular protein inclusions and transmissible amyloid structures in Parkinson's disease (PD). Preventing α-Syn self-assembly has become one of the most promising approaches in the search for disease-modifying treatments for this neurodegenerative disorder. Here, we describe the capacity of a small molecule (ZPD-2), identified after a high-throughput screening, to inhibit α-Syn aggregation. ZPD-2 inhibits the aggregation of wild-type α-Syn and the A30P and H50Q familial variants in vitro at substoichiometric compound:protein ratios. In addition, the molecule prevents the spreading of α-Syn seeds in protein misfolding cyclic amplification assays. ZPD-2 is active against different α-Syn strains and blocks their seeded polymerization. Treating with ZPD-2 two different PD Caenorhabditis elegans models that express α-Syn either in muscle or in dopaminergic (DA) neurons substantially reduces the number of α-Syn inclusions and decreases synuclein-induced DA neurons degeneration. Overall, ZPD-2 is a hit compound worth to be explored in order to develop lead molecules for therapeutic intervention in PD.

Streptococcus pneumoniae TIGR4 Flavodoxin: Structural and Biophysical Characterization of a Novel Drug Target.

Streptococcus pneumoniae (Sp) strain TIGR4 is a virulent, encapsulated serotype that causes bacteremia, otitis media, meningitis and pneumonia. Increased bacterial resistance and limited efficacy of the available vaccine to some serotypes complicate the treatment of diseases associated to this microorganism. Flavodoxins are bacterial proteins involved in several important metabolic pathways. The Sp flavodoxin (Spfld) gene was recently reported to be essential for the establishment of meningitis in a rat model, which makes SpFld a potential drug target. To facilitate future pharmacological studies, we have cloned and expressed SpFld in E. coli and we have performed an extensive structural and biochemical characterization of both the apo form and its active complex with the FMN cofactor. SpFld is a short-chain flavodoxin containing 146 residues. Unlike the well-characterized long-chain apoflavodoxins, the Sp apoprotein displays a simple two-state thermal unfolding equilibrium and binds FMN with moderate affinity. The X-ray structures of the apo and holo forms of SpFld differ at the FMN binding site, where substantial rearrangement of residues at the 91-100 loop occurs to permit cofactor binding. This work will set up the basis for future studies aiming at discovering new potential drugs to treat S. pneumoniae diseases through the inhibition of SpFld.