1. Academic Validation
  2. Structure of human spermine oxidase in complex with a highly selective allosteric inhibitor

Structure of human spermine oxidase in complex with a highly selective allosteric inhibitor

  • Commun Biol. 2022 Aug 5;5(1):787. doi: 10.1038/s42003-022-03735-9.
Elsie Diaz  # 1 Suraj Adhikary  # 1 Armand W J W Tepper  # 2 Daniel Riley 1 Rodrigo Ortiz-Meoz 1 Daniel Krosky 1 Christophe Buyck 3 Carolina Martinez Lamenca 3 Josep Llaveria 4 Lichao Fang 5 Jay H Kalin 1 Vincent N A Klaren 2 Shorouk Fahmy 2 Paul L Shaffer 1 Robert Kirkpatrick 1 Rodrigo J Carbajo 4 Maren Thomsen 6 Antonietta Impagliazzo 7 8
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Janssen Research & Development, Welsh & McKean Roads, Spring House, PA, 19477-0776, USA.
  • 2 Janssen Vaccine and Prevention, Archimedesweg 4-6, 2301, CA, Leiden, The Netherlands.
  • 3 Janssen Research & Development, Turnhoutseweg 30, B-2340, Beerse, Belgium.
  • 4 Janssen Research & Development, Janssen-Cilag, Discovery Chemistry S.A. Río Jarama, 75A, 45007, Toledo, Spain.
  • 5 Janssen Research & Development Center Medicinal Chemistry, Shanghai, 201210, China.
  • 6 Proteros biostructures GmbH Bunsenstr 7a, D-82152, Martinsried, Germany.
  • 7 Janssen Vaccine and Prevention, Archimedesweg 4-6, 2301, CA, Leiden, The Netherlands. [email protected].
  • 8 Genmab B.V. Uppsalalaan 15, 3584, CT, Utrecht, The Netherlands. [email protected].
  • # Contributed equally.
Abstract

Human spermine oxidase (hSMOX) plays a central role in polyamine catabolism. Due to its association with several pathological processes, including inflammation and Cancer, hSMOX has garnered interest as a possible therapeutic target. Therefore, determination of the structure of hSMOX is an important step to enable drug discovery and validate hSMOX as a drug target. Using insights from hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS), we engineered a hSMOX construct to obtain the first crystal structure of hSMOX bound to the known polyamine oxidase inhibitor MDL72527 at 2.4 Å resolution. While the overall fold of hSMOX is similar to its homolog, murine N1-acetylpolyamine oxidase (mPAOX), the two structures contain significant differences, notably in their substrate-binding domains and active site pockets. Subsequently, we employed a sensitive biochemical assay to conduct a high-throughput screen that identified a potent and selective hSMOX inhibitor, JNJ-1289. The co-crystal structure of hSMOX with JNJ-1289 was determined at 2.1 Å resolution, revealing that JNJ-1289 binds to an allosteric site, providing JNJ-1289 with a high degree of selectivity towards hSMOX. These results provide crucial insights into understanding the substrate specificity and enzymatic mechanism of hSMOX, and for the design of highly selective inhibitors.

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