1. Academic Validation
  2. Structure-Based Discovery of a Novel Allosteric Inhibitor against Human Dopamine Transporter

Structure-Based Discovery of a Novel Allosteric Inhibitor against Human Dopamine Transporter

  • J Chem Inf Model. 2023 Jul 24;63(14):4458-4467. doi: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c00477.
Shengzhe Deng 1 Haiwei Zhang 2 Rongpei Gou 1 Ding Luo 1 Zerong Liu 3 Feng Zhu 4 Weiwei Xue 1
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Chongqing Key Laboratory of Natural Product Synthesis and Drug Research, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing 401331, China.
  • 2 Chongqing Key Laboratory of Translational Research for Cancer Metastasis and Individualized Treatment, Department of Pathology, Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, Chongqing 400030, China.
  • 3 Central Nervous System Drug Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Credit Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Luzhou 646000, China.
  • 4 College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China.
Abstract

Human Dopamine Transporter (hDAT) regulates the reuptake of extracellular dopamine (DA) and is an essential therapeutic target for central nervous system (CNS) diseases. The allosteric modulation of hDAT has been identified for decades. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the transportation is still elusive, which hinders the rational design of allosteric modulators against hDAT. Here, a systematic structure-based method was performed to explore allosteric sites on hDAT in inward-open (IO) conformation and to screen compounds with allosteric affinity. First, the model of the hDAT structure was constructed based on the recently reported Cryo-EM structure of the human Serotonin Transporter (hSERT) and Gaussian-accelerated molecular dynamics (GaMD) simulation was further utilized for the identification of intermediate energetic stable states of the transporter. Then, with the potential druggable allosteric site on hDAT in IO conformation, virtual screening of seven enamine chemical libraries (∼440,000 compounds) was processed, resulting in 10 compounds being purchased for in vitro assay and with Z1078601926 discovered to allosterically inhibit hDAT (IC50 = 0.527 [0.284; 0.988] μM) when nomifensine was introduced as an orthosteric ligand. Finally, the synergistic effect underlying the allosteric inhibition of hDAT by Z1078601926 and nomifensine was explored using additional GaMD simulation and postbinding free energy analysis. The hit compound discovered in this work not only provides a good starting point for lead optimization but also demonstrates the usability of the method for the structure-based discovery of novel allosteric modulators of other therapeutic targets.

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