scholarly journals Doubling the Size of the Glucocorticoid Receptor Ligand Binding Pocket by Deacylcortivazol

2007 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 1915-1923 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Suino-Powell ◽  
Yong Xu ◽  
Chenghai Zhang ◽  
Yong-guang Tao ◽  
W. David Tolbert ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT A common feature of nuclear receptor ligand binding domains (LBD) is a helical sandwich fold that nests a ligand binding pocket within the bottom half of the domain. Here we report that the ligand pocket of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) can be continuously extended into the top half of the LBD by binding to deacylcortivazol (DAC), an extremely potent glucocorticoid. It has been puzzling for decades why DAC, which contains a phenylpyrazole replacement at the conserved 3-ketone of steroid hormones that are normally required for activation of their cognate receptors, is a potent GR activator. The crystal structure of the GR LBD bound to DAC and the fourth LXXLL motif of steroid receptor coactivator 1 reveals that the GR ligand binding pocket is expanded to a size of 1,070 Å3, effectively doubling the size of the GR dexamethasone-binding pocket of 540 Å3 and yet leaving the structure of the coactivator binding site intact. DAC occupies only ∼50% of the space of the pocket but makes intricate interactions with the receptor around the phenylpyrazole group that accounts for the high-affinity binding of DAC. The dramatic expansion of the DAC-binding pocket thus highlights the conformational adaptability of GR to ligand binding. The new structure also allows docking of various nonsteroidal ligands that cannot be fitted into the previous structures, thus providing a new rational template for drug discovery of steroidal and nonsteroidal glucocorticoids that can be specifically designed to reach the unoccupied space of the expanded pocket.

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Irina Krylova ◽  
Fred J Schaufele ◽  
Christophe Guilbert

Abstract Background: Crystallographic structures of nuclear receptor ligand binding domains provide a static model of a receptor stably wrapped around an internalized ligand. Understanding the dynamics of a receptor at different stages of ligand binding has been hampered by the paucity of crystal structures for unliganded nuclear receptors. Molecular dynamic models have been constructed for some nuclear receptors to fill that void. Methods: The molecular simulation docking program MORDOR (MOlecular Recognition with a Driven dynamics OptimizeR)(1) was used to study the structural dynamics of the androgen receptor ligand binding domain (AR LBD) modeled from the static structure of the AR LBD bound to testosterone (T) (PDB ID: 2AM9). The goals of the study were to understand a) the dynamic interaction of the T in its binding pocket, b) AR LBD structural flexibilities that permit T entry/exit from the binding pocket and c) a model of the unliganded AR LBD. Results: Modeling AR LBD structure flexibility over time revealed possible alternative dynamic structures, including those without ligand, overlaid against the canonical nuclear receptor structure. The model dynamically tracks the structural changes as a ligand enters into the ligand binding domain and nestles into the ligand binding pocket. The model predicted the appearance of alpha helices within the AR LBD that transiently fold/unfold during the ligand entry phases. Once in the pocket, the ligand itself remains very dynamic in a still flexible pocket. The model predicted also AR LBD amino acids that sequentially interact with the ligand during its dynamic entry into the AR LBD. Intriguingly, those AR amino acids include those mutated in castration-resistant prostate tumors that continue to grow during androgen suppression therapy. Functional studies showed those mutant ARs had a primary consequence of enhancing response to lower level T, and other androgens, consistent with their role in creating a higher affinity AR that can scavenge low-level androgens in an androgen-suppressed patient. Conclusions: The molecular model of T binding to the AR LBD suggests a degree of structural dynamism not evident in the crystallographic structures commonly associated with nuclear receptors. Some AR mutations activating prostate tumor growth may do so by impacting androgen entry/exit, rather than by altering androgen fit into the ligand binding pocket. Reference: (1) Guilbert C, James TL (2008) J Chem Inf Model. 2008 48(6): 1257-1268. doi: 10.1021/ci8000327


2006 ◽  
Vol 189 (1) ◽  
pp. 254-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Dryla ◽  
Bernd Hoffmann ◽  
Dieter Gelbmann ◽  
Carmen Giefing ◽  
Markus Hanner ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Iron scavenging from the host is essential for the growth of pathogenic bacteria. In this study, we further characterized two staphylococcal cell wall proteins previously shown to bind hemoproteins. HarA and IsdB harbor homologous ligand binding domains, the so called NEAT domain (for “near transporter”) present in several surface proteins of gram-positive pathogens. Surface plasmon resonance measurements using glutathione S-transferase (GST)-tagged HarAD1, one of the ligand binding domains of HarA, and GST-tagged full-length IsdB proteins confirmed high-affinity binding to hemoglobin and haptoglobin-hemoglobin complexes with equilibrium dissociation constants (KD ) of 5 to 50 nM. Haptoglobin binding could be detected only with HarA and was in the low micromolar range. In order to determine the fold of this evolutionarily conserved ligand binding domain, the untagged HarAD1 protein was subjected to nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, which revealed an eight-stranded, purely antiparallel β-barrel with the strand order (-β1↓-β2↑-β3↓-β6↑-β5↓-β4↑-β7↓-β8↑), forming two Greek key motifs. Based on structural-homology searches, the topology of the HarAD1 domain resembles that of the immunoglobulin (Ig) fold family, whose members are involved in protein-protein interactions, but with distinct structural features. Therefore, we consider that the HarAD1/NEAT domain fold is a novel variant of the Ig fold that has not yet been observed in other proteins.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (12) ◽  
pp. 160895
Author(s):  
Julianan Gutierrez-Mazariegos ◽  
Eswar Kumar Nadendla ◽  
Romain A. Studer ◽  
Susana Alvarez ◽  
Angel R. de Lera ◽  
...  

2003 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 573-582 ◽  
Author(s):  
FM Rogerson ◽  
YZ Yao ◽  
BJ Smith ◽  
N Dimopoulos ◽  
PJ Fuller

Spironolactone is a mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) antagonist in clinical use. The compound has a very low affinity for the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). Determinants of binding specificity of spironolactone to the MR were investigated using chimeras created between the ligand-binding domains (LBDs) of the MR and the GR. These chimeras had previously been used to investigate aldosterone binding specificity to the MR. Spironolactone was able to compete strongly for [(3)H]-aldosterone and [(3)H]-dexamethasone binding to a chimera containing amino acids 804-874 of the MR, and weakly for [(3)H]-dexamethasone binding to a chimera containing amino acids 672-803 of the MR. Amino acids 804-874 were also critical for aldosterone binding specificity. Models of the MR LBD bound to aldosterone and spironolactone were created based on the crystal structure of the progesterone receptor LBD. The ligand-binding pocket of the MR LBD model consisted of 23 amino acids and was predominantly hydrophobic in nature. Analysis of this model in light of the experimental data suggested that spironolactone binding specificity is not governed by amino acids in the ligand-binding pocket.


2004 ◽  
Vol 47 (13) ◽  
pp. 3381-3387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin P. Madauss ◽  
Su-Jun Deng ◽  
Robert J. H. Austin ◽  
Millard H. Lambert ◽  
Iain McLay ◽  
...  

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Li ◽  
Jiabin Yan ◽  
Timothy A Springer

Integrin conformational ensembles contain two low-affinity states, bent-closed and extended-closed, and an active, high-affinity, extended-open state. It is widely thought that integrins must be activated before they bind ligand; however, one model holds that activation follows ligand binding. As ligand-binding kinetics are not only rate limiting for cell adhesion but also have important implications for the mechanism of activation, we measure them here for integrins α4β1 and α5β1 and show that the low-affinity states bind substantially faster than the high-affinity state. On and off-rates are similar for integrins on cell surfaces and as ectodomain fragments. Although the extended-open conformation's on-rate is ~20-fold slower, its off-rate is ~25,000-fold slower, resulting in a large affinity increase. The tighter ligand-binding pocket in the open state may slow its on-rate. Low affinity integrin states not only bind ligand more rapidly, but are also more populous on the cell surface than high affinity states. Thus, our results suggest that integrin binding to ligand may precede, rather than follow, activation by 'inside-out signaling'.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianchuan Wang ◽  
Yang Su ◽  
Roxana E. Iacob ◽  
John R. Engen ◽  
Timothy A. Springer

AbstractIntegrin αVβ8, which like αVβ6 functions to activate TGF-βs, is atypical. Its β8 subunit binds to a distinctive cytoskeleton adaptor and does not exhibit large changes in conformation upon binding to ligand. Here, crystal structures, hydrogen-deuterium exchange dynamics, and affinity measurements on mutants are used to compare αVβ8 and αVβ6. Lack of a binding site for one of three βI domain divalent cations and a unique β6-α7 loop conformation in β8 facilitate movements of the α1 and α1’ helices at the ligand binding pocket toward the high affinity state, without coupling to β6-α7 loop reshaping and α7-helix pistoning that drive large changes in βI domain-hybrid domain orientation seen in other integrins. Reciprocal swaps between β6 and β8 βI domains increase affinity of αVβ6 and decrease affinity of αVβ8 and define features that regulate affinity of the βI domain and its coupling to the hybrid domain.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 1151
Author(s):  
Chenyun Guo ◽  
Zhihua Wu ◽  
Weiliang Lin ◽  
Hao Xu ◽  
Ting Chang ◽  
...  

Suramin was initially used to treat African sleeping sickness and has been clinically tested to treat human cancers and HIV infection in the recent years. However, the therapeutic index is low with numerous clinical side-effects, attributed to its diverse interactions with multiple biological macromolecules. Here, we report a novel binding target of suramin, human Raf1 kinase inhibitory protein (hRKIP), which is an important regulatory protein involved in the Ras/Raf1/MEK/ERK (MAPK) signal pathway. Biolayer interference technology showed that suramin had an intermediate affinity for binding hRKIP with a dissociation constant of 23.8 µM. Both nuclear magnetic resonance technology and molecular docking analysis revealed that suramin bound to the conserved ligand-binding pocket of hRKIP, and that residues K113, W173, and Y181 play crucial roles in hRKIP binding suramin. Furthermore, suramin treatment at 160 µM could profoundly increase the ERK phosphorylation level by around 3 times. Our results indicate that suramin binds to hRKIP and prevents hRKIP from binding with hRaf1, thus promoting the MAPK pathway. This work is beneficial to both mechanistically understanding the side-effects of suramin and efficiently improving the clinical applications of suramin.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document