Project description:Rationale: Pendrin is encoded by SLC26A4 and its mutation leads to congenital hearing loss. Additionally, pendrin is up-regulated in inflammatory airway diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, allergic rhinitis, and asthma. In this study, the effects of a novel pendrin inhibitor, YS-01, were investigated in an LPS-induced acute lung injury (ALI) mice model, and the mechanism underlying the effect of YS-01 was examined. Methods: Lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 10 mg/kg) was intranasally instilled in wild type (WT) and pendrin-null mice. YS-01 (10 mg/kg) was administered intra-peritoneally before or after LPS inhalation. Lung injury parameters were assessed in the lung tissue and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Pendrin levels in the BALF of 41 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to pneumonia and 25 control (solitary pulmonary nodule) patients were also measured. Results: LPS instillation induced lung injury in WT mice but not in pendrin-null mice. Pendrin expression was increased by LPS stimulation both in vitro and in vivo. YS-01 treatment dramatically attenuated lung injury and reduced BALF cell counts and protein concentration after LPS instillation in WT mice. Proinflammatory cytokines and NF-κB activation were suppressed by YS-01 treatment in LPS-induced ALI mice. In BALF of patients whose ARDS was caused by pneumonia, pendrin expression was up-regulated compared to that in controls (mean, 24.86 vs. 6.83 ng/mL, P < 0.001). Conclusions: A novel pendrin inhibitor, YS-01, suppressed lung injury in LPS-induced ALI mice and our data provide a new strategy for the treatment of inflammatory airway diseases including sepsis-induced ALI.
Project description:Pendrin is a transmembrane chloride/anion antiporter that is strongly upregulated in the airways in rhinoviral infection, asthma, cystic fibrosis and chronic rhinosinusitis. Based on its role in the regulation of airway surface liquid depth, pendrin inhibitors have potential indications for treatment of inflammatory airways diseases. Here, a completely regioselective route to tetrahydro-pyrazolopyridine pendrin inhibitors based on 1,3-diketone and substituted hydrazine condensation was been developed. Structure-activity relationships at the tetrahydropyridyl nitrogen were investigated using a focused library, establishing the privileged nature of N-phenyl ureas and improving inhibitor potency by greater than 2-fold.
Project description:Pendrin (SLC26A4) is an anion exchanger expressed in the apical membranes of selected epithelia. Pendrin ablation causes Pendred syndrome, a genetic disorder associated with sensorineural hearing loss, hypothyroid goiter, and reduced blood pressure. However its molecular structure has remained unknown, limiting our understanding of the structural basis of transport. Here, we determine the cryo-electron microscopy structures of mouse pendrin with symmetric and asymmetric homodimer conformations. The asymmetric homodimer consists of one inward-facing protomer and the other outward-facing protomer, representing coincident uptake and secretion- a unique state of pendrin as an electroneutral exchanger. The multiple conformations presented here provide an inverted alternate-access mechanism for anion exchange. The structural and functional data presented here disclose the properties of an anion exchange cleft and help understand the importance of disease-associated variants, which will shed light on the pendrin exchange mechanism.
Project description:Pendrin is a Cl-/HCO3- exchanger expressed in type B and non-A, non-B intercalated cells in the distal nephron, where it facilitates Cl- absorption and is involved in Na+ absorption and acid-base balance. Pendrin-knockout mice show no fluid-electrolyte abnormalities under baseline conditions, although mice with double knockout of pendrin and the Na+/Cl- cotransporter (NCC) manifest profound salt wasting. Thus, pendrin may attenuate diuretic-induced salt loss, but this function remains unconfirmed. To clarify the physiologic role of pendrin under conditions not confounded by gene knockout, and to test the potential utility of pendrin inhibitors for diuretic therapy, we tested in mice a small-molecule pendrin inhibitor identified from a high-throughput screen. In vitro, a pyrazole-thiophenesulfonamide, PDSinh-C01, inhibited Cl-/anion exchange mediated by mouse pendrin with a 50% inhibitory concentration of 1-3 µM, without affecting other major kidney tubule transporters. Administration of PDSinh-C01 to mice at predicted therapeutic doses, determined from serum and urine pharmacokinetics, did not affect urine output, osmolality, salt excretion, or acid-base balance. However, in mice treated acutely with furosemide, administration of PDSinh-C01 produced a 30% increase in urine output, with increased Na+ and Cl- excretion. In mice treated long term with furosemide, in which renal pendrin is upregulated, PDSinh-C01 produced a 60% increase in urine output. Our findings clarify the role of pendrin in kidney function and suggest pendrin inhibition as a novel approach to potentiate the action of loop diuretics. Such combination therapy might enhance diuresis and salt excretion for treatment of hypertension and edema, perhaps including diuretic-resistant edema.
Project description:Rac small GTPases and their GEFs of the DOCK family are pivotal checkpoints in development, autoimmunity and bone homeostasis, and their abnormal regulation is associated to diverse pathologies. Small molecules that inhibit their activities are therefore needed to investigate their functions. Here, we characterized the mechanism of inhibition of human DOCK5 by C21, a small molecule that inhibits mouse Dock5 in cells and blocks bone degradation in mice models of osteoporosis. We showed that the catalytic DHR2 domain of DOCK5 has a high basal GEF activity in the absence of membranes which is not regulated by a simple feedback loop. C21 blocks this activity in a non-competitive manner and is specific for DOCK5. In contrast, another Dock inhibitor, CPYPP, inhibits both DOCK5 and an unrelated GEF, Trio. To gain insight into structural features of the inhibitory mechanism of C21, we used SAXS analysis of DOCK5DHR2 and crystallographic analysis of unbound Rac1-GDP. Together, these data suggest that C21 takes advantage of intramolecular dynamics of DOCK5 and Rac1 to remodel the complex into an unproductive conformation. Based on this allosteric mechanism, we propose that diversion of intramolecular dynamics is a potent mechanism for the inhibition of multidomain regulators of small GTPases.
Project description:Pendrin and prestin both belong to a distinct anion transporter family called solute carrier protein 26A, or SLC26A. Pendrin (SLC26A4) is a chloride-iodide transporter that is found at the luminal membrane of follicular cells in the thyroid gland as well as in the endolymphatic duct and sac of the inner ear, whereas prestin (SLC26A5) is expressed in the plasma membrane of cochlear outer hair cells and functions as a unique voltage-dependent motor. We recently identified a motif that is critical for the motor function of prestin. We questioned whether it was possible to create a chimeric pendrin protein with motor capability by integrating this motility motif from prestin. The chimeric pendrin was constructed by substituting residues 160-179 in human pendrin with residues 156-169 from gerbil prestin. Non-linear capacitance and somatic motility, two hallmarks representing prestin function, were measured from chimeric pendrin-transfected human embryonic kidney 293 cells using the voltage clamp technique and photodiode-based displacement measurement system. We showed that this 14-amino acid substitution from prestin was able to confer pendrin with voltage-dependent motor capability despite the amino acid sequence disparity between pendrin and prestin. The molecular mechanism that facilitates motor function appeared to be the same as prestin because the motor activity depended on the concentration of intracellular chloride and was blocked by salicylate treatment. Radioisotope-labeled formate uptake measurements showed that the chimeric pendrin protein retained the capability to transport formate, suggesting that the gain of motor function was not at the expense of its inherent transport capability. Thus, the engineered pendrin was capable of both transporting anions and generating force.
Project description:Most phosphoproteomics experiments rely on prefractionation of tryptic digests before online liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. This study compares the potential and limitations of electrostatic repulsion-hydrophilic interaction chromatography (ERLIC) and anion-exchange chromatography (AEX). At a pH higher than 5, phosphopeptides have two negative charges per residue and are well-retained in AEX. However, peptides with one or two phosphate groups are not separated from peptides with multiple Asp or Glu residues, interfering with the identification of phosphopeptides. At a pH of 2, phosphate residues have just a single negative charge but Asp and Glu are uncharged. This facilitates the separation of phosphopeptides from unmodified acidic peptides. Singly phosphorylated peptides are retained weakly under these conditions, due to electrostatic repulsion, unless hydrophilic interaction is superimposed in the ERLIC mode. Weak anion-exchange (WAX) and strong anion-exchange (SAX) columns were compared, with both peptide standards and a HeLa cell tryptic digest. The SAX column exhibited greater retention at pH 6 than did the WAX column. However, only about 60% as many phosphopeptides were identified with SAX at pH 6 than via ERLIC at pH 2. In one ERLIC run, 12 467 phosphopeptides were identified, including 4233 with more than one phosphate. We conclude that chromatography of phosphopeptides is best performed at low pH in the ERLIC mode. Under those conditions, the performances of the SAX and WAX materials were comparable. The data have been deposited with the ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD001333.
Project description:Anion selective ionophores, anionophores, are small molecules capable of facilitating the transmembrane transport of anions. Inspired in the structure of natural product prodigiosin, four novel anionophores 1a-d, including a 1,2,3-triazole group, were prepared. These compounds proved highly efficient anion exchangers in model phospholipid liposomes. The changes in the hydrogen bond cleft modified the anion transport selectivity exhibited by these compounds compared to prodigiosin and suppressed the characteristic high toxicity of the natural product. Their activity as anionophores in living cells was studied and chloride efflux and iodine influx from living cells mediated by these derivatives was demonstrated. These compounds were shown to permeabilize cellular membranes to halides with efficiencies close to the natural anion channel CFTR at doses that do not compromise cellular viability. Remarkably, optimal transport efficiency was measured in the presence of pH gradients mimicking those found in the airway epithelia of Cystic Fibrosis patients. These results support the viability of developing small molecule anionophores as anion channel protein surrogates with potential applications in the treatment of conditions such as Cystic Fibrosis derived from the malfunction of natural anion transport mechanisms.
Project description:The contributions from anions and cations from salt are inseparable in their perturbation of molecular systems by experimental and computational methods, rendering it difficult to dissect the effects exerted by the anions and cations individually. Here we investigate the solvation of a small molecule, caffeine, and its perturbation by monovalent salts from various parts of the Hofmeister series. Using molecular dynamics and the energy-representation theory of solvation, we estimate the solvation free energy of caffeine and decompose it into the contributions from anions, cations, and water. We also decompose the contributions arising from the solute-solvent and solute-ions interactions and that from excluded volume, enabling us to pin-point the mechanism of salt. Anions and cations revealed high contrast in their perturbation of caffeine solvation, with the cations salting-in caffeine via binding to the polar ketone groups, while the anions were found to be salting-out via perturbations of water. In agreement with previous findings, the perturbation by salt is mostly anion dependent, with the magnitude of the excluded-volume effect found to be the governing mechanism. The free-energy decomposition as conducted in the present work can be useful to understand ion-specific effects and the associated Hofmeister series.
Project description:We have identified a series of small molecules that bind to the canonical peptide binding groove of the PDZ1 domain of NHERF1 and effectively compete with the association of the C-terminus of the parathyroid hormone 1 receptor (PTH1R). Employing nuclear magnetic resonance and molecular modeling, we characterize the mode of binding that involves the GYGF loop important for the association of the C-terminus of PTH1R. We demonstrate that the common core of the small molecules binds to the PDZ1 domain of NHERF1 and displaces a (15)N-labeled peptide corresponding to the C-terminus of PTH1R. The small size (molecular weight of 192) of this core scaffold makes it an excellent candidate for further elaboration in the development of an inhibitor for this important protein-protein interaction.