GSK4112, a small molecule chemical probe for the cell biology of the nuclear heme receptor Rev-erbα

ACS Chem Biol. 2010 Oct 15;5(10):925-32. doi: 10.1021/cb100141y.

Abstract

The identification of nonporphyrin ligands for the orphan nuclear receptor Rev-erbα will enable studies of its role as a heme sensor and regulator of metabolic and circadian signaling. We describe the development of a biochemical assay measuring the interaction between Rev-erbα and a peptide from the nuclear receptor corepressor-1 (NCoR). The assay was utilized to identify a small molecule ligand for Rev-erbα, GSK4112 (1), that was competitive with heme. In cells, 1 profiled as a Rev-erbα agonist in cells to inhibit expression of the circadian target gene bmal1. In addition, 1 repressed the expression of gluconeogenic genes in liver cells and reduced glucose output in primary hepatocytes. Therefore, 1 is useful as a chemical tool to probe the function of Rev-erbα in transcriptional repression, regulation of circadian biology, and metabolic pathways. Additionally, 1 may serve as a starting point for design of Rev-erbα chemical probes with in vivo pharmacological activity.

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Binding, Competitive
  • Cell Line
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Circadian Rhythm
  • Glycine / analogs & derivatives*
  • Glycine / chemistry
  • Glycine / metabolism
  • Heme / metabolism
  • Hepatocytes / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Nuclear Receptor Co-Repressor 1 / chemistry
  • Nuclear Receptor Co-Repressor 1 / metabolism*
  • Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 1, Group D, Member 1 / metabolism*
  • Peptides / chemistry
  • Peptides / metabolism*
  • Protein Interaction Mapping / methods*
  • Small Molecule Libraries / chemistry
  • Small Molecule Libraries / metabolism*
  • Thiophenes / chemistry
  • Thiophenes / metabolism*

Substances

  • GSK4112
  • Nuclear Receptor Co-Repressor 1
  • Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 1, Group D, Member 1
  • Peptides
  • Small Molecule Libraries
  • Thiophenes
  • Heme
  • Glycine