Novel Allosteric Activators for Ferroptosis Regulator Glutathione Peroxidase 4

J Med Chem. 2019 Jan 10;62(1):266-275. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.8b00315. Epub 2018 May 2.

Abstract

Glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) is essential for cell membrane repair, inflammation suppression, and ferroptosis inhibition. GPX4 upregulation provides unique drug discovery opportunities for inflammation and ferroptosis-related diseases. However, rational design of protein activators is challenging. Until now, no compound has been reported to activate the enzyme activity of GPX4. Here, we identified a potential allosteric site in GPX4 and successfully found eight GPX4 activators using a novel computational strategy and experimental studies. Compound 1 from the virtual screen increased GPX4 activity, suppressed ferroptosis, reduced pro-inflammatory lipid mediator production, and inhibited NF-κB pathway activation. Further chemical synthesis and structure-activity relationship studies revealed seven more activators. The strongest compound, 1d4, increased GPX4 activity to 150% at 20 μM in the cell-free assay and 61 μM in cell extracts. Therefore, we demonstrated that GPX4 can be directly activated using chemical compounds to suppress ferroptosis and inflammation. Meanwhile, the discovery of GPX4 activators verified the possibility of rational design of allosteric activators.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Allosteric Regulation
  • Allosteric Site
  • Apoptosis* / drug effects
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Eicosanoids / biosynthesis
  • Glutathione Peroxidase / chemistry*
  • Glutathione Peroxidase / genetics
  • Glutathione Peroxidase / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Hydrogen Bonding
  • Molecular Dynamics Simulation
  • Mutagenesis
  • NF-kappa B / metabolism
  • Phospholipid Hydroperoxide Glutathione Peroxidase
  • Piperazines / pharmacology
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Signal Transduction / drug effects
  • Structure-Activity Relationship
  • Sulfonamides / chemistry*
  • Sulfonamides / metabolism
  • Sulfonamides / pharmacology

Substances

  • Eicosanoids
  • NF-kappa B
  • Piperazines
  • Sulfonamides
  • erastin
  • Phospholipid Hydroperoxide Glutathione Peroxidase
  • Glutathione Peroxidase