Insights into the interaction of negative allosteric modulators with the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5: discovery and computational modeling of a new series of ligands with nanomolar affinity.

Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGlu5) is a biological target implicated in major neurological and psychiatric disorders. In the present study, we have investigated structural determinants of the interaction of negative allosteric modulators (NAMs) with the seven-transmembrane (7TM) domain of mGlu5. A homology model of the 7TM receptor domain built on the crystal structure of the mGlu1 template was obtained, and the binding modes of known NAMs, namely MPEP and fenobam, were investigated by docking and molecular dynamics simulations. The results were validated by comparison with mutagenesis data available in the literature for these two ligands, and subsequently corroborated by the recently described mGlu5 crystal structure. Moreover, a new series of NAMs was synthesized and tested, providing compounds with nanomolar affinity. Several structural modifications were sequentially introduced with the aim of identifying structural features important for receptor binding. The synthesized NAMs were docked in the validated homology model and binding modes were used to interpret and discuss structure-activity relationships within this new series of compounds. Finally, the models of the interaction of NAMs with mGlu5 were extended to include important non-aryl alkyne mGlu5 NAMs taken from the literature. Overall, the results provide useful insights into the molecular interaction of negative allosteric modulators with mGlu5 and may facilitate the design of new modulators for this class of receptors.

The variant hepatocyte nuclear factor 1 activates the P1 promoter of the human alpha-folate receptor gene in ovarian carcinoma.

The alpha folate receptor (alpha FR) is a membrane glycoprotein that binds folates, and mediates their uptake and that of antifolate drugs. alpha FR is absent on ovarian surface epithelium (OSE) but is detectable during early transforming events in this epithelium, with increasing expression levels in association with tumor progression. Analysis of transcriptional regulation of the alpha FR gene have revealed two promoter regions, P1 and P4, flanking exons 1 and 4, respectively, and a requirement for three SP1 sites and an INR element for optimal P4 activity. Here, we focused on the P1 transcription regulation in ovarian carcinoma cells. RNase protection assay indicated that the 5'-untranslated region is heterogeneous because of different start sites and alternative splicing of exon 3. A core region of the P1 promoter was sufficient for maximal promoter activity in ovarian carcinoma cell lines but not in OSE cells or in alpha FR-nonexpressing cell lines. Deletion and mutation analysis of this core promoter identified a cis-regulatory element at position +27 to +33 of the untranslated exon 1, which is responsible for maximum P1 activity. This element formed an abundant DNA-protein complex with nuclear proteins from ovarian cancer cells but not from other cell lines or OSE cells. Competition experiments and supershift assays demonstrated binding of the P1 cis-regulatory element by a transcription factor involved in embryonic development, the variant hepatocyte nuclear factor-1 (vHNF1). Analysis of RNA from various cell lines and surgical specimens confirmed that vHNF1 is expressed in ovarian carcinomas. Thus, vHNF1 regulates tissue-specific transcription in ovarian carcinoma.