In silico design of novel probes for the atypical opioid receptor MRGPRX2.

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Abstract

The primate-exclusive MRGPRX2 G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) has been suggested to modulate pain and itch. Despite putative peptide and small-molecule MRGPRX2 agonists, selective nanomolar-potency probes have not yet been reported. To identify a MRGPRX2 probe, we first screened 5,695 small molecules and found that many opioid compounds activated MRGPRX2, including (-)- and (+)-morphine, hydrocodone, sinomenine, dextromethorphan, and the prodynorphin-derived peptides dynorphin A, dynorphin B, and α- and β-neoendorphin. We used these to select for mutagenesis-validated homology models and docked almost 4 million small molecules. From this docking, we predicted ZINC-3573-a potent MRGPRX2-selective agonist, showing little activity against 315 other GPCRs and 97 representative kinases-along with an essentially inactive enantiomer. ZINC-3573 activates endogenous MRGPRX2 in a human mast cell line, inducing degranulation and calcium release. MRGPRX2 is a unique atypical opioid-like receptor important for modulating mast cell degranulation, which can now be specifically modulated with ZINC-3573.

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Identification of a mast cell specific receptor crucial for pseudo-allergic drug reactions

Benjamin McNeil, Priyanka Pundir, Sonya Meeker … (2014)

Mast cells are primary effectors in allergic reactions, and may have significant roles in diseases by secreting histamine and various inflammatory and immunomodulatory substances 1,2 . While classically they are activated by IgE antibodies, a unique property of mast cells is their antibody-independent responsiveness to a range of cationic substances, collectively called basic secretagogues, including inflammatory peptides and drugs associated with allergic-type reactions 1,3 . Roles for these substances in pathology have prompted a decades-long search for their receptor(s). Here we report that basic secretagogues activate mouse mast cells in vitro and in vivo through a single receptor, MrgprB2, the orthologue of the human G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) MrgprX2. Secretagogue-induced histamine release, inflammation, and airway contraction are abolished in MrgprB2 null mutant mice. Further, we show that most classes of FDA-approved peptidergic drugs associated with allergic-type injection-site reactions also activate MrgprB2 and MrgprX2, and that injection-site inflammation is absent in mutant mice. Finally, we determine that MrgprB2 and MrgprX2 are targets of many small molecule drugs associated with systemic pseudo-allergic, or anaphylactoid, reactions; we show that drug-induced symptoms of anaphylactoid responses are significantly reduced in knockout mice, and we identify a common chemical motif in several of these molecules that may help predict side effects of other compounds. These discoveries introduce a mouse model to study mast cell activation by basic secretagogues and identify MrgprX2 as a potential therapeutic target to reduce a subset of drug-induced adverse effects.

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PRESTO-TANGO: an open-source resource for interrogation of the druggable human GPCR-ome

W.K. Kroeze, M.F. Sassano, X. P. Huang … (2015)

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are essential mediators of cellular signaling and important targets of drug action. Of the approximately 350 non-olfactory human GPCRs, more than 100 are still considered “orphans” as their endogenous ligand(s) remain unknown. Here, we describe a unique open-source resource that provides the capacity to interrogate the druggable human GPCR-ome via a G protein-independent β-arrestin recruitment assay. We validate this unique platform at more than 120 non-orphan human GPCR targets, demonstrate its utility for discovering new ligands for orphan human GPCRs, and describe a method (PRESTO-TANGO; Parallel Receptor-ome Expression and Screening via Transcriptional Output - TANGO) for the simultaneous and parallel interrogation of the entire human GPCR-ome.

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A diverse family of GPCRs expressed in specific subsets of nociceptive sensory neurons.

Xinzhong Dong, Sang-kyou Han, Mark J Zylka … (2001)

In vertebrates, peripheral chemosensory neurons express large families of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), reflecting the diversity and specificity of stimuli they detect. However, somatosensory neurons, which respond to chemical, thermal, or mechanical stimuli, are more broadly tuned. Here we describe a family of approximately 50 GPCRs related to Mas1, called mrgs, a subset of which is expressed in specific subpopulations of sensory neurons that detect painful stimuli. The expression patterns of mrgs thus reveal an unexpected degree of molecular diversity among nociceptive neurons. Some of these receptors can be specifically activated in heterologous cells by RFamide neuropeptides such as NPFF and NPAF, which are analgesic in vivo. Thus, mrgs may regulate nociceptor function and/or development, including the sensation or modulation of pain.

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PubMed ID:: 28288109

PMC ID:: 5391270

DOI:: 10.1038/nchembio.2334

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