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  2. The Highly Potent AhR Agonist Picoberin Modulates Hh-Dependent Osteoblast Differentiation

The Highly Potent AhR Agonist Picoberin Modulates Hh-Dependent Osteoblast Differentiation

  • J Med Chem. 2022 Dec 22;65(24):16268-16289. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c00956.
Jana Flegel 1 2 Saad Shaaban 1 3 Zhi Jun Jia 1 4 Britta Schulte 1 2 Yilong Lian 5 Adrian Krzyzanowski 1 2 Malte Metz 1 Tabea Schneidewind 1 2 Fabian Wesseler 1 2 Anke Flegel 1 Alisa Reich 1 Alexandra Brause 1 Gang Xue 1 Minghao Zhang 6 Lara Dötsch 1 2 Isabelle D Stender 7 Jan-Erik Hoffmann 7 Rebecca Scheel 8 Petra Janning 1 Fraydoon Rastinejad 6 Dennis Schade 9 Carsten Strohmann 8 Andrey P Antonchick 1 2 10 Sonja Sievers 1 11 Pedro Moura-Alves 5 12 13 Slava Ziegler 1 Herbert Waldmann 1 2
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Chemical Biology, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Dortmund 44227, Germany.
  • 2 Faculty of Chemistry, Chemical Biology, Technical University Dortmund, Dortmund 44227, Germany.
  • 3 Faculty of Chemistry, Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Vienna Währinger Str. 38, Vienna 1090, Austria.
  • 4 Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Evidence-Based Pharmacy Center, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
  • 5 Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, United Kingdom.
  • 6 Nuffield Department of Medicine, Target Discovery Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7FZ, UK.
  • 7 Protein Chemistry Facility, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Dortmund 44227, Germany.
  • 8 Faculty of Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Technical University Dortmund, Dortmund 44227, Germany.
  • 9 Dept. of Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry, Institute of Pharmacy, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Kiel 24118, Germany.
  • 10 Department of Chemistry and Forensics, School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Clifton Lane, Nottingham, NG11 8NS, United Kingdom.
  • 11 Compound Management and Screening Center, Dortmund 44227, Germany.
  • 12 i3S-Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal.
  • 13 IBMC-Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal.
Abstract

Identification and analysis of small molecule bioactivity in target-agnostic cellular assays and monitoring changes in phenotype followed by identification of the biological target are a powerful approach for the identification of novel bioactive chemical matter in particular when the monitored phenotype is disease-related and physiologically relevant. Profiling methods that enable the unbiased analysis of compound-perturbed states can suggest mechanisms of action or even targets for bioactive small molecules and may yield novel insights into biology. Here we report the enantioselective synthesis of natural-product-inspired 8-oxotetrahydroprotoberberines and the identification of Picoberin, a low picomolar inhibitor of Hedgehog (Hh)-induced osteoblast differentiation. Global transcriptome and proteome profiling revealed the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR) as the molecular target of this compound and identified a cross talk between Hh and AhR signaling during osteoblast differentiation.

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