TY - JOUR
T1 - Substrate-selective inhibitors that reprogram the activity of insulin-degrading enzyme
AU - Maianti, Juan Pablo
AU - Tan, Grace A.
AU - Vetere, Amedeo
AU - Welsh, Amie J.
AU - Wagner, Bridget K.
AU - Seeliger, Markus A.
AU - Liu, David R.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature America, Inc.
PY - 2019/6/1
Y1 - 2019/6/1
N2 - Enzymes that act on multiple substrates are common in biology but pose unique challenges as therapeutic targets. The metalloprotease insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) modulates blood glucose levels by cleaving insulin, a hormone that promotes glucose clearance. However, IDE also degrades glucagon, a hormone that elevates glucose levels and opposes the effect of insulin. IDE inhibitors to treat diabetes, therefore, should prevent IDE-mediated insulin degradation, but not glucagon degradation, in contrast with traditional modes of enzyme inhibition. Using a high-throughput screen for non-active-site ligands, we discovered potent and highly specific small-molecule inhibitors that alter IDE’s substrate selectivity. X-ray co-crystal structures, including an IDE-ligand-glucagon ternary complex, revealed substrate-dependent interactions that enable these inhibitors to potently block insulin binding while allowing glucagon cleavage, even at saturating inhibitor concentrations. These findings suggest a path for developing IDE-targeting therapeutics, and offer a blueprint for modulating other enzymes in a substrate-selective manner to unlock their therapeutic potential.
AB - Enzymes that act on multiple substrates are common in biology but pose unique challenges as therapeutic targets. The metalloprotease insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) modulates blood glucose levels by cleaving insulin, a hormone that promotes glucose clearance. However, IDE also degrades glucagon, a hormone that elevates glucose levels and opposes the effect of insulin. IDE inhibitors to treat diabetes, therefore, should prevent IDE-mediated insulin degradation, but not glucagon degradation, in contrast with traditional modes of enzyme inhibition. Using a high-throughput screen for non-active-site ligands, we discovered potent and highly specific small-molecule inhibitors that alter IDE’s substrate selectivity. X-ray co-crystal structures, including an IDE-ligand-glucagon ternary complex, revealed substrate-dependent interactions that enable these inhibitors to potently block insulin binding while allowing glucagon cleavage, even at saturating inhibitor concentrations. These findings suggest a path for developing IDE-targeting therapeutics, and offer a blueprint for modulating other enzymes in a substrate-selective manner to unlock their therapeutic potential.
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U2 - 10.1038/s41589-019-0271-0
DO - 10.1038/s41589-019-0271-0
M3 - Article
C2 - 31086331
AN - SCOPUS:85065799964
SN - 1552-4450
VL - 15
SP - 565
EP - 574
JO - Nature Chemical Biology
JF - Nature Chemical Biology
IS - 6
ER -
