Shane L.
Mangold
a,
Lynne R.
Prost
b and
Laura L.
Kiessling
*ab
aDepartment of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA. E-mail: kiessling@chem.wisc.edu
bDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA. E-mail: kiessling@chem.wisc.edu
First published on 24th November 2011
The C-type lectin dendritic cell-specific intercellular adhesion molecule 3–grabbing nonintegrin (DC-SIGN) can serve as a docking site for pathogens on the surface of dendritic cells. Pathogen binding to DC-SIGN can have diverse consequences for the host. DC-SIGN can facilitate HIV-1 dissemination, but the interaction of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with DC-SIGN is important for host immunity. The ability of pathogens to target DC-SIGN provides impetus to identify ligands that can perturb these interactions. Here, we describe the first stable small molecule inhibitors of DC-SIGN. These inhibitors were derived from a collection of quinoxalinones, which were assembled using a tandem cross metathesis-hydrogenation sequence. To assess the ability of these small molecules to block DC-SIGN-mediated glycan adhesion and internalization, we developed a sensitive flow cytometry assay. Our results reveal that the quinoxalinones are effective inhibitors of DC-SIGN–glycan interactions. These compounds block both glycan binding to cells and glycan internalization. We anticipate that these non-carbohydrate inhibitors can be used to elucidate the role of DC-SIGN in pathogenesis and immune function.
DC-SIGN preferentially binds to high mannose oligosaccharides found on the surface of pathogens including HIV-11,12 and M. tuberculosis.13,14 The lectin also interacts with fucose-containing structures that include the Lewis-type epitopes found on parasites such as Schistosoma mansoni cercariae15–18 and Helicobacter pylori (Fig. 1).11,19 The structural requirements for carbohydrate binding to DC-SIGN have been elucidated using various approaches including NMR,20X-ray crystallography,21–23 and carbohydrate arrays.24 Although these studies have contributed insight into the specificity of DC-SIGN, effective functional probes have been elusive. Indeed, the multitude of carbohydrates that bind to DC-SIGN do so with low affinity (Kd ∼ 0.1–10 mM). Most efforts to find higher affinity ligands have focused on generating carbohydrate derivatives, but these compounds generally exhibit only modest increases in affinity.25 Alternatively, multivalent glycoconjugates have been designed that bind DC-SIGN with enhanced avidity, but the production of these can require considerable investment in multistep syntheses.21,26–31 We therefore sought an alternative strategy. The utility of non-carbohydrate inhibitors of lectins provided impetus to search for effective small molecule probes.26,32–34 Herein, we describe the generation of stable compounds that bind potently to DC-SIGN and are capable of inhibiting cell-surface DC-SIGN-glycan interactions.
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Fig. 1 Representative carbohydrates that bind DC-SIGN including (A) mannose (B) Lewis-type epitopes and (C) high mannose oligosaccharides. Values represent binding constants adapted from aref. 35, bref. 25 and cref. 21. |
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Fig. 2 Compounds identified in a high-throughput screen as DC-SIGN inhibitors include quinoxalinone (1) and pyrazolone (2) scaffolds. Values represent binding constants adapted from ref. 35. |
We postulated that the oxidizable thioether functional group in heterocycle 1 was the source of its instability. This instability was especially problematic, as it precluded using compounds like 1 as DC-SIGN probes not only in vivo but also in cell-based assays. To design effective probes, we needed to ascertain what functionality contributes to DC-SIGN binding and whether the thioether could be replaced. We reasoned chemical synthesis could be used to address these issues.
The quinoxalinones represent an important class of compounds and members of this class have activity as anticancer, antibacterial, and antiviral agents.37 Despite the utility of quinoxalinones, relatively few synthetic routes have been described.38–40 Many of these rely on solid phase synthesis to generate the quinoxalinone core.38,41–47 Alternatively, quinoxalinones have been prepared using transition-metal catalysts, but these innovative approaches impose limitations on substrate scope.48 Our objective was to implement an efficient synthesis of quinoxalinones that would allow for late-stage diversification. We reasoned that a divergent route could be used to elucidate the compound features that result in DC-SIGN binding. This information would allow us to convert the compounds identified in our initial screen into effective cellular probes. Installing the elements of diversity at a late stage in the synthesis would enhance efficiency and utility. Finally, we wanted to replace the sulfur with a methylene to test our hypothesis that this oxidizable functionality was the source of the instability of compound 1.
We envisioned generating allyl quinoxalinone 6 and then using tandem olefin cross metathesis-hydrogenation in the penultimate step of the synthesis (Scheme 1). There are several advantages of this approach. First, it provides a means to rapidly modify the common intermediate 6. Second, the remarkable functional group compatibility of the ruthenium carbene catalysts should allow for the installation of a wide range of functionality.49 Finally, the ruthenium carbene catalyst can be transformed from a species that promotes metathesis to one that is capable of transfer hydrogenation.50–53 This dual reactivity can be used in tandem to streamline the production of potential inhibitors. Moreover, the reaction sequence serves as a convenient method for incorporating the methylene-containing substituent.
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Scheme 1 Synthetic route to quinoxalinone inhibitors. |
The utility of a tandem transformation in divergent synthesis depends on its compatibility with diverse functionality and on an effective route to the substrate. We chose allyl bearing quinoxalinone 6 as the key substrate for the tandem metathesis reaction because we envisioned accessing it via an efficient process. To this end, the assembly of building block 6 began with the preparation of the heterocycle 5, which was generated from the commercially available benzoic acid derivative 3. Either enantiomer of the final product 7 can be synthesized from aminopentenoate 4; the latter can be generated as either the R or S isomer using the Schollkopf auxiliary.54Amino acid 4 was used in an SNAr reaction, and subsequent zinc-mediated nitro group reduction was followed by cyclization to afford the allyl quinoxalinone 5 in 93% yield. The carboxylate was elaborated viaamide coupling with piperazine building blocks. An R2 substituent could be incorporated through alkylation of the secondary amine to efficiently generate intermediate 6.
The key transformation in our strategy is appending the R3group using a tandem metathesis–hydrogenation sequence. Cross metathesis reactions of quinoxalinones were unknown. We investigated, therefore, a variety of ruthenium catalysts and solvent conditions. To promote solubility of the allyl quinoxalinone 6, we conducted the reaction in a mixture of dichloromethane and methanol. We anticipated that this mixed solvent would also facilitate the subsequent hydrogenation reaction. Initiation of metathesis with the Grubbs first-generation catalyst55 failed, possibly because of catalyst deactivation. In contrast, the Grubbs second-generation catalyst56 and Hoveyda-Grubbs catalysts57,58 both could initiate metathesis. Of these two, the Grubbs second-generation catalyst was the more efficient promoter of the tandem sequence. The effective ruthenium catalyst was compatible with a variety of functional groups, and the desired reduction process occurred in the presence of ester and ketone59groups. In this way, the versatile yet chemoselective ruthenium catalyst could be exploited to achieve rapid diversification. Using this process, we synthesized over 20 compounds60 for evaluation as DC-SIGN inhibitors.
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Compound | R1 | R2 | R3 | IC50(μM) |
8 | Pr | Et | Et | 370 ± 70.0 |
9 | Et | Me | Et | 360 ± 69.2 |
10 | Me | Me | Me | 329 ± 65.8 |
11 | Me | H | Me | 313 ± 47.7 |
12 | Boc | Et | Me | 270 ± 43.8 |
13 |
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Bn |
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170 ± 28.5 |
14 |
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H |
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113 ± 20.4 |
15 |
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H |
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71 ± 11 |
16 |
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Et |
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68 ± 11 |
17 |
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Bn |
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39 ± 6.2 |
18 |
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H |
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23 ± 3.4 |
19 |
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H |
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10 ± 1.3 |
20 |
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H |
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4.4 ± 0.64 |
21 |
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H |
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2.6 ± 0.28 |
22 |
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H |
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0.31 ± 0.13 |
From the set of compounds tested, approximately 25% were potent lectin inhibitors with IC50 values that ranged from 0.31–10 μM (ESI† S3). These results validate the choice of the quinoxalinone core as a scaffold for generating DC-SIGN ligands. Indeed, compared to the monosaccharides that bind to DC-SIGN, the non-carbohydrate ligands are approximately 1000-fold more active. The potency of these small molecules compares favorably even to that of higher molecular weight, multivalent DC-SIGN ligands.26–30
As we postulated, the methylene-containing compounds were stable over the course of several months. In contrast, compound 1 undergoes oxidation within several days at ambient temperature. Thus, the replacement of the sulfur atom by a methylene enhances compound stability. Indeed, the minor enhancement in binding observed for compound 20 over thioether 1 may be a reflection of the latter's instability. This data suggests that other spacer units can be used to append the R3 substituent to the quinoxalinone core. Consistent with this observation, the immediate alkene precursors of 9, 12, 19 and 22 were also DC-SIGN ligands, with inhibitory activities that are similar to the products (i.e., IC50 values decreased by only 3- to 10-fold (data not shown)). These results highlight that compounds described herein address key liabilities of the initial lead compounds.
We also examined the influence of substituents at other positions on binding. The identity of the R1 moiety was critical. Piperazine derivatives functionalized with aliphatic substituents were less active, and those containing aromatic groups, especially nitrogen heterocycles, afforded the highest affinity. These data implicate the R1group in DC-SIGN binding. The importance of the quinoxalinone ring system itself was emphasized by our observation that derivatization at R2 lead to a decrease in affinity (i.e., compounds 10, 16, and 17). The R3 substituent also impacts binding, and aromatic groups bearing polar functionality were favored. That the most active DC-SIGN ligands possess aromatic groups at both the R1 and R3 positions provides additional support that appending aromatic groups to a ligand can enhance its affinity for lectins. Indeed, DC-SIGN is one of many C-type lectins in which aromatic amino acids line the carbohydrate binding site, and it has been shown that sugars with pendant aromatic substituents can exhibit enhanced binding to their target lectins.61
We used flow cytometry to evaluate the ability of the active small molecules to block the binding and uptake of a fluorescent mannosylated glycoconjugate (Man-Fl-BA) to DC-SIGN-displaying cells. Our assay was implemented using a Raji (derived from Burkitt's lymphoma) cell line stably transfected with a vector encoding DC-SIGN.66 The presence of cell surface DC-SIGN was confirmed by exposing the transfected cells to the fluorescent anti-DC-SIGN antibody AZND1-phycoerythrin (PE). The level of cell surface DC-SIGN was visualized by microscopy (Fig. 3A) and quantified by flow cytometry (Fig. 3B). Relative to untransfected Raji cells, the stable transfectants exhibit increased levels of fluorescence, which is indicative of the presence of cell-surface DC-SIGN. We next exposed a Man-Fl-BSA to cells and assessed the probe's fate. When DC-SIGN-producing cells were treated, increased probe binding and internalization were observed. To confirm that probe binding was mediated by DC-SIGN–carbohydrate interactions, we added N-acetylmannosamine (ManNAc) as a competitor. ManNAc (100 mM) treatment led to a significant decrease in probe uptake by DC-SIGN-positive cells (ESI† S6). These studies demonstrate the utility of Man-Fl-BSA for monitoring ligand interactions with cell surface DC-SIGN. Moreover, because we could use the same DC-SIGN glycan probe in the protein binding assay and the flow cytometry assay, the relative activities of the compounds in each assay could be compared and contrasted.
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Fig. 3 Measurement of cell surface expression of DC-SIGN-transfected Raji cells. (A) Visualization of cell surface expression using the DC-SIGN-specific antibody AZND1-PE (Ab AZND1-PE) and (B) assessment of the level of cell surface expression of DC-SIGN by flow cytometry using the DC-SIGN-specific antibody DCN46-FITC. Bars represent 10 μm. |
Small molecules 21 and 22 were tested for their ability to inhibit DC-SIGN-mediated cellular uptake of the mannosylated probe. These compounds were chosen for testing in the cell based assay because they both are water-soluble and excellent inhibitors in the binding assay. In addition, the differences in the structures of 21 and 22 provide the means to ascertain how subtle perturbations in the quinoxalinone scaffold influence DC-SIGN-mediated glycan uptake. Specifically, the binding assay data indicate that compound 22 is approximately 10-fold more potent than is compound 21. We sought to investigate whether this difference in binding activity was preserved when internalization was monitored. DC-SIGN can internalize glycans, and the receptor is readily recycled to the plasma membrane,67 thus the ability of compounds to block uptake of the glycan probe into DC-SIGN-displaying cells is a rigorous test of their ability to block a key DC-SIGN function. Compounds were assessed at doses devised to block probe binding without inducing cytotoxicity (i.e. <10 mM) (ESI† S4). The compounds had no effect on the fluorescent probe binding to Raji cells that do not produce DC-SIGN. Dose dependent inhibition of fluorescence, however, was observed with DC-SIGN-displaying cells in the presence of each heterocycle (Fig. 4). Specifically, the percentage inhibition for compound 21 was 53% and 77% at 0.10 and 1 mM. These values compare to the percentage inhibition of 79% and 92% for the more potent compound 22 at the same concentrations. Thus, the trends in the inhibition data from the DC-SIGN binding assay and the cell-based glycan uptake assay are similar.
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Fig. 4 Extent of binding and internalization of a fluorescent mannosylated probe (Man-Fl-BSA) to DC-SIGN-producing Raji cells in the presence of (A) compound 21 and (B) compound 22 as measured by flow cytometry. The percent inhibition was determined from the geometric mean normalized to the results obtained from the cells with no inhibitor present. |
The concentrations required for blocking glycoconjugate binding to cells displaying DC-SIGN are higher than those needed to block probe binding to immobilized DC-SIGN. There are several reasons why our cell-based assay is a highly stringent test for DC-SIGN inhibition. Specifically, the concentration of DC-SIGN on Raji cells can vary widely and is heterogeneous within the cell population. Cells with high levels of DC-SIGN are likely to be more adept at internalizing the probe and uptake into these cells will be difficult to inhibit. Moreover, once the glycan probe has been internalized, it will remain within the cell. Thus, the reversibility of glycan-binding to immobilized DC-SIGN assay in the plate assay is not preserved in the internalization assay. A higher concentration of compound is needed in the cell-based assay to reach saturation of the DC-SIGN binding sites and thereby prevent internalization. Indeed, the ability of the small molecules to block DC-SIGN-mediated glycan uptake is notable. Taken together, this data highlights the utility of the synthetic compounds at blocking cell surface DC-SIGN function.
Footnote |
† Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental procedures and characterization data for compounds: See DOI: 10.1039/c2sc00767c |
This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2012 |