α-Arylidene Diacylglycerol-Lactones (DAG-Lactones) as Selective Ras Guanine-Releasing Protein 3 (RasGRP3) Ligands

J Med Chem. 2018 Jul 26;61(14):6261-6276. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.8b00661. Epub 2018 Jul 3.

Abstract

Diacylglycerol-lactones have proven to be a powerful template for the design of potent ligands targeting C1 domains, the recognition motif for the cellular second messenger diacylglycerol. A major objective has been to better understand the structure activity relations distinguishing the seven families of signaling proteins that contain such domains, of which the protein kinase C (PKC) and RasGRP families are of particular interest. Here, we synthesize a series of aryl- and alkyl-substituted diacylglycerol-lactones and probe their relative selectivities for RasGRP3 versus PKC. Compound 96 showed 73-fold selectivity relative to PKCα and 45-fold selectivity relative to PKCε for in vitro binding activity. Likewise, in intact cells, compound 96 induced Ras activation, a downstream response to RasGRP stimulation, with 8-29 fold selectivity relative to PKCδ S299 phosphorylation, a measure of PKCδ stimulation.

MeSH terms

  • Diglycerides / chemistry*
  • Drug Design*
  • Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors / chemistry
  • Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors / metabolism*
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Humans
  • Lactones / chemistry*
  • Lactones / metabolism*
  • Ligands
  • Models, Molecular
  • Protein Domains
  • Protein Kinase C-alpha / metabolism
  • Protein Kinase C-epsilon / metabolism
  • Substrate Specificity
  • ras Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors

Substances

  • 1,2-diacylglycerol
  • Diglycerides
  • Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors
  • Lactones
  • Ligands
  • RASGRP3 protein, human
  • ras Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors
  • Protein Kinase C-alpha
  • Protein Kinase C-epsilon