title: Multistage screening reveals chameleon ligands of the human farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase: implications to drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases.
abstract: Human farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase (hFPPS) is the gate-keeper of mammalian isoprenoids and the key target of bisphosphonate drugs. Bisphosphonates suffer from poor "drug-like" properties and are mainly effective in treating skeletal diseases. Recent investigations have implicated hFPPS in various nonskeletal diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the hFPPS gene and mRNA levels in autopsy-confirmed AD subjects was undertaken, and a genetic link between hFPPS and phosphorylated tau (P-Tau) levels in the human brain was identified. Elevated P-Tau levels are strongly implicated in AD progression. The development of nonbisphosphonate inhibitors can provide molecular tools for validating hFPPS as a therapeutic target for tauopathy-associated neurodegeneration. A multistage screening protocol led to the identification of a new monophosphonate chemotype that bind in an allosteric pocket of hFPPS. Optimization of these compounds could lead to human therapeutics that block tau metabolism and arrest the progression of neurodegeneration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, McGill University , 801 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0B8, Canada.
authors.forename: Joris W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: De Schutter
authors.forename: Jaeok
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Chun Yuen
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gormley
authors.forename: Yih-Shyan
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Zheping
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Albert M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Berghuis
authors.forename: Judes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Poirier
authors.forename: Youla S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Tsantrizos
mesh_terms: D000495:Allosteric Site / Q000187:drug effects; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology; D020134:Catalytic Domain; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D004164:Diphosphonates / Q000494:pharmacology; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051228:Geranyltranstransferase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008024:Ligands; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy; D063065:Organophosphonates / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011743:Pyrimidines / Q000494:pharmacology; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004164:Diphosphonates; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D008024:Ligands; D063065:Organophosphonates; D011743:Pyrimidines; D016875:tau Proteins; C476003:thienopyrimidine; D051228:Geranyltranstransferase