title: Dual targeting of the chemokine receptors CXCR4 and ACKR3 with novel engineered chemokines.
abstract: The chemokine CXCL12 and its G protein-coupled receptors CXCR4 and ACKR3 are implicated in cancer and inflammatory and autoimmune disorders and are targets of numerous antagonist discovery efforts. Here, we describe a series of novel, high affinity CXCL12-based modulators of CXCR4 and ACKR3 generated by selection of N-terminal CXCL12 phage libraries on live cells expressing the receptors. Twelve of 13 characterized CXCL12 variants are full CXCR4 antagonists, and four have Kd values <5 nm. The new variants also showed high affinity for ACKR3. The variant with the highest affinity for CXCR4, LGGG-CXCL12, showed efficacy in a murine model for multiple sclerosis, demonstrating translational potential. Molecular modeling was used to elucidate the structural basis of binding and antagonism of selected variants and to guide future designs. Together, this work represents an important step toward the development of therapeutics targeting CXCR4 and ACKR3.
authors.affiliation: From the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093 and.
authors.forename: Melinda S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Hanes
authors.affiliation: From the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093 and.
authors.forename: Catherina L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Salanga
authors.affiliation: From the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093 and.
authors.forename: Arnab B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Chowdry
authors.affiliation: Chemokine Biology Group, The School of Molecular and Biomedical Science, The University of Adelaide, North Terrace Campus, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia.
authors.forename: Iain
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Comerford
authors.affiliation: Chemokine Biology Group, The School of Molecular and Biomedical Science, The University of Adelaide, North Terrace Campus, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia.
authors.forename: Shaun R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: McColl
authors.affiliation: From the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093 and.
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kufareva
authors.affiliation: From the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093 and thandel@ucsd.edu.
authors.forename: Tracy M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Handel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D054377:Chemokine CXCL12 / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D019169:Jurkat Cells; D051379:Mice; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D019151:Peptide Library; D015202:Protein Engineering; D054387:Receptors, CXCR / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D019718:Receptors, CXCR4 / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: C501896:ACKR3 protein, human; C515255:CXCL12 protein, human; C527276:CXCR4 protein, human; D054377:Chemokine CXCL12; D019151:Peptide Library; D054387:Receptors, CXCR; D019718:Receptors, CXCR4
keywords: ACKR3; C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR-4); CXCL12; G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR); SDF-1a; chemokine; chemokine receptors; experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE); phage display; signaling