一种识别新型蛋白质靶点的计算方法揭示了米氮平S(+)和R(-)对映体在雷特综合征中的新潜在作用机制。

A Computational Approach to Identify Novel Protein Targets Uncovers New Potential Mechanisms of Action of Mirtazapine S(+) and R(-) Enantiomers in Rett Syndrome.

作者信息

Roggero Ottavia Maria, Gualandi Nicolò, Ciraci Viviana, Berutto Vittoria, Carosati Emanuele, Tongiorgi Enrico

机构信息

Cellular and Developmental Neurobiology Lab-Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.

Computational Genomics Laboratory, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Trieste, Italy.

出版信息

J Neurochem. 2025 May;169(5):e70093. doi: 10.1111/jnc.70093.

Abstract

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a progressive neurodevelopmental disorder that affects approximately 1:10000 newborn girls and is primarily caused by mutations in the X-linked gene MECP2. Due to reduced brain monoamine levels in RTT, antidepressants have been explored as potential therapies. In previous studies, we demonstrated that the antidepressant mirtazapine (MTZ) alleviates symptoms in Mecp2-mutant mice and RTT adult patients. However, the mechanism of action of MTZ, a racemic mixture that binds to multiple receptors, remains unclear. This study introduces a computational approach to screen the "human pocketome," comprising over 25 K ligand-bound pockets derived from more than 210 K human protein structures available in the RCSB Protein Data Bank, aiming to identify binding pockets with high affinity for each MTZ enantiomer. Novelty concerns the approach to compare the two enantiomers of MTZ to other drugs experimentally determined as inactive for RTT. This approach introduces a new metric, the ZZscore, which ranks tested proteins and pockets based on their degree of interaction with the tested drugs. This enables the identification of potential drug-protein interactions relevant to the disease and/or phenotypic traits under study. Initial relaxed settings and thresholds parameters suggested over 30 potential targets, among which the RASH/SOS1 complex, but in vitro experiments on cultured hippocampal neurons from Mecp2-KO mice excluded any MTZ effect on it. Thus, we refined the procedure with more stringent parameters and identified 16 protein targets for S(+)MTZ and 14 for R(-)MTZ, with 5 common targets. Pathway enrichment analysis revealed 25 pathways for S(+)MTZ and 24 for R(-)MTZ, with 11 common pathways, many related to MeCP2 functions disrupted in RTT, such as epigenetic chromatin regulation, intracellular signaling, energy metabolism, cholesterol and lipid metabolism, and catecholamine biosynthesis. Overall, the presented computational modeling strategy for target identification allowed us to hypothesize new mechanisms of action for the two MTZ enantiomers.

摘要

雷特综合征(RTT)是一种进行性神经发育障碍,影响约万分之一的新生女婴,主要由X连锁基因MECP2突变引起。由于雷特综合征患者大脑中单胺水平降低,抗抑郁药已被探索作为潜在治疗方法。在先前的研究中,我们证明抗抑郁药米氮平(MTZ)可缓解Mecp2突变小鼠和雷特综合征成年患者的症状。然而,MTZ作为一种与多种受体结合的外消旋混合物,其作用机制仍不清楚。本研究引入了一种计算方法来筛选“人类口袋组”,该口袋组包含来自RCSB蛋白质数据库中超过21万个可用人类蛋白质结构的2.5万多个配体结合口袋,旨在识别对每种MTZ对映体具有高亲和力的结合口袋。新颖之处在于将MTZ的两种对映体与实验确定对雷特综合征无活性的其他药物进行比较的方法。这种方法引入了一种新的指标,即ZZscore,它根据测试蛋白质和口袋与测试药物的相互作用程度对它们进行排名。这使得能够识别与所研究疾病和/或表型特征相关的潜在药物-蛋白质相互作用。初始宽松的设置和阈值参数提示了30多个潜在靶点,其中包括RASH/SOS1复合物,但对来自Mecp2基因敲除小鼠的培养海马神经元进行的体外实验排除了MTZ对其的任何影响。因此,我们用更严格的参数完善了该程序,确定了S(+)MTZ的16个蛋白质靶点和R(-)MTZ的14个蛋白质靶点,有5个共同靶点。通路富集分析显示S(+)MTZ有25条通路,R(-)MTZ有24条通路,有11条共同通路,许多与雷特综合征中被破坏的MeCP2功能相关,如表观遗传染色质调控、细胞内信号传导、能量代谢、胆固醇和脂质代谢以及儿茶酚胺生物合成。总体而言,所提出的用于靶点识别的计算建模策略使我们能够推测两种MTZ对映体的新作用机制。

https://cdn.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/blobs/0dae/12104967/af13bd122589/JNC-169-0-g010.jpg

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