Structure-Based Discovery of Novel Ligands for the Orexin 2 Receptor

J Med Chem. 2020 Oct 8;63(19):11045-11053. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c00964. Epub 2020 Sep 25.

Abstract

The orexin receptors are peptide-sensing G protein-coupled receptors that are intimately linked with regulation of the sleep/wake cycle. We used a recently solved X-ray structure of the orexin receptor subtype 2 in computational docking calculations with the aim to identify additional ligands with unprecedented chemotypes. We found validated ligands with a high hit rate of 29% out of those tested, none of them showing selectivity with respect to the orexin receptor subtype 1. Furthermore, of the higher-affinity compounds examined, none showed any agonist activity. While novel chemical structures can thus be found, selectivity is a challenge owing to the largely identical binding pockets.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Area Under Curve
  • CHO Cells
  • Cricetulus
  • Drug Design
  • Humans
  • Ligands
  • Molecular Structure
  • Orexin Receptor Antagonists / chemistry
  • Orexin Receptor Antagonists / metabolism*
  • Orexin Receptor Antagonists / pharmacokinetics
  • Orexin Receptors / drug effects
  • Orexin Receptors / metabolism*
  • Protein Binding
  • Structure-Activity Relationship

Substances

  • Ligands
  • Orexin Receptor Antagonists
  • Orexin Receptors