Natural Product Screening Reveals Naphthoquinone Complex I Bypass Factors

PLoS One. 2016 Sep 13;11(9):e0162686. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0162686. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Deficiency of mitochondrial complex I is encountered in both rare and common diseases, but we have limited therapeutic options to treat this lesion to the oxidative phosphorylation system (OXPHOS). Idebenone and menadione are redox-active molecules capable of rescuing OXPHOS activity by engaging complex I-independent pathways of entry, often referred to as "complex I bypass." In the present study, we created a cellular model of complex I deficiency by using CRISPR genome editing to knock out Ndufa9 in mouse myoblasts, and utilized this cell line to develop a high-throughput screening platform for novel complex I bypass factors. We screened a library of ~40,000 natural product extracts and performed bioassay-guided fractionation on a subset of the top scoring hits. We isolated four plant-derived 1,4-naphthoquinone complex I bypass factors with structural similarity to menadione: chimaphilin and 3-chloro-chimaphilin from Chimaphila umbellata and dehydro-α-lapachone and dehydroiso-α-lapachone from Stereospermum euphoroides. We also tested a small number of structurally related naphthoquinones from commercial sources and identified two additional compounds with complex I bypass activity: 2-methoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone and 2-methoxy-3-methyl-1,4,-naphthoquinone. The six novel complex I bypass factors reported here expand this class of molecules and will be useful as tool compounds for investigating complex I disease biology.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bignoniaceae / chemistry
  • Biological Products / chemistry
  • Biological Products / pharmacology*
  • CRISPR-Cas Systems
  • Cell Line
  • Drug Evaluation, Preclinical
  • Electron Transport Complex I / deficiency*
  • Electron Transport Complex I / genetics
  • Electron Transport Complex I / metabolism*
  • Ericaceae / chemistry
  • Gene Editing
  • Gene Knockout Techniques
  • High-Throughput Screening Assays
  • Mice
  • Myoblasts / drug effects
  • Myoblasts / metabolism
  • Naphthoquinones / chemistry
  • Naphthoquinones / pharmacology*
  • Oxidative Phosphorylation
  • Smegmamorpha / metabolism

Substances

  • Biological Products
  • Naphthoquinones
  • Electron Transport Complex I