A Novel Class of Natural FXR Modulators with a Unique Mode of Selective Co-regulator Assembly

Abstract

The farnesoid X receptor (FXR) is an important target for drug discovery. Small molecules induce a conformational change in FXR that modulates its binding to co-regulators, thus resulting in distinct FXR functional profiles. However, the mechanisms for selectively recruiting co-regulators by FXR remain elusive, partly because of the lack of FXR-selective modulators. We report the identification of two natural terpenoids, tschimgine and feroline, as novel FXR modulators. Remarkably, their crystal structures uncovered a secondary binding pocket important for ligand binding. Further, tschimgine or feroline induced dynamic conformational changes in the activation function 2 (AF-2) surface, thus leading to differential co-regulator recruiting profiles, modulated by both hydrophobic and selective hydrogen-bond interactions unique to specific co-regulators. Our findings thus provide a novel structure template for optimization for FXR-selective modulators of clinical value.

Keywords: co-regulator assembly; drug discovery; natural products; nuclear receptor FXR; structure-activity relationships.