Download MendeleyHotspot pocket-based discovery of urea transporter selective inhibitors.
Liu, L., Li, Z., Zhang, C., Zhang, Y., Huang, Z., Zhang, D., Li, D., Zhao, J., Miao, Y., Cai, B., Zhu, K., Sun, J.P., Hou, G., Sun, Y., Yang, B., Yu, X., Huang, S.(2026) Nat Commun 17
- PubMed: 42009654 Search on PubMedSearch on PubMed Central
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-71834-w
- Primary Citation Related Structures:
9W4K, 9W4L - PubMed Abstract:
Urea transporter (UT) inhibitors are a promising class of diuretics, as selective inhibitors targeting UT-A subtypes have demonstrated considerable therapeutic potential. Herein, we employ a two-round progressive hotspot pocket-based virtual screening approach combined with biological validation to identify M353-0039 as a highly potent and selective inhibitor of UT-A2. We conduct cryo-electron microscopy to solve the structures of UT-A2 bound with the two inhibitors, M353-0039 and E822-1968, at the resolution of 2.7 Å and 2.9 Å respectively, and elucidate the structural mechanism underlying the superior efficacy and selectivity of M353-0039. Compared with the inhibitor HQA2 and E822-1968, M353-0039 occupies a deeper binding pocket and forms more interactions with UT-A2, thus leading to greater inhibitory potency. We demonstrate that the selectivity of M353-0039 is driven by the nonconserved residues C285 and G322 within the "T-T" subpocket of UT-A2. Finally, we validate the selective effects of M353-0039 in inhibiting UT-A2 function both in mouse models and hepatic cell. These findings not only identify a selective inhibitor as a tool that can be applied to elucidate the unique physiological roles of UT-A2 but also provide an available method for efficiently developing UT-A-selective inhibitors with potent activity as the next-generation diuretics.
- State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Molecules and Druggability Assessment, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Natural Bioactive Molecules and Discovery of Innovative Drugs, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Organizational Affiliation:
