The necessity of anti-inflammatory drugs such as glucocorticoids has been evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. Glucocorticoids, are the standard therapy for the treatment of moderate and severe COVID-19 patients. However, serious side effects limit the use of these drugs, and anti-inflammatory drugs with better pharmacological properties are urgently required. Bile acids are of interest, because of their anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties, facilitated through an unclear mechanism involving transmembrane and nuclear receptors. In this work, we screened the binding activity of a number of bile acid derivatives, for the ligand-binding domain of glucocorticoid receptor (GR-LBD), the most important receptor for anti-inflammatory processes. Tested compounds include oximes, lactones, lactams, tetrazoles, dienones, C-24 alcohols and cholic acid amides. Cholic acid oxime, deoxycholic acid dienone, 3-keto-24-cholic alcohol and cholic acid amide showed best binding affinities for GR-LBD among tested compounds. The in silico molecular docking explanation is provided. SAR analysis showed that expansion of B and C steroid rings or attachment of heterocycle to C ring is not beneficial for binding; side chain should contain hydrogen donor group; the GR-LBD tolerate well different functionalities on C-3 position. These results provide valuable information toward synthesis of the new glucocorticoids based on bile acids.
在 COVID-19 大流行期间,糖皮质激素等抗炎药物的必要性显而易见。糖皮质激素是治疗中度和重度 COVID-19 患者的标准疗法。然而,严重的副作用限制了这些药物的使用,因此迫切需要药理特性更好的抗炎药物。胆汁酸具有抗炎和免疫调节特性,其机制尚不明确,涉及跨膜受体和核受体,因此备受关注。在这项工作中,我们筛选了一些胆汁酸衍生物与糖皮质激素受体(GR-LBD)配体结合域的结合活性,糖皮质激素受体是抗炎过程中最重要的受体。受测化合物包括肟类、内酯类、内酰胺类、四唑类、二烯酮类、C-24 醇类和胆酸酰胺类。在测试的化合物中,胆酸肟、脱氧胆酸二烯酮、3-酮基-24-胆酸醇和胆酸酰胺与 GR-LBD 的结合亲和力最佳。本研究提供了硅学分子对接解释。SAR 分析表明,类固醇 B 环和 C 环的扩展或杂环与 C 环的连接不利于结合;侧链应包含氢供体基团;GR-LBD 能很好地耐受 C-3 位置上的不同官能团。这些结果为基于胆汁酸合成新的糖皮质激素提供了有价值的信息。