Designing Selective Drug-like Molecular Glues for the Glucocorticoid Receptor/14-3-3 Protein-Protein Interaction

The ubiquitously expressed glucocorticoid receptor (GR) is a nuclear receptor that controls a broad range of biological processes and is activated by steroidal glucocorticoids such as hydrocortisone or dexamethasone. Glucocorticoids are used to treat a wide variety of conditions, from inflammation to cancer but suffer from a range of side effects that motivate the search for safer GR modulators. GR is also regulated outside the steroid-binding site through protein-protein interactions (PPIs) with 14-3-3 adapter proteins. Manipulation of these PPIs will provide insights into noncanonical GR signaling as well as a new level of control over GR activity. We report the first molecular glues that selectively stabilize the 14-3-3/GR PPI using the related nuclear receptor estrogen receptor alpha (ER alpha) as a selectivity target to drive design. These 14-3-3/GR PPI stabilizers can be used to dissect noncanonical GR signaling and enable the development of novel atypical GR modulators.

Automated summary

The ubiquitously expressed glucocorticoid receptor (GR) is a nuclear receptor that controls a broad range of biological processes and is activated by steroidal glucocorticoids. GR is also regulated through protein-protein interactions (PPIs) with adapter proteins 14-3-3 outside the steroid-binding site, providing insights into noncanonical GR signaling and enabling the development of novel GR modulators.