Discovery of a Vitamin D Receptor-Silent Vitamin D Derivative That Impairs Sterol Regulatory Element-Binding Protein In Vivo
Fumihiro Kawagoe, Aileen Mendoza, Yuki Hayata, Lisa Asano, Kenjiro Kotake, Sayuri Mototani, Satoshi Kawamura, Shigeyuki Kurosaki, Yusuke Akagi, Yasushi Takemoto, Kazuo Nagasawa, Hayato Nakagawa, Motonari Uesugi, Atsushi Kittaka
Abstract
Vitamin D3 metabolites inhibit the expression of lipogenic genes by impairing sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP), a master transcription factor of lipogenesis, independent of their canonical activity through a vitamin D receptor (VDR). Herein, we designed and synthesized a series of vitamin D derivatives to search for a drug-like small molecule that suppresses the SREBP-induced lipogenesis without affecting the VDR-controlled calcium homeostasis in vivo. Evaluation of the derivatives in cultured cells and mice led to the discovery of VDR-silent SREBP inhibitors and to the development of KK-052 (50), the first vitamin D-based SREBP inhibitor that has been demonstrated to mitigate hepatic lipid accumulation without calcemic action in mice. KK-052 maintained the ability of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 to induce the degradation of SREBP but lacked in the VDR-mediated activity. KK-052 serves as a valuable compound for interrogating SREBP/SCAP in vivo and may represent an unprecedented translational opportunity of synthetic vitamin D analogues.