Modeling and Deorphanization of Orphan GPCRs.

Despite tremendous efforts, approximately 120 GPCRs remain orphan. Their physiological functions and their potential roles in diseases are poorly understood. Orphan GPCRs are extremely important because they may provide novel therapeutic targets for unmet medical needs.

Differential Virtual Screening (DVS) with Active and Inactive Molecular Models for Finding and Profiling GPCR Modulators: Case of the CCK1 Receptor.

We discovered a constitutively activating mutation (CAM) V308E for the neurotensin NT1 receptor. Molecular dynamics (MD) performed for the CAM NT1-V308E exhibiting a high spontaneous activity, and for the wild-type NT1 without basal activity, show dramatic conformational changes for the CAM. To test if the two MD models could be valuable active and inactive templates for building molecular models for other class-A GPCR, supposed active and inactive models were built by homology for the cholecystokinin CCK1 receptor.

Prostate carcinoma (PC-3) cell proliferation is stimulated by the 22-25-kDa proteolytic fragment (1-160) and inhibited by the 16-kDa fragment (1-95) of recombinant human insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3.

In a previous study, the biphasic effect of increasing dosages of recombinant human insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (rhIGFBP-3) on proliferation in the prostate carcinoma PC-3 cell line (stimulation followed by depression) was shown to reflect changes in the bioavailability of IGF-II secreted by the cells, IGF-II being the major factor responsible for their autocrine growth. These changes depend on the extent of IGFBP-3 proteolysis induced by serine proteases, in particular, plasmin. In order to examine the mechanism of action of IGFBP-3, we investigated the effects of its two major fragments isolated by HPLC following limited proteolysis by plasmin in vitro.

Recombinant human insulin-like growth factor (IGF) binding protein-3 stimulates prostate carcinoma cell proliferation via an IGF-dependent mechanism. Role of serine proteases.

Insulin-like growth factor-binding proteins (IGFBPs) modulate IGF action at cellular level, through either inhibition or potentiation, and they also have intrinsic activity that is independent of their binding to IGFs. In prostate carcinoma (PC-3) cells, which are capable of growth for several days in serum-free medium, non-glycosylated recombinant human IGFBP-3 (rhIGFBP-3) had a biphasic mitogenic effect, stimulation being dose-dependent up to 20 ng/ml, followed by progressive depression down to zero stimulation at 150-200 ng/ml. This mitogenic effect was not intrinsic activity, but involved IGF-II secreted by the cells, since stimulation was abolished in the presence of anti-type 1 IGF receptor antibody (alpha IR-3).

Autocrine regulation of cell proliferation by the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) and IGF binding protein-3 protease system in a human prostate carcinoma cell line (PC-3).

PC-3 cells, whose growth is androgen-independent, were shown to be capable of slow proliferation in serum-free medium and in the absence of added growth factor for 7 days. They secreted insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-II but no detectable IGF-I. This IGF-II, although produced in small amounts, plays a role in their proliferation because growth could be inhibited dose dependently by up to 80% in the presence of monoclonal antibodies directed against IGFs or the type 1 IGF receptor.