Allosteric Inhibition of a Mammalian Lectin

Glycan-binding proteins are key components of central physiological and cellular processes such as self-/non-self-recognition, cellular tissue homing, and protein homeostasis. Herein, C-type lectins are a diverse protein family that play important roles in the immune system, rendering them attractive drug targets. To evaluate C-type lectin receptors as target proteins for small-molecule effectors, chemical probes are required, which are, however, still lacking. To overcome the supposedly poor druggability of C-type lectin receptors and to identify starting points for chemical probe development, we screened murine langerin using ¹H and ¹⁹F NMR against a library of 871 drug-like fragments. Subsequently, hits were validated by surface plasmon resonance and enzyme-linked lectin assay. Using structure-activity relationship studies and chemical synthesis, we identified thiazolopyrimidine derivatives with double-digit micromolar activity that displayed langerin selectivity. Based on ¹H-¹⁵N HSQC NMR and competitive binding and inhibition experiments, we demonstrate that thiazolopyrimidines allosterically inhibit langerin. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of drug-like allosteric inhibitors of a mammalian lectin.