Structural Analysis of VDR Complex with ZK168281 Antagonist

Anna Y Belorusova1,2,3,4,5, Sandra Chalhoub1,2,3,4, Daniela Rovito1,2,3,4

  • 1Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), 67400 Illkirch, France.

Insights

Vitamin D receptor (VDR) antagonists block VDR activation by preventing helix 12 folding. Structural and solution studies reveal how ZK168281 disrupts VDR

Area of Science:

  • Molecular biology
  • Structural biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Vitamin D receptor (VDR) antagonists inhibit VDR transcriptional regulation.
  • VDR antagonists function by preventing the activation function helix 12 from adopting its active conformation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the structural mechanism by which the VDR antagonist ZK168281 inhibits VDR function.
  • To investigate the impact of ZK168281 on VDR C-terminal region folding.

Main Methods:

  • X-ray crystallography of the zebrafish VDR ligand-binding domain in complex with ZK168281.
  • Hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) in solution.

Main Results:

  • The crystal structure reveals that ZK168281 binding prevents the optimal folding of the VDR C-terminal region.
  • HDX-MS confirmed that the antagonist interferes with VDR C-terminal region folding in solution.

Conclusions:

  • ZK168281 antagonizes VDR transcriptional activity by disrupting the conformational flexibility of the VDR C-terminal region.
  • Understanding these structural interactions provides insights into VDR antagonist design.