Activation of Munc13-1 by Diacylglycerol (DAG)-Lactones

Munc13-1 is a key protein necessary for vesicle fusion and neurotransmitter release in the brain. Diacylglycerol (DAG)/phorbol ester binds to its C1 domain in the plasma membrane and activates it. The C1 domain of Munc13-1 and protein kinase C (PKC) are homologous in terms of sequence and structure. In order to identify small-molecule modulators of Munc13-1 targeting the C1 domain, we studied the effect of three DAG-lactones, (R,Z)-(2-(hydroxymethyl)-4-(3-isobutyl-5-methylhexylidene)-5-oxotetrahydrofuran-2-yl)methyl pivalate (JH-131e-153), (E)-(2-(hydroxymethyl)-4-(3-isobutyl-5-methylhexylidene)-5-oxotetrahydrofuran-2-yl)methyl pivalate (AJH-836), and (E)-(2-(hydroxymethyl)-4-(4-nitrobenzylidene)-5-oxotetrahydrofuran-2-yl)methyl 4-(dimethylamino)benzoate (130C037), on Munc13-1 activation using the ligand-induced membrane translocation assay. JH-131e-153 showed higher activation than AJH-836, and 130C037 was not able to activate Munc13-1. To understand the role of the ligand-binding site residues in the activation process, three alanine mutants were generated. For AJH-836, the order of activation was wild-type (WT) Munc13-1 > R592A > W588A > I590A. For JH-131e-153, the order of activation was WT > I590 ≈ R592A ≈ W588A. Overall, the Z isomer of DAG-lactones showed higher potency than the E isomer and Trp-588, Ile-590, and Arg-592 were important for its binding. When comparing the activation of Munc13-1 and PKC, the order of activation for JH-131e-153 was PKCα > Munc13-1 > PKCε and for AJH-836, the order of activation was PKCε > PKCα > Munc13-1. Molecular docking supported higher binding of JH-131e-153 than AJH-836 with the Munc13-1 C1 domain. Our results suggest that DAG-lactones have the potential to modulate neuronal processes via Munc13-1 and can be further developed for therapeutic intervention for neurodegenerative diseases.