Browsing by Author "Heuser, Michael"

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    A Perspective on Medicinal Chemistry Approaches for Targeting Pyruvate Kinase M2
    (American Chemical Society, 2021-11-02T00:00:00) Arora, Sahil; Joshi, Gaurav; Chaturvedi, Anuhar; Heuser, Michael; Patil, Santoshkumar; Kumar, Raj
    The allosteric regulation of pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) affects the switching of the PKM2 protein between the high-activity and low-activity states that allow ATP and lactate production, respectively. PKM2, in its low catalytic state (dimeric form), is chiefly active in metabolically energetic cells, including cancer cells. More recently, PKM2 has emerged as an attractive target due to its role in metabolic dysfunction and other interrelated conditions. PKM2 (dimer) activity can be inhibited by modulating PKM2 dimer�tetramer dynamics using either PKM2 inhibitors that bind at the ATP binding active site of PKM2 (dimer) or PKM2 activators that bind at the allosteric site of PKM2, thus activating PKM2 from the dimer formation to the tetrameric formation. The present perspective focuses on medicinal chemistry approaches to design and discover PKM2 inhibitors and activators and further provides a scope for the future design of compounds targeting PKM2 with better efficacy and selectivity. � 2021 American Chemical Society
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    Rationalization of the activity Profile of Pyruvate Kinase Isozyme M2 (PKM2) Inhibitors using 3D QSAR
    (Bentham Science Publishers, 2021-08-05T00:00:00) Kusuma, Merugumala; Arora, Sahil; Kalra, Sourav; Chaturvedi, Anuhar; Heuser, Michael; Kumar, Raj
    Introduction: Pyruvate kinase isozyme M2 (PKM2) was observed to be overexpressed and play a key role in cell growth and cancer cells' metabolism. During the past years, phytochemicals have been developed as new treatment options for chemoprevention and cancer therapy. Natural re-sources, like shikonin (naphthoquinone) and its derivatives, have emerged to be high potential therapeutics in cancer treatment. Methods: Our study aimed to design novel anti-tumour agents (PKM2 inhibitors) focusing on the shikonin scaffold with a better activity using computational methods. We applied a three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (3D-QSAR) approach using Field-based QSAR. Results: The Comparative Molecular Field Analysis (CoMFA) and Comparative Molecular Similarity Indices Analysis (CoMSIA) were performed on a series of forty shikonin derivatives, including shikonin, to develop robust models and rationalize the PKM2 inhibitory activity profile by building a correlation between structural features and activity. Conclusion: These predictive computational models will further help the design and synthesis of potent PKM2 inhibitors and their fast biological assessment at a low cost. � 2021 Bentham Science Publishers.