Identification of allosteric-activating drug leads for human liver pyruvate kinase

Methods Mol Biol. 2012:796:369-82. doi: 10.1007/978-1-61779-334-9_20.

Abstract

There is a growing appreciation of the beneficial attributes of allosteric drugs. However, the development of this special class of drugs has in large part been via serendipitous findings from high-throughput screens of drug libraries. Limited success at deliberately identifying allosteric drugs may be due to a focus on enzyme inhibitors, a parallel to the historic focus on competitive inhibitors. In contrast to inhibition, activation of an enzyme by a small molecule can only occur through a limited number of mechanisms, mainly allosteric regulation. Activation of human liver pyruvate kinase (hL-PYK) in an effort to create a glycolytic/gluconeogenic futile cycle is one potential mechanism to counteract hyperglycemia. Using hL-PYK, we demonstrate the potential of drug library screens to identify allosteric-activator drug leads.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Allosteric Regulation / drug effects
  • Drug Evaluation, Preclinical
  • Enzyme Activators / pharmacology
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / pharmacology
  • Humans
  • Liver / enzymology*
  • Phosphoenolpyruvate / pharmacology
  • Pyruvate Kinase / chemistry*
  • Pyruvate Kinase / metabolism*

Substances

  • Enzyme Activators
  • Enzyme Inhibitors
  • Phosphoenolpyruvate
  • Pyruvate Kinase