Identification of Novel Cyclobutane-Based Derivatives as Potent Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase Allosteric Inhibitors for Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Drug Discovery

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) has become a leading cause of liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma; however, there are no efficient drugs for NASH therapy. Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) is a crucial enzyme regulating lipid metabolism that is considered as a potential target for NASH treatm...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Yazhou Wang (1508368) (author)
Other Authors: Hai Wang (310051) (author), Qingqing Li (1505614) (author), Ying Zhang (40767) (author), Rupeng Dai (7817822) (author), Jun Wu (4002) (author), Yanan Zhang (1322391) (author), Xiaomeng Zhang (182897) (author), Liwen Zhao (2886926) (author), Jian Liu (33711) (author)
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) has become a leading cause of liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma; however, there are no efficient drugs for NASH therapy. Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) is a crucial enzyme regulating lipid metabolism that is considered as a potential target for NASH treatment. Allosteric inhibitors target nonfunctional sites, which tend to be highly variable in protein families; thus, allosteric inhibitors are explored as an important source of drug candidates. Herein, several hotspot residues are initially identified by utilizing molecular dynamic simulation, MM-GBSA calculation, and alanine mutation. Then, focusing on the interaction with hotspot residues, several cyclobutane-based ACC allosteric inhibitors are designed, synthesized, and biologically evaluated. Among them, <b>B1</b> demonstrates potent ACC inhibitory activity <i>in vitro</i>, a higher distribution in liver than in other tissues, and a potent therapeutic effect for NASH <i>in vivo</i>, making it a promising candidate for the treatment of NASH.