Human Estrogen-related Receptor Gamma Research Articles

Structural insight into the mechanisms and interacting features of endocrine disruptor Bisphenol A and its analogs with human estrogen-related receptor gamma

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a very important chemical from the commercial perspective. Many useful products are made from it, so its production is increasing day by day. It is widely known that Bisphenol A (BPA) and its analogs are present in the environment and that they enter our body through various routes on a daily basis as we use things made of this chemical in our daily lives. BPA has already been reported to be an endocrine disruptor. Studies have shown that BPA binds strongly to the human estrogen-related receptor gamma (ERRγ) and is an important target of it. This study seeks to understand how it interacts with ERRγ. Molecular docking of BPA and its analogs with ERRγ was performed, and estradiol was taken as a reference. Then, physico-chemical and toxicological analysis of BPA compounds was performed. Subsequently, the dynamic behavior of ERRγ and ERRγ-BPA compound complexes was studied by molecular dynamics simulations over 500 ns, and using this simulated data, their binding energies were again calculated using the MM-PBSA method. We observed that the binding affinity of BPA and its analogs was much higher than that of estradiol, and apart from being toxic, they can be easily absorbed in our body as their physicochemical properties are similar to those of oral medicines. Therefore, this study facilitates the understanding of the structure–activity relationship of ERRγ and BPA compounds and provides information about the key amino acid residues of ERRγ that interact with BPA compounds, which can be helpful to design competitive inhibitors so that we can interrupt the interaction of BPA with ERRγ. In addition, it provides information on BPA and its analogs and will also be helpful in developing new therapeutics.

Molecular docking of bisphenol A and its nitrated and chlorinated metabolites onto human estrogen-related receptor-gamma

A xenoestrogen and known endocrine disruptor, bisphenol A (BPA) binds the human estrogen-related receptor-gamma (ERRγ) with high affinity (Kd≈5.5nM). It is likely that BPA undergoes oxidative biotransformation by hypochlorite/hypochlorous acid (−OCl/HOCl) and peroxynitrite (PN) and the products formed in these reactions may serve as secondary estrogens and contribute to the toxicodynamics of BPA. Therefore, in the present study we have examined the formation of chlorinated and nitrated BPA in reactions of BPA with −OCl/HOCl and PN(+CO2) performed around the neutral pH. We have identified four major products in these reactions and they include 3-chloro-BPA (CBPA), 3,3′-dichloro-BPA (DCBPA), 3-nitro-BPA (NBPA) and 3,3′-dinitro-BPA (DNBPA). Towards understanding the toxicodynamics and estrogenic activity of BPA in biological systems, we have performed molecular docking of BPA, CBPA, DCBPA, DNBPA and NBPA onto the ERRγ using AutoDock 4.2 software and compared the binding energies with those of estradiol, the natural ligand. Based on the genetic algorithm, the three best conformations were selected and averaged for each ligand and a detailed analysis of molecular interactions based on free energies of binding (kcal/mol) was computed. The results indicate the following rank order of binding to ERRγ: BPA (−8.78±0.06)>CBPA (−8.53±0.41)>NBPA (−7.36±0.74)>DCBPA (−5.24±0.17)>DNBPA (−4.95±0.78)>estradiol (−4.94±1.04). The docking studies revealed that the OH group of one of the phenyl rings forms a hydrogen bond with Glu275/Arg316, while the OH group of other phenyl ring was bound to Asp346. These results suggest that both BPA and its putative chlorinated and nitrated metabolites have strong binding affinity compared to estradiol.

Distinction of the binding modes for human nuclear receptor ERR between bisphenol A and 4-hydroxytamoxifen

Bisphenol A (BPA) strongly binds to human estrogen-related receptor gamma (ERRgamma). BPA is an oestrogenic endocrine disruptor that influences various physiological functions at very low doses. BPA functions as an inverse-type antagonist of ERRgamma to retain its high basal constitutive activity by inhibiting the deactivating inverse agonist activity of 4-hydroxytamoxifen (4-OHT). We recently demonstrated that ERRgamma receptor residues Glu275 and Arg316 function as the intrinsic binding site of BPA's phenol-hydroxyl group. We also determined the chief importance of phenol-hydroxyl<-->Arg316 hydrogen bonding and the corroborative role of phenol-hydroxyl<-->Glu275 hydrogen bonding. However, there appeared to be a distinct difference between the receptor binding modes of BPA and 4-OHT. In the present study, using tritium-labelled or non-labelled BPA and 4-OHT, we evaluated in detail the receptor binding capabilities of wild-type ERRgamma and its mutants with amino acid alterations at positions 275 and 316. Both compounds exhibited a strong binding ability to wild-type ERRgamma due to the hydrogen bonding to Glu275 and Arg316. However, 4-OHT revealed significantly reduced occupancy for both wild-type and mutant receptors. The data obtained suggest that 4-OHT barely binds to ERRgamma due to the strong ability of Glu275 and Arg316 to recruit phenol compounds.

Receptor binding characteristics of the endocrine disruptor bisphenol A for the human nuclear estrogen-related receptor γ

Bisphenol A, 2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane, is an estrogenic endocrine disruptor that influences various physiological functions at very low doses, even though bisphenol A itself is ineffectual as a ligand for the estrogen receptor. We recently demonstrated that bisphenol A binds strongly to human estrogen-related receptor gamma, one of 48 human nuclear receptors. Bisphenol A functions as an inverse antagonist of estrogen-related receptor gamma to sustain the high basal constitutive activity of the latter and to reverse the deactivating inverse agonist activity of 4-hydroxytamoxifen. However, the intrinsic binding mode of bisphenol A remains to be clarified. In the present study, we report the binding potentials between the phenol-hydroxyl group of bisphenol A and estrogen-related receptor gamma residues Glu275 and Arg316 in the ligand-binding domain. By inducing mutations in other amino acids, we evaluated the change in receptor binding capability of bisphenol A. Wild-type estrogen-related receptor gamma-ligand-binding domain showed a strong binding ability (K(D) = 5.70 nm) for tritium-labeled [(3)H]bisphenol A. Simultaneous mutation to Ala at positions 275 and 316 resulted in an absolute inability to capture bisphenol A. However, individual substitutions revealed different degrees in activity reduction, indicating the chief importance of phenol-hydroxyl<-->Arg316 hydrogen bonding and the corroborative role of phenol-hydroxyl<-->Glu275 hydrogen bonding. The data obtained with other characteristic mutations suggested that these hydrogen bonds are conducive to the recruitment of phenol compounds by estrogen-related receptor gamma. These results clearly indicate that estrogen-related receptor gamma forms an appropriate structure presumably to adopt an unidentified endogenous ligand.

Structural Evidence for Endocrine Disruptor Bisphenol A Binding to Human Nuclear Receptor ERR

Many lines of evidence reveal that bisphenol A (BPA) functions at very low doses as an endocrine disruptor. The human estrogen-related receptor gamma (ERR gamma) behaves as a constitutive activator of transcription, although the endogenous ligand is unknown. We have recently demonstrated that BPA binds strongly to ERR gamma (K(D) = 5.5 nM), but not to the estrogen receptor (ER). BPA preserves the ERR gamma's basal constitutive activity, and protects the selective ER modulator 4-hydroxytamoxifen from its deactivation of ERR gamma. In order to shed light on a molecular mechanism, we carried out the X-ray analysis of crystal structure of the ERR gamma ligand-binding domain (LBD) complexed with BPA. BPA binds to the receptor cavity without changing any internal structures of the pocket of the ERR gamma-LBD apo form. The hydrogen bonds of two phenol-hydroxyl groups, one with both Glu275 and Arg316, the other with Asn346, anchor BPA in the pocket, and surrounding hydrophobic bonds, especially with Tyr326, complete BPA's strong binding. Maintaining the 'activation helix' (helix 12) in an active conformation would as a result preserve receptor constitutive activity. Our results present the first evidence that the nuclear receptor forms complexes with the endocrine disruptor, providing detailed molecular insight into the interaction features.