Structural highlights
Publication Abstract from PubMedHereditary tyrosinemia type 1 (HT1) stems from the loss of fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (FAH) activity, causing severe liver-kidney disease. Nitisinone does not restore FAH function and carries metabolic and dietary burdens. Here, we used an integrated workflow guided by X-ray structures of human FAH to obtain small-molecule pharmacological chaperones that bind with low-muM affinity and stabilize FAH. Hits were validated by NMR and isothermal titration calorimetry. Protein stabilization was assessed by DOSY-NMR and circular dichroism; functional effects were tested in FAH activity assays, a CRISPR-engineered cellular model, and testing in an animal model of HT1. Compounds shifted the G337S pathological variant toward the active dimer and slowed unfolding/aggregation, resulting in dose-dependent enhancement of FAH activity and partial rescue of FAH homeostasis in cells and the liver tissue of a mouse model of HT1. These molecules support a therapeutic approach that could complement nitisinone in HT1. Rational Design of Small-Molecule Stabilizers of Human Fumarylacetoacetate Hydrolase for the Treatment of Tyrosinemia Type I.,Scarin R, Rojas AL, Gil-Martinez J, Gomez-Galan M, Torres-Mozas A, Lopitz-Otsoa F, Fernandez-Ramos D, Jimenez-Oses G, Mato JM, Millet O J Med Chem. 2026 May 12. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.5c03489. PMID:42117404[1] From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. References
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