8.1. Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone Receptor
The TSH receptor (TSHR) is localized predominantly on the surface of thyrocytes, but is sometimes found on the surface of adipocytes, fibroblasts, and other cells [
297]. In the active state, the TSHR forms a dimeric or oligomeric complex [
298,
299,
300]. The binding of TSHR to the hormone stimulates the synthesis and release of thyroid hormones by thyrocytes, and also regulates the growth and differentiation of these cells. In TSHR, the ectodomain contains a subdomain with 11 leucine-rich repeats (LRRs) and a cysteine-rich hinge region that functions as a spacer and is located between the LRR subdomain and TMD [
301]. Endogenous regulators of TSHR are TSH, specific autoantibodies to TSHR, and thyrostimulin, which bind to the orthosteric site of TSHR, as well as to allosteric sites formed by the LRR subdomain, the hinge region, and the ECLs of TMD [
302,
303].
The main function of the hinge region is its inhibitory effect on the activity of TSHR, as well as on the specificity of its interaction with TSH and other endogenous regulators [
304,
305,
306,
307,
308]. A relatively short region of Asp
403–Asn
406, located at the C-terminus of the hinge region, is considered as an “intrinsic” allosteric TSHR agonist [
306,
309,
310]. Upon binding to the hormone, the conformation of TSHR changes, which allows this region to interact with the receptor ECLs and TMD and activate G-proteins. The peptide containing this region has specific TSHR agonist activity, which is due to its interaction with TSHR ECL1 [
305,
307,
309]. The existence of an internal allosteric agonist is unique for GPCR and indicates the complex nature of the regulation of the interaction between the ectodomain and the TMD in TSHR [
308]. It should be noted that th extracellular N-terminal regions of a number of other GPCRs also function as “intrinsic” allosteric regulators and are involved in biased allosterism, as shown for GPR35 [
311].
After the hormone binds to the TSHR ectodomain, the cavity within the TMD remains free, although it is involved in the stabilization of the TSHR–G-protein preactivation complex and in the transmission of conformational changes from the ligand-bound ectodomain to the ICLs [
312,
313]. Allosteric sites are located in this cavity, and there is every reason to believe that their activity can be regulated by simple ions and (or) lipophilic molecules interacting with TSHR hydrophobic helices. At the same time, these sites are targets for synthetic low molecular weight compounds, which, through allosteric mechanisms, can regulate the intrinsic and hormone-stimulated activity of TSHR (
Figure 3). At present, significant progress has been made both in the study of the configuration of TSHR transmembrane allosteric sites and in the development of small compounds that can bind to them and demonstrate the activity of allosteric regulators and modulators [
314,
315,
316,
317,
318,
319,
320,
321,
322,
323,
324,
325].
The first allosteric regulators of TSHR were developed back in the 2000s based on thieno[2,3-d]-pyrimidine structure with the activity of allosteric agonists of LH receptor (LHR), including the most active LHR-agonists Org41841 and Org43553 [
326,
327]. By analyzing their binding to TSHR, the 3D structure of the transmembrane allosteric site of TSHR was proposed [
328,
329,
330], which was similar to that of LHR, and this subsequently allowed the development of a large number of its small ligands with different pharmacological profiles [
315,
317,
318,
319,
320,
331,
332,
333,
334]. It was found that this site is formed by amino acid residues located in TM3, TM4, TM5, TM6, and TM7, and is covered from above by ECL2 segments. Unlike LHR, the entrance to the allosteric site of TSHR is narrower and is formed mainly by hydrophobic and large amino acid residues. These residues are located at the interfaces between ECL2 and neighboring TM4 and TM5 segments, as well as at the interface formed by ECL3 and TM6 [
330].
The TSHR belongs to a family of class C GPCRs having a large extracellular domain in which an orthosteric site is located and which is a target for autoantibodies. Most of the small regulators of TSHR bind to allosteric sites located in the cavity of the AS-2 locus or slightly higher, in the lower part of the AS-1 locus. The following low molecular weight compounds specifically interact with allosteric sites in the AS-2 locus: compound C2, NCGC00168126-01 and its analog NCGC00165237-01 (full allosteric TSHR-agonists), MS437, MS438 (biased allosteric TSHR-agonists, did not affect Gi-proteins), TPY3m (biased allosteric TSHR-agonist, mainly activates Gs-proteins), MSq1 (biased allosteric TSHR-agonist, mainly activates Gq/11-proteins), NCGC00379308 (biased PAM, predominantly activates β-arrestins), TPY1, NIDDK/CEB-52 and its analogs NCGC00242595 and NCGC00242364 (allosteric TSHR-antagonists), NCGC00161856, NCGC00229600, compound S37a, TP48 (allosteric inverse TSHR-agonists). Pepducin 612–627(Palm) (ICL3 of TSHR) interact with intracellular allosteric site and functions as allosteric TSHR-agonist. Stimulating TSHR autoantibodies (TSAb) interact with the LRR subdomain, hinge region, and ECLs, while blocking TSHR autoantibodies (TSBAb) mainly interact the N-terminal and central portions of the LRR subdomain. Allosteric regulators that increase receptor activity (full agonists, PAMs) are placed in red squares, allosteric regulators with neutral antagonist activity are placed in green squares, while allosteric regulators with inverse agonist activity are placed in blue squares.
Among the large number of full allosteric agonists for TSHR, the compound NCGC00168126-01 and its analogue NCGC00165237-01 were characterized by high specific activity [
315,
335]. Under the
in vitro conditions, they stimulated the AC activity in cells with expressed TSHR and increased the expression of thyroglobulin and other TSH-dependent genes in human thyrocytes, and their effects were comparable to those of TSH [
315,
335]. When administered to mice by various routes, NCGC00165237–01 increased the thyroxine level and increased the uptake of radioactive iodine by the thyroid gland, which was due to an increase in the expression of thyroglobulin, a precursor of thyroid hormones, and thyroperoxidase, which catalyzes the binding of iodine to tyrosine residues of thyroglobulin [
335]. Based on the structure of thieno[2,3-d]-pyrimidine, we developed the compound TPY3m, which stimulated the production of thyroxine when it was administered intraperitoneally to rats, and also stimulated the expression of thyroid-specific genes in the cell culture of thyrocytes FRTL-5 and in the thyroid of rats [
336]. Quite unexpectedly, TPY3m did not cause a decrease in the expression of the
Tshr gene, and when combined with TSH (cultured FRTL-5 cells) or thyroliberin (rat thyroid), it partially restored it. This may be one of the mechanisms for maintaining the stimulating effects of TSH (
in vitro, FRTL-5) and thyroliberin (
in vivo, rats) on the production of thyroid hormones under conditions of their combined use with TPY3m [
336].
Small agonists are able to activate TSHR mutants that are insensitive to TSH [
337]. In a culture of HEK-EM293 cells with expressed mutant TSHR (Cys
41Ser or Leu
252Pro substitutions in the ectodomain), the low molecular weight agonist C2 increased the intracellular cAMP level, while TSH was inactive. At the same time, the Leu
467Pro substitution in the allosteric site, which prevented TSHR binding to C2, blocked its effect on AC activity [
337]. Thus, allosteric TSHR agonists may be effective in subclinical hypothyroidism associated with thyroid resistance to TSH due to mutations in the TSHR ectodomain.
Since TSHR is functionally coupled to several types of G-proteins, including G
i/o-proteins, the main donors of the Gβγ-dimer, an important task was to create allosteric TSHR agonists biased against certain types of G-proteins. In 2015, Rauf Latif and colleagues made the first attempt to create biased agonists and developed compounds MS437 and MS438, which at nanomolar concentrations were able to activate G
s-, G
q/11- and G
12-proteins, but did not affect G
i-proteins [
338]. Moreover, MS438 showed high efficiency in relation to the activation of the G
s-proteins and AC. Both compounds specifically bound to an allosteric site located in the TMD, but despite a similar regulatory pattern, there were some differences in interaction with the amino acid residues that form this site. When interacting with TM3, compound MS437 formed close contacts with Thr
501, while MS438 formed close contacts with Ser
505 and Glu
506 [
338]. Further studies led to the creation of a biased allosteric MSq1 agonist, which in CHO cells with expressed TSHR at nanomolar concentrations stimulated the G
q/11-protein and increased the activity of calcium-dependent isoforms of protein kinase C, with almost no effect on G
s- and G
12/13-proteins and MAPK cascade [
339]. Using molecular docking, it was found that MSq1 binds to a site that is formed by TM1, TM2, TM3, and TM7 and is covered from above by segments of the ECL1 and ECL2. Comparison of the binding of the G
q/11-selective agonist MSq1 with the compound MS438, which preferentially activates the G
s-protein, revealed significant differences in the pattern of interaction with the amino acid residues that form the allosteric site, which is the “key” to the further development of biased allosteric TSHR agonists [
339], including those focused on the biased regulation of β-arrestin pathways [
340].
The need to develop PAMs for the regulation of TSHR is due to the prospects for their use to prevent osteoporosis, since TSH plays an important role in the formation of bone tissue, preventing its loss and stimulating its formation [
341]. The stimulating effect of TSH on osteoblasts and bone tissue formation is realized mainly through β1-arrestin-regulated cascades [
342], and therefore the search for PAMs for TSHR was carried out among ligands biased for β-arrestins. As a result, the compound NCGC00379308 with PAM activity was developed, which potentiated TSH-induced translocation of β1-arrestin to TSHR, but did not affect the G
s- and G
q/11-dependent cascades, demonstrating specificity for β-arrestin signaling [
318]. NCGC00379308, when treated with human U2OS cells, did not affect the expression of TSH-dependent genes
OPN and
ALPL, encoding osteopontin and alkaline phosphatase, and the secretion of osteopontin, but significantly potentiated their stimulation by TSH. Thus, NCGC00379308 can increase the efficiency of endogenous TSH on the growth and differentiation of osteoblast progenitors through β-arrestin-dependent mechanisms [
318].
The development of allosteric inverse agonists and neutral antagonists for TSHR is necessary for the treatment of autoimmune hyperthyroidism (Graves' disease) and associated ophthalmopathy, as well as for the treatment of thyroid cancer caused by activating mutations in TSHR [
315,
322,
325]. In 2008, the compound NIDDK/CEB-52 was developed with the activity of a neutral TSHR antagonist, in the phenyl ring of which a methoxypropylene group was introduced to facilitate penetration into the transmembrane allosteric site of the receptor [
343]. Incubation of HEK-EM 293 cells with NIDDK/CEB-52 significantly reduced AC stimulation by both TSH and TSHR-stimulating antibodies, and incubation of human thyrocytes with NIDDK/CEB-52 caused a three-fold decrease in TSH-stimulated thyroperoxidase gene expression [
343]. Since NIDDK/CEB-52 suppressed LHR activity to a small extent, more selective neutral TSHR antagonists, such as NCGC00242595 and NCGC00242364, were subsequently developed, which
in vitro reduced the AC stimulation by TSH and TSHR-stimulating antibodies without affecting the basal activity of the enzyme [
317,
344]. Treatment of mice with NCGC00242364 reduced the thyroliberin-stimulated thyroxine levels by 44% and the expression of genes encoding Na
+/I
--symporter and thyroperoxidase by 75 and 83%. NCGC00242364 also reduced thyroxine levels and thyroid gene expression in mice treated with TSHR-stimulating antibodies. These data indicate the high efficacy of NCGC00242364 and its analogues in the treatment of Graves' disease. Since these compounds do not affect the basal activity of TSHR, this avoids the development of hypothyroidism, one of the undesirable effects when using allosteric inverse agonists of TSHR [
315,
317].
Among inverse TSHR agonists, compounds NCGC00161856 [
345] and NCGC00229600 [
346] had significant activity. They inhibited not only stimulated TSH or antibodies, but also basal TSHR activity. NCGC00229600 also prevented TSH- and antibody-dependent AC stimulation in primary culture of fibroblasts obtained from the retroorbital region of patients with Graves' disease and characterized by increased TSHR expression [
347]. The ability of NCGC00229600 to suppress TSHR activity in retroorbital fibroblasts is important in terms of preventing ophthalmopathy, the most severe symptom of Graves' disease [
348].
We have developed two thieno[2,3-d]-pyrimidine derivatives, TPY1 and TP48, with antagonistic activity against TSHR [
349,
350]. When administered to rats, TPY1 reduced thyroliberin-stimulated production of thyroid hormones and the expression of thyrogloubin, thyroperoxidase, and Na
+/I
--symporter genes in the thyroid, but did not affect basal levels of thyroid hormones, indicating its activity as a neutral allosteric TSHR antagonist [
350]. In turn, TP48 not only suppressed thyroid hormones levels and expression of thyroid-specific genes stimulated by thyroliberin, but 3.5 hours after administration to rats, it reduced their basal levels of thyroid hormones and the expression of the
Nis gene encoding Na
+/I
--symporter [
349,
350]. This indicates that the TP48 functions as a mild inverse TSHR agonist [
350].
In 2019, the compound S37a with seven centers of chirality was developed, one of the stereoisomers of which, at micromolar concentrations, suppressed the AC activity and the cAMP accumulation in HEK293 cells with expressed TSHR when they were treated with TSH and stimulatory monoclonal antibodies TSAb M22 and KSAb1, oligoclonal stimulatory antibodies TSAb, characteristic of patients with Graves' disease, as well as a small C2 agonist [
322]. S37a, when administered orally to mice, had a high bioavailability (53%) and was not toxic [
322], which indicates the prospects for its clinical trials, especially since there are currently effective and safe approaches for the treatment of Graves' disease and Graves' ophthalmopathy not developed [
351,
352].
In addition to allosteric sites localized in the ECLs and TMD, such sites are also located in the ICLs of TSHR, as evidenced by our results on the stimulating effect on TSHR activity of pepducin, which corresponds to region 612–627 of TSHR ICL3 [
353,
354] (
Figure 3). Pepducin 612–627(Palm) modified with palmitate at the C-terminus stimulated the AC activity in rat thyroid membranes, and its action was specific for TSHR and was not detected in membranes where TSHR was absent [
353]. When administered intranasally to rats, 612-627(Palm) increased the level of thyroid hormones in them, and this effect was dose-dependent [
354]. The obtained data suggest that 612-627(Palm) is an intracellular allosteric TSHR agonist, and hydrophobic palmitate is critical for its activity, providing the transport of pepducin into the cell, since the non-palmitoylated analog was inactive [
353,
354].
Autoantibodies to the TSH Receptor
Autoimmune thyroid diseases are found in an average of 5% of the population, the most common among which is diffuse toxic goiter (Graves' disease), which develops as a result of an autoimmune attack on TSHR [
355]. For almost 40 years, the presence of antibodies to TSHR has been used to differentiate Graves' disease [
356], and this approach is constantly being improved [
357]. Assessment of the titer and pattern of autoantibodies to TSHR is widely used to differentiate Graves' disease from toxic multinodular goitre type A [
358] and other forms of thyrotoxicosis [
359].
Autoantibodies to TSHR have the activity of full agonists, inverse agonists and antagonists, and in some cases do not have their intrinsic activity, but allosterically affect the activity of TSHR stimulated by TSH or stimulatory autoantibodies [
360,
361,
362,
363,
364]. Stimulating autoantibodies bind to TSHR, which is in an inactive conformation, activate the receptor, and trigger signaling cascades through G
s- and G
q/11-proteins, which leads to increased synthesis and secretion of thyroid hormones [
365,
366]. At the same time, they can compete with TSH for the binding site in the receptor ectodomain or allosterically affect its conformation. Binding of stimulatory autoantibodies is carried out with the receptor ectodomain, but can also include the hinge region connecting the ectodomain with the TMD, and regions of ECLs connecting TMs [
362,
366,
367,
368] (
Figure 3). Neutral antibodies interact with the receptor in a similar way, with the only difference that for them the main molecular determinants are localized not in the ectodomain, but in the hinge region, which includes the sequence 316-366 [
366,
369]. Monoclonal antibodies to the TSHR hinge region, isolated from the blood serum of animals with experimental autoimmune thyroiditis, stimulated TSHR, increased the level of cAMP in thyrocytes, activated the 3-phosphoinositide pathway, the MAPK cascade, and different isoforms of protein kinase C, and also increased the activity of the pro-inflammatory factor NF-kB [
367]. These data indicate a functional similarity between TSH and TSHR-stimulating antibodies and demonstrate that the hormone and stimulating antibodies interact with highly overlapping sites located in the receptor ectodomain, although these sites are still not completely identical [
368]. The effect of stimulatory autoantibodies on TSHR is an increase in thyroid hormone production, leading to autoimmune hyperthyroidism (Graves' disease) as well as Graves' ophthalmopathy, and more than half of patients with Graves' disease are positive for such antibodies [
370,
371].
Blocking autoantibodies inhibit the binding of TSHR to TSH and stimulatory TSHR antibodies, preventing activation of the receptor and thereby reducing the production of thyroid hormones by thyrocytes. Blocking antibodies bind to linear and “conformational” epitopes located in the LRR subdomain, which includes a significant part of the TSHR ectodomain [
366,
368,
372]. However, unlike stimulating antibodies, for which the “center” of binding to the LRR subdomain is shifted to its C-terminus, in the case of blocking TSHR autoantibodies, such a “center” is shifted to its N-terminus and, thus, only partially overlaps with the binding sites for TSH and stimulating autoantibodies [
366,
368]. This is supported by the fact that the Trp
265 located in the tenth LRR, corresponding to the C-terminal portion of the LRR subdomain, effectively interacts with the light chain of stimulating autoantibody M22, but is not involved in binding with inhibitory antibody K1-70 [
368]. The ability of blocking autoantibodies to prevent TSHR hyperactivation can be used to treat Graves' disease and Graves' orbitopathy [
340,
368,
373]. Currently used antithyroid drugs have many side effects, and even after five years of treatment of patients with Graves' disease with these drugs, 21% of them remain positive for TSHR autoantibodies [
374]. However, it should be taken into account that, along with the suppression of thyroid hormone production, some blocking and neutral autoantibodies can affect G
q/11-dependent signaling pathways, as well as enhance cell proliferation by activating the MAPK cascade [
365,
366], which indicates their varying degrees of bias in relation to TSHR-dependent signaling pathways.
8.2. Luteinizing hormone receptor
LHR has a significant similarity with TSHR both in topology in the membrane and in activation mechanisms, since in this case gonadotropin, LH or human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), binds with high affinity to the ectodomain, which leads to conformational changes in the TMD and provides a functional interaction of LHR ICLs with G-proteins and β-arrestins [
375,
376]. In the stimulation of LHR by gonadotropin, the cavity of the transmembrane tunnel, in which allosteric sites are located, remains ligand-free. It is filled with water molecules that form hydrogen bonds with the polar groups of amino acid residues located in the inner cavity of this site. In LHR, as well as in the FSH receptor, along with the main allosteric site, there is an additional (minor) allosteric site, binding to which modulates the activity of the main site [
377,
378]. The main allosteric site is formed by TM3, TM4, TM5, and TM6 [
378,
379,
380], while the additional allosteric site is formed by TM1, TM2, TM3, and TM7 [
377]. Both sites are deepened to varying degrees into the TMD and overlap, resulting in a wide variety of pharmacological profiles of their ligands, including allosteric agonists and antagonists, allosteric modulators (PAM, NAM) and ago-PAM [
333,
381] (
Figure 4).
Like TSHR, LHR has a large extracellular domain in which an orthosteric site is located, and the small LHR regulators bind to allosteric sites located in the cavity of the AS-2 locus. The following low molecular weight compounds specifically interact with allosteric sites in the AS-2 locus: thieno[2,3-d]-pyrimidine derivatives Org41841, Org43553, TP03, TP04 and their analogs (allosteric LHR-agonists or ago-PAMs, predominantly activate Gs-proteins), the derivatives of 1,3,5-pyrazole (compound 1) and terphenyl (LUF5771) (allosteric LHR-agonists), and thieno[2,3-d]-pyrimidine derivative TP31 (allosteric LHR-antagonists). Pepducin NKDTKIAKK-Nle-A(562-572)-K(Palm)A (ICL3 of LHR) interact with intracellular allosteric site and functions as allosteric LHR-agonist. Autoantibodies to the extracellular regions of LHR have been suggested, but have not been characterized to date. Allosteric regulators that increase receptor activity (full agonists, ago-PAM) are placed in red squares, while allosteric regulators with neutral antagonist activity are placed in green squares.
The need to create allosteric regulators is due to both the low selectivity of LH and hCG in relation to intracellular cascades, and the peculiarities of pharmacological preparations of gonadotropins, since their urinary forms (hCG) have a significant number of bioactive impurities and are variable in specific activity, while recombinant forms (LH, hCG) significantly differ from natural gonadotropins in the pattern of N-glycosylation and regulatory properties. Along with this, gonadotropins are not very effective in the case of mutant forms of LHR, which have a reduced ligand-binding ability or impaired translocation to the membrane, even when binding to gonadotropin is preserved [
382,
383,
384]. In this regard, it should be noted that some of the developed small allosteric LHR agonists have the properties of chaperones, which stabilize the structure of LHR and facilitate their translocation to the plasma membrane, which increases their sensitivity to endogenous LH, as was experimentally shown for thieno[2,3-d]-pyrimidine derivative Org42599 [
385,
386,
387].
The first allosteric regulators of LHR with agonist activity were obtained in 2002, the most effective of which were the thieno[2,3-d]-pyrimidine derivatives Org41841 and Org43553, which act on LHR at nanomolar concentrations [
326]. They specifically bound to LHR without interfering with the activation of the receptor by gonadotropins, and were characterized by a bias towards G
s-proteins and cAMP-dependent cascades, and very weakly stimulated G
q/11-proteins and phosphoinositide metabolism, as well as β-arrestins [
388,
389,
390]. By studying the binding of Org41841 and Org43553 to LHR with mutations in the TMD, it was found that the Tуг
570, Phe
585 and Tyr
643 are important for the formation of the allosteric site, and this site is structurally similar to that in TSHR [
329]. Negatively charged Glu
506 localized in TM3 was key for the interaction with thieno[2,3-d]-pyrimidines, since its replacement with alanine blocked the binding of Org41841 to mutant LHR. This is due to the formation of a salt bridge between the carboxyl group of glutamic acid and the positively charged amino group of the allosteric ligand [
327,
329].
In vivo, Org43553 was effective not only when administered intraperitoneally and subcutaneously, but also when administered orally, due to its good absorption and stability in the gastrointestinal tract [
390,
391,
392,
393]. Oral administration of Org 43553 stimulated ovulation in immature mice and adult rats. The resulting eggs were of good quality, had high fertility, and when implanted with a high yield, they gave viable embryos. Rats did not show signs of ovarian hyperstimulation, which is often observed with gonadotropin treatment, and this was due to a relatively mild stimulation of steroidogenesis and a lower half-life of the drug (two times lower than that of hCG) [
390]. In addition, Org 43553 had little effect on the production of vascular endothelial growth factor, the signaling pathways of which are involved in increased vascular permeability and provoke ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome [
392]. Oral administration of Org 43553 at the same dose to male rats stimulated testicular steroidogenesis and increased blood testosterone levels [
390]. When taken orally by women of reproductive age, Org 43553 (300 mg) caused ovulation in 83% of them, without significant adverse effects, including without provoking ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome [
393].
We have developed a series of thieno[2,3-d]-pyrimidine derivatives with the properties of allosteric agonists and (or) ago-PAM and allosteric antagonists of LHR [
323,
324,
394,
395,
396,
397,
398,
399,
400,
401,
402]. Compounds TP03 and TP04, the most active of the full agonists, stimulated the AC activity in testicular membranes isolated from rat testes, increased testosterone production by cultured Leydig cells, and also stimulated testicular steroidogenesis and increased testosterone levels when administered intraperitoneally, subcutaneously, and orally to both healthy male rats and animals with androgen deficiency caused by types 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus and aging [
395,
400,
402,
403,
404]. Using molecular docking, it was found that the efficiency and selectivity of the studied thieno[2,3-d]-pyrimidines correlate with the characteristics of their binding to the transmembrane allosteric site of LHR, and the key parameter of such binding was the intensity of hydrophobic contact, while the Coulomb interactions and hydrogen bonds were less significant [
400]. When co-administered with low doses of gonadotropin, thieno[2,3-d]-pyrimidines potentiated its effect, and potentiation was more pronounced in rats with type 1 diabetes mellitus [
405]. As with hCG, TP03 and TP04 improved spermatogenesis in diabetic and aging rats [
400,
402,
406,
407]. When TP03 was administered to metformin-treated diabetic rats, a significant increase in its steroidogenic effect was shown upon short-term (but not long-term) TP03 administration [
402,
406]. In contrast to hCG, long-term administration of TP03 and TP04 to male rats did not suppress the expression of the
Lhr gene in the testes, and their steroidogenic effect was preserved and even increased, which indicates the possibility of their long-term use to stimulate testicular steroidogenesis in the conditions of androgen deficiency [
400,
401]. TP03 has been shown to stimulate ovarian steroidogenesis in proestrus adult female rats pretreated with a GnRH antagonist [
408]. These results indicate the promise of using TP03 and TP04 for correcting androgen status and improving spermatogenesis in metabolic disorders and aging, as well as for controlled ovulation induction.
Along with thieno[2,3-d]-pyrimidines, 1,3,5-pyrazole and terphenyl derivatives can also function as allosteric LHR ligands with full and inverse agonist activity [
378,
409,
410]. Among terphenyl derivatives, LUF5771 inhibited LHR stimulation by gonadotropins and Org 43553 [
378,
410]. Compound 1, the most active pyrazole derivative with activity of full agonist, stimulated the AC activity and increased testosterone production by Leydig cells both in cell culture and when administered intraperitoneally to male rats [
409]. Like Org43553, the pyrazole and terphenyl derivatives did not compete with hCG for binding with LHR, which indicates in favor of their interaction with the transmembrane allosteric site of the receptor [
378,
409].
Based on the thieno[2,3-d]-pyrimidine structure, we created an allosteric TP31 antagonist, which, in the
in vitro experiments, reduced hCG- and TP03-stimulated AC activity in testicular membranes, and when administered intraperitoneally to male rats, it slightly reduced the baseline testosterone and largely inhibited the stimulatory effect of hCG on testosterone production [
397,
398] (
Figure 4)
. Since pre-treatment with TP31 suppressed TP03-induced receptor activation in a dose-dependent manner, this indicates a common binding site. Compared to thieno[2,3-d]-pyrimidines with pronounced agonistic activity, TP31 has an additional ethylamine group in the second position of the heterocyclic ring of nicotinic acid, which changes the volume and charge of the variable substituent in 5-amino-4-(3-aminophenyl)-
N-(
tert-butyl)-2-(methylsulfanyl)thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidine-6-carboxamide, a framework molecule for the synthesis of LHR allosteric regulators [
398]. Small ligands with inverse agonist or antagonist activity can be used to suppress steroidogenic function in the treatment of prostate cancer and in the treatment of gonadotropin-dependent tumors.
The importance of intracellular allosteric sites in the regulation of LHR activity is supported by our data on the effect of peptides derived from ICL3 of this receptor [
411,
412,
413]. It should be mentioned that ICL3, both in LHR and in many other GPCRs, includes the key determinants responsible for functional coupling with G-proteins. ICL3-derived peptide NKDTKIAKK-Nle-A(562-572)-K(Palm)A, corresponding to LHR region 562–572, responsible for interaction with G
s-proteins, increased the basal AC activity in testicular membranes, inhibiting hCG-induced stimulation of the enzyme [
412] (
Figure 4)
. When administered intratesticularly to male rats, NKDTKIAKK-Nle-A(562-572)-K(Palm)A increased testosterone levels, exerting a stimulating effect on testicular steroidogenesis, but when administered intraperitoneally, its effect was weak, which may indicate its degradation in the bloodstream [
412]. Thus, pepducins corresponding to LHR ICL3 may be effective as intracellular allosteric regulators of LHR, but further studies are required to improve their stability and bioavailability.
Since LHR is similar in structure and regulatory mechanisms to TSHR, it cannot be ruled out that it can also be allosterically regulated by autoantibodies against the LHR ectodomain. However, at present, reliable data on the possibility of such regulation, as well as on the association between the presence of autoantibodies to LHR and reproductive dysfunctions, have not been obtained. There is a clinical study in which an attempt was made to trace the relationship between the presence of LHR-stimulating autoantibodies in the blood of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and the severity of their hyperandrogenemia [
414]. However, the data obtained indicate a low occurrence of anti-LHR autoantibodies in both the control and PCOS groups, and also demonstrate the absence of significant differences in the occurrence of these antibodies between groups. At the same time, there is evidence that autoantibodies to the FSH receptor may be involved in the pathogenesis of FSH-resistant PCOS [
415]. As a result, further studies are needed to study LHR autoantibodies, primarily in patients resistant to LH.