The selective inhibition of kinases from the diabetic kinome is known to promote the regeneration of beta cells and provide an opportunity for the curative treatment of diabetes. The effect can be achieved by carefully tailoring the selectivity of inhibitor toward a particular kinase, especially DYRK1A, previously associated with Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease. Recently DYRK1A inhibition has been shown to promote both insulin secretion and beta cells proliferation. Here, we show that commonly available flavones are effective inhibitors of DYRK1A. The observed biochemical activity of flavone compounds is confirmed by crystal structures solved at 2.06 Å and 2.32 Å resolution, deciphering the way inhibitors bind in the ATP-binding pocket of the kinase, which is driven by the arrangement of hydroxyl moieties. We also demonstrate antidiabetic properties of these biomolecules and prove that they could be further improved by therapy combined with TGF-β inhibitors. Our data will allow future structure-based optimization of the presented scaffolds toward potent, bioavailable and selective anti-diabetic drugs.
FörderungenPriority Research Area BioS under the program 'Initiative of Excellence-Research University' at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow DESY (Hamburg, Germany) (Foundation for Polish Science) TEAM National Science Centre This work was supported by a grant from the National Science Centre (UMO-2019/34/E/NZ1/00467) and by NAWA Polish Returns 2018 (PPN/PPO/2018/1/00046/U/00001) to A.C. We acknowledge the MCB Structural Biology Core Facility (supported by the TEAM TECH CORE F