Hereditary vitamin D-resistant rickets (HVDRR) is caused by mutations in the
vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene. Arg274 located in the
ligand binding domain (LBD) of VDR is responsible for anchoring 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1α,25(
OH)2D3) by forming a hydrogen bond with the 1α-hydroxyl group of 1α,25(
OH)2D3. The Arg274Leu (R274L) mutation identified in patients with HVDRR causes a 1000-fold decrease in the affinity for 1α,25(
OH)2D3, and dramatically reduces
vitamin D- related gene expression. Recently, we successfully constructed fusion
proteins consisting of split-
luciferase and LBD of the VDR. The chimeric
protein LucC-LBD-LucN, which displays the C-terminal domain of
luciferase (LucC) at its N-terminus, can detect and discriminate between VDR agonists and antagonists. The LucC-LBD (R274L)-LucN was constructed to screen high-affinity
ligands for the mutant VDR (R274L). Of the 33
vitamin D analogs, 5 showed much higher affinities for the mutant VDR (R274L) than 1α,25(
OH)2D3, and 2α-[2-(tetrazol-2-yl)ethyl]-1α,25-(
OH)2D3 showed the highest affinity. These compounds might be potential
therapeutics for HVDRR caused by the mutant VDR (R274L).