Zhihao Sun

Mr. Zhihao Sun

orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

1Year (2026-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

View All Publications
14 April 2026 in Molecules
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
JMJing Mo
Jing Mo
ZSZhihao Sun
Zhihao Sun
GXGuoqing Xu
Guoqing Xu
GZGuichun Zhang
Guichun Zhang
ZXZhuangyuan Xie
Zhuangyuan Xie
SCShilin Chen
Shilin Chen
Natural products represent an important reservoir for GPCR ligand discovery. In this study, we established an integrated workflow combining virtual screening, biophysical validation, functional signaling assays, and transcriptomic profiling to identify reticuline, a dopamine-derived intermediate from the genus of Stephania, as a potential agonist of dopamine D5 receptor (D5R). Molecular docking revealed that most dopamine-derived compounds along the BIA synthetic pathway exhibit predicted binding affinities for the D5R that are lower than that of dopamine. As expected, the reticuline–D5R complex has a favorable predicted binding affinity of −7.9 kcal/mol. As for binding validation, direct interaction between reticuline and D5R was experimentally confirmed using cell membrane chromatography (CMC) and bio-layer interferometry (BLI), yielding a dissociation constant of 1.07 μM. cAMP assay demonstrated that reticuline activates D5R-mediated Gs-cAMP increasement in a concentration-responsive manner, which exhibits agonist-like activity with an EC50 value of 0.07 μM. The transcriptomic profiling further revealed that reticuline treatment induces transcriptional reprogramming in D5R-overexpressing cells, with enrichment of pathways related to ribosome biogenesis, mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, and neurodegenerative diseases. In summary, this study demonstrates that reticuline acts as a potential D5R agonist and highlights a systematic natural product-GPCR discovery strategy integrating computational prediction, experimental validation, and transcriptome-level mechanistic exploration.