Lead discovery for mammalian elongation of long chain fatty acids family 6 using a combination of high-throughput fluorescent-based assay and RapidFire mass spectrometry assay.

A high-throughput RapidFire mass spectrometry assay is described for elongation of very long-chain fatty acids family 6 (Elovl6). Elovl6 is a microsomal enzyme that regulates the elongation of C12-16 saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. Elovl6 may be a new therapeutic target for fat metabolism disorders such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. To identify new Elovl6 inhibitors, we developed a high-throughput fluorescence screening assay in 1536-well format. However, a number of false positives caused by fluorescent interference have been identified. To pick up the real active compounds among the primary hits from the fluorescence assay, we developed a RapidFire mass spectrometry assay and a conventional radioisotope assay. These assays have the advantage of detecting the main products directly without using fluorescent-labeled substrates. As a result, 276 compounds (30%) of the primary hits (921 compounds) in a fluorescence ultra-high-throughput screening method were identified as common active compounds in these two assays. It is concluded that both methods are very effective to eliminate false positives. Compared with the radioisotope method using an expensive 14C-labeled substrate, the RapidFire mass spectrometry method using unlabeled substrates is a high-accuracy, high-throughput method. In addition, some of the hit compounds selected from the screening inhibited cellular fatty acid elongation in HEK293 cells expressing Elovl6 transiently. This result suggests that these compounds may be promising lead candidates for therapeutic drugs. Ultra-high-throughput fluorescence screening followed by a RapidFire mass spectrometry assay was a suitable strategy for lead discovery against Elovl6.

A small molecule inhibitor of the BLM helicase modulates chromosome stability in human cells.

The Bloom's syndrome protein, BLM, is a member of the conserved RecQ helicase family. Although cell lines lacking BLM exist, these exhibit progressive genomic instability that makes distinguishing primary from secondary effects of BLM loss problematic. In order to be able to acutely disable BLM function in cells, we undertook a high throughput screen of a chemical compound library for small molecule inhibitors of BLM. We present ML216, a potent inhibitor of the DNA unwinding activity of BLM. ML216 shows cell-based activity and can induce sister chromatid exchanges, enhance the toxicity of aphidicolin, and exert antiproliferative activity in cells expressing BLM, but not those lacking BLM. These data indicate that ML216 shows strong selectivity for BLM in cultured cells. We discuss the potential utility of such a BLM-targeting compound as an anticancer agent.

Quantitative high-throughput screening identifies 8-hydroxyquinolines as cell-active histone demethylase inhibitors.

BACKGROUND: Small molecule modulators of epigenetic processes are currently sought as basic probes for biochemical mechanisms, and as starting points for development of therapeutic agents. N(ε)-Methylation of lysine residues on histone tails is one of a number of post-translational modifications that together enable transcriptional regulation. Histone lysine demethylases antagonize the action of histone methyltransferases in a site- and methylation state-specific manner. N(ε)-Methyllysine demethylases that use 2-oxoglutarate as co-factor are associated with diverse human diseases, including cancer, inflammation and X-linked mental retardation; they are proposed as targets for the therapeutic modulation of transcription. There are few reports on the identification of templates that are amenable to development as potent inhibitors in vivo and large diverse collections have yet to be exploited for the discovery of demethylase inhibitors. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: High-throughput screening of a ∼236,000-member collection of diverse molecules arrayed as dilution series was used to identify inhibitors of the JMJD2 (KDM4) family of 2-oxoglutarate-dependent histone demethylases. Initial screening hits were prioritized by a combination of cheminformatics, counterscreening using a coupled assay enzyme, and orthogonal confirmatory detection of inhibition by mass spectrometric assays. Follow-up studies were carried out on one of the series identified, 8-hydroxyquinolines, which were shown by crystallographic analyses to inhibit by binding to the active site Fe(II) and to modulate demethylation at the H3K9 locus in a cell-based assay. CONCLUSIONS: These studies demonstrate that diverse compound screening can yield novel inhibitors of 2OG dependent histone demethylases and provide starting points for the development of potent and selective agents to interrogate epigenetic regulation.

A miniaturized screen for inhibitors of Jumonji histone demethylases.

2-Oxoglutarate- and Fe(ii)-dependent oxygenases are a major class of N(epsilon)-methyl lysine demethylases that are involved in epigenetic regulation. Assays suitable for implementation in a high-throughput manner have been lacking for these enzymes. Here, we describe the design and implementation of a robust and miniaturized high-throughput kinetic assay for inhibitors of JMJD2E using a formaldehyde dehydrogenase-coupled reaction with real-time fluorescence detection. Reactant compatibility studies resulted in simplification of the assay scheme to the mixing of two reagent solutions, both of which were stable overnight. The assay was miniaturized to a 4 microL volume in 1536-well format and was used to screen the library of pharmacologically active compounds (LOPAC(1280)). Inhibitors identified by the screen were further characterized in secondary assays including FDH counterscreen and demethylation assays that monitored demethylation by MALDI-TOF MS. The assay developed here will enable the screening of large compound libraries against the Jumonji demethylases in a robust and automated fashion.

TMC-264, a novel inhibitor of STAT6 activation produced by Phoma sp. TC 1674.

A novel inhibitor of STAT6 activation, named as TMC-264 (1), was discovered from the fermentation broth of Phoma sp. TC 1674. Based on spectroscopic analyses, TMC-264 was found to be a novel tricyclic polyketide with chloro-1H-dibenzo[b,d]pyran-4,6-dione. TMC-264 suppressed expression of IL-4 driven luciferase and germline Cepsilon mRNA with IC50 values of 0.3 microM and 0.4 microM, respectively. TMC-264 exhibited a potent inhibitory activity against tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT6 with an IC50 value of 1.6 microM, whereas TMC-264 weakly inhibited tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT5 with an IC50 value of 16 microM, but did not inhibit the phosphorylation of STAT1 up to 40 microM. TMC-264 blocked formation of the complexes between phosphorylated STAT6 and STAT6 oligonucleotides in a dose dependent manner, while TMC-264 did not affect the formation of phosphorylated STAT1/STAT1 oligonucleotides complexes. These results suggested that TMC-264 selectively inhibited IL-4 signaling by interfering both of phosphorylation of STAT6 and binding of the phosphorylated STAT6 to the recognition sequence.

TMC-264, a novel antiallergic heptaketide produced by the fungus Phoma sp. TC 1674.

[structure: see text] TMC-264 (1), a novel tricyclic heptaketide with a unique chloro-1H-dibenzo[b,d]pyran-4,6-dione skeleton, was discovered from the fungus Phoma sp. TC 1674. The structure was elucidated on the basis of NMR analyses of normal abundance and biosynthetically (13)C-enriched TMC-264. TMC-264 showed potent inhibitory activity against tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT6.

TMC-256A1 and C1, new inhibitors of IL-4 signal transduction produced by Aspergillus niger var niger TC 1629.

New inhibitors of IL-4 signal transduction, designated as TMC-256A1 and C1, were discovered together with TMC-256B1, a previously known dihydronaphthopyrone, from the fermentation broth of Aspergillus niger var niger TC 1629 by using an IL-4 driven reporter gene assay. Based on spectroscopic analyses, TMC-256A1 and C1 were found to be new members of the naphthopyrone antibiotics. TMC-256A1, B1 and C1 inhibited the IL-4 driven luciferase activity with IC50 values of 25 microM, 30 microM and 1.7 microM, respectively in this assay system. Furthermore, these compounds inhibited the expression of germline C epsilon mRNA with IC50 values of 6.6 microM , 34 microM and 0.31 microM, respectively.