Characterization of allosteric modulators that disrupt androgen receptor co-activator protein-protein interactions to alter transactivation-Drug leads for metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer.

Three series of compounds were prioritized from a high content screening campaign that identified molecules that blocked dihydrotestosterone (DHT) induced formation of Androgen Receptor (AR) protein-protein interactions (PPIs) with the Transcriptional Intermediary Factor 2 (TIF2) coactivator and also disrupted preformed AR-TIF2 PPI complexes; the hydrobenzo-oxazepins (S1), thiadiazol-5-piperidine-carboxamides (S2), and phenyl-methyl-indoles (S3). Compounds from these series inhibited AR PPIs with TIF2 and SRC-1, another p160 coactivator, in mammalian 2-hybrid assays and blocked transcriptional activation in reporter assays driven by full length AR or AR-V7 splice variants. Compounds inhibited the growth of five prostate cancer cell lines, with many exhibiting differential cytotoxicity towards AR positive cell lines. Representative compounds from the 3 series substantially reduced both endogenous and DHT-enhanced expression and secretion of the prostate specific antigen (PSA) cancer biomarker in the C4-2 castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) cell line. The comparatively weak activities of series compounds in the H3-DHT and/or TIF2 box 3 LXXLL-peptide binding assays to the recombinant ligand binding domain of AR suggest that direct antagonism at the orthosteric ligand binding site or AF-2 surface respectively are unlikely mechanisms of action. Cellular enhanced thermal stability assays (CETSA) indicated that compounds engaged AR and reduced the maximum efficacy and right shifted the EC50 of DHT-enhanced AR thermal stabilization consistent with the effects of negative allosteric modulators. Molecular docking of potent representative hits from each series to AR structures suggest that S1-1 and S2-6 engage a novel binding pocket (BP-1) adjacent to the orthosteric ligand binding site, while S3-11 occupies the AR binding function 3 (BF-3) allosteric pocket. Hit binding poses indicate spaces and residues adjacent to the BP-1 and BF-3 pockets that will be exploited in future medicinal chemistry optimization studies. Small molecule allosteric modulators that prevent/disrupt AR PPIs with coactivators like TIF2 to alter transcriptional activation in the presence of orthosteric agonists might evade the resistance mechanisms to existing prostate cancer drugs and provide novel starting points for medicinal chemistry lead optimization and future development into therapies for metastatic CRPC.

Assays to Interrogate the Ability of Compounds to Inhibit the AF-2 or AF-1 Transactivation Domains of the Androgen Receptor.

Prostate cancer is the leading cause of cancer and second leading cause of cancer-related death in men in the United States. Twenty percent of patients receiving the standard of care androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) eventually progress to metastatic and incurable castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Current FDA-approved drugs for CRPC target androgen receptor (AR) binding or androgen production, but only provide a 2- to 5-month survival benefit due to the emergence of resistance. Overexpression of AR coactivators and the emergence of AR splice variants, both promote continued transcriptional activation under androgen-depleted conditions and represent drug resistance mechanisms that contribute to CRPC progression. The AR contains two transactivation domains, activation function 2 (AF-2) and activation function 1 (AF-1), which serve as binding surfaces for coactivators involved in the transcriptional activation of AR target genes. Full-length AR contains both AF-2 and AF-1 surfaces, whereas AR splice variants only have an AF-1 surface. We have recently prosecuted a high-content screening campaign to identify hit compounds that can inhibit or disrupt the protein-protein interactions (PPIs) between AR and transcriptional intermediary factor 2 (TIF2), one of the coactivators implicated in CRPC disease progression. Since an ideal inhibitor/disruptor of AR-coactivator PPIs would target both the AF-2 and AF-1 surfaces, we describe here the development and validation of five AF-2- and three AF-1-focused assays to interrogate and prioritize hits that disrupt both transactivation surfaces. The assays were validated using a test set of seven known AR modulator compounds, including three AR antagonists and one androgen synthesis inhibitor that are FDA-approved ADTs, two investigational molecules that target the N-terminal domain of AR, and an inhibitor of the Hsp90 (heat shock protein) molecular chaperone.

Screening for Neurotoxicity with Microelectrode Array.

Neurotoxicity and seizurogenic liabilities are difficult to detect using currently available in vitro cytotoxicity assays. This is primarily due to the inherent limitations of these assays to predict adverse neural network disruptions and chemically induced perturbations. Many of these detrimental effects are detected with in vivo studies after substantial time and monetary resources have already been invested. Due to these late-stage unforeseen side effects, the implementation of a reliable high throughput in vitro method for assessing seizure-inducing and neurotoxic compound effects early in the drug discovery process would be ideal. We have developed an in vitro screening tool to identify chemical entities that cause neurotoxic and seizurogenic effects. This article describes the preparation and use of a 48-well microelectrode array (MEA) platform along with custom data analysis algorithms and commercially available analysis tools to screen for neurotoxic liabilities and seizurogenic effects using recorded spike file data generated from cryogenically preserved rat cortical neurons. © 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

High-Content Screening Campaign to Identify Compounds That Inhibit or Disrupt Androgen Receptor-Transcriptional Intermediary Factor 2 Protein-Protein Interactions for the Treatment of Prostate Cancer.

Twenty percent of prostate cancer (PCa) patients develop a noncurable drug-resistant form of the disease termed castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Overexpression of Androgen Receptor (AR) coactivators such as transcriptional intermediary factor 2 (TIF2) is associated with poor CRPC patient outcomes. We describe the implementation of the AR-TIF2 protein-protein interaction biosensor (PPIB) assay in a high-content screening (HCS) campaign of 143,535 compounds. The assay performed robustly and reproducibly and enabled us to identify compounds that inhibited dihydrotestosterone (DHT)-induced AR-TIF2 protein-protein interaction (PPI) formation or disrupted preexisting AR-TIF2 PPIs. We used multiparameter HCS data z-scores to identify and deprioritize cytotoxic or autofluorescent outliers and confirmed the resulting qualified actives in triplicate. None of the confirmed AR-TIF2 PPIB inhibitors/disruptors exhibited activity in a p53-hDM2 PPIB counter screen, indicating that they were unlikely to be either nonselective PPI inhibitors or to interfere with the biosensor assay format. However, eight confirmed AR-TIF2 PPIB actives also inhibited the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) nuclear translocation counter screen by >50%. These compounds were deprioritized because they either lacked AR specificity/selectivity, or they inhibited a shared component of the AR and GR signaling pathways. Twenty-nine confirmed AR-TIF2 PPIB actives also inhibited the AR nuclear localization counter screen, suggesting that they might indirectly inhibit the AR-TIF2 PPIB assay rather than directly blocking/disrupting PPIs. A total of 62.2% of the confirmed actives inhibited the DHT-induced AR-TIF2 PPI formation in a concentration-dependent manner with IC50s < 40 µM, and 59.4% also disrupted preexisting AR-TIF2 PPI complexes. Overall, the hit rate for the AR-TIF2 PPIB HCS campaign was 0.12%, and most hits inhibited AR-TIF2 PPI formation and disrupted preexisting AR-TIF2 complexes with similar AR-red fluorescent protein distribution phenotypes. Further secondary and tertiary hit characterization assays are underway to select AR-TIF2 PPI inhibitor/disruptor hits suitable for medicinal chemistry lead optimization and development into novel PCa/CRPC therapeutics.

In Vitro Screening for Seizure Liability Using Microelectrode Array Technology.

Drug-induced seizure liabilities produce significant compound attrition during drug discovery. Currently available in vitro cytotoxicity assays cannot predict all toxicity mechanisms due to the failure of these assays to predict sublethal target-specific electrophysiological liabilities. Identification of seizurogenic and other electrophysiological effects at early stages of the drug development process is important to ensure that safe candidate compounds can be developed while chemical design is taking place, long before these liabilities are discovered in costly preclinical in vivo studies. The development of a high throughput and reliable in vitro assay to screen compounds for seizure liabilities would de-risk compounds significantly earlier in the drug discovery process and with greater dependability. Here we describe a method for screening compounds that utilizes rat cortical neurons plated onto multiwell microelectrode array plates to identify compounds that cause neurophysiological disruptions. Changes in 12 electrophysiological parameters (spike train descriptors) were measured after application of known seizurogenic compounds and the response pattern was mapped relative to negative controls, vehicle control and neurotoxic controls. Twenty chemicals with a variety of therapeutic indications and targets, including GABAA antagonists, glycine receptor antagonists, ion channel blockers, muscarinic agonist, δ-opioid receptor agonist, dopaminergic D2/adrenergic receptor blocker and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, were tested to assess this system. Sixteen of the seventeen seizurogenic/neurotoxic compounds tested positive for seizure liability or neurotoxicity, moreover, different endpoint response patterns for firing rate, burst characteristics and synchrony that distinguished the chemicals into groups relating to target and seizurogenic response emerged from the data. The negative and vehicle control compounds had no effect on neural activity. In conclusion, the multiwell microelectrode array platform using cryopreserved rat cortical neurons is a highly effective high throughput method for reliably screening seizure liabilities within an early de-risking drug development paradigm.

High Content Positional Biosensor Assay to Screen for Compounds that Prevent or Disrupt Androgen Receptor and Transcription Intermediary Factor 2 Protein-Protein Interactions.

Transcriptional Intermediary Factor 2 (TIF2) is a key Androgen receptor (AR) coactivator that has been implicated in the development and progression of castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). This chapter describes the implementation of an AR-TIF2 protein-protein interaction (PPI) biosensor assay to screen for small molecules that can induce AR-TIF2 PPIs, inhibit the DHT-induced formation of AR-TIF2 PPIs, or disrupt pre-existing AR-TIF2 PPIs. The biosensor assay employs high content imaging and analysis to quantify AR-TIF2 PPIs and integrates physiologically relevant cell-based assays with the specificity of binding assays by incorporating structural information from AR and TIF2 functional domains along with intracellular targeting sequences using fluorescent protein reporters. Expression of the AR-Red Fluorescent Protein (RFP) "prey" and TIF2-Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) "bait" components of the biosensor is directed by recombinant adenovirus (rAV) expression constructs that facilitated a simple co-infection protocol to produce homogeneous expression of both biosensors that is scalable for screening. In untreated cells, AR-RFP expression is localized predominantly to the cytoplasm and TIF2-GFP expression is localized only in the nucleoli of the nucleus. Exposure to DHT induces the co-localization of AR-RFP within the TIF2-GFP positive nucleoli of the nucleus. The AR-TIF2 biosensor assay therefore recapitulates the ligand-induced translocation of latent AR from the cytoplasm to the nucleus, and the PPIs between AR and TIF2 result in the colocalization of AR-RFP within TIF2-GFP expressing nucleoli. The AR-TIF2 PPI biosensor approach offers significant promise for identifying molecules with potential to modulate AR transcriptional activity in a cell-specific manner that may overcome the development of resistance and progression to CRPC.

Inhibition of Hepatobiliary Transport Activity by the Antibacterial Agent Fusidic Acid: Insights into Factors Contributing to Conjugated Hyperbilirubinemia/Cholestasis.

Conjugated hyperbilirubinemia accompanied by cholestasis is a frequent side effect during chronic treatment with the antimicrobial agent fusidic acid. Previous studies from our laboratory, addressing mechanisms of musculoskeletal toxicity arising from coadministration of fusidic acid with statins, demonstrated the ability of fusidic acid to potently inhibit human organic anion transporting polypeptides OATP1B1 (IC50 = 1.6 µM) and OATP1B3 (IC50 = 2.5 µM), which are responsible for the uptake-limited clearance of statins as well as bilirubin glucuronide conjugates. In the present work, inhibitory effects of fusidic acid were characterized against additional human hepatobiliary transporters [Na+/taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (NTCP), bile salt export pump (BSEP), and multidrug resistance-associated proteins MRP2 and MRP3] as well as uridine glucuronosyl transferase (UGT1A1), which mediate the disposition of bile acids and bilirubin (and its conjugated metabolites). Fusidic acid demonstrated concentration-dependent inhibition of human NTCP- and BSEP-mediated taurocholic acid transport with IC50 values of 44 and 3.8 µM, respectively. Inhibition of BSEP activity by fusidic acid was also consistent with the potent disruption of cellular biliary flux (AC50 = 11 µM) in the hepatocyte imaging assay technology assay, with minimal impact on other toxicity end points (e.g., cytotoxicity, mitochondrial membrane potential, reactive oxygen species generation, glutathione depletion, etc.). Fusidic acid also inhibited UGT1A1-catalyzed ß-estradiol glucuronidation activity in human liver microsomes with an IC50 value of 16 µM. Fusidic acid did not demonstrate any significant inhibition of ATP-dependent LTC4 transport (IC50's > 300 µM) in human MRP2 or MRP3 vesicles. R values, which reflect maximal in vivo inhibition, were estimated from a static mathematical model by taking into consideration the IC50 values generated in the various in vitro assays and clinically efficacious unbound fusidic acid concentrations. The magnitudes of in vivo interaction (R values) resulting from the inhibition of OATP1B1, UGT1A1, NTCP, and BSEP transport were ∼1.9-2.6, 1.1-1.2, 1.0-1.1, and 1.4-1.7, respectively, which are indicative of some degree of inherent toxicity risk, particularly via inhibition of OATP and BSEP. Collectively, these observations indicate that inhibition of human BSEP by fusidic acid could affect bile acid homeostasis, resulting in cholestatic hepatotoxicity in the clinic. Lack of direct inhibitory effects on MRP2 transport by fusidic acid suggests that conjugated hyperbilirubinemia does not arise via interference in MRP2-mediated biliary disposition of bilirubin glucuronides. Instead, it is possible that elevation in the level of bilirubin conjugates in blood is mediated through inhibition of hepatic OATPs, which are responsible for their reuptake and/or downregulation of MRP2 transporter as a consequence of cholestatic injury.

Reconfiguring the AR-TIF2 Protein-Protein Interaction HCS Assay in Prostate Cancer Cells and Characterizing the Hits from a LOPAC Screen.

The continued activation of androgen receptor (AR) transcription and elevated expression of AR and transcriptional intermediary factor 2 (TIF2) coactivator observed in prostate cancer (CaP) recurrence and the development of castration-resistant CaP (CRPC) support a screening strategy for small-molecule inhibitors of AR-TIF2 protein-protein interactions (PPIs) to find new drug candidates. Small molecules can elicit tissue selective effects, because the cells of distinct tissues express different levels and cohorts of coregulatory proteins. We reconfigured the AR-TIF2 PPI biosensor (PPIB) assay in the PC-3 CaP cell line to determine whether AR modulators and hits from an AR-TIF2 PPIB screen conducted in U-2 OS cells would behave differently in the CaP cell background. Although we did not observe any significant differences in the compound responses between the assay performed in osteosarcoma and CaP cells, the U-2 OS AR-TIF2 PPIB assay would be more amenable to screening, because both the virus and cell culture demands are lower. We implemented a testing paradigm of counter-screens and secondary hit characterization assays that allowed us to identify and deprioritize hits that inhibited/disrupted AR-TIF2 PPIs and AR transcriptional activation (AR-TA) through antagonism of AR ligand binding or by non-specifically blocking nuclear receptor trafficking. Since AR-TIF2 PPI inhibitor/disruptor molecules act distally to AR ligand binding, they have the potential to modulate AR-TA in a cell-specific manner that is distinct from existing anti-androgen drugs, and to overcome the development of resistance to AR antagonism. We anticipate that the application of this testing paradigm to characterize the hits from an AR-TIF2 PPI high-content screening campaign will enable us to prioritize the AR-TIF2 PPI inhibitor/disruptor leads that have potential to be developed into novel therapeutics for CaP and CRPC.

Identification of Drug-Drug Interactions In Vitro: A Case Study Evaluating the Effects of Sofosbuvir and Amiodarone on hiPSC-Derived Cardiomyocytes.

Drug-drug interactions pose a difficult drug safety problem, given the increasing number of individuals taking multiple medications and the relative complexity of assessing the potential for interactions. For example, sofosbuvir-based drug treatments have significantly advanced care for hepatitis C virus-infected patients, yet recent reports suggest interactions with amiodarone may cause severe symptomatic bradycardia and thus limit an otherwise extremely effective treatment. Here, we evaluated the ability of human induced pluripotent stem cell derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) to recapitulate the interaction between sofosbuvir and amiodarone in vitro, and more generally assessed the feasibility of hiPSC-CMs as a model system for drug-drug interactions. Sofosbuvir alone had negligible effects on cardiomyocyte electrophysiology, whereas the sofosbuvir-amiodarone combination produced dose-dependent effects beyond that of amiodarone alone. By comparison, GS-331007, the primary circulating metabolite of sofosbuvir, had no effect alone or in combination with amiodarone. Further mechanistic studies revealed that the sofosbuvir-amiodarone combination disrupted intracellular calcium (Ca2+) handling and cellular electrophysiology at pharmacologically relevant concentrations, and mechanical activity at supra-pharmacological (30x Cmax) concentrations. These effects were independent of the common mechanisms of direct ion channel block and P-glycoprotein activity. These results support hiPSC-CMs as a comprehensive, yet scalable model system for the identification and evaluation of cardioactive pharmacodynamic drug-drug interactions.

High content screening biosensor assay to identify disruptors of p53-hDM2 protein-protein interactions.

This chapter describes the implementation of the p53-hDM2 protein-protein interaction (PPI) biosensor (PPIB) HCS assay to identify disruptors of p53-hDM2 PPIs. Recombinant adenovirus expression constructs were generated bearing the individual p53-GFP and hDM2-RFP PPI partners. The N-terminal p53 transactivating domain that contains the binding site for hDM2 is expressed as a GFP fusion protein that is targeted and anchored in the nucleolus of infected cells by a nuclear localization (NLS) sequence. The p53-GFP biosensor is localized to the nucleolus to enhance and facilitate the image acquisition and analysis of the PPIs. The N-terminus of hDM2 encodes the domain for binding to the transactivating domain of p53, and is expressed as a RFP fusion protein that includes both an NLS and a nuclear export sequence (NES). In U-2 OS cells co-infected with both adenovirus constructs, the binding interactions between hDM2 and p53 result in both biosensors becoming co-localized within the nucleolus. Upon disruption of the p53-hDM2 PPIs, the p53-GFP biosensor remains in the nucleolus while the shuttling hDM2-RFP biosensor redistributes into the cytoplasm. p53-hDM2 PPIs are measured by acquiring fluorescent images of cells co-infected with both adenovirus biosensors on an automated HCS imaging platform and using an image analysis algorithm to quantify the relative distribution of the hDM2-RFP shuttling component of the biosensor between the cytoplasm and nuclear regions of compound treated cells.

High-content positional biosensor screening assay for compounds to prevent or disrupt androgen receptor and transcriptional intermediary factor 2 protein-protein interactions.

The androgen receptor-transcriptional intermediary factor 2 (AR-TIF2) positional protein-protein interaction (PPI) biosensor assay described herein combines physiologically relevant cell-based assays with the specificity of binding assays by incorporating structural information of AR and TIF2 functional domains along with intracellular targeting sequences and fluorescent reporters. Expression of the AR-red fluorescent protein (RFP) "prey" and TIF2-green fluorescent protein (GFP) "bait" components of the biosensor was directed by recombinant adenovirus constructs that expressed the ligand binding and activation function 2 surface domains of AR fused to RFP with nuclear localization and nuclear export sequences, and three α-helical LXXLL motifs from TIF2 fused to GFP and an HIV Rev nucleolar targeting sequence. In unstimulated cells, AR-RFP was localized predominantly to the cytoplasm and TIF2-GFP was localized to nucleoli. Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) treatment induced AR-RFP translocation into the nucleus where the PPIs between AR and TIF2 resulted in the colocalization of both biosensors within the nucleolus. We adapted the translocation enhanced image analysis module to quantify the colocalization of the AR-RFP and TIF2-GFP biosensors in images acquired on the ImageXpress platform. DHT induced a concentration-dependent AR-TIF2 colocalization and produced a characteristic condensed punctate AR-RFP PPI nucleolar distribution pattern. The heat-shock protein 90 inhibitor 17-N-allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin (17-AAG) and antiandrogens flutamide and bicalutamide inhibited DHT-induced AR-TIF2 PPI formation with 50% inhibition concentrations (IC50s) of 88.5±12.5 nM, 7.6±2.4 µM, and 1.6±0.4 µM, respectively. Images of the AR-RFP distribution phenotype allowed us to distinguish between 17-AAG and flutamide, which prevented AR translocation, and bicalutamide, which blocked AR-TIF2 PPIs. We screened the Library of Pharmacologically Active Compounds (LOPAC) set for compounds that inhibited AR-TIF2 PPI formation or disrupted preexisting complexes. Eleven modulators of steroid family nuclear receptors (NRs) and 6 non-NR ligands inhibited AR-TIF2 PPI formation, and 10 disrupted preexisting complexes. The hits appear to be either AR antagonists or nonspecific inhibitors of NR activation and trafficking. Given that the LOPAC set represents such a small and restricted biological and chemical diversity, it is anticipated that screening a much larger and more diverse compound library will be required to find AR-TIF2 PPI inhibitors/disruptors. The AR-TIF2 protein-protein interaction biosensor (PPIB) approach offers significant promise for identifying molecules with potential to modulate AR transcriptional activity in a cell-specific manner that is distinct from the existing antiandrogen drugs that target AR binding or production. Small molecules that disrupt AR signaling at the level of AR-TIF2 PPIs may also overcome the development of resistance and progression to castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Toxicity assessments of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in isolated mitochondria, rat hepatocytes, and zebrafish show good concordance across chemical classes.

To reduce costly late-stage compound attrition, there has been an increased focus on assessing compounds in in vitro assays that predict attributes of human safety liabilities, before preclinical in vivo studies are done. Relevant questions when choosing a panel of assays for predicting toxicity are (a) whether there is general concordance in the data among the assays, and (b) whether, in a retrospective analysis, the rank order of toxicity of compounds in the assays correlates with the known safety profile of the drugs in humans. The aim of our study was to answer these questions using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as a test set since NSAIDs are generally associated with gastrointestinal injury, hepatotoxicity, and/or cardiovascular risk, with mitochondrial impairment and endoplasmic reticulum stress being possible contributing factors. Eleven NSAIDs, flufenamic acid, tolfenamic acid, mefenamic acid, diclofenac, meloxicam, sudoxicam, piroxicam, diflunisal, acetylsalicylic acid, nimesulide, and sulindac (and its two metabolites, sulindac sulfide and sulindac sulfone), were tested for their effects on (a) the respiration of rat liver mitochondria, (b) a panel of mechanistic endpoints in rat hepatocytes, and (c) the viability and organ morphology of zebrafish. We show good concordance for distinguishing among/between NSAID chemical classes in the observations among the three approaches. Furthermore, the assays were complementary and able to correctly identify "toxic" and "non-toxic" drugs in accordance with their human safety profile, with emphasis on hepatic and gastrointestinal safety. We recommend implementing our multi-assay approach in the drug discovery process to reduce compound attrition.

Characterization and optimization of a novel protein-protein interaction biosensor high-content screening assay to identify disruptors of the interactions between p53 and hDM2.

We present here the characterization and optimization of a novel imaging-based positional biosensor high-content screening (HCS) assay to identify disruptors of p53-hDM2 protein-protein interactions (PPIs). The chimeric proteins of the biosensor incorporated the N-terminal PPI domains of p53 and hDM2, protein targeting sequences (nuclear localization and nuclear export sequence), and fluorescent reporters, which when expressed in cells could be used to monitor p53-hDM2 PPIs through changes in the subcellular localization of the hDM2 component of the biosensor. Coinfection with the recombinant adenovirus biosensors was used to express the NH-terminal domains of p53 and hDM2, fused to green fluorescent protein and red fluorescent protein, respectively, in U-2 OS cells. We validated the p53-hDM2 PPI biosensor (PPIB) HCS assay with Nutlin-3, a compound that occupies the hydrophobic pocket on the surface of the N-terminus of hDM2 and blocks the binding interactions with the N-terminus of p53. Nutlin-3 disrupted the p53-hDM2 PPIB in a concentration-dependent manner and provided a robust, reproducible, and stable assay signal window that was compatible with HCS. The p53-hDM2 PPIB assay was readily implemented in HCS and we identified four (4) compounds in the 1,280-compound Library of Pharmacologically Active Compounds that activated the p53 signaling pathway and elicited biosensor signals that were clearly distinct from the responses of inactive compounds. Anthracycline (topoisomerase II inhibitors such as mitoxantrone and ellipticine) and camptothecin (topoisomerase I inhibitor) derivatives including topotecan induce DNA double strand breaks, which activate the p53 pathway through the ataxia telangiectasia mutated-checkpoint kinase 2 (ATM-CHK2) DNA damage response pathway. Although mitoxantrone, ellipticine, camptothecin, and topotecan all exhibited concentration-dependent disruption of the p53-hDM2 PPIB, they were much less potent than Nutlin-3. Further, their corresponding cellular images and quantitative HCS data did not completely match the Nutlin-3 phenotypic profile.

Implementation of a 220,000-compound HCS campaign to identify disruptors of the interaction between p53 and hDM2 and characterization of the confirmed hits.

In recent years, advances in structure-based drug design and the development of an impressive variety of high-throughput screening (HTS) assay formats have yielded an expanding list of protein-protein interaction inhibitors. Despite these advances, protein-protein interaction targets are still widely considered difficult to disrupt with small molecules. The authors present here the results from screening 220,017 compounds from the National Institute of Health's small-molecule library in a novel p53-hDM2 protein-protein interaction biosensor (PPIB) assay. The p53-hDM2 positional biosensor performed robustly and reproducibly throughout the high-content screening (HCS) campaign, and analysis of the multiparameter data from images of the 3 fluorescent channels enabled the authors to identify and eliminate compounds that were cytotoxic or fluorescent artifacts. The HCS campaign yielded 3 structurally related methylbenzo-naphthyridin-5-amine (MBNA) hits with IC(50)s between 30 and 50 microM in the p53-hDM2 PPIB. In HCT116 cells with wild-type (WT) p53, the MBNAs enhanced p53 protein levels, increased the expression of p53 target genes, caused a cell cycle arrest in G1, induced apoptosis, and inhibited cell proliferation with an IC(50) ~4 microM. The prototype disruptor of p53-hDM2 interactions Nutlin-3 was more potent than the MBNAs in the p53-hDM2 PPIB assay but produced equivalent biological results in HCT116 cells WT for p53. Unlike Nutlin-3, however, MBNAs also increased the percentage of apoptosis in p53 null cells and exhibited similar potencies for growth inhibition in isogenic cell lines null for p53 or p21. Neither the MBNAs nor Nutin-3 caused cell cycle arrest in p53 null HCT116 cells. Despite the relatively modest size of the screening library, the combination of a novel p53-hDM2 PPIB assay together with an automated imaging HCS platform and image analysis methods enabled the discovery of a novel chemotype series that disrupts p53-hDM2 interactions in cells.

Inhibiting the cyclin-dependent kinase CDK5 blocks pancreatic cancer formation and progression through the suppression of Ras-Ral signaling.

Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5), a neuronal kinase that functions in migration, has been found to be activated in some human cancers in which it has been implicated in promoting metastasis. In this study, we investigated the role of CDK5 in pancreatic cancers in which metastatic disease is most common at diagnosis. CDK5 was widely active in pancreatic cancer cells. Functional ablation significantly inhibited invasion, migration, and anchorage-independent growth in vitro, and orthotopic tumor formation and systemic metastases in vivo. CDK5 blockade resulted in the profound inhibition of Ras signaling through its critical effectors RalA and RalB. Conversely, restoring Ral function rescued the effects of CDK5 inhibition in pancreatic cancer cells. Our findings identify CDK5 as a pharmacologically tractable target to degrade Ras signaling in pancreatic cancer.

Cellular systems biology profiling applied to cellular models of disease.

Building cellular models of disease based on the approach of Cellular Systems Biology (CSB) has the potential to improve the process of creating drugs as part of the continuum from early drug discovery through drug development and clinical trials and diagnostics. This paper focuses on the application of CSB to early drug discovery. We discuss the integration of protein-protein interaction biosensors with other multiplexed, functional biomarkers as an example in using CSB to optimize the identification of quality lead series compounds.

Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 activity controls cell motility and metastatic potential of prostate cancer cells.

We show here that cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5), a known regulator of migration in neuronal development, plays an important role in prostate cancer motility and metastasis. P35, an activator of CDK5 that is indicative of its activity, is expressed in a panel of human and rat prostate cancer cell lines, and is also expressed in 87.5% of the human metastatic prostate cancers we examined. Blocking of CDK5 activity with a dominant-negative CDK5 construct, small interfering RNA, or roscovitine resulted in changes in the microtubule cytoskeleton, loss of cellular polarity, and loss of motility. Expression of a dominant-negative CDK5 in the highly metastatic Dunning AT6.3 prostate cancer cell line also greatly impaired invasive capacity. CDK5 activity was important for spontaneous metastasis in vivo; xenografts of AT6.3 cells expressing dominant-negative CDK5 had less than one-fourth the number of lung metastases exhibited by AT6.3 cells expressing the empty vector. These results show that CDK5 activity controls cell motility and metastatic potential in prostate cancer.

Activity of irinotecan and the tyrosine kinase inhibitor CEP-751 in medullary thyroid cancer.

CONTEXT: Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is a cancer of the parafollicular C cells that commonly presents with an inherited or acquired RET gene mutation. There is currently no effective systemic treatment for MTC. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate a systemic therapeutic approach to treat MTC. We studied the sensitivity of an MTC cell line and xenograft to irinotecan, alone and in combination with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor, CEP-751. RESULTS: In TT cell culture and xenografts, irinotecan treatment was highly effective. This effect was augmented by treatment with CEP-751. Treatment of TT cell xenografts resulted in durable complete remission in 100% of the mice, with median time to recurrence of 70 d for irinotecan alone and more than 130 d for irinotecan plus CEP-751. Although irinotecan induced an S phase checkpoint arrest in TT cells, CEP-751 in combination with irinotecan resulted in a loss of this arrest. CEP-751 induced a loss in the induction of the DNA repair program marked by phospho-H2AX and the checkpoint pathway marked by the activated Chk1 pathway. CONCLUSIONS: Irinotecan treatment was highly effective in a preclinical model of human MTC, resulting in complete remission in 100% of the xenografts treated. The duration of remission was further enhanced by combination with the kinase inhibitor, CEP-751. These results suggest that irinotecan, alone or in combination, may be useful for the treatment of MTC.

Interleukin-1beta can mediate growth arrest and differentiation via the leukemia inhibitory factor/JAK/STAT pathway in medullary thyroid carcinoma cells.

Interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) is a pleiotropic cytokine that can induce several cellular signal transduction pathways. Here, we show that IL-1beta can induce cell cycle arrest and differentiation in the human medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) cell line, TT. IL-1beta induces cell cycle arrest accompanied by morphological changes and expression of the neuroendocrine marker calcitonin. These changes are blocked by the MEK1/2 specific inhibitor U0126, indicating that MEK1/2 is essential for IL-1beta signaling in TT cells. IL-1beta induces expression of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and activation of STAT3 via the MEK/ERK pathway. This activation of STAT3 could be abrogated by treatment with anti-LIF neutralizing antibody or anti-gp130 blocking antibody, indicating that induction of LIF expression is sufficient and essential for STAT3 activation by IL-1beta. In addition to activation of the LIF/JAK/STAT pathway, IL-1beta also induced an MEK/ERK-mediated intracellular cell-autonomous signaling pathway that is independently sufficient for growth arrest and differentiation. Thus, IL-1beta activates the MEK/ERK pathway to induce growth arrest and differentiation in MTC cells via dual independent signaling mechanisms, the cell-extrinsic LIF/JAK/STAT pathway, and the cell-intrinsic autonomous signaling pathway.

GDNF-induced leukemia inhibitory factor can mediate differentiation via the MEK/ERK pathway in pheochromocytoma cells derived from nf1-heterozygous knockout mice.

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) can induce neuron-like differentiation of mouse pheochromocytoma (MPC) cell lines derived from mice with a heterozygous knockout mutation of nf1, the murine counterpart of the human gene mutated in neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). Here, we show that GDNF-induced differentiation in the MPC 862L cell line is mediated by the MEK/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway. Neurite outgrowth, increased expression of growth-associated protein 43, and decreased incorporation of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) were induced by treatment with GDNF, H-RasV12, or a constitutively active MEK2. GDNF also induces leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) via the MEK/ERK pathway, and LIF itself can elicit these differentiative changes via a cell-extrinsic autocrine/paracrine pathway. Treatment with anti-LIF neutralizing antibody depleted the differentiative activity of the conditioned medium from cells stimulated for MEK/ERK signaling, while recombinant LIF could induce differentiation in MPC cells, indicating that LIF is the sole factor with differentiative activity. LIF could activate MEK1/2 and STAT3, but LIF-induced differentiation was blocked only by the MEK1/2-specific inhibitor U0126, indicating that the MEK/ERK pathway is necessary for LIF action in MPC cells. Our findings suggest that LIF may be utilized for signaling mediated by GDNF and may be important in the pathobiology of neuroendocrine tumors.