1
|
Gold MS, Pineda-Farias JB, Close D, Patel S, Johnston PA, Stocker SD, Journigan VB. Subcutaneous administration of a novel TRPM8 antagonist reverses cold hypersensitivity while attenuating the drop in core body temperature. Br J Pharmacol 2024. [PMID: 38794851 DOI: 10.1111/bph.16429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Revised: 04/01/2024] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE We extend the characterization of the TRPM8 antagonist VBJ103 with tests of selectivity, specificity and distribution, therapeutic efficacy of systemic administration against oxaliplatin-induced cold hyperalgesia and the impact of systemic administration on core body temperature (CBT). EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH Selectivity at human TRPA1 and TRPV1 as well as in vitro safety profiling was determined. Effects of systemic administration of VBJ103 were evaluated in a model of oxaliplatin-induced cold hyperalgesia. Both peripheral and centrally mediated effects of VBJ103 on CBT were assessed with radiotelemetry. KEY RESULTS VBJ103 had no antagonist activity at TRPV1 and TRPA1, but low potency TRPA1 activation. The only safety liability detected was partial inhibition of the dopamine transporter (DAT). VBJ103 delivered subcutaneously dose-dependently attenuated cold hypersensitivity in oxaliplatin-treated mice at 3, 10 and 30 mg·kg-1 (n = 7, P < 0.05). VBJ103 (30 mg·kg-1) antinociception was influenced by neither the TRPA1 antagonist HC-030031 nor the DAT antagonist GBR12909. Subcutaneous administration of VBJ103 (3, 10 and 30 mg·kg-1, but not 100 or 300 mg·kg-1, n = 7) decreased CBT (2°C). Intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of VBJ103 (3, 10 and 30 mg·kg-1) dose-dependently decreased CBT to an extent larger than that detected with subcutaneous administration. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration (306 nmol/1 μL; n = 5) did not alter CBT. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS We achieve therapeutic efficacy with subcutaneous administration of a novel TRPM8 antagonist that attenuates deleterious influences on CBT, a side effect that has largely prevented the translation of TRPM8 as a target.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael S Gold
- Department of Neurobiology, Pittsburgh Center for Pain Research, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Jorge B Pineda-Farias
- Department of Neurobiology, Pittsburgh Center for Pain Research, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - David Close
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Smith Patel
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Computational Chemical Genomics Screening Center, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Paul A Johnston
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Sean D Stocker
- Department of Neurobiology, Pittsburgh Center for Pain Research, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - V Blair Journigan
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Computational Chemical Genomics Screening Center, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Long K, Close DA, Johnston PA, Huryn DM. Replacement of the hydroxamic acid group in the selective HDAC8 inhibitor PCI-34051. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2024:129810. [PMID: 38782078 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2024.129810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2024] [Revised: 05/17/2024] [Accepted: 05/21/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
PCI-34051 is a valuable tool to interrogate the therapeutic effects of selective inhibition of HDAC8. However, it has not advanced to clinical trials, perhaps due to poor PK or off-target effects. We hypothesized that the presence of a hydroxamic acid (HA) group in PCI-34051 contributed to its lack of advancement. Therefore, we replaced the HA in the PCI-34051 scaffold with a series of moieties that have the potential to bind to Zn and evaluated their activity in a HDAC8 assay. Surprisingly, none of the replacements effectively mimicked the HA, and analogs lost significant potency. Evaluation of the analogs' affinity to Zn indicated that none had affinity for Zn within the same range as the HA. These studies point to the difficulty in the application of bioisosteric replacements for Zn binding motifs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Keith Long
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, United States
| | - David A Close
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, United States
| | - Paul A Johnston
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, United States
| | - Donna M Huryn
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, United States.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Close DA, Johnston PA. WITHDRAWN: Detection and impact of hypoxic regions in multicellular tumor spheroid cultures formed by head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells lines. SLAS Discov 2023; 29:130. [PMID: 38101574 DOI: 10.1016/j.slasd.2023.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- David A Close
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA
| | - Paul A Johnston
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA; University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, 15232, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Fancher AT, Hua Y, Close DA, Xu W, McDermott LA, Strock CJ, Santiago U, Camacho CJ, Johnston PA. Characterization of allosteric modulators that disrupt androgen receptor co-activator protein-protein interactions to alter transactivation-Drug leads for metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer. SLAS Discov 2023; 28:325-343. [PMID: 37549772 DOI: 10.1016/j.slasd.2023.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023]
Abstract
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.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ashley T Fancher
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; Nucleus Global, 2 Ravinia Drive, Suite 605, Atlanta, GA 30346, USA
| | - Yun Hua
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - David A Close
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Wei Xu
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Lee A McDermott
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; PsychoGenics Inc, 215 College Road, Paramus, NJ 07652, USA
| | | | - Ulises Santiago
- Department of Computational and Systems Biology, School of Medicine, at the University of Pittsburgh, USA
| | - Carlos J Camacho
- Department of Computational and Systems Biology, School of Medicine, at the University of Pittsburgh, USA
| | - Paul A Johnston
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; University of Pittsburgh Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Yu X, Casonato S, Jones EE, Butler RC, Johnston PA, Chng S. Phenotypic characterization of the Hordeum bulbosum derived leaf rust resistance genes Rph22 and Rph26 in barley. J Appl Microbiol 2022; 133:2083-2094. [PMID: 35815837 PMCID: PMC9546178 DOI: 10.1111/jam.15710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2022] [Revised: 05/10/2022] [Accepted: 07/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Aims Two introgression lines (ILs), 182Q20 and 200A12, which had chromosomal segments introgressed from Hordeum bulbosum in H. vulgare backgrounds, were identified to show seedling resistance against Puccinia hordei, possibly attributed to two resistance genes, Rph22 and Rph26, respectively. This study characterized the phenotypic responses of the two genes against P. hordei over different plant development stages. Methods and Results Using visual and fungal biomass assessments, responses of ILs 182Q20, 200A12 and four other barley cultivars against P. hordei were determined at seedling, tillering, stem elongation and booting stages. Plants carrying either Rph22 or Rph26 were found to confer gradually increasing resistance over the course of different development stages, with partial resistant phenotypes (i.e. prolonged rust latency periods, reduced uredinia numbers but with susceptible infection types) observed at seedling stage and adult plant resistance (APR) at booting stage. A definitive switch between the two types of resistance occurred at tillering stage. Conclusions Rph22 and Rph26 derived from H. bulbosum were well characterized and had typical APR phenotypes against P. hordei. Significance and Impact of the Study This study provides important insights on the effectiveness and expression of Rph22 and Rph26 against P. hordei during plant development and underpins future barley breeding programmes using non‐host as a genetic resource for leaf rust management.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xiaohui Yu
- Lincoln University, Department of Pest-Management and Conservation, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln 7608, Canterbury, New Zealand
| | - Seona Casonato
- Lincoln University, Department of Pest-Management and Conservation, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln 7608, Canterbury, New Zealand
| | - E Eirian Jones
- Lincoln University, Department of Pest-Management and Conservation, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln 7608, Canterbury, New Zealand
| | - Ruth C Butler
- The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Lincoln 7608, Canterbury, New Zealand
| | - Paul A Johnston
- The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Lincoln 7608, Canterbury, New Zealand
| | - Soonie Chng
- The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Lincoln 7608, Canterbury, New Zealand
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Long K, Vaughn Z, McDaniels MD, Joyasawal S, Przepiorski A, Parasky E, Sander V, Close D, Johnston PA, Davidson AJ, de Caestecker M, Hukriede NA, Huryn DM. Validation of HDAC8 Inhibitors as Drug Discovery Starting Points to Treat Acute Kidney Injury. ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci 2022; 5:207-215. [PMID: 35434532 PMCID: PMC9003639 DOI: 10.1021/acsptsci.1c00243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Acute kidney injury (AKI), a sudden loss of kidney function, is a common and serious condition for which there are no approved specific therapies. While there are multiple approaches to treat the underlying causes of AKI, no targets have been clinically validated. Here, we assessed a series of potent, selective competitive inhibitors of histone deacetylase 8 (HDAC8), a promising therapeutic target in an AKI setting. Using biochemical assays, zebrafish AKI phenotypic assays, and human kidney organoid assays, we show that selective HDAC8 inhibitors can lead to efficacy in increasingly stringent models. One of these, PCI-34051, was efficacious in a rodent model of AKI, further supporting the potential for HDAC8 inhibitors and, in particular, this scaffold as a therapeutic approach to AKI.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Keith Long
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Department of Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Zoe Vaughn
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Department of Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Michael David McDaniels
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Department of Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Sipak Joyasawal
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Department of Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Aneta Przepiorski
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Department of Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Emily Parasky
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Department of Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Veronika Sander
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Pathology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand 1010
| | - David Close
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Department of Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Paul A Johnston
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Department of Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Alan J Davidson
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Pathology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand 1010
| | - Mark de Caestecker
- Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, United States
| | - Neil A Hukriede
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Department of Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Donna M Huryn
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Department of Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Close DA, Johnston PA. Detection and impact of hypoxic regions in multicellular tumor spheroid cultures formed by head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells lines. SLAS Discov 2022; 27:39-54. [PMID: 35058175 DOI: 10.1016/j.slasd.2021.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
In solid tumors like head and neck cancer (HNC), chronic and acute hypoxia have serious adverse clinical consequences including poorer overall patient prognosis, enhanced metastasis, increased genomic instability, and resistance to radiation-, chemo-, or immuno-therapies. However, cells in the two-dimensional monolayer cultures typically used for cancer drug discovery experience 20%-21% O2 levels (normoxic) which are 4-fold higher than O2 levels in normal tissues and ≥10-fold higher than in the hypoxic regions of solid tumors. The oxygen electrodes, exogenous bio-reductive markers, and increased expression of endogenous hypoxia-regulated proteins like HIF-1α generally used to mark hypoxic regions in solid tumors are impractical in large sample numbers and longitudinal studies. We used a novel homogeneous live-cell permeant HypoxiTRAK™ (HPTK) molecular probe compatible with high content imaging detection, analysis, and throughput to identify and quantify hypoxia levels in live HNC multicellular tumor spheroid (MCTS) cultures over time. Accumulation of fluorescence HPTK metabolite in live normoxic HNC MCTS cultures correlated with hypoxia detection by both pimonidazole and HIF-1α staining. In HNC MCTSs, hypoxic cytotoxicity ratios for the hypoxia activated prodrugs (HAP) evofosfamide and tirapazamine were much smaller than have been reported for uniformly hypoxic 2D monolayers in gas chambers, and many viable cells remained after HAP exposure. Cells in solid tumors and MCTSs experience three distinct O2 microenvironments dictated by their distances from blood vessels or MCTS surfaces, respectively; oxic, hypoxic, or intermediate levels of hypoxia. These studies support the application of more physiologically relevant in vitro 3D models that recapitulate the heterogeneous microenvironments of solid tumors for preclinical cancer drug discovery.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David A Close
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences1, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Paul A Johnston
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences1, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.; University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Hillman Cancer Center2, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA..
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Fennell M, Johnston PA. High-Content Imaging and Informatics: A Joint Special Issue with Society for Biomolecular Imaging and Informatics and SLAS. SLAS Discov 2021; 25:668-671. [PMID: 32687017 DOI: 10.1177/2472555220937652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Paul A Johnston
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Close DA, Kirkwood JM, Fecek RJ, Storkus WJ, Johnston PA. Unbiased High-Throughput Drug Combination Pilot Screening Identifies Synergistic Drug Combinations Effective against Patient-Derived and Drug-Resistant Melanoma Cell Lines. SLAS Discov 2021; 26:712-729. [PMID: 33208016 PMCID: PMC8128935 DOI: 10.1177/2472555220970917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
We describe the development, optimization, and validation of 384-well growth inhibition assays for six patient-derived melanoma cell lines (PDMCLs), three wild type (WT) for BRAF and three with V600E-BRAF mutations. We conducted a pilot drug combination (DC) high-throughput screening (HTS) of 45 pairwise 4×4 DC matrices prepared from 10 drugs in the PDMCL assays: two B-Raf inhibitors (BRAFi), a MEK inhibitor (MEKi), and a methylation agent approved for melanoma; cytotoxic topoisomerase II and DNA methyltransferase chemotherapies; and drugs targeting the base excision DNA repair enzyme APE1 (apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease-1/redox effector factor-1), SRC family tyrosine kinases, the heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) molecular chaperone, and histone deacetylases.Pairwise DCs between dasatinib and three drugs approved for melanoma therapy-dabrafenib, vemurafenib, or trametinib-were flagged as synergistic in PDMCLs. Exposure to fixed DC ratios of the SRC inhibitor dasatinib with the BRAFis or MEKis interacted synergistically to increase PDMCL sensitivity to growth inhibition and enhance cytotoxicity independently of PDMCL BRAF status. These DCs synergistically inhibited the growth of mouse melanoma cell lines that either were dabrafenib-sensitive or had acquired resistance to dabrafenib with cross resistance to vemurafenib, trametinib, and dasatinib. Dasatinib DCs with dabrafenib, vemurafenib, or trametinib activated apoptosis and increased cell death in melanoma cells independently of their BRAF status or their drug resistance phenotypes. These preclinical in vitro studies provide a data-driven rationale for the further investigation of DCs between dasatinib and BRAFis or MEKis as candidates for melanoma combination therapies with the potential to improve outcomes and/or prevent or delay the emergence of disease resistance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David A. Close
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - John M. Kirkwood
- Departments of Medicine, Dermatology, Translational Science, and Melanoma and Skin Cancer Program University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Ronald J. Fecek
- Department of Microbiology, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine at Seton Hill, Greensburg, PA 15601, USA
| | - Walter J. Storkus
- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
- Departments of Dermatology, Immunology, Bioengineering and Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Paul A. Johnston
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Aggarwal V, Miranda O, Johnston PA, Sant S. Three dimensional engineered models to study hypoxia biology in breast cancer. Cancer Lett 2020; 490:124-142. [PMID: 32569616 PMCID: PMC7442747 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2020.05.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Revised: 05/13/2020] [Accepted: 05/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of mortality among women worldwide. Despite the available therapeutic regimes, variable treatment response is reported among different breast cancer subtypes. Recently, the effects of the tumor microenvironment on tumor progression as well as treatment responses have been widely recognized. Hypoxia and hypoxia inducible factors in the tumor microenvironment have long been known as major players in tumor progression and survival. However, the majority of our understanding of hypoxia biology has been derived from two dimensional (2D) models. Although many hypoxia-targeted therapies have elicited promising results in vitro and in vivo, these results have not been successfully translated into clinical trials. These limitations of 2D models underscore the need to develop and integrate three dimensional (3D) models that recapitulate the complex tumor-stroma interactions in vivo. This review summarizes role of hypoxia in various hallmarks of cancer progression. We then compare traditional 2D experimental systems with novel 3D tissue-engineered models giving accounts of different bioengineering platforms available to develop 3D models and how these 3D models are being exploited to understand the role of hypoxia in breast cancer progression.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Vaishali Aggarwal
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA
| | - Oshin Miranda
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA
| | - Paul A Johnston
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA; UPMC-Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA
| | - Shilpa Sant
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA; UPMC-Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA; Department of Bioengineering, Swanson School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA; McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Judson R, Houck K, Paul Friedman K, Brown J, Browne P, Johnston PA, Close DA, Mansouri K, Kleinstreuer N. Selecting a minimal set of androgen receptor assays for screening chemicals. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol 2020; 117:104764. [PMID: 32798611 PMCID: PMC8356084 DOI: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2020.104764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2020] [Revised: 08/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Screening certain environmental chemicals for their ability to interact with endocrine targets, including the androgen receptor (AR), is an important global concern. We previously developed a model using a battery of eleven in vitro AR assays to predict in vivo AR activity. Here we describe a revised mathematical modeling approach that also incorporates data from newly available assays and demonstrate that subsets of assays can provide close to the same level of predictivity. These subset models are evaluated against the full model using 1820 chemicals, as well as in vitro and in vivo reference chemicals from the literature. Agonist batteries of as few as six assays and antagonist batteries of as few as five assays can yield balanced accuracies of 95% or better relative to the full model. Balanced accuracy for predicting reference chemicals is 100%. An approach is outlined for researchers to develop their own subset batteries to accurately detect AR activity using assays that map to the pathway of key molecular and cellular events involved in chemical-mediated AR activation and transcriptional activity. This work indicates in vitro bioactivity and in silico predictions that map to the AR pathway could be used in an integrated approach to testing and assessment for identifying chemicals that interact directly with the mammalian AR.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Keith Houck
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, RTP, NC, USA
| | | | - Jason Brown
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, RTP, NC, USA
| | | | - Paul A Johnston
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - David A Close
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Kamel Mansouri
- Integrated Laboratory Systems, Inc., Morrisville, NC, USA
| | - Nicole Kleinstreuer
- NTP Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods, RTP, NC, USA
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Loong HHF, Wong AM, Chan DTM, Cheung MSH, Chow C, Ding X, Chan AKY, Johnston PA, Lau JYW, Poon WS, Wong N. Patient-derived tumor organoid predicts drugs response in glioblastoma: A step forward in personalized cancer therapy? J Clin Neurosci 2020; 78:400-402. [PMID: 32340843 DOI: 10.1016/j.jocn.2020.04.107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2020] [Accepted: 04/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Despite significant medical advances, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) remains a formidable therapeutic challenge. Advent of targeted capture sequencing and patients-derived organoid cultures may hold the key to scientifically sound individualized treatment approaches. We report on our initial experience of using the combination of these two technologies to create a tailored approach of systemic therapies for a patient with GBM, which challenges the conventional treatment paradigm, as well as specifically highlighting the complexities of such an approach and the potential for a more favorable treatment outcome.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Herbert H-F Loong
- Department of Clinical Oncology, State Key Laboratory of Translational Oncology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Alissa M Wong
- Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology at Sir Y.K. Pao Centre for Cancer, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China; Department of Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China
| | - Danny T-M Chan
- Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Maggie S-H Cheung
- Department of Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China
| | - Chit Chow
- Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology at Sir Y.K. Pao Centre for Cancer, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China
| | - Xiaofan Ding
- Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology at Sir Y.K. Pao Centre for Cancer, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China; Department of Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China
| | - Aden K-Y Chan
- Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology at Sir Y.K. Pao Centre for Cancer, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China
| | - Paul A Johnston
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - James Y-W Lau
- Department of Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China
| | - Wai Sang Poon
- Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
| | - Nathalie Wong
- Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology at Sir Y.K. Pao Centre for Cancer, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China; Department of Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China.
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Kochanek SJ, Close DA, Camarco DP, Johnston PA. Maximizing the Value of Cancer Drug Screening in Multicellular Tumor Spheroid Cultures: A Case Study in Five Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cell Lines. SLAS Discov 2020; 25:329-349. [PMID: 31983262 DOI: 10.1177/2472555219896999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
With approval rates <5% and the probability of success in oncology clinical trials of 3.4%, more physiologically relevant in vitro three-dimensional models are being deployed during lead generation to select better drug candidates for solid tumors. Multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTSs) resemble avascular tumor nodules, micrometastases, or the intervascular regions of large solid tumors with respect to morphology, cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix contacts, and volume growth kinetics. MCTSs develop gradients of nutrient and oxygen concentration resulting in diverse microenvironments with differential proliferation and drug distribution zones. We produced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) MCTSs in 384-well U-bottom ultra-low-attachment microtiter plates and used metabolic viability and imaging methods to measure morphologies, growth phenotypes and the effects of 19 anticancer drugs. We showed that cell viability measurements underestimated the impact of drug exposure in HNSCC MCTS cultures, but that incorporating morphology and dead-cell staining analyses increased the number of drugs judged to have substantially impacted MCTS cultures. A cumulative multiparameter drug impact score enabled us to stratify MCTS drug responses into high-, intermediate-, and low-impact tiers, and maximized the value of these more physiologically relevant tumor cultures. It is conceivable that the viable cells present in MCTS cultures after drug exposure arise from drug-resistant populations that could represent a source of drug failure and recurrence. Long-term monitoring of treated MCTS cultures could provide a strategy to determine whether these drug-resistant populations represent circumstances where tumor growth is delayed and may ultimately give rise to regrowth.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stanton J Kochanek
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - David A Close
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Daniel P Camarco
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Paul A Johnston
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Dorman HR, Close D, Wingert BM, Camacho CJ, Johnston PA, Smithgall TE. Discovery of Non-peptide Small Molecule Allosteric Modulators of the Src-family Kinase, Hck. Front Chem 2019; 7:822. [PMID: 31850311 PMCID: PMC6893557 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2019.00822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2019] [Accepted: 11/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The eight mammalian Src-family tyrosine kinases are dynamic, multi-domain structures, which adopt distinct “open” and “closed” conformations. In the closed conformation, the regulatory SH3 and SH2 domains pack against the back of the kinase domain, providing allosteric control of kinase activity. Small molecule ligands that engage the regulatory SH3-SH2 region have the potential to modulate Src-family kinase activity for therapeutic advantage. Here we describe an HTS-compatible fluorescence polarization assay to identify small molecules that interact with the unique-SH3-SH2-linker (U32L) region of Hck, a Src-family member expressed exclusively in cells of myeloid lineage. Hck has significant potential as a drug target in acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive form of cancer with substantial unmet clinical need. The assay combines recombinant Hck U32L protein with a fluorescent probe peptide that binds to the SH3 domain in U32L, resulting in an increased FP signal. Library compounds that interact with the U32L protein and interfere with probe binding reduce the FP signal, scoring as hits. Automated 384-well high-throughput screening of 60,000 compounds yielded Z'-factor coefficients > 0.7 across nearly 200 assay plates, and identified a series of hit compounds with a shared pyrimidine diamine substructure. Surface plasmon resonance assays confirmed direct binding of hit compounds to the Hck U32L target protein as well as near-full-length Hck. Binding was not observed with the individual SH3 and SH2 domains, demonstrating that these compounds recognize a specific three-dimensional conformation of the regulatory regions. This conclusion is supported by computational docking studies, which predict ligand contacts with a pocket formed by the juxtaposition of the SH3 domain, the SH3-SH2 domain connector, and the SH2-kinase linker. Each of the four validated hits stimulated recombinant, near-full-length Hck activity in vitro, providing evidence for allosteric effects on the kinase domain. These results provide a path to discovery and development of chemical scaffolds to target the regulatory regions of Hck and other Src family kinases as a new approach to pharmacological kinase control.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Heather R Dorman
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - David Close
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Bentley M Wingert
- Department of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Carlos J Camacho
- Department of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Paul A Johnston
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Thomas E Smithgall
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Wang Y, Subedi S, de Vries H, Doornenbal P, Vels A, Hensel G, Kumlehn J, Johnston PA, Qi X, Blilou I, Niks RE, Krattinger SG. Orthologous receptor kinases quantitatively affect the host status of barley to leaf rust fungi. Nat Plants 2019; 5:1129-1135. [PMID: 31712760 DOI: 10.1038/s41477-019-0545-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2019] [Accepted: 10/08/2019] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Global food security depends on cereal crops with durable disease resistance. Most cereals are colonized by rust fungi, which are pathogens of major significance for global agriculture1. Cereal rusts display a high degree of host specificity and one rust species or forma specialis generally colonizes only one cereal host2. Exploiting the non-host status and transferring non-host resistance genes between cereal crop species has been proposed as a strategy for durable rust resistance breeding. The molecular determinants that define the host status to rusts, however, are largely unknown. Here, we show that orthologous genes at the Rphq2 locus for quantitative leaf rust resistance from cultivated barley3 and Rph22 from wild bulbous barley4 affect the host status to leaf rusts. Both genes encode lectin receptor-like kinases. We transformed Rphq2 and Rph22 into an experimental barley line that has been bred for susceptibility to non-adapted leaf rusts, which allowed us to quantify resistance responses against various leaf rust species. Rphq2 conferred a much stronger resistance to the leaf rust of wild bulbous barley than to the leaf rust adapted to cultivated barley, while for Rph22 the reverse was observed. We hypothesize that adapted leaf rust species mitigate perception by cognate host receptors by lowering ligand recognition. Our results provide an example of orthologous genes that connect the quantitative host with non-host resistance to cereal rusts. Such genes provide a basis to exploit non-host resistance in molecular breeding.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yajun Wang
- Plant Breeding, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
- Center for Desert Agriculture, Biological and Environmental Science & Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sudeep Subedi
- Plant Breeding, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
- Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - Harmen de Vries
- Plant Breeding, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Pieter Doornenbal
- Plant Breeding, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Anton Vels
- Plant Breeding, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Goetz Hensel
- Plant Reproductive Biology, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) Gatersleben, Gatersleben, Germany
| | - Jochen Kumlehn
- Plant Reproductive Biology, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) Gatersleben, Gatersleben, Germany
| | - Paul A Johnston
- The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Lincoln, New Zealand
| | - Xiaoquan Qi
- Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ikram Blilou
- Center for Desert Agriculture, Biological and Environmental Science & Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Rients E Niks
- Plant Breeding, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
| | - Simon G Krattinger
- Center for Desert Agriculture, Biological and Environmental Science & Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Fancher AT, Hua Y, Strock CJ, Johnston PA. Assays to Interrogate the Ability of Compounds to Inhibit the AF-2 or AF-1 Transactivation Domains of the Androgen Receptor. Assay Drug Dev Technol 2019; 17:364-386. [PMID: 31502857 DOI: 10.1089/adt.2019.940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
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.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ashley T Fancher
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Yun Hua
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | | | - Paul A Johnston
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,Head and Neck Cancer, and Skin Cancer Specialized Programs of Research Excellence, University of Pittsburgh Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Kochanek SJ, Close DA, Wang AX, Shun T, Empey PE, Eiseman JL, Johnston PA. Confirmation of Selected Synergistic Cancer Drug Combinations Identified in an HTS Campaign and Exploration of Drug Efflux Transporter Contributions to the Mode of Synergy. SLAS Discov 2019; 24:653-668. [PMID: 31039321 DOI: 10.1177/2472555219844566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Systematic unbiased high-throughput screening (HTS) of drug combinations (DCs) in well-characterized tumor cell lines is a data-driven strategy to identify novel DCs with potential to be developed into effective therapies. Four DCs from a DC HTS campaign were selected for confirmation; only one appears in clinicaltrials.gov and limited preclinical in vitro data indicates that the drug pairs interact synergistically. Nineteen DC-tumor cell line sets were confirmed to interact synergistically in three pharmacological interaction models. We developed an imaging assay to quantify accumulation of the ABCG2 efflux transporter substrate Hoechst. Gefitinib and raloxifene enhanced Hoechst accumulation in ABCG2 (BCRP)-expressing cells, consistent with inhibition of ABCG2 efflux. Both drugs also inhibit ABCB1 efflux. Mitoxantrone, daunorubicin, and vinorelbine are substrates of one or more of the ABCG2, ABCB1, or ABCC1 efflux transporters expressed to varying extents in the selected cell lines. Interactions between ABC drug efflux transporter inhibitors and substrates may have contributed to the observed synergy; however, other mechanisms may be involved. Novel synergistic DCs identified by HTS were confirmed in vitro, and plausible mechanisms of action studied. Similar approaches may justify the testing of novel HTS-derived DCs in mouse xenograft human cancer models and support the clinical evaluation of effective in vivo DCs in patients.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stanton J Kochanek
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - David A Close
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Allen Xinwei Wang
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tongying Shun
- 2 University of Pittsburgh Drug Discovery Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Philip E Empey
- 3 Department of Pharmacy and Therapeutics, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Julie L Eiseman
- 4 University of Pittsburgh Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,5 Cancer Therapeutics Program, The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,6 Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Paul A Johnston
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,4 University of Pittsburgh Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Kochanek SJ, Close DA, Johnston PA. High Content Screening Characterization of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Multicellular Tumor Spheroid Cultures Generated in 384-Well Ultra-Low Attachment Plates to Screen for Better Cancer Drug Leads. Assay Drug Dev Technol 2018; 17:17-36. [PMID: 30592624 DOI: 10.1089/adt.2018.896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Multicellular tumor spheroid (MCTS) cultures represent more physiologically relevant in vitro cell tumor models that recapitulate the microenvironments and cell-cell or cell-extracellular matrix interactions which occur in solid tumors. We characterized the morphologies, viability, and growth behaviors of MCTSs produced by 11 different head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell lines seeded into and cultured in ultra-low attachment microtiter plates (ULA-plates) over extended periods of time. HNSCC MCTS cultures developed microenvironments, which resulted in differences in proliferation rates, metabolic activity, and mitochondrial functional activity between cells located in the outer layers of the MCTS and cells in the interior. HNSCC MCTS cultures exhibited drug penetration and distribution gradients and some developed necrotic cores. Perhaps the most profound effect of culturing HNSCC cell lines in MCTS cultures was their dramatically altered and varied growth phenotypes. Instead of the exponential growth that are characteristic of two-dimensional HNSCC growth inhibition assays, some MCTS cultures displayed linear growth rates, categorized as rapid, moderate, or slow, dormant MCTSs remained viable but did not grow, and some MCTSs exhibited death phenotypes that were either progressive and slow or rapid. The ability of MCTS cultures to develop microenvironments and to display a variety of different growth phenotypes provides in vitro models that are more closely aligned with solid tumors in vivo. We anticipate that the implementation MCTS models to screen for new cancer drugs for solid tumors like HNSCC will produce leads that will translate better in in vivo animal models and patients.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stanton J Kochanek
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - David A Close
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Paul A Johnston
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,2 University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Yu X, Kong HY, Meiyalaghan V, Casonato S, Chng S, Jones EE, Butler RC, Pickering R, Johnston PA. Genetic mapping of a barley leaf rust resistance gene Rph26 introgressed from Hordeum bulbosum. Theor Appl Genet 2018; 131:2567-2580. [PMID: 30178277 DOI: 10.1007/s00122-018-3173-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2018] [Accepted: 08/25/2018] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The quantitative barley leaf rust resistance gene, Rph26, was fine mapped within a H. bulbosum introgression on barley chromosome 1HL. This provides the tools for pyramiding with other resistance genes. A novel quantitative resistance gene, Rph26, effective against barley leaf rust (Puccinia hordei) was introgressed from Hordeum bulbosum into the barley (Hordeum vulgare) cultivar 'Emir'. The effect of Rph26 was to reduce the observed symptoms of leaf rust infection (uredinium number and infection type). In addition, this resistance also increased the fungal latency period and reduced the fungal biomass within infected leaves. The resulting introgression line 200A12, containing Rph26, was backcrossed to its barley parental cultivar 'Emir' to create an F2 population focused on detecting interspecific recombination within the introgressed segment. A total of 1368 individuals from this F2 population were genotyped with flanking markers at either end of the 1HL introgression, resulting in the identification of 19 genotypes, which had undergone interspecific recombination within the original introgression. F3 seeds that were homozygous for the introgressions of reduced size were selected from each F2 recombinant and were used for subsequent genotyping and phenotyping. Rph26 was genetically mapped to the proximal end of the introgressed segment located at the distal end of chromosome 1HL. Molecular markers closely linked to Rph26 were identified and will enable this disease resistance gene to be combined with other sources of quantitative resistance to maximize the effectiveness and durability of leaf rust resistance in barley breeding. Heterozygous genotypes containing a single copy of Rph26 had an intermediate phenotype when compared with the homozygous resistant and susceptible genotypes, indicating an incompletely dominant inheritance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xiaohui Yu
- Department of Pest-management and Conservation, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln, Canterbury, 7608, New Zealand
| | - Hoi Yee Kong
- The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Lincoln, Canterbury, 7608, New Zealand
- Department of Wine, Food and Molecular Biosciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln, Canterbury, 7608, New Zealand
| | - Vijitha Meiyalaghan
- The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Lincoln, Canterbury, 7608, New Zealand
| | - Seona Casonato
- Department of Pest-management and Conservation, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln, Canterbury, 7608, New Zealand
| | - Soonie Chng
- The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Lincoln, Canterbury, 7608, New Zealand
| | - E Eirian Jones
- Department of Pest-management and Conservation, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln, Canterbury, 7608, New Zealand
| | - Ruth C Butler
- The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Lincoln, Canterbury, 7608, New Zealand
| | - Richard Pickering
- The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Lincoln, Canterbury, 7608, New Zealand
| | - Paul A Johnston
- The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Lincoln, Canterbury, 7608, New Zealand.
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Close DA, Wang AX, Kochanek SJ, Shun T, Eiseman JL, Johnston PA. Implementation of the NCI-60 Human Tumor Cell Line Panel to Screen 2260 Cancer Drug Combinations to Generate >3 Million Data Points Used to Populate a Large Matrix of Anti-Neoplastic Agent Combinations (ALMANAC) Database. SLAS Discov 2018; 24:242-263. [PMID: 30500310 DOI: 10.1177/2472555218812429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Animal and clinical studies demonstrate that cancer drug combinations (DCs) are more effective than single agents. However, it is difficult to predict which DCs will be more efficacious than individual drugs. Systematic DC high-throughput screening (HTS) of 100 approved drugs in the National Cancer Institute's panel of 60 cancer cell lines (NCI-60) produced data to help select DCs for further consideration. We miniaturized growth inhibition assays into 384-well format, increased the fetal bovine serum amount to 10%, lengthened compound exposure to 72 h, and used a homogeneous detection reagent. We determined the growth inhibition 50% values of individual drugs across 60 cell lines, selected drug concentrations for 4 × 4 DC matrices (DCMs), created DCM master and replica daughter plate sets, implemented the HTS, quality control reviewed the data, and analyzed the results. A total of 2620 DCMs were screened in 60 cancer cell lines to generate 3.04 million data points for the NCI ALMANAC (A Large Matrix of Anti-Neoplastic Agent Combinations) database. We confirmed in vitro a synergistic drug interaction flagged in the DC HTS between the vinca-alkaloid microtubule assembly inhibitor vinorelbine (Navelbine) tartrate and the epidermal growth factor-receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor gefitinib (Iressa) in the SK-MEL-5 melanoma cell line. Seventy-five percent of the DCs examined in the screen are not currently in the clinical trials database. Selected synergistic drug interactions flagged in the DC HTS described herein were subsequently confirmed by the NCI in vitro, evaluated mechanistically, and were shown to have greater than single-agent efficacy in mouse xenograft human cancer models. Enrollment is open for two clinical trials for DCs that were identified in the DC HTS. The NCI ALMANAC database therefore constitutes a valuable resource for selecting promising DCs for confirmation, mechanistic studies, and clinical translation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David A Close
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Allen Xinwei Wang
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Stanton J Kochanek
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tongying Shun
- 2 University of Pittsburgh Drug Discovery Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Julie L Eiseman
- 3 Cancer Therapeutics Program, The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,4 Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,5 University of Pittsburgh Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Paul A Johnston
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,5 University of Pittsburgh Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Fancher AT, Hua Y, Camarco DP, Close DA, Strock CJ, Johnston PA. 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. Assay Drug Dev Technol 2018; 16:297-319. [PMID: 30109944 DOI: 10.1089/adt.2018.858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
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.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ashley T Fancher
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Yun Hua
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Daniel P Camarco
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - David A Close
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | | | - Paul A Johnston
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,3 University of Pittsburgh Medical Center , Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Hua Y, Camarco DP, Strock CJ, Johnston PA. High Content Positional Biosensor Assay to Screen for Compounds that Prevent or Disrupt Androgen Receptor and Transcription Intermediary Factor 2 Protein-Protein Interactions. Methods Mol Biol 2018; 1683:211-227. [PMID: 29082495 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-7357-6_13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/08/2022]
Abstract
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.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yun Hua
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Room 586 Salk Hall, 3501 Terrace Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA
| | - Daniel P Camarco
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Room 586 Salk Hall, 3501 Terrace Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA
| | | | - Paul A Johnston
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Room 586 Salk Hall, 3501 Terrace Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Close DA, Camarco DP, Shan F, Kochanek SJ, Johnston PA. The Generation of Three-Dimensional Head and Neck Cancer Models for Drug Discovery in 384-Well Ultra-Low Attachment Microplates. Methods Mol Biol 2018; 1683:355-369. [PMID: 29082502 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-7357-6_20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The poor success rate of cancer drug discovery has prompted efforts to develop more physiologically relevant cellular models for early preclinical cancer lead discovery assays. For solid tumors, this would dictate the implementation of three-dimensional (3D) tumor models that more accurately recapitulate human solid tumor architecture and biology. A number of anchorage-dependent and anchorage-independent in vitro 3D cancer models have been developed together with homogeneous assay methods and high content imaging approaches to assess tumor spheroid morphology, growth, and viability. However, several significant technical challenges have restricted the implementation of some 3D models in HTS. We describe a method that uses 384-well U-bottomed ultra-low attachment (ULA) microplates to produce head and neck tumor spheroids for cancer drug discovery assays. The production of multicellular head and neck cancer spheroids in 384-well ULA-plates occurs in situ, does not impose an inordinate tissue culture burden for HTS, is readily compatible with automation and homogeneous assay detection methods, and produces high-quality uniform-sized spheroids that can be utilized in cancer drug cytotoxicity assays within days rather than weeks.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David A Close
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA
| | - Daniel P Camarco
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Room 586 Salk Hall, 3501 Terrace Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA
| | - Feng Shan
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA
| | - Stanton J Kochanek
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA
| | - Paul A Johnston
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Room 586 Salk Hall, 3501 Terrace Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Johnston PA, Trask OJ. Erratum to: High Content Screening. Methods Mol Biol 2018; 1683:E1. [PMID: 29256175 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-7357-6_23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Paul A Johnston
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Oscar J Trask
- Bahama Bio, LLC, Bahama, North Carolina, USA
- Perkin Elmer Inc., Waltham, Massachusetts, USA
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Shan F, Close DA, Camarco DP, Johnston PA. High-Content Screening Comparison of Cancer Drug Accumulation and Distribution in Two-Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Culture Models of Head and Neck Cancer. Assay Drug Dev Technol 2017; 16:27-50. [PMID: 29215913 DOI: 10.1089/adt.2017.812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
High cancer drug development attrition rates have provoked considerable debate about whether the two-dimensional tumor growth inhibition high-throughput screening assays used in pre-clinical lead discovery adequately reflect solid tumor complexity. We used automated high-content screening image acquisition and analysis methods to compare fluorescent drug uptake, accumulation, and distribution in Cal33 and FaDu head and neck cancer (HNC) monolayer and multicellular tumor spheroid (MCTS) models. Ellipticine, idarubicin, daunorubicin, and doxorubicin were studied because of their fluorescent properties and broad anti-tumor activities. HNC MCTSs were generated in 384-well ultra-low attachment plates where compound exposure, image acquisition, and analysis could be performed in situ. Fluorescent drug accumulation in Cal33 monolayer and MCTS cultures was linear with respect to concentration, and appeared to achieve steady-state levels within 10-15 min of drug exposure, which were maintained through 30-45 min. Drug accumulation in monolayers was independent of cell number and/or density, and every cell achieved uniform drug concentrations. In MCTSs, however, drug accumulation increased as the number of cells and sizes of the MCTSs became bigger. Drugs exhibited restricted penetration and distribution gradients, accumulating preferentially in cells in the outer layers of MCTSs relative to those in the inner cores. Cal33 monolayers were 6-, 20-, 10-, and 16-fold more sensitive than MCTSs to growth inhibition by ellipticine, idarubicin, daunorubicin, and doxorubicin, respectively. In Cal33 MCTSs exposed to ellipticine or doxorubicin for 24 h, MCTSs were smaller and although they still exhibited drug penetration and distribution gradients, the fluorescent intensity difference between outer and inner cells was reduced. After a 24 h exposure, both drugs had penetrated throughout FaDu MCTSs, consistent with drug-induced death of peripheral cell layers enhancing drug penetration. The increased resistance of MCTS cultures and their ability to recapitulate drug penetration and distribution gradients argues strongly for the deployment of these more physiological models in cancer lead discovery. MCTSs have the potential to enhance the correlation between in vitro potencies and in vivo efficacy, and ultimately may lead to improved cancer drug approval rates.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Feng Shan
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - David A Close
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Daniel P Camarco
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Paul A Johnston
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,2 University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute , University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Johnston PA, Nguyen MM, Dar JA, Ai J, Wang Y, Masoodi KZ, Shun T, Shinde S, Camarco DP, Hua Y, Huryn DM, Wilson GM, Lazo JS, Nelson JB, Wipf P, Wang Z. Development and Implementation of a High-Throughput High-Content Screening Assay to Identify Inhibitors of Androgen Receptor Nuclear Localization in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Cells. Assay Drug Dev Technol 2017; 14:226-39. [PMID: 27187604 DOI: 10.1089/adt.2016.716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) can be treated with abiraterone, a potent inhibitor of androgen synthesis, or enzalutamide, a second-generation androgen receptor (AR) antagonist, both targeting AR signaling. However, most patients relapse after several months of therapy and a majority of patients with relapsed CRPC tumors express the AR target gene prostate-specific antigen (PSA), suggesting that AR signaling is reactivated and can be targeted again to inhibit the relapsed tumors. Novel small molecules capable of inhibiting AR function may lead to urgently needed therapies for patients resistant to abiraterone, enzalutamide, and/or other previously approved antiandrogen therapies. Here, we describe a high-throughput high-content screening (HCS) campaign to identify small-molecule inhibitors of AR nuclear localization in the C4-2 CRPC cell line stably transfected with GFP-AR-GFP (2GFP-AR). The implementation of this HCS assay to screen a National Institutes of Health library of 219,055 compounds led to the discovery of 3 small molecules capable of inhibiting AR nuclear localization and function in C4-2 cells, demonstrating the feasibility of using this cell-based phenotypic assay to identify small molecules targeting the subcellular localization of AR. Furthermore, the three hit compounds provide opportunities to develop novel AR drugs with potential for therapeutic intervention in CRPC patients who have relapsed after treatment with antiandrogens, such as abiraterone and/or enzalutamide.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Paul A Johnston
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,2 University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Minh M Nguyen
- 3 Department of Urology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Javid A Dar
- 3 Department of Urology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,4 Central Laboratory, College of Science, King Saud University , Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Junkui Ai
- 3 Department of Urology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Yujuan Wang
- 3 Department of Urology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Khalid Z Masoodi
- 3 Department of Urology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,5 Transcriptomics and Proteomics Lab, Centre for Plant Biotechnology, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-K) , Shalimar, Srinagar, India
| | - Tongying Shun
- 6 Pittsburgh Specialized Application Center, University of Pittsburgh Drug Discovery Institute , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Sunita Shinde
- 6 Pittsburgh Specialized Application Center, University of Pittsburgh Drug Discovery Institute , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Daniel P Camarco
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Yun Hua
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Donna M Huryn
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,7 University of Pittsburgh Chemical Diversity Center , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Gabriela Mustata Wilson
- 8 Department of Health Services and Health Administration, College of Nursing and Health Professions, University of Southern Indiana , Evansville, Indiana
| | - John S Lazo
- 9 Departments of Pharmacology and Chemistry, University of Virginia , Charlottesville, Virginia
| | - Joel B Nelson
- 2 University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,3 Department of Urology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Peter Wipf
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,2 University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,7 University of Pittsburgh Chemical Diversity Center , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,10 Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Zhou Wang
- 2 University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,3 Department of Urology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,11 Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Masoodi KZ, Eisermann K, Yang Z, Dar JA, Pascal LE, Nguyen M, O’Malley K, Parrinello E, Feturi FG, Kenefake AN, Nelson JB, Johnston PA, Wipf P, Wang Z. Inhibition of Androgen Receptor Function and Level in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Cells by 2-[(isoxazol-4-ylmethyl)thio]-1-(4-phenylpiperazin-1-yl)ethanone. Endocrinology 2017; 158:3152-3161. [PMID: 28977599 PMCID: PMC5659684 DOI: 10.1210/en.2017-00408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2017] [Accepted: 07/17/2017] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
The androgen receptor (AR) plays a critical role in the development of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) as well as in the resistance to the second-generation AR antagonist enzalutamide and the selective inhibitor of cytochrome P450 17A1 (CYP17A1) abiraterone. Novel agents targeting AR may inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells resistant to enzalutamide and/or abiraterone. Through a high-throughput/high-content screening of a 220,000-member small molecule library, we have previously identified 2-[(isoxazol-4-ylmethyl)thio]-1-(4-phenylpiperazin-1-yl)ethanone (IMTPPE) (SID 3712502) as a novel small molecule capable of inhibiting AR transcriptional activity and protein level in C4-2 prostate cancer cells. In this study, we show that IMTPPE inhibits AR-target gene expression using real-time polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, and luciferase assays. IMTPPE inhibited proliferation of AR-positive, but not AR-negative, prostate cancer cells in culture. IMTPPE inhibited the transcriptional activity of a mutant AR lacking the ligand-binding domain (LBD), indicating that IMTPPE inhibition of AR is independent of the LBD. Furthermore, animal studies showed that IMTPPE inhibited the growth of 22Rv1 xenograft tumor, a model for enzalutamide-resistant prostate cancer. These findings suggest that IMTPPE is a potential lead compound for developing clinical candidates for the treatment of CRPC, including those resistant to enzalutamide.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Khalid Z. Masoodi
- Department of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232
- Transcriptomics Laboratory, Division of Plant Biotechnology, SKUAST-Kashmir, Shalimar, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir 190025, India
| | - Kurtis Eisermann
- Department of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232
- Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242
| | - Zhenyu Yang
- Department of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232
- Department of Urology, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410013 Hunan, People’s Republic of China
| | - Javid A. Dar
- Department of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232
- Central Laboratory College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh KSA-11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Laura E. Pascal
- Department of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232
| | - Minh Nguyen
- Department of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232
| | - Katherine O’Malley
- Department of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232
| | - Erica Parrinello
- Department of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232
| | - Firuz G. Feturi
- Department of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232
| | - Alex N. Kenefake
- Department of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232
| | - Joel B. Nelson
- Department of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232
- University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232
| | - Paul A. Johnston
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232
- University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232
| | - Peter Wipf
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232
- University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260
| | - Zhou Wang
- Department of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232
- University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Masoodi KZ, Xu Y, Dar JA, Eisermann K, Pascal LE, Parrinello E, Ai J, Johnston PA, Nelson JB, Wipf P, Wang Z. Inhibition of Androgen Receptor Nuclear Localization and Castration-Resistant Prostate Tumor Growth by Pyrroloimidazole-based Small Molecules. Mol Cancer Ther 2017; 16:2120-2129. [PMID: 28655783 DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.mct-17-0176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2017] [Revised: 05/19/2017] [Accepted: 06/19/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The androgen receptor (AR) is a ligand-dependent transcription factor that controls the expression of androgen-responsive genes. A key step in androgen action, which is amplified in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), is AR nuclear translocation. Small molecules capable of inhibiting AR nuclear localization could be developed as novel therapeutics for CRPC. We developed a high-throughput screen and identified two structurally-related pyrroloimidazoles that could block AR nuclear localization in CRPC cells. We show that these two small molecules, 3-(4-ethoxyphenyl)-6,7-dihydro-5H-pyrrolo[1,2-a]imidazole (EPPI) and 3-(4-chlorophenyl)-6,7-dihydro-5H-pyrrolo[1,2-a]imidazole (CPPI) can inhibit the nuclear localization and transcriptional activity of AR and reduce the proliferation of AR-positive but not AR-negative prostate cancer cell lines. EPPI and CPPI did not inhibit nuclear localization of the glucocorticoid receptor or the estrogen receptor, suggesting they selectively target AR. In LNCaP tumor xenografts, CPPI inhibited the proliferation of relapsed LNCaP tumors. These findings suggest that EPPI and CPPI could serve as lead structures for the development of therapeutic agents for CRPC. Mol Cancer Ther; 16(10); 2120-9. ©2017 AACR.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Khalid Z Masoodi
- Department of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,Transcriptomics Lab, Division of Plant Biotechnology, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India
| | - Yadong Xu
- Department of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,Department of Urology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Hunan 410011, China.,The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha 410013, China
| | - Javid A Dar
- Department of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,Central Laboratory College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Kurtis Eisermann
- Department of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Laura E Pascal
- Department of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Erica Parrinello
- Department of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Junkui Ai
- Department of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Paul A Johnston
- University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Joel B Nelson
- Department of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Peter Wipf
- University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Zhou Wang
- Department of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. .,University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Sen M, Johnston PA, Pollock NI, DeGrave K, Joyce SC, Freilino ML, Hua Y, Camarco DP, Close DA, Huryn DM, Wipf P, Grandis JR. Mechanism of action of selective inhibitors of IL-6 induced STAT3 pathway in head and neck cancer cell lines. J Chem Biol 2017; 10:129-141. [PMID: 28684999 DOI: 10.1007/s12154-017-0169-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2016] [Accepted: 04/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies indicate that elevated interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels engage IL6Rα-gp130 receptor complexes to activate signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) that is hyperactivated in many cancers including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Our previous HCS campaign identified several hits that selectively blocked IL-6-induced STAT3 activation. This study describes our investigation of the mechanism(s) of action of three of the four chemical series that progressed to lead activities: a triazolothiadiazine (864669), amino alcohol (856350), and an oxazole-piperazine (4248543). We demonstrated that all three blocked IL-6-induced upregulation of the cyclin D1 and Bcl-XL STAT3 target genes. None of the compounds exhibited direct binding interactions with STAT3 in surface plasmon resonance (SPR) binding assays; neither did they inhibit the recruitment and binding of a phospho-tyrosine-gp130 peptide to STAT3 in a fluorescence polarization assay. Furthermore, they exhibited little or no inhibition in a panel of 83 cancer-associated in vitro kinase profiling assays, including lack of inhibition of IL-6-induced Janus kinase (JAK 1, 2, and 3) activation. Further, 864669 and 4248543 selectively inhibited IL-6-induced STAT3 activation but not that induced by oncostatin M (OSM). The compounds 864669 and 4248543 abrogated IL-6-induced phosphorylation of the gp130 signaling subunit (phospho-gp130Y905) of the IL-6-receptor complex in HNSCC cell lines which generate docking sites for the SH2 domains of STAT3. Our data indicate that 864669 and 4248543 block IL-6-induced STAT activation by interfering with the recruitment, assembly, or activation of the hexamer-activated IL-6/IL-6Rα/gp130 signaling complex that occurs after IL-6 binding to IL-6Rα subunits.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Malabika Sen
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA
| | - Paul A Johnston
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA
| | - Netanya I Pollock
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA
| | - Kara DeGrave
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA
| | - Sonali C Joyce
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA
| | - Maria L Freilino
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA
| | - Yun Hua
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA
| | - Daniel P Camarco
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA
| | - David A Close
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA
| | - Donna M Huryn
- University of Pittsburgh Chemical Diversity Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260 USA
| | - Peter Wipf
- University of Pittsburgh Chemical Diversity Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260 USA
| | - Jennifer R Grandis
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94118 USA.,Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of California, San Francisco, Box 0558, 550 16th Street, San Francisco, CA 94143 USA
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Kiesel BF, Parise RA, Guo J, Huryn DM, Johnston PA, Colombo R, Sen M, Grandis JR, Beumer JH, Eiseman JL. Toxicity, pharmacokinetics and metabolism of a novel inhibitor of IL-6-induced STAT3 activation. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 2016; 78:1225-1235. [PMID: 27778071 PMCID: PMC5115981 DOI: 10.1007/s00280-016-3181-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2016] [Accepted: 10/19/2016] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE The oncogenic transcription factor signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) promotes gene transcription involved in cancer, and its activation by IL-6 is found in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Four triazolothiadizine STAT3 pathway inhibitors were evaluated to prioritize a single compound for in vivo examination. METHODS Metabolic stability in mouse liver microsome incubation was used to evaluate four triazolothiadizine analogues, and UPCDC-10205 was administered to mice IV as single or multiple doses to evaluate toxicity. Single-dose pharmacokinetics (PK), bioavailability and metabolism were studied after IV 4 mg/kg, PO 4 mg/kg, or PO 30 mg/kg suspension in 1% carboxymethyl cellulose. Mice were euthanized between 5 min to 24 h after dosing, and plasma and tissues were analyzed by LC-MS. Non-compartmental PK parameters were determined. RESULTS Of the four triazolothiadizine analogues evaluated, UPCDC-10205 was metabolically most stable. The maximum soluble dose of 4 mg/kg in 10% Solutol™ was not toxic to mice after single and multiple doses. PK analysis showed extensive tissue distribution and rapid plasma clearance. Bioavailability was ~5%. A direct glucuronide conjugate was identified as the major metabolite which was recapitulated in vitro. CONCLUSIONS Rapid clearance of UPCDC-10205 was thought to be the result of phase II metabolism despite its favorable stability in a phase I in vitro metabolic stability assay. The direct glucuronidation explains why microsomal stability (reflective of phase I metabolism) did not translate to in vivo metabolic stability. UPCDC-10205 did not demonstrate appropriate exposure to support efficacy studies in the current formulation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Brian F Kiesel
- Cancer Therapeutics Program, The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Hillman Cancer Center, Room G27e, 5117 Centre Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Robert A Parise
- Cancer Therapeutics Program, The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Hillman Cancer Center, Room G27e, 5117 Centre Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
| | - Jianxia Guo
- Cancer Therapeutics Program, The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Hillman Cancer Center, Room G27e, 5117 Centre Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Donna M Huryn
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- University of Pittsburgh Chemical Diversity Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Paul A Johnston
- Cancer Therapeutics Program, The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Hillman Cancer Center, Room G27e, 5117 Centre Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Raffaele Colombo
- University of Pittsburgh Chemical Diversity Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Malabika Sen
- Cancer Therapeutics Program, The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Hillman Cancer Center, Room G27e, 5117 Centre Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jennifer R Grandis
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Jan H Beumer
- Cancer Therapeutics Program, The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Hillman Cancer Center, Room G27e, 5117 Centre Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
| | - Julie L Eiseman
- Cancer Therapeutics Program, The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Hillman Cancer Center, Room G27e, 5117 Centre Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Fancher AT, Hua Y, Camarco DP, Close DA, Strock CJ, Johnston PA. Reconfiguring the AR-TIF2 Protein-Protein Interaction HCS Assay in Prostate Cancer Cells and Characterizing the Hits from a LOPAC Screen. Assay Drug Dev Technol 2016; 14:453-477. [PMID: 27606620 DOI: 10.1089/adt.2016.741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
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.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ashley T Fancher
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Yun Hua
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Daniel P Camarco
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - David A Close
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | | | - Paul A Johnston
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,3 University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Johnston PA, Sen M, Hua Y, Camarco DP, Shun TY, Lazo JS, Wilson GM, Resnick LO, LaPorte MG, Wipf P, Huryn DM, Grandis JR. HCS campaign to identify selective inhibitors of IL-6-induced STAT3 pathway activation in head and neck cancer cell lines. Assay Drug Dev Technol 2016; 13:356-76. [PMID: 26317883 DOI: 10.1089/adt.2015.663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Signal transducer and activator of transcription factor 3 (STAT3) is hyperactivated in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). Cumulative evidence indicates that IL-6 production by HNSCC cells and/or stromal cells in the tumor microenvironment activates STAT3 and contributes to tumor progression and drug resistance. A library of 94,491 compounds from the Molecular Library Screening Center Network (MLSCN) was screened for the ability to inhibit interleukin-6 (IL-6)-induced pSTAT3 activation. For contractual reasons, the primary high-content screening (HCS) campaign was conducted over several months in 3 distinct phases; 1,068 (1.1%) primary HCS actives remained after cytotoxic or fluorescent outliers were eliminated. One thousand one hundred eighty-seven compounds were cherry-picked for confirmation; actives identified in the primary HCS and compounds selected by a structural similarity search of the remaining MLSCN library using hits identified in phases I and II of the screen. Actives were confirmed in pSTAT3 IC50 assays, and an IFNγ-induced pSTAT1 activation assay was used to prioritize selective inhibitors of STAT3 activation that would not inhibit STAT1 tumor suppressor functions. Two hundred three concentration-dependent inhibitors of IL-6-induced pSTAT3 activation were identified and 89 of these also produced IC50s against IFN-γ-induced pSTAT1 activation. Forty-nine compounds met our hit criteria: they reproducibly inhibited IL-6-induced pSTAT3 activation by ≥70% at 20 μM; their pSTAT3 activation IC50s were ≤25 μM; they were ≥2-fold selective for pSTAT3 inhibition over pSTAT1 inhibition; a cross target query of PubChem indicated that they were not biologically promiscuous; and they were ≥90% pure. Twenty-six chemically tractable hits that passed filters for nuisance compounds and had acceptable drug-like and ADME-Tox properties by computational evaluation were purchased for characterization. The hit structures were distributed among 5 clusters and 8 singletons. Twenty-four compounds inhibited IL-6-induced pSTAT3 activation with IC50s ≤20 μM and 13 were ≥3-fold selective versus inhibition of pSTAT1 activation. Eighteen hits inhibited the growth of HNSCC cell lines with average IC50s ≤ 20 μM. Four chemical series were progressed into lead optimization: the guanidinoquinazolines, the triazolothiadiazines, the amino alcohols, and an oxazole-piperazine singleton.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Paul A Johnston
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,2 University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,3 Pittsburgh Specialized Application Center, University of Pittsburgh Drug Discovery Institute , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Malabika Sen
- 4 Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Yun Hua
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Daniel P Camarco
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Tong Ying Shun
- 3 Pittsburgh Specialized Application Center, University of Pittsburgh Drug Discovery Institute , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - John S Lazo
- 5 Departments of Pharmacology and Chemistry, University of Virginia , Charlottesville, Virginia
| | - Gabriela Mustata Wilson
- 6 University of Pittsburgh Chemical Diversity Center , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,7 Department of Health Services and Health Administration, College of Nursing and Health Professions, University of Southern Indiana , Evansville, Indiana
| | - Lynn O Resnick
- 6 University of Pittsburgh Chemical Diversity Center , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Matthew G LaPorte
- 6 University of Pittsburgh Chemical Diversity Center , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Peter Wipf
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,2 University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,6 University of Pittsburgh Chemical Diversity Center , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,8 Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Donna M Huryn
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,6 University of Pittsburgh Chemical Diversity Center , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Jennifer R Grandis
- 9 Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of California , San Francisco, California
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Johnson JK, Skoda EM, Zhou J, Parrinello E, Wang D, O’Malley K, Eyer BR, Kazancioglu M, Eisermann K, Johnston PA, Nelson JB, Wang Z, Wipf P. Small Molecule Antagonists of the Nuclear Androgen Receptor for the Treatment of Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer. ACS Med Chem Lett 2016; 7:785-90. [PMID: 27563404 PMCID: PMC4983742 DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.6b00186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2016] [Accepted: 05/27/2016] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
![]()
After
a high-throughput screening campaign identified thioether 1 as an antagonist of the nuclear androgen receptor, a zone
model was developed for structure–activity relationship (SAR)
purposes and analogues were synthesized and evaluated in a cell-based
luciferase assay. A novel thioether isostere, cyclopropane (1S,2R)-27, showed the desired
increased potency and structural properties (stereospecific SAR response,
absence of a readily oxidized sulfur atom, low molecular weight, reduced
number of flexible bonds and polar surface area, and drug-likeness
score) in the prostate-specific antigen luciferase assay in C4-2-PSA-rl
cells to qualify as a new lead structure for prostate cancer drug
development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- James K. Johnson
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States
| | - Erin M. Skoda
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States
| | - Jianhua Zhou
- Department
of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232, United States
| | - Erica Parrinello
- Department
of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232, United States
| | - Dan Wang
- Department
of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232, United States
| | - Katherine O’Malley
- Department
of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232, United States
| | - Benjamin R. Eyer
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States
| | - Mustafa Kazancioglu
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States
| | - Kurtis Eisermann
- Department
of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232, United States
| | - Paul A. Johnston
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Joel B. Nelson
- Department
of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232, United States
| | - Zhou Wang
- Department
of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232, United States
| | - Peter Wipf
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Kiesel BF, Parise RA, Guo J, Huryn DM, Johnston PA, Colombo R, Sen M, Grandis J, Eiseman JL, Beumer JH. Abstract 2083: Toxicity, bioavailability, pharmacokinetics, tissue distribution and metabolism of a novel small molecule inhibitor of IL-6-induced STAT3 activation. Cancer Res 2016. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.am2016-2083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Introduction: The oncogenic transcription factor STAT3 is frequently hyper-activated in head and neck cancer and promotes gene transcription involved in cancer development, maintenance and progression. Several selective small molecule inhibitors of IL-6-induced STAT3 activation were identified in a screening campaign, and four analogs from a lead optimization series were analyzed. Compound UPCDC10205 was prioritized for in vivo testing to evaluate its toxicity, pharmacokinetics (PK) and metabolism in mice.
Methods: The four inhibitors of IL-6-induced STAT3 activation were incubated with liver microsomes from Foxn1 +/nu mice up to 90 min. An LC-MS/MS assay was developed to quantify substrate depletion. Single IV dose toxicity was determined in male and female Foxn1 +/nu mice at the maximum soluble dose of 4 mg/kg of compound UPCDC10205 in 10% Solutol. In the multiple IV dose study in female mice UPCDC10205 was dosed QDx5 at 4, 2.7, and 1.3 mg/kg/day. During toxicity studies clinical health status was observed daily and body weight was recorded twice weekly for 14 days after treatment, followed by necropsy. To evaluate PK, single doses of UPCDC10205 IV 4 mg/kg, PO IV 4 mg/kg, or PO 30 mg/kg UPCDC10205 suspension in 1% CMC, were administered to groups of female mice. Mice were euthanized from 5 min to 24 h after dosing (n = 3). RBCs, plasma and tissues were collected and stored at -80 °C. UPCDC10205 concentrations were quantified by LC-MS/MS. Non-compartmental PK were evaluated. LC-MS/MS was used to screen for metabolites in plasma and urine.
Results: Approximately 80% of compound UPCDC10205 remained after a 90 min microsomal incubation compared to <50% for the other analogs. Mice exhibited no signs of toxicity after single or multiple doses of 4 mg/kg IV. Exposure in liver, lungs, kidney, skeletal muscle and brain were 1.6-3.2-fold that of plasma. Plasma AUC after IV 4 mg/kg (1022 ng/mL*h) compared to PO 4 mg/kg dosing (53 ng/mL*h) yielding a bioavailability of ∼5%. Compound UPCDC10205 was not detected beyond 6 h in any tissue. The plasma half-life was 0.6 h, clearance 3.9 L/h/kg and distribution volume 3.4 L/kg. The major metabolite identified in both plasma and urine was UPCDC10205 N-glucuronide
Conclusion: In vitro, UPCDC10205 was metabolically stable. No gross toxicity was observed in mice administered the maximum soluble dose. UPCDC10205 was widely distributed into tissues and cleared rapidly. Bioavailability was ∼5%. In vivo metabolism of UPCDC10205 was by direct glucuronidation, explaining why microsomal stability (reflective of phase I metabolism) did not translate to in vivo metabolic stability.
Support: P30CA047904; P50CA097190
Citation Format: Brian F. Kiesel, Robert A. Parise, Jianxia Guo, Donna M. Huryn, Paul A. Johnston, Rafaelle Colombo, Malabika Sen, Jennifer Grandis, Julie L. Eiseman, Jan H. Beumer. Toxicity, bioavailability, pharmacokinetics, tissue distribution and metabolism of a novel small molecule inhibitor of IL-6-induced STAT3 activation. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 2083.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Jianxia Guo
- 1University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Jan H. Beumer
- 1University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
LaPorte MG, Wang Z, Colombo R, Garzan A, Peshkov VA, Liang M, Johnston PA, Schurdak ME, Sen M, Camarco DP, Hua Y, Pollock NI, Lazo JS, Grandis JR, Wipf P, Huryn DM. Optimization of pyrazole-containing 1,2,4-triazolo-[3,4-b]thiadiazines, a new class of STAT3 pathway inhibitors. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2016; 26:3581-5. [PMID: 27381083 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2016.06.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2016] [Revised: 06/02/2016] [Accepted: 06/08/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Structure-activity relationship studies of a 1,2,4-triazolo-[3,4-b]thiadiazine scaffold, identified in an HTS campaign for selective STAT3 pathway inhibitors, determined that a pyrazole group and specific aryl substitution on the thiadiazine were necessary for activity. Improvements in potency and metabolic stability were accomplished by the introduction of an α-methyl group on the thiadiazine. Optimized compounds exhibited anti-proliferative activity, reduction of phosphorylated STAT3 levels and effects on STAT3 target genes. These compounds represent a starting point for further drug discovery efforts targeting the STAT3 pathway.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew G LaPorte
- University of Pittsburgh Chemical Diversity Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Zhuzhu Wang
- University of Pittsburgh Chemical Diversity Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Raffaele Colombo
- University of Pittsburgh Chemical Diversity Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Atefeh Garzan
- University of Pittsburgh Chemical Diversity Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Vsevolod A Peshkov
- University of Pittsburgh Chemical Diversity Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Mary Liang
- University of Pittsburgh Chemical Diversity Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Paul A Johnston
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Mark E Schurdak
- University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA; University of Pittsburgh Drug Discovery Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Malabika Sen
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Daniel P Camarco
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Yun Hua
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Netanya I Pollock
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - John S Lazo
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
| | - Jennifer R Grandis
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Peter Wipf
- University of Pittsburgh Chemical Diversity Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA; University of Pittsburgh Drug Discovery Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Donna M Huryn
- University of Pittsburgh Chemical Diversity Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Van Allen EM, Lui VWY, Egloff AM, Goetz EM, Li H, Johnson JT, Duvvuri U, Bauman JE, Stransky N, Zeng Y, Gilbert BR, Pendleton KP, Wang L, Chiosea S, Sougnez C, Wagle N, Zhang F, Du Y, Close D, Johnston PA, McKenna A, Carter SL, Golub TR, Getz G, Mills GB, Garraway LA, Grandis JR. Genomic Correlate of Exceptional Erlotinib Response in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. JAMA Oncol 2016; 1:238-44. [PMID: 26181029 DOI: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2015.34] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Randomized clinical trials demonstrate no benefit for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors in unselected patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). However, a patient with stage IVA HNSCC received 13 days of neoadjuvant erlotinib and experienced a near-complete histologic response. OBJECTIVE To determine a mechanism of exceptional response to erlotinib therapy in HNSCC. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Single patient with locally advanced HNSCC who received erlotinib monotherapy in a window-of-opportunity clinical trial (patients scheduled to undergo primary cancer surgery are treated briefly with an investigational agent). Whole-exome sequencing of pretreatment tumor and germline patient samples was performed at a quaternary care academic medical center, and a candidate somatic variant was experimentally investigated for mediating erlotinib response. INTERVENTION A brief course of erlotinib monotherapy followed by surgical resection. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Identification of pretreatment tumor somatic alterations that may contribute to the exceptional response to erlotinib. Hypotheses were formulated regarding enhanced erlotinib response in preclinical models harboring the patient tumor somatic variant MAPK1 E322K following the identification of tumor somatic variants. RESULTS No EGFR alterations were observed in the pretreatment tumor DNA. Paradoxically, the tumor harbored an activating MAPK1 E322K mutation (allelic fraction 0.13), which predicts ERK activation and erlotinib resistance in EGFR-mutant lung cancer. The HNSCC cells with MAPK1 E322K exhibited enhanced EGFR phosphorylation and erlotinib sensitivity compared with wild-type MAPK1 cells. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Selective erlotinib use in HNSCC may be informed by precision oncology approaches.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eliezer M Van Allen
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts2Cancer Program, Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge
| | - Vivian W Y Lui
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, Li-Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong4Department of Biochemistry, Li-Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong5Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsb
| | - Ann Marie Egloff
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania6Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Eva M Goetz
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Hua Li
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Jonas T Johnson
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Umamaheswar Duvvuri
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Julie E Bauman
- Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | | | - Yan Zeng
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Breean R Gilbert
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Kelsey P Pendleton
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Lin Wang
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Simion Chiosea
- Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Carrie Sougnez
- Cancer Program, Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge
| | - Nikhil Wagle
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts2Cancer Program, Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge
| | - Fan Zhang
- Department of Systems Biology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston
| | - Yu Du
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - David Close
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Paul A Johnston
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Aaron McKenna
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle
| | - Scott L Carter
- Cancer Program, Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge
| | - Todd R Golub
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts2Cancer Program, Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge
| | - Gad Getz
- Cancer Program, Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge13Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
| | - Gordon B Mills
- Department of Systems Biology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston
| | - Levi A Garraway
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts2Cancer Program, Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge
| | - Jennifer R Grandis
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania14Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Grover P, Shi H, Baumgartner M, Close D, Johnston PA, Camacho CJ, Smithgall TE. Abstract B132: Discovery of small molecule allosteric modulators of Abl kinase activity and function. Mol Cancer Ther 2015. [DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.targ-15-b132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
The Abl protein-tyrosine kinase regulates intracellular signaling pathways controlling diverse cellular processes and forms oncogenic fusion proteins that drive several cancer types. The kinase activity of Abl is repressed by intramolecular interactions involving its regulatory SH3 and SH2 domains. The SH3 domain interacts with a polyproline type II helix formed by the SH2-kinase linker, while the SH2 domain interacts with the back of the C-lobe of the kinase domain. In addition, the myristoylated N-terminal cap region (Ncap) binds a hydrophobic pocket in the C-lobe of the kinase domain, clamping the SH3 and SH2 domains against the back of the kinase domain. Small molecules that allosterically regulate Abl kinase activity through its non-catalytic domains may represent selective probes of Abl function. In this study, we developed a high-throughput screening (HTS) assay to identify chemical modulators of Abl kinase activity that target the regulatory SH3:linker interaction. The fluorescence polarization (FP) assay employs a purified recombinant Abl protein comprised of the regulatory N-cap, SH3 and SH2 domains plus the SH2-kinase linker (Abl N32L protein) and a short fluorescein-labeled peptide probe that selectively binds to the Abl SH3 domain. During assay development, we found that the peptide probe binds to the recombinant Abl N32L protein in vitro, producing a robust FP signal that can be competitively displaced by excess unlabeled peptide. The FP signal is not observed in control N32L proteins bearing either an inactivating mutation in the SH3 domain or enhanced SH3:linker interaction. A pilot screen of 1200 FDA-approved compounds in the FP assay identified four compounds that specifically reduced the FP signal by at least three standard deviations from the untreated controls. Secondary assays demonstrated that one of the hits, the antithrombotic drug dipyridamole, enhances Abl kinase activity in vitro to a greater extent than the previously described Abl agonist, DPH. Docking studies predicted that this compound binds to a pocket formed at the interface of the SH3 domain and the linker, suggesting that it activates Abl by disrupting this regulatory interaction. Interestingly, this compound does not significantly affect the kinase activity of Hck, a Src family member that is regulated by similar SH3:linker interactions. Treatment with dipyrimadole in combination with DPH led to strong enhancement of Abl kinase activity in transfected cells. The Abl N32L FP assay has been implemented in a fully automated format and used to screen diversity libraries totaling 60,000 compounds. The Z-factor coefficients from this HTS campaign indicated that the FP assay performed well and several additional scaffolds were identified for future development. These results demonstrate that screening assays that incorporate the non-catalytic domains of Abl can identify allosteric small molecule regulators of kinase function, providing a new approach to selective drug discovery for this important kinase system.
Citation Format: Prerna Grover, Haibin Shi, Matthew Baumgartner, David Close, Paul A. Johnston, Carlos J. Camacho, Thomas E. Smithgall. Discovery of small molecule allosteric modulators of Abl kinase activity and function. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2015 Nov 5-9; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2015;14(12 Suppl 2):Abstract nr B132.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Prerna Grover
- 1University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Haibin Shi
- 1University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
| | | | - David Close
- 2University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, PA
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
38
|
Affiliation(s)
- O. Joseph Trask
- Cellular Imaging Core, The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
| | - Paul A. Johnston
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Singh M, Close DA, Mukundan S, Johnston PA, Sant S. Production of Uniform 3D Microtumors in Hydrogel Microwell Arrays for Measurement of Viability, Morphology, and Signaling Pathway Activation. Assay Drug Dev Technol 2015; 13:570-83. [PMID: 26274587 DOI: 10.1089/adt.2015.662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite significant investments in cancer research and drug discovery/development, the rate of new cancer drug approval is ≤5% and most cases of metastatic cancer remain incurable. Ninety-five percent of new cancer drugs fail in clinical development because of a lack of therapeutic efficacy and/or unacceptable toxicity. One of the major factors responsible for the low success rate of anticancer drug development is the failure of preclinical models to adequately recapitulate the complexity and heterogeneity of human cancer. For throughput and capacity reasons, high-throughput screening growth inhibition assays almost exclusively use two-dimensional (2D) monolayers of tumor cell lines cultured on tissue culture-treated plastic/glass surfaces in serum-containing medium. However, these 2D tumor cell line cultures fail to recapitulate the three-dimensional (3D) context of cells in solid tumors even though the tumor microenvironment has been shown to have a profound effect on anticancer drug responses. Tumor spheroids remain the best characterized and most widely used 3D models; however, spheroid sizes tend to be nonuniform, making them unsuitable for high-throughput drug testing. To circumvent this challenge, we have developed defined size microwell arrays using nonadhesive hydrogels that are applicable to a wide variety of cancer cell lines to fabricate size-controlled 3D microtumors. We demonstrate that the hydrogel microwell array platform can be applied successfully to generate hundreds of uniform microtumors within 3-6 days from many cervical and breast, as well as head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cells. Moreover, controlling size of the microwells in the hydrogel array allows precise control over the size of the microtumors. Finally, we demonstrate the application of this platform technology to probe activation as well as inhibition of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling in 3D HNSCC microtumors in response to EGF and cetuximab treatments, respectively. We believe that the ability to generate large numbers of HNSCC microtumors of uniform size and 3D morphology using hydrogel arrays will provide more physiological in vitro 3D tumor models to investigate how tumor size influences signaling pathway activation and cancer drug efficacy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Manjulata Singh
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - David A Close
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Shilpaa Mukundan
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Paul A Johnston
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,2 University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Shilpa Sant
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,3 Department of Bioengineering, Swanson School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,4 McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Hua Y, Shun TY, Strock CJ, Johnston PA. High-content positional biosensor screening assay for compounds to prevent or disrupt androgen receptor and transcriptional intermediary factor 2 protein-protein interactions. Assay Drug Dev Technol 2015; 12:395-418. [PMID: 25181412 DOI: 10.1089/adt.2014.594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
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.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yun Hua
- 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
41
|
George Rosenker KM, Paquette WD, Johnston PA, Sharlow ER, Vogt A, Bakan A, Lazo JS, Wipf P. Synthesis and biological evaluation of 3-aminoisoquinolin-1(2H)-one based inhibitors of the dual-specificity phosphatase Cdc25B. Bioorg Med Chem 2015; 23:2810-8. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2015.01.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2014] [Revised: 01/20/2015] [Accepted: 01/23/2015] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
|
42
|
Johnston PA, Meiyalaghan V, Forbes ME, Habekuß A, Butler RC, Pickering R. Marker assisted separation of resistance genes Rph22 and Rym16 (Hb) from an associated yield penalty in a barley: Hordeum bulbosum introgression line. Theor Appl Genet 2015; 128:1137-1149. [PMID: 25800008 DOI: 10.1007/s00122-015-2495-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2014] [Accepted: 03/07/2015] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
The resistance genes Rph22 and Rym16 (Hb) transferred into barley from Hordeum bulbosum have been separated from a large yield penalty locus that was present in the original introgression line '182Q20'. The Hordeum bulbosum introgression line '182Q20' possesses resistance to barley leaf rust (Rph22) and Barley mild mosaic virus (Rym16 (Hb) ) located on chromosome 2HL. Unfortunately, this line also carries a considerable yield penalty compared with its barley genetic background 'Golden Promise'. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping of the components of yield (total yield, thousand grain weight, hectolitre weight, percentage screenings and screened yield) was performed using 75 recombinant lines derived from the original '182Q20' introgression line. A QTL for the yield penalty was located in the proximal region of the introgressed segment. Marker assisted selection targeting intraspecific recombination events between overlapping H. bulbosum introgression segments was used to develop the lines '372E' and '372H' which feature genetically small introgressions around Rph22. Further yield trials validated the separation of both Rph22 and Rym16 (Hb) from the proximal yield penalty. These results, combined with molecular markers closely linked to Rph22 and Rym16 (Hb) , make these resistance genes more attractive for barley breeding.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Paul A Johnston
- The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Lincoln, 7608, New Zealand,
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
43
|
Affiliation(s)
- A M Davison
- Department of Renal Medicine, St. James's University Hospital, Leeds, UK
| | | |
Collapse
|
44
|
Johnston PA, Coulshed SJ, Davison AM. Renal biopsy findings in patients older than 65 years of age presenting with the nephrotic syndrome. A report from the MRC Glomerulonephritis Registry. Contrib Nephrol 2015; 105:127-32. [PMID: 8252857 DOI: 10.1159/000422482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- P A Johnston
- Department of Renal Medicine, St. James's University Hospital, Leeds, UK
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
45
|
Feng Z, Kochanek S, Close D, Wang L, Srinivasan A, Almehizia AA, Iyer P, Xie XQ, Johnston PA, Gold B. Design and activity of AP endonuclease-1 inhibitors. J Chem Biol 2015; 8:79-93. [PMID: 26101550 DOI: 10.1007/s12154-015-0131-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2014] [Accepted: 03/25/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease-1/redox effector factor-1 (APE-1) is a critical component of base excision repair that excises abasic lesions created enzymatically by the action of DNA glycosylases on modified bases and non-enzymatically by hydrolytic depurination/depyrimidination of nucleobases. Many anticancer drugs generate DNA adducts that are processed by base excision repair, and tumor resistance is frequently associated with enhanced APE-1 expression. Accordingly, APE-1 is a potential therapeutic target to treat cancer. Using computational approaches and the high resolution structure of APE-1, we developed a 5-point pharmacophore model for APE-1 small molecule inhibitors. One of the nM APE-1 inhibitors (AJAY-4) that was identified based on this model exhibited an overall median growth inhibition (GI50) of 4.19 μM in the NCI-60 cell line panel. The mechanism of action is shown to be related to the buildup of abasic sites that cause PARP activation and PARP cleavage, and the activation of caspase-3 and caspase-7, which is consistent with cell death by apoptosis. In a drug combination growth inhibition screen conducted in 10 randomly selected NCI-60 cell lines and with 20 clinically used non-genotoxic anticancer drugs, a synergy was flagged in the SK-MEL-5 melanoma cell line exposed to combinations of vemurafenib, which targets melanoma cells with V600E mutated BRAF, and AJAY-4, our most potent APE-1 inhibitor. The synergy between AJAY-4 and vemurafenib was not observed in cell lines expressing wild-type B-Raf protein. This synergistic combination may provide a solution to the resistance that develops in tumors treated with B-Raf-targeting drugs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhiwei Feng
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 USA
| | - Stanton Kochanek
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 USA
| | - David Close
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 USA
| | - LiRong Wang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 USA
| | - Ajay Srinivasan
- Malaria Vaccine Development Program, New Delhi, 110067 India
| | | | - Prema Iyer
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 USA
| | - Xiang-Qun Xie
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 USA
| | - Paul A Johnston
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 USA
| | - Barry Gold
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 USA
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Abstract
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.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yun Hua
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Room 1014 Salk Hall, 3501 Terrace Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
47
|
LaPorte MG, da Paz Lima DJ, Zhang F, Sen M, Grandis JR, Camarco D, Hua Y, Johnston PA, Lazo JS, Resnick LO, Wipf P, Huryn DM. 2-Guanidinoquinazolines as new inhibitors of the STAT3 pathway. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2014; 24:5081-5. [PMID: 25288188 PMCID: PMC4250329 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2014.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2014] [Revised: 08/28/2014] [Accepted: 09/01/2014] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Synthesis and SAR investigation of 2-guanidinoquinazolines, initially identified in a high content screen for selective STAT3 pathway inhibitors, led to a more potent analog (11c) that demonstrated improved anti-proliferative activity against a panel of HNSCC cell lines.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew G LaPorte
- University of Pittsburgh Chemical Diversity Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.
| | - Dimas José da Paz Lima
- University of Pittsburgh Chemical Diversity Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Feng Zhang
- University of Pittsburgh Chemical Diversity Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Malabika Sen
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Jennifer R Grandis
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA; University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA; Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Daniel Camarco
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Yun Hua
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Paul A Johnston
- University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - John S Lazo
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
| | - Lynn O Resnick
- University of Pittsburgh Chemical Diversity Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Peter Wipf
- University of Pittsburgh Chemical Diversity Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA; University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Donna M Huryn
- University of Pittsburgh Chemical Diversity Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Affiliation(s)
- O Joseph Trask
- 1 The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park , North Carolina
| | | |
Collapse
|
49
|
Abstract
Early intervention in the management of acute kidney injury (AKI) has been shown to improve outcomes. To facilitate early review we have introduced real time reporting for AKI. An algorithm using the laboratory computer system was implemented to report AKI for inpatients. Over 6 months there were 1,906 AKI reports in 1,518 patients: 56.3% AKI1, 26.9% AKI2 and 16.8% AKI3. 51.0% were male. Median age was 78 (interquartile range [IQR] 17) years. 62.6% were from general medical wards, 16.9% from surgical wards, 6.9% from orthopaedic wards and 5.3% from specialty wards. 8.3% were from peripheral hospitals. 31% of patients with AKI reports were clinically coded for AKI. 9% (n = 139) showed progression of AKI (mortality 42%). Patients with AKI had a significantly higher length of stay and mortality than those that did not. 4% of patients with AKI received acute renal replacement therapy (RRT). An e-alert system is feasible, allowing early identification of inpatients with AKI.
Collapse
|
50
|
Johnston PA, Sen M, Hua Y, Camarco D, Shun TY, Lazo JS, Grandis JR. High-content pSTAT3/1 imaging assays to screen for selective inhibitors of STAT3 pathway activation in head and neck cancer cell lines. Assay Drug Dev Technol 2014; 12:55-79. [PMID: 24127660 PMCID: PMC3934522 DOI: 10.1089/adt.2013.524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The oncogenic transcription factor signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is hyperactivated in most cancers and represents a plausible therapeutic target. In the absence of STAT3-selective small-molecule inhibitors, we sought to develop pSTAT3/1 high-content imaging (HCS) assays to screen for selective inhibitors of STAT3 pathway activation in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) tumor cell lines. Based on the expression of the interleukin-6 (IL-6)Rα and gp130 subunits of the IL-6 receptor complex and STAT3, we selected the Cal33 HNSCC cell line as our model. After developing image acquisition and analysis procedures, we rigorously investigated the cytokine activation responses to optimize the dynamic ranges of both assays and demonstrated that the pan-Janus kinase inhibitor pyridone 6 nonselectively inhibited pSTAT3 and pSTAT1 activation with 50% inhibition concentrations of 7.19 ± 4.08 and 16.38 ± 8.45 nM, respectively. The optimized pSTAT3 HCS assay performed very well in a pilot screen of 1,726 compounds from the Library of Pharmacologically Active Compounds and the National Institutes of Health clinical collection sets, and we identified 51 inhibitors of IL-6-induced pSTAT3 activation. However, only three of the primary HCS actives selectively inhibited STAT3 compared with STAT1. Our follow-up studies indicated that the nonselective inhibition of cytokine induced pSTAT3 and pSTAT1 activation by G-alpha stimulatory subunit-coupled G-protein-coupled receptor agonists, and forskolin was likely due to cyclic adenosine monophosphate-mediated up-regulation of suppressors of cytokine signaling 3. Azelastine, an H1 receptor antagonist approved for the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis, nonallergic vasomotor rhinitis, and ocular conjunctivitis, was subsequently confirmed as a selective inhibitor of IL-6-induced pSTAT3 activation that also reduced the growth of HNSCC cell lines. These data illustrate the power of a chemical biology approach to lead generation that utilizes fully developed and optimized HCS assays as phenotypic screens to interrogate specific signaling pathways.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Paul A. Johnston
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Department of University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Malabika Sen
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Yun Hua
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Daniel Camarco
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Tong Ying Shun
- Department of Drug Discovery Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - John S. Lazo
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
- Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
| | - Jennifer R. Grandis
- Department of University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| |
Collapse
|