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Structure-activity relationships in lipopolysaccharide neutralizers: design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of a 540-membered amphipathic bisamide library.

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS), also called "endotoxins", are outer-membrane constituents of Gram-negative bacteria. Lipopolysaccharides play a key role in the pathogenesis of "septic shock", a major cause of mortality in the critically ill patient. We had earlier shown that small molecules bind and neutralize LPS if they contain (i) two protonatable cationic groups separated by a distance of approximately 14 A to facilitate interactions with the phosphate moieties on the lipid Angstrom component of LPS and (ii) a long-chain aliphatic hydrocarbon to promote hydrophobic interactions. In an effort to identify optimal scaffolds possessing the above structural requirements, we now present an evaluation of a rationally designed combinatorial library in which the elements of the scaffold are systematically varied to maximize sampling of chemical space. Leads obtained via molecular analyses of the screening results were resynthesized and evaluated in greater detail with regard to the affinity of the interaction with LPS, as well as neutralization of endotoxicity in in vitro assays. The examination of a moderately sized 6 x 6 x 15 (540-membered) focused library allowed the assessment of the structural contributions to binding by the long-chain aliphatic tails, distance between charged amino groups, and potential aromatic CH-pi or OH-pi interactions. These findings are of value in further iterations of design and development of specific and potent endotoxin sequestrants.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

Identification of cancer targets and therapeutics using phage display.

Phage display is a well-established approach for the identification of bioactive peptides and antibody fragments through the use of high diversity libraries. One major advantage of phage display lies in its ability to rapidly identify target-specific reagents with pharmacological activity as agonists or antagonists. Peptides and antibodies have several clinical advantages over traditional small-molecule chemotherapeutics, including specificity, selectivity and potency. Thus, phage display can be used to generate 'targeted therapeutics', which is the current clinical paradigm of choice in the field of oncology.

Animals↗

Multiple parallel synthesis of peptides on SynPhase grafted supports.

The Multipin peptide synthesis approach originated as an immunological tool for epitope mapping. However, continuing evolution of the basic technology has permitted the synthesis of peptides at scales up to 25 micromol per modular grafted surface. At this loading, the methodology can no longer be considered just a screening tool and is now used for the synthesis of micromoles of peptide and other small drug-like molecules for high throughput compound screening. Recent developments such as the introduction of novel grafted polymeric surfaces, new linkers, as well as novel cleavage formats has extended the scope of applications for modular grafted surfaces. This review summarizes the important achievements over the last 15 years of applications of the Multipin synthesis approach and also introduces a new modular grafted surface for peptide and small molecule synthesis called the SynPhase Lantern.

Combinatorial Chemistry Techniques↗

Solid-phase synthesis and biological evaluation of a teleocidin library--discovery of a selective PKCdelta down regulator.

Protein kinaseC (PKC) is linked to the signal-induced modulation of a wide variety of cellular processes, such as growth, differentiation, secretion, apoptosis, and tumor development. The design and synthesis of small molecules that regulate these different cellular signaling systems is at the forefront of modern drug design. Herein we report a) an efficient method for the synthesis of indolactamV (6), a PKC activator, and its N13-des(methyl) analogues (19) using a regioselective organometallic transformation, a convenient aminomalonate derivative (10) to introduce the appropriate functionality and an enantiospecific enzymic hydrolysis as key steps; b) the use of this method in the first solid-phase synthesis of a teleocidin library modifying the N-13, C-12 and C-7 alkyl chains, and, therefore, producing a library of potential activators and/or inhibitors of PKC of the general structure (32); c) the activation of PKC by selected members of the library using a MARCKS translocation in vivo assay system; d) the observation that some of these analogues are nearly as effective as the natural PKC activators phorbol dibutyrate and (-)-indolactam V (6), and e) the observation that some of these analogues have different potential to induce down-regulation of members of the PKC gene family after chronic stimulation.

3T3 Cells↗

High-throughput docking for lead generation.

Recent improvements in flexible docking technology may lead to a bigger role for computational methods in lead discovery. Although fast and accurate computational prediction of binding affinities for an arbitrary molecule is still beyond the limits of current methods, the docking and screening procedures can select small sets of likely lead candidates from large libraries of either commercially or synthetically available compounds.

Binding Sites↗

Oxidosqualene cyclase inhibitors as antimicrobial agents.

Small-molecule oxidosqualene cyclase (OSC) inhibitors were found to be effective in assays against cloned OSC-like enzymes from human pathogens. A combinatorial library was prepared and used to identify lead compounds that inhibit the growth of Trypanosoma cruzi, Leishmania mexicana amazonensis, and Pneumocystis carinii in culture. Selectivity for the microorganisms in preference to mammalian cells was observed.

3T3 Cells↗

High-throughput nuclear magnetic resonance-based screening.

A high-throughput screening strategy is described that involves the acquisition of two-dimensional 15N/1H correlation spectra in less than 10 min on 50 microM protein samples using cryogenic NMR probe technology. By screening at these concentrations, small organic molecules can be tested in mixtures of 100, which dramatically increases the throughput of the NMR-based assay. Using this strategy, libraries of more than 200 000 compounds can be tested in less than 1 month. There are many advantages of high-throughput NMR-based screening compared to conventional assays, such as the ability to identify high-affinity ligands for protein targets with no known function. This suggests that the method will be extremely useful for screening the large number of targets derived from genomics research.

Cold Temperature↗

Development of a simple high-throughput screening protocol based on biosynthetic activity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis glutamine synthetase for the identification of novel Inhibitors.

A high-throughput screening protocol has been developed for Mycobacterium tuberculosis glutamine synthetase by quantitative estimation of inorganic phosphate. The K(m) values determined at pH 6.8 are 22 mM for L-glutamic acid, 0.75 mM for NH(4)Cl, 3.25 mM for MgCl(2), and 2.5 mM for adenosine triphosphate. The K(m) value for glutamine is affected significantly by the increase in pH of assay buffer. At the saturating level of the substrate, the enzyme activity at pH 6.8 and 25 degrees C is found to be linear up to 3 h. The reduction of enzyme activity is negligible even in presence of 10% DMSO. The Z' factor and signal-to-noise ratio are found to be 0.75 and 6.18, respectively, when the enzyme is used at 62.5 microg/ml concentration. The IC(50) values obtained at pH 6.8 for both L-methionine S-sulfoximine and DL-phosphothriacin are 500 microM and 30 microM, respectively, which is lowest compared to the values obtained at other pH levels. The Beckman Coulter high-throughput screening platform was found to take 5 h 9 min to complete the screening of 60 plates. For each assay plate, a replica plate is used to normalize the data. Screening of 1164 natural product fractions/extracts and synthetic molecules from an in-house library was able to identify 12 samples as confirmed hits. Altogether, the validation data from screening of a small set of an in-house library coupled with Z' and signal-to-noise values indicate that the protocol is robust for high-throughput screening of a diverse chemical library.

Combinatorial Chemistry Techniques↗

Small-molecule inhibitors of the MDM2-p53 protein-protein interaction based on an isoindolinone scaffold.

From a set of weakly potent lead compounds, using in silico screening and small library synthesis, a series of 2-alkyl-3-aryl-3-alkoxyisoindolinones has been identified as inhibitors of the MDM2-p53 interaction. Two of the most potent compounds, 2-benzyl-3-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-(3-hydroxypropoxy)-2,3-dihydroisoindol-1-one (76; IC(50) = 15.9 +/- 0.8 microM) and 3-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-(4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxybenzyloxy)-2-propyl-2,3-dihydroisoindol-1-one (79; IC(50) = 5.3 +/- 0.9 microM), induced p53-dependent gene transcription, in a dose-dependent manner, in the MDM2 amplified, SJSA human sarcoma cell line.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

Novel cyclic and linear oligopeptides that bind to integrin beta1 chain and either inhibit or costimulate T lymphocytes.

There is a redundancy of cellular beta1 integrin (very late antigen or VLA) receptors that mediate interactions between different extracellular matrix proteins (ECMP) and T lymphocytes. This suggests that antagonists targeted at individual VLA receptors may be of limited therapeutic efficacy in T cell-mediated diseases and that agents such as monoclonal antibody 4B4, which bind to the common integrin beta1 chain and inhibit interactions between effector T cells and a range of ECMP, may be of greater therapeutic interest if toxicity can be avoided. We have therefore sought proof of principle as to whether small molecules that interact with the integrin beta1 chain at or near the 4B4 binding site can modulate T cell costimulation and adhesion in the presence of type I collagen or fibronectin (FN). Two phage display libraries, each expressing more than 10(9) independent cyclic or linear 7-mer peptides, were used to identify molecules of interest by an enrichment process involving specific recovery of phage bound to a human T cell line by elution with a large excess of 4B4 antibody. Novel cyclic and linear peptides have thus been identified and found to inhibit interactions between T cells and both type I collagen and fibronectin. A separate cyclic peptide was found to costimulate T cells in a beta1 integrin-dependent manner. These findings form a basis for the development of small molecules that interact in inhibitory or stimulatory capacities with the common integrin beta1 chain, and may be of interest as therapeutic antagonists or immunologic adjuvants.

Cell Adhesion↗

Identification of small molecule chemical inhibitors of the collagen-specific chaperone Hsp47.

Hsp47 is a collagen-specific molecular chaperone whose activity has been implicated in the pathogenesis of fibrotic diseases. Here, we describe the development of an assay for screening libraries of chemical compounds for inhibitors of Hsp47. A preliminary screen of 2080 compounds identified four that demonstrated inhibitory activity against Hsp47 in vitro, with IC(50) values ranging from 3 to 27 muM. Compounds identified through this method may provide the basis for development of novel antifibrotic therapeutics.

Collagen↗

A cell-based screen for function of the four-helix bundle protein Rop: a new tool for combinatorial experiments in biophysics.

Combinatorial methodologies have revolutionized studies in biomolecular function, but they have so far proven less useful for understanding macromolecular structure and stability. This is largely because of the difficulty of screening libraries of molecules for biophysical properties, and the difficulty of interpreting structural effects in complicated molecules. Here, we report a novel, robust, cell-based screen for function of the four-helix bundle protein, Rop. By expression of green fluorescent protein from a ColE1 plasmid, the screen reports the copy number of the plasmid, which is modulated in Escherichia coli by Rop. We have engineered the screen so that the fluorescent phenotype can correspond to either Rop activity or lack thereof. We have used the screen to demonstrate with systematically constructed Rop core variants that not all molecules that bind small stem-loop RNAs in vitro are active in vivo. Rop is well understood from structural work and systematic mutations, which makes it possible to construct rational, targeted libraries. This screen makes it possible to rapidly interrogate such libraries effectively for proper protein folding and stability. In addition to its intended utility for combinatorial experiments in biophysics, the screen will allow further dissection of the mechanism of Rop-mediated plasmid copy number regulation in vivo.

Bacterial Proteins↗

Inverted terminal repeats permit the average length of amplified DNA fragments to be regulated during preparation of cDNA libraries by polymerase chain reaction.

A simple polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based technique for construction of cDNA libraries starting with very small amounts of cells or tissues is described. The technique is based on the insertion of inverted terminal repeats into amplified cDNAs which permit short molecules to generate "pan"-type structures at each cycle of PCR amplification and thus to escape annealing with primers. This allows one to avoid amplification of primer dimers and makes it possible to perform oligonucleotide tailing of the first cDNA strands followed by PCR amplification in the same tube. Moreover, the average size of amplified cDNAs can be controlled by varying the primer concentration.

Animals↗

Generation of high-affinity chicken single-chain Fv antibody fragments for measurement of the Pseudonitzschia pungens toxin domoic acid.

Antibody-based assay systems are now accepted by regulatory authorities for detection of the toxins produced by phytoplankton that accumulate in shellfish tissues. However, the generation of suitable antibodies for sensitive assay development remains a major challenge. We have examined the potential of using the chicken immune system to generate high-affinity, high-specificity recombinant antibody fragments against phytotoxins. Following immunization of the chicken with domoic acid-bovine serum albumin, a single-chain antibody variable region (scFv) gene library was generated from single V(H) and V(L) genes isolated from the immune cells in the spleen and bone marrow. scFvs reacting with domoic acid were isolated by phage display and affinity matured by light chain shuffling, resulting in an approximate 10-fold increase in sensitivity. The isolated scFvs were effectively expressed in Escherichia coli and readily purified by affinity chromatography. They were then used to develop a convenient and sensitive indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for domoic acid, with a 50% effective dose of 156 ng/ml, which could be used reliably with shellfish extracts. This study demonstrates that chickens provide a valuable model system for the simplified, rapid generation of high-affinity recombinant antibody fragments with specificity for small toxin molecules.

Animals↗

Discovery of phage display peptide ligands for species-specific detection of Bacillus spores.

Short peptides are capable of tight and specific binding to physiological or fortuitous receptors on the surface of cells. These peptides can be used to tag or capture target cells in an assortment of detector platforms. As part of an effort to identify small-molecule ligands for advanced detectors for spores of Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, we are screening (or biopanning) commercial phage display peptide libraries for peptides that bind tightly and selectively to spores of several Bacillus species. In addition to B. anthracis, these species include B. cereus, B. subtilis, and B. globigii. This review summarizes the methods used in our studies, the results from the biopanning experiments, and the characterization of the spore-binding peptides identified to date. Briefly, several unique families of peptides, with consensus sequences< or = seven-amino-acids long, were identified that exhibit preferential binding to spores (but not vegetative cells) of either one or only a few Bacillus species. At least one peptide family binds well to spores of multiple strains of B. anthracis, while binding poorly or not at all to spores of phylogenetically similar species. This review also discusses other points of interest regarding the use of peptide ligands for spore detection and for the detection of other types of cells.

Anthrax↗

New natural product families from an environmental DNA (eDNA) gene cluster.

Uncultured bacteria represent a potentially rich source of new and useful natural products. Studying these natural products requires the development of effective yet straightforward methods to access the small-molecule chemical diversity produced by uncultured bacteria. In this study, DNA extracted directly from soil samples (environmental DNA, eDNA) was used to construct cosmid libraries in Escherichia coli, and these clones were then assayed for the production of antibiosis. A 13 open reading frame (ORF) biosynthetic gene cluster (feeA-M) found in one of the antibacterial active clones, CSLC-2, confers to E. coli the production of two new families of natural products that are derived from long chain N-acyltyrosines. The fee gene cluster and three families of the long chain acyl phenols derived from tyrosine (families 1, 2, and 3) are described.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

Synthetic small molecules that control stem cell fate.

In an attempt to better understand and control the processes that regulate stem cell fate, we have set out to identify small molecules that induce neuronal differentiation in embryonic stem cells (ESCs). A high-throughput phenotypic cell-based screen of kinase-directed combinatorial libraries led to the discovery of TWS119, a 4,6-disubstituted pyrrolopyrimidine that can induce neurogenesis in murine ESCs. The target of TWS119 was shown to be glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK-3beta) by both affinity-based and biochemical methods. This study provides evidence that GSK-3beta is involved in the induction of mammalian neurogenesis in ESCs. This and such other molecules are likely to provide insights into the molecular mechanisms that control stem cell fate, and may ultimately be useful to in vivo stem cell biology and therapy.

Animals↗

Chemical genomics and medicinal systems biology: chemical control of genomic networks in human systems biology for innovative medicine.

With advances in determining the entire DNA sequence of the human genome, it is now critical to systematically identify the function of a number of genes in the human genome. These biological challenges, especially those in human diseases, should be addressed in human cells in which conventional (e.g. genetic) approaches have been extremely difficult to implement. To overcome this, several approaches have been initiated. This review will focus on the development of a novel "chemical genetic/genomic approach" that uses small molecules to "probe and identify" the function of genes in specific biological processes or pathways in human cells. Due to the close relationship of small molecules with drugs, these systematic and integrative studies will lead to the "medicinal systems biology approach" which is critical to "formulate and modulate" complex biological (disease) networks by small molecules (drugs) in human bio-systems.

Animals↗