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Application of higher throughput screening (HTS) inhibition assays to evaluate the interaction of antiparasitic drugs with cytochrome P450s.

In this study we have evaluated the application and reliability of using fluorescence (FLUO)-based high throughput screening assays with recombinant CYPs (rCYP). This was accomplished by screening 29 clinically important antiparasitic drugs for inhibition of the five major drug-metabolizing CYPs (-1A2, -2C9, -2C19, -2D6, and -3A4). Data from FLUO/rCYP assays were compared with that obtained by conventional HPLC assays using human liver microsomes (HLM) and rCYPs. The K(i) values showed good correlations: FLUO/rCYP and HPLC/rCYP (r(2) = 0.81), HPLC/rCYP and HPLC/HLM (r(2) = 0.82), and FLUO/rCYP and HPLC/HLM (r(2) = 0.72). Niclosamide had substrate-dependent contrasting effects on CYP2C9 activity with an apparent activation (400%) of 7-methoxy-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin demethylase activity and potent inhibition (K(i) = 6.00 microM) of diclofenac 4-hydroxylase activity. Potent inhibitors of CYP1A2 were artemisinin, dihydroartemisinin, thiabendazole, primaquine, and niclosamide (K(i) = 0.43, 3.67, 1.54, 0.22, and 2.70 microM, respectively). Proguanil, cycloguanil, amodiaquine, and desethylamodiaquine inhibited CYP2D6 (K(i) = 6.76, 5.97, 2.1, and 4.13 microM, respectively). Considering the C(max) of these drugs, artemisinin, thiabendazole, primaquine, amodiaquine, and desethylamodiaquine may cause clinically important interactions because they are predicted to inhibit 67 to 99% of the activities of the CYPs they interact with. In addition, our results suggest CYP1A2 inhibition as the mechanism behind the observed thiabendazole/theophylline and primaquine/antipyrine interactions in vivo.

Antiprotozoal Agents↗

Structure-dependent response of a chemiluminescence nitrogen detector for organic compounds with adjacent nitrogen atoms connected by a single bond.

High-throughput screening (HTS) of chemical libraries is indispensable for drug discovery research. However, the HTS data quality for lead discovery, lead optimization, and quantitative structure activity relationship studies has been severely compromised due to the uncertain compound concentrations in screening plates. In order to address this issue, we compared various high-throughput technologies for quantification of compounds in microtiter plate format without the need for authentic compounds as standards and identified the chemiluminescence nitrogen detector (CLND) as the method of choice at the present time. However, the structure dependence of this detector has not been well studied. A proposed rule suggested that the only exception to equimolar response is for compounds that contain adjacent nitrogen atoms. The response should be zero when the adjacent nitrogen atoms are connected by a double bond and 0.5 when they are connected by a single bond. In this investigation, we studied a broad range of compounds with isolated and adjacent nitrogen atoms. We confirmed that compounds with isolated nitrogen atoms produce an equimolar response with a 15-20% variation depending on structures and compounds with adjacent nitrogen atoms connected by a double bond giving nearly zero response. We discovered that the CLND response for compounds containing adjacent nitrogen atoms that are connected with a single bond is highly structure dependent. Substitutions on the nitrogen atoms or nearby in the molecule can increase the CLND response to approach a value higher than the predicted value 0.5 (maximal value 0.82/nitrogen atom). Without substitution, much lower values than predicted (minimal value 0.0-0.08/nitrogen atom) are obtained. Therefore, the prediction of response of 0.5/nitrogen atom for compounds with adjacent nitrogen atoms connected by a single bond should be abandoned. Compounds with similar structures should be used to generate calibration curves for quantification of this class of compounds.

Luminescence↗

High-throughput mitochondrial genome screening method for nonmelanoma skin cancer using multiplexed temperature gradient capillary electrophoresis.

BACKGROUND: We explored the utility of multiplexed temperature gradient capillary electrophoresis (TGCE) as a screening tool for identifying genetic changes in the human mitochondrial genome. We examined changes in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSCs), using TGCE to resolve genetic differences contained within the tumors compared with the control DNA. METHODS: The entire mtDNA from NMSC tissue samples was amplified in 17 overlapping amplicons averaging 1.1 kb in size. Fourteen of these amplicons were digested with restriction endonucleases into as many as five smaller analyzable fragments. Digested tumor mtDNA amplicons were annealed with digested amplicons from the control DNA to form heteroduplexes in regions of DNA mismatch. TGCE was performed in a 96-well parallel format to detect mtDNA changes in a high-throughput fashion. RESULTS: TGCE resolved heteroduplexes from homoduplexes in singlet reactions and in multiplexed assays. Using a single programmed temperature gradient, we detected 18 of 20 mtDNA changes contained within the specimens. This system was also able to detect a single nucleotide change in a fragment as large as 2 kb. CONCLUSION: Multiplexed TGCE is a sensitive and high-throughput screening tool for identifying mtDNA variations.

Base Sequence↗

Molecular imaging of the embryonic heart: Fables and facts on 3D imaging of gene expression patterns.

Molecular imaging, which is the three-dimensional (3D) visualization of gene expression patterns, is indispensable for the study of the function of genes in cardiac development. The instrumentation, as well as the development of specific contrast agents for molecular imaging, has shown spectacular advances in the last decade. In this review, the spatial resolutions, contrast agents, and applications of these imaging methods in the field of cardiac embryology are discussed. Apart from 3D reconstructions from histological sections, not many of these methods have been applied in embryological research. This review shows that, for most methods, neither the spatial resolutions nor the specificity and applicability of the contrast agents are adequate for the reliable imaging of specific gene expression at the microscopic resolution required for embryological studies of small organs like the developing heart. Although a 3D reconstruction from sections will always suffer from imperfections, the resulting reconstructions meet the aim of most biological studies, especially since the original microscopic images are linked. With respect to imaging of gene expression, only histological sections and laser scanning microscopy provide the required resolution and specificity at the tissue and cellular level. Episcopic fluorescence image capturing and optical projection tomography are being used for microscopic phenotyping and lineage analysis, and both show potential for detailed molecular imaging. Other methods can be used very efficiently in rapid evaluation of biological experiments and high-throughput screens of large-scale gene expression profiling efforts when high spatial resolution is not required.

Animals↗

Selective indole-based ECE inhibitors: synthesis and pharmacological evaluation.

Inhibition of the metalloprotease ECE-1 may be beneficial for the treatment of coronary heart disease, cancer, renal failure, and urological disorders. A novel class of indole-based ECE inhibitors was identified by high throughput screening. Optimization of the original screening lead structure 6 led to highly potent inhibitors such as 11, which bears a bisaryl amide moiety linked to the indole C2 position through an amide group. Docking of 11 into a model structure of ECE revealed a unique binding mode in which the Zn center of the enzyme is not directly addressed by the inhibitor, but key interactions are suggested for the central amide group. Testing of the lead compound 6 in hypertensive Dahl S rats resulted in a decrease in blood pressure after an initial period in which the blood pressure remained unchanged, most probably the result of ET-1 already present. Indole derivative 6 also displays a cardio-protective effect in a mouse model of acute myocardial infarction after oral administration. The more potent chloropyridine derivative 9 antagonizes big-ET-1-induced increase in blood pressure in rats at intravenous administration of 3 mg kg-1. All ECE inhibitors of the indole class showed high selectivity for ECE over related metalloproteases such as NEP and ACE. Therefore, these compounds might have further potential as drugs for the treatment of coronary heart diseases.

Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases↗

Subtractive SELEX against two heterogeneous target samples: numerical simulations and analysis.

Systematic evolution of ligands by exponential (SELEX) is a revolutionary technology that integrates combinatorial chemistry with high throughput screening to generate from synthesized nucleic acid ligand libraries the high affinity nucleic acid ligands (aptamers) for interesting targets. Recently, the SELEX experiments have advanced from targeting the ligand libraries by a single purified target to multiple heterogeneous target samples. Having the potential of bringing enormous technical and economical advantages to drug discovery, the new application suffers from unpredictable performances. To gain an insight of the new method, we develop a computer model to numerically analyze the subtractive SELEX alternatively against two distinct heterogeneous samples of unknown targets. The model features the discretization of ligand library, the ligand-target binding equilibrium equations, and the separation efficiency of bound and unbound ligands in experiments. By computer simulations, we investigate how aptamers for desired targets embedded in undefined target mixtures are generated under different experimental conditions. We find the iterative screening scheme is fundamentally capable of developing desired aptamers. On the other hand, target sample configuration and separation efficiency may all together significantly diversify the screening dynamics and results.

Aptamers, Nucleotide↗

Techniques: high-throughput measurement of intracellular Ca(2+) -- back to basics.

High-throughput screening techniques continue to provide important tools to the pharmaceutical industry for the efficient identification of drug leads. However, high-throughput techniques are now being exploited to address a variety of pharmacological and cellular signaling research questions, including the regulation and role of intracellular Ca(2+) in a plethora of biological systems. Although an awareness of specific assay conditions is crucial for reliable and reproducible measurements of intracellular free Ca(2+) whichever system of study is used, the complex temporal nature of Ca(2+) signals has posed some unique limitations for its measurement in high-throughput mode. Progress in high-throughput design has overcome many of these limitations and will complement other technical approaches to understanding the underlying regulation and role of intracellular Ca(2+).

Animals↗

The evolution of microarrayed compound screening.

This review describes recent developments in the evolutionary process of microarrayed compound screening (microARCS to become a robust and efficient ultra-high-throughput screening technology. Improvements in compound spotting (including new quality-control methods), gel casting and imaging, together with software capable of automatic analysis and deconvolution of images, have helped to streamline the screening process. A variety of screening projects using cell-based and non-cell-based approaches have been successfully concluded using microARCS. Comparison of hits derived from standard microtitre-plate-based screening and from microARCS reveals excellent overlap. Furthermore, there seems to be no bias towards finding compounds within a particular range of logP values, even though compounds are solubilized from a dry state during the course of the assay.

Biological Assay↗

Novel tubing microreactor for monitoring chemical reactions.

There is an expanding interest in small-scale methods to evaluate catalysts and chemical reactions at a variety of conditions, ranging up to 6.9 MPa (1000 psig) and 300 degrees C. Multiwell parallel batch techniques are most commonly applied in high-throughput screening systems. In contrast, we describe here a rapid, serial, highly controllable method based on LC-type steel tubing rated for high pressures. The tube, containing a variety of flowing ingredients, such as carrier solvents, catalyst formulations, and reactants, is self-heated ohmically using electrical current from a power supply monitored and regulated with a precision of 0.01%. An array of voltage taps arranged along its length serves to sense the real-time temperature profile of the tube. Reactions are seen as temperature pulses progressing through the reactor, in zones of 200 microL each, and tracked with a temperature precision of 0.1 degrees C. A unique pressure controller was devised to maintain constant reactor pressures despite effluent viscosity fluctuations due to polymerization. Several chemical reaction systems have been characterized to date, including decomposition reactions of di-tert-butyl peroxide, polymerizations of styrene, formation of polyethylene from ethylene, and copolymerization of ethylene with 1-octene. For ethylene polymerization, the amount of mass of polymer formed is proportional to the responses observed.

Journal Article↗

Combining ethnopharmacology and virtual screening for lead structure discovery: COX-inhibitors as application example.

Virtual screening of large libraries of organic compounds combined with pharmacological high throughput screening is widely used for drug discovery in the pharmaceutical industry. Our aim was to explore the efficiency of using a biased 3D database comprising secondary metabolites from antiinflammatory medicinal plants as a source for the virtual screening. For this study pharmacophore models of cyclooxygenase I and II (COX-1, COX-2), key enzymes in the inflammation process, were generated with structure-based as well as common feature based modeling, resulting in three COX hypotheses. Four different multiconfomational 3D databases limited in molecular weight between 300 and 700 Da were applied to the screening in order to compare and analyze the obtained hit rates. Two of them were created in-house (DIOS, NPD). The database DIOS consists of 2752 compounds from phytochemical reports of antiinflammatory medicinal plants described by the ethnopharmacological source 'De material medica' of Pedanius Dioscorides, whereas NPD contains almost 80,000 compounds gathered arbitrarily from natural sources. In addition, two available multiconformational 3D libraries comprising marketed and development drug substances (DWI and NCI), mainly originating from synthesis, were used for comparison. As a test of the pharmacophore models' capability in natural sources, the models were used to search for known COX inhibitory natural products. This was achieved with some exceptions, which are discussed in the paper. Depending on the hypothesis used, DWI and NCI library searches produced hit rates in the range of 6.6% to 13.7%. A slight increase of the number of molecules assessed for binding was achieved with the database of natural products (NPD). Using the biased 3D database DIOS, however, the average increase of efficiency reached 77% to 133% compared to the hit rates resulting from WDI and NCI. The statistical benefit of a combination of an ethnopharmacological approach with the potential of computer aided drug discovery by in silico screening was demonstrated exemplified on the applied targets COX-1 and COX-2.

Computer Simulation↗

Scalable partitioning and exploration of chemical spaces using geometric hashing.

Virtual screening (VS) has become a preferred tool to augment high-throughput screening(1) and determine new leads in the drug discovery process. The core of a VS informatics pipeline includes several data mining algorithms that work on huge databases of chemical compounds containing millions of molecular structures and their associated data. Thus, scaling traditional applications such as classification, partitioning, and outlier detection for huge chemical data sets without a significant loss in accuracy is very important. In this paper, we introduce a data mining framework built on top of a recently developed fast approximate nearest-neighbor-finding algorithm(2) called locality-sensitive hashing (LSH) that can be used to mine huge chemical spaces in a scalable fashion using very modest computational resources. The core LSH algorithm hashes chemical descriptors so that points close to each other in the descriptor space are also close to each other in the hashed space. Using this data structure, one can perform approximate nearest-neighbor searches very quickly, in sublinear time. We validate the accuracy and performance of our framework on three real data sets of sizes ranging from 4337 to 249 071 molecules. Results indicate that the identification of nearest neighbors using the LSH algorithm is at least 2 orders of magnitude faster than the traditional k-nearest-neighbor method and is over 94% accurate for most query parameters. Furthermore, when viewed as a data-partitioning procedure, the LSH algorithm lends itself to easy parallelization of nearest-neighbor classification or regression. We also apply our framework to detect outlying (diverse) compounds in a given chemical space; this algorithm is extremely rapid in determining whether a compound is located in a sparse region of chemical space or not, and it is quite accurate when compared to results obtained using principal-component-analysis-based heuristics.

Journal Article↗

Computational study of antagonist/alpha1A adrenoceptor complexes--observations of conformational variations on the formation of ligand/receptor complexes.

As selective antagonist inhibition may relieve the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia, we have examined the interactions of antagonists including quinazoline and imidazolidinium/guanidinium compounds complexed with a homology model of the alpha(1A) adrenoceptor. Our approach involves docking of ligands of various structural classes followed by molecular dynamics simulations of antagonist/receptor complexes, which demonstrates that different structural classes of antagonist induce different receptor conformations upon binding with particular variations noted in the conformation of TM-V. Subsequently, we examined the interactions and the conformational flexibility of alpha(1) and alpha(1A) adrenoceptor antagonists, with the ligand-induced receptor conformers. This study indicated that a receptor conformation induced by one structural class of antagonist is not suitable for direct screening of another class. Our analysis indicates that computational high-throughput screening is likely to give inaccurate data on binding and selectivity and such studies need to consider conformational changes in the receptor.

Adrenergic alpha-1 Receptor Antagonists↗

Prediction of active sites for protein structures from computed chemical properties.

MOTIVATION: Identification of functional information for a protein from its three-dimensional (3D) structure is a major challenge in genomics. The power of theoretical microscopic titration curves (THEMATICS), when coupled with a statistical analysis, provides a method for high-throughput screening for identification of catalytic sites and binding sites with high accuracy and precision. The method requires only the 3D structure of the query protein as input, but it performs as well as other methods that depend on sequence alignments and structural similarities.

Bacterial Proteins↗

Identification of plant cytoskeleton-interacting proteins by screening for actin stress fiber association in mammalian fibroblasts.

Taking advantage of the high conservation of the cytoskeleton building blocks actin and tubulin between plant and animal kingdoms, we developed a functional genomic screen for the isolation of new plant cytoskeleton-binding proteins that uses a mammalian cell expression system. A yellow fluorescent protein (YFP)-fusion cDNA library from Arabidopsis was inserted into rat fibroblasts and screened for fluorescent chimeras localizing to cytoskeletal structures. The high-throughput screen was performed by an automated microscope. An initial set of candidate genes identified in the screen was isolated, sequenced, the full-length cDNAs were synthesized by RT-PCR and tested by biochemical approaches to verify the ability of the genes to bind actin directly. Alternatively, indirect binding via interaction with other actin-binding proteins was studied. The full-length cDNAs were transferred back to plants as YFP chimeras behind the CAMV-35S promoter. We give here two examples of new plant cytoskeletal proteins identified in the pilot screen. ERD10, a member of the dehydrin family of proteins, was localized to actin stress fibers in rat fibroblasts. Its direct binding to actin filaments was confirmed by several biochemical approaches. Touch-induced calmodulin-like protein, TCH2, was also localized to actin stress fibers in fibroblasts, but was unable to bind actin filaments directly in vitro. Nevertheless, it did bind to the IQ domains of Arabidopsis myosin VIII in a calcium-dependent manner. Further evidence for a cytoskeletal function of ERD10 was obtained in planta; GFP-ERD10 was able to protect the actin cytoskeleton from latrunculin-mediated disruption in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves.

Actins↗

Evaluation of electrochemiluminescent technology for inhibitors of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor receptor binding.

An electrochemiluminescent (ECL) assay was developed to identify compounds that inhibit the interaction of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (GCSF) with its recombinant human receptor. The ECL technology uses a tris-(bipyridine) chelate of ruthenium, which, in the presence of excess tripropylamine, undergoes a redox reaction cycle to produce light. Paramagnetic beads with primary antibody were coated with secondary anti-GCSF receptor antibody, which were then bound with GCSF receptor. These samples were incubated with ruthenylated GCSF in the presence and absence of test compounds. The bead density, receptor and ligand concentrations, and incubation time were optimized in the assay. A set of mixed compound plates was screened to examine the feasibility of using this technology in high throughput screening. The results from this format were found to be comparable to the assay performed using a time-resolved fluorescence format.

Coloring Agents↗

A simple technique for reducing edge effect in cell-based assays.

Several factors are known to increase the noise and variability of cell-based assays used for high-throughput screening. In particular, edge effects can result in an unacceptably high plate rejection rate in screening runs. In an effort to minimize these variations, the authors analyzed a number of factors that could contribute to edge effects in cell-based assays. They found that pre-incubation of newly seeded plates in ambient conditions (air at room temperature) resulted in even distribution of the cells in each well. In contrast, when newly seeded plates were placed directly in the CO(2) incubator, an uneven distribution of cells occurred in wells around the plate periphery, resulting in increased edge effect. Here, the authors show that the simple, inexpensive approach of incubating newly seeded plates at room temperature before placing them in a 37 degrees C CO(2) incubator yields a significant reduction in edge effect.

Adenine↗

High resolution melting analysis for the rapid and sensitive detection of mutations in clinical samples: KRAS codon 12 and 13 mutations in non-small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: The development of targeted therapies has created a pressing clinical need for the rapid and robust molecular characterisation of cancers. We describe here the application of high-resolution melting analysis (HRM) to screen for KRAS mutations in clinical cancer samples. In non-small cell lung cancer, KRAS mutations have been shown to identify a group of patients that do not respond to EGFR targeted therapies and the identification of these mutations is thus clinically important. METHODS: We developed a high-resolution melting (HRM) assay to detect somatic mutations in exon 2, notably codons 12 and 13 of the KRAS gene using the intercalating dye SYTO 9. We tested 3 different cell lines with known KRAS mutations and then examined the sensitivity of mutation detection with the cell lines using 189 bp and 92 bp amplicons spanning codons 12 and 13. We then screened for KRAS mutations in 30 non-small cell lung cancer biopsies that had been previously sequenced for mutations in EGFR exons 18-21. RESULTS: Known KRAS mutations in cell lines (A549, HCT116 and RPMI8226) were readily detectable using HRM. The shorter 92 bp amplicon was more sensitive in detecting mutations than the 189 bp amplicon and was able to reliably detect as little as 5-6% of each cell line DNA diluted in normal DNA. Nine of the 30 non-small cell lung cancer biopsies had KRAS mutations detected by HRM analysis. The results were confirmed by standard sequencing. Mutations in KRAS and EGFR were mutually exclusive. CONCLUSION: HRM is a sensitive in-tube methodology to screen for mutations in clinical samples. HRM will enable high-throughput screening of gene mutations to allow appropriate therapeutic choices for patients and accelerate research aimed at identifying novel mutations in human cancer.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Novel anti-staphylococcal targets and compounds.

Many antimicrobial drugs have become less effective at combating infectious diseases, and experts in the field are concerned about the possibility of a 'post-antibiotic era' for some clinically important pathogens, particularly staphylococci. In our hospitals, nosocomial infections due to vancomycin-resistant enterococci have emerged, and there are concerns that the same resistance pattern may evolve in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Examples from three main areas addressed to prevent this scenario are discussed: (i) screening of isolated biochemical targets and intact bacteria using high-throughput screening technologies, (ii) modifying existing compound classes like quinolones and glycopeptides to create more powerful compounds overcoming pathogen resistance and (iii) introduction of completely new classes of antibiotics.

Journal Article↗