Michael R Lawrence

A Simple Strategy for Mitigating the Effect of Data Variability on the Identification of Active Chemotypes from High-Throughput Screening Data

Among the several goals of a high-throughput screening campaign is the identification of as many active chemotypes as possible for further evaluation. Often, however, the number of concentration response curves (e.g., IC50s or Kis) that can be collected following a primary screen is limited by practical constraints such as protein supply, screening workload, and so forth. One possible approach to this dilemma is to cluster the hits from the primary screen and sample only a few compounds from each cluster. This introduces the question as to how many compounds must be selected from a cluster to ensure that an active compound is identified, if it exists at all. This article seeks to address this question using a Monte Carlo simulation in which the dependence of the success of sampling is directly linked to screening data variability. Furthermore, the authors demonstrate that the use of replicated compounds in the screening collection can easily assess this variability and provide a priori guidance to the screener and chemist as to the extent of sampling required to maximize chemotype identification during the triage process. The individual steps of the Monte Carlo simulation provide insight into the correspondence between the percentage inhibition and eventual IC50 curves.

Abstract 4115: Depletion of unsaturated fatty acids by stearoyl-coA desaturase inhibition results in endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated tumor cell death

Over the past few years, a more detailed picture of the importance of metabolic pathways to the maintenance and progression of human cancers has begun to emerge. In particular, recent studies have implicated lipid biosynthesis and desaturation as a requirement for tumor cell survival. The endoplasmic reticulum-resident Stearoyl CoA Desaturase (SCD) is the rate limiting enzyme that catalyzes conversion of saturated fatty acids to monounsaturated fatty acids, a key step in the fatty acid metabolic network. In the studies reported here, we show that inhibition of SCD1 by siRNA or a small molecule antagonist results in strong induction of apoptosis and growth inhibition when tumor cells are cultured in reduced (2%) serum conditions but has little impact on cells cultured under normal (10%) serum conditions. Consistent with the observed dependence on SCD1, levels of SCD1 protein increased in response to decreasing serum levels. Both induction of SCD1 protein and sensitivity to growth inhibition by SCD1 inhibition could be reversed by supplementing growth media with unsaturated fatty acids. Transcription profiling of cells treated with an SCD inhibitor revealed strong induction of markers of endoplasmic reticulum stress. This finding was confirmed using siRNA specifically targeting SCD1. Underscoring its importance in cancer, SCD1 protein was found to be highly expressed in a large percentage of human cancer specimens. SCD inhibition resulted in tumor growth delay in a human gastric cancer xenograft model. Altogether, these results suggest that unsaturated fatty acids are required for tumor cell survival and that SCD may represent a viable target for the development of novel agents for cancer therapy. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4115. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-4115