Ralph Garippa

Selective elimination of human pluripotent stem cells by an oleate synthesis inhibitor discovered in a high-throughput screen.

The use of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) in cell therapy is hindered by the tumorigenic risk from residual undifferentiated cells. Here we performed a high-throughput screen of over 52,000 small molecules and identified 15 pluripotent cell-specific inhibitors (PluriSIns), nine of which share a common structural moiety. The PluriSIns selectively eliminated hPSCs while sparing a large array of progenitor and differentiated cells. Cellular and molecular analyses demonstrated that the most selective compound, PluriSIn #1, induces ER stress, protein synthesis attenuation, and apoptosis in hPSCs. Close examination identified this molecule as an inhibitor of stearoyl-coA desaturase (SCD1), the key enzyme in oleic acid biosynthesis, revealing a unique role for lipid metabolism in hPSCs. PluriSIn #1 was also cytotoxic to mouse blastocysts, indicating that the dependence on oleate is inherent to the pluripotent state. Finally, application of PluriSIn #1 prevented teratoma formation from tumorigenic undifferentiated cells. These findings should increase the safety of hPSC-based treatments.

Relaxant activity of atriopeptins in isolated guinea pig airway and vascular smooth muscle

Atriopeptins are circulating peptide hormones which are secreted by atrial tissue and act at the kidney. Because the atriopeptins survive passage through the pulmonary circulation, they also may be involved in the modulation of airway or pulmonary vascular smooth muscle tone. Using in vitro organ bath techniques, atriopeptins were found to induce potent concentration-dependent relaxation of isolated guinea pig trachea, and pulmonary artery with a rank order of potency: atriopeptin III greater than atriopeptin II greater than atriopeptin I. Atriopeptin-induced smooth muscle relaxation was observed to be a direct response since it was not mediated by activation of relaxant VIP receptors, beta-adrenergic receptors, or H2 receptors nor affected by cyclooxygenase inhibition or denuding of the vasculature or trachea of endothelial and epithelial cells. The time course of atriopeptin II-induced relaxation of the pulmonary artery was transient in contrast to the prolonged relaxations on the trachea. The transient relaxant responses of atriopeptin II on pulmonary artery were not due to metabolism of atriopeptin II to atriopeptin I by angiotensin-converting enzyme since pretreatment with captopril did not augment the response. These results seem to indicate that distinct atriopeptin receptors may exist in airway and pulmonary arterial smooth muscle and that activation of these relaxant receptors may play an important role in the regulation of pulmonary vascular and bronchomotor tone.

Identification of a novel class of orally active pyrimido[5,4-3][1,2,4]triazine-5,7-diamine-based hypoglycemic agents with protein tyrosine phosphatase inhibitory activity.

A novel series of orally active pyrimido[5,4-3][1,2,4]triazine-5,7-diamine-based hypoglycemic agents have been identified. These compounds show non-selective inhibitory properties against a panel of protein tyrosine phosphatases including PTP1B. Compounds 12 and 13 display oral glucose lowering effects in ob/ob mice.

High-throughput confocal microscopy for β-arrestin-green fluorescent protein translocation G protein-coupled receptor assays using the evotec opera

Ligand-activated G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are known to regulate a myriad of homeostatic functions. Inappropriate signaling is associated with several pathophysiological states. GPCRs belong to a approximately 800 member superfamily of seven transmembrane-spanning receptor proteins that respond to a diversity of ligands. As such, they present themselves as potential points of therapeutic intervention. Furthermore, orphan GPCRs, which are GPCRs without a known cognate ligand, offer new opportunities as drug development targets. This chapter describes a systems-based biological approach, one that combines in silico bioinformatics, genomics, high-throughput screening, and high-content cell-based confocal microscopy strategies to (1) identify a relevant subset of protein family targets, (2) within the therapeutic area of energy metabolism/obesity, (3) and to identify small molecule leads as tractable combinatorial and medicinal chemistry starting points. Our choice of screening platform was the Transfluor beta-arrestin-green fluorescent protein translocation assay in which full-length human orphan GPCRs were stably expressed in a U-2 OS cell background. These cells lend themselves to high-speed confocal imaging techniques using the Evotec Technologies Opera automated microscope system. The basic assay system can be implemented in any laboratory using a fluorescent probe, a stably expressed GPCR of interest, automation-assisted plate and liquid-handling techniques, an optimized image analysis algorithm, and a high-speed confocal microscope with sophisticated data analysis tools.

A Place for High-Throughput Electrophysiology in Cardiac Safety: Screening hERG Cell Lines and Novel Compounds with the Ion Works HTTM System

Several commercially available pharmaceutical compounds have been shown to block the I Krcurrent of the cardiac action potential. This effect can cause a prolongation of the electrocardiogram QTinterval and a delay in ventricular repolarization. The Food and Drug Administration recommends that all new potential drug candidates be assessed for I Krblock to avoid a potentially lethal cardiac arrhythmia known as torsades de pointes. Direct compound interaction with the human ether-a-go-go– related gene (hERG) product, a delayed rectifier potassium channel, has been identified as a molecular mechanism of I Kr block. One strategy to identify compounds withh ERGliability is to monitor hERGcurrent inhibition using electrophysiology techniques. The authors describe the Ion Works HT ™instrument as a tool for screening cell lines expressing hERG channels. Based on current amplitude and stability criteria, a cell line was selected and used to perform a 300-compound screen. The screen was able to identify compounds with hERG activity within projects that spanned different therapeutic areas. The cell line selection and optimization, as well as the screening abilities of the Ion Works HT ™system, provide a powerful means of assessinghERGactive compounds early in the drug discovery pipeline.

A Pharmaceutical Company User’s Perspective on the Potential of High Content Screening in Drug Discovery

It is early to fully reflect on the state of the art in high content screening (HCS), because it is still a relatively new approach in drug discovery. Although the development of the first microscopes are a century old and the first confocal microscope is only 20 yr old, the fluorescent probes used within HCS along with the combination of robotic automation and integrated software technologies are quite new. HCS will require a few more years to fully demonstrate its potential power in drug discovery. Within the last year, however, one has seen this ever-expanding field lure participants in from all areas of science, introducing newer versions of instruments and reagents such that the combined efforts result in platforms and tools that meet many organizational goals in multiple ways. The potential of HCS today lies in its versatility. HCS can be used for primary screening, basic research, target identification, biomarkers, cytotoxicity, and helping to predict clinical outcomes. HCS is being applied to stem cells, patient cells, primary hepatocytes, and immortalized cultured cells. We have noted for individual specialized assays, there are multiple solutions just as there are for those standardized universally accepted assays. Whether we have needed to query cellular processes under live conditions or wanted to follow kinetically the course of a compounds effects on particular cellular reactions, we have been hampered by only a few limitations. This chapter offers a glimpse inside the use of HCS in our drug discovery environment.

Mechanisms of methacholine-induced coronary vasospasm in an experimental model of variant angina in the anesthetized rat

Methacholine (Mch), when injected near the ostia of the coronary arteries, induces an intense coronary vasospasm which can be measured by the degree of S wave elevation monitored from an electrocardiogram (ECG). The observed ECG changes resemble those occurring in patients with variant angina. The effects of Mch were blocked by atropine, but not by d-tubocurarine, hexamethonium, adrenergic receptor blockade, or prior reserpinization, indicating that Mch is acting directly on muscarinic receptors to produce a vasoconstriction of the coronary arteries. This model of Mch-induced coronary vasospasm appears to be useful for testing spasmolytic agents which might be of benefit in variant angina.

SAR of Melanin-concentration Hormone (MCH), an Important Regulatory Hormone in Feeding Behavior

Melanin-concentrating hormone is a cyclic hypothalamic neuropeptide [NH2-Asp-Phe-Asp-Met-Leu-Arg-Cys-Met-Leu-Gly-Arg-Val-Tyr-Arg-Pro-Cys-Trp-Gln-Val-COOH cyclo Cys-Cys (7–16)] that was first characterized in chum salmon pituitary as a hormone responsible for color changes in response to environmental stimuli [1]. In mammals, MCH appears to have evolved into an important regulatory hormone in feeding behavior [2]. The MCH peptide is expressed in the hypothalamus, a region involved in energy balance and food intake. In the hypothalamus, MCH mRNA is overexpressed and upregulated during fasting in ob/ob mice and rats. Intra-cerebroventricular injections of MCH promote feeding in mice and rats. Transgenic mice (Tg) lacking the MCH gene are lean and hypophagic, while Tg mice overexpressing MCH in the hypothalamus are hyperphagic, obese, and insulin resistant. Consequently, a potent MCH antagonist is regarded as potentially useful in therapeutic approaches to obesity management. Efforts to identify the ligands for orphan GPCRs have recently led to the discovery of the receptor for MCH [3,4]. Receptor cloning and identification of functional assays for MCHR1 receptor allow the study of receptor/ligand interaction. One possible strategy consists of chemical modifications of the natural ligand (MCH) including: N- and C-termini truncations, Ala substitutions, D-amino acid replacements, and ring size variations, with the goal to identify the critical amino acid residues responsible for agonist or antagonist activity. Here, we describe a detailed SAR of MCH peptides on MCHR1.