Norterpene Cyclic Peroxides from the Marine Sponge Diacarnus spinipoculum, Inhibitors of Transient Receptor Potential Ankyrin 1.

Bioassay-guided isolation of the extract from the marine sponge Diacarnus spinipoculum showing inhibitory activity against human transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (hTRPA1) resulted in the isolation of 12 norditerpene cyclic peroxides (1-12) and eight norsesterterpene cyclic peroxides (13-20). Among these, 10 (5-7, 11, 12, 16-20) are unprecedented analogs. Compounds with either a hydroxy (5, 11) or a methoxy (6, 12) group attached to the cyclohexanone moiety were obtained as epimeric mixtures at C-11, while compounds 4, 6, 10, and 12 are likely the artifacts of isolation. The absolute configurations of the new compounds were established based on an NMR-based empirical method and comparison of specific rotation values. Mosher ester analysis revealed the absolute configurations of compounds 17-20. The inhibitory activity of the isolated compounds against hTRPA1 varied significantly depending on their structures, with the norsesterterpenoid 19 displaying the most potent activity (IC50 2.0 µM).

Inhibition of VHL by VH298 Accelerates Pexophagy by Activation of HIF-1α in HeLa Cells.

Autophagy is a pivotal biological process responsible for maintaining the homeostasis of intracellular organelles. Yet the molecular intricacies of peroxisomal autophagy (pexophagy) remain largely elusive. From a ubiquitin-related chemical library for screening, we identified several inhibitors of the Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) E3 ligase, including VH298, thereby serving as potent inducers of pexophagy. In this study, we observed that VH298 stimulates peroxisomal degradation by ATG5 dependently and escalates the ubiquitination of the peroxisomal membrane protein ABCD3. Interestingly, the ablation of NBR1 is similar to the curtailed peroxisomal degradation in VH298-treated cells. We also found that the pexophagy induced by VH298 is impeded upon the suppression of gene expression by the translation inhibitor cycloheximide. Beyond VHL inhibition, we discovered that roxadustat, a direct inhibitor of HIF-α prolyl hydroxylase, is also a potent inducer of pexophagy. Furthermore, we found that VH298-mediated pexophagy is blocked by silencing HIF-1α. In conclusion, our findings suggest that VH298 promotes pexophagy by modulating VHL-mediated HIF-α transcriptional activity.

Protocol for in vitro fluorescence assay of papain-like protease and cell-based immunofluorescence assay of coronavirus infection.

Here, we describe detailed steps to constitute an in vitro assay for monitoring papain-like protease of coronavirus and a cell-based immunofluorescence infection assay. These assays can be adapted for high-throughput screening to determine the efficacy of novel protease inhibitors of coronaviruses and other viruses. In addition, cell-based immunofluorescence infection assay can be used to visually analyze antiviral efficacy of any novel compounds. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Jeong et al. (2022).1.

Enhanced primary ciliogenesis via mitochondrial oxidative stress activates AKT to prevent neurotoxicity in HSPA9/mortalin-depleted SH-SY5Y cells.

The primary cilium, an antenna-like structure on the cell surface, acts as a mechanical and chemical sensory organelle. Primary cilia play critical roles in sensing the extracellular environment to coordinate various developmental and homeostatic signaling pathways. Here, we showed that the depletion of heat shock protein family A member 9 (HSPA9)/mortalin stimulates primary ciliogenesis in SH-SY5Y cells. The downregulation of HSPA9 enhances mitochondrial stress by increasing mitochondrial fragmentation and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS) generation. Notably, the inhibition of either mtROS production or mitochondrial fission significantly suppressed the increase in primary ciliogenesis in HSPA9-depleted cells. In addition, enhanced primary ciliogenesis contributed to cell survival by activating AKT in SH-SY5Y cells. The abrogation of ciliogenesis through the depletion of IFT88 potentiated neurotoxicity in HSPA9-knockdown cells. Furthermore, both caspase-3 activation and cell death were increased by MK-2206, an AKT inhibitor, in HSPA9-depleted cells. Taken together, our results suggest that enhanced primary ciliogenesis plays an important role in preventing neurotoxicity caused by the loss of HSPA9 in SH-SY5Y cells.

Rapid discovery and classification of inhibitors of coronavirus infection by pseudovirus screen and amplified luminescence proximity homogeneous assay.

To identify potent antiviral compounds, we introduced a high-throughput screen platform that can rapidly classify hit compounds according to their target. In our platform, we performed a compound screen using a lentivirus-based pseudovirus presenting a spike protein of coronavirus, and we evaluated the hit compounds using an amplified luminescence proximity homogeneous assay (alpha) test with purified host receptor protein and the receptor binding domain of the viral spike. With our screen platform, we were able to identify both spike-specific compounds (class I) and broad-spectrum antiviral compounds (class II). Among the hit compounds, thiosemicarbazide was identified to be selective to the interaction between the viral spike and its host cell receptor, and we further optimized the binding potency of thiosemicarbazide through modification of the pyridine group. Among the class II compounds, we found raloxifene and amiodarone to be highly potent against human coronaviruses including Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), and SARS-CoV-2. In particular, using analogs of the benzothiophene moiety, which is also present in raloxifene, we have identified benzothiophene as a novel structural scaffold for broad-spectrum antivirals. This work highlights the strong utility of our screen platform using a pseudovirus assay and an alpha test for rapid identification of potential antiviral compounds and their mechanism of action, which can lead to the accelerated development of therapeutics against newly emerging viral infections.

Chemical Chaperones to Inhibit Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress: Implications in Diseases.

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is responsible for structural transformation or folding of de novo proteins for transport to the Golgi. When the folding capacity of the ER is exceeded or excessive accumulation of misfolded proteins occurs, the ER enters a stressed condition (ER stress) and unfolded protein responses (UPR) are triggered in order to rescue cells from the stress. Recovery of ER proceeds toward either survival or cell apoptosis. ER stress is implicated in many pathologies, such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, inflammatory diseases, neurodegeneration, and lysosomal storage diseases. As a survival or adaptation mechanism, chaperone molecules are upregulated to manage ER stress. Chemical versions of chaperone have been developed in search of drug candidates for ER stress-related diseases. In this review, synthetic or semi-synthetic chemical chaperones are categorized according to potential therapeutic area and listed along with their chemical structure and activity. Although only a few chemical chaperones have been approved as pharmaceutical drugs, a dramatic increase in literatures over the recent decades indicates enormous amount of efforts paid by many researchers. The efforts warrant clearer understanding of ER stress and the related diseases and consequently will offer a promising drug discovery platform with chaperone activity.

Chemical screen uncovers novel structural classes of inhibitors of the papain-like protease of coronaviruses.

The papain-like protease (PLpro) of coronaviruses is an attractive antiviral target to inhibit both viral replication and interference of the host immune response. We have identified and characterized three novel classes of small molecules, thiophene, cyanofuran, and triazoloquinazoline, as PLpro inhibitors. Thiophene inhibited the PLpro of two major coronaviruses, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) including SARS-CoV-2, while cyanofuran and triazoloquinazoline more selectively inhibited MERS-CoV PLpro. Unlike GRL0617, a known PLpro inhibitor, all three compounds contain no naphthyl group but like GRL0617 were predicted to fit on the cleft near the BL2 loop. Docking studies further revealed that the location and direction of the binding determined their specificity to different coronaviruses. Together, our work demonstrates that the BL2 loop and nearby regions are outstanding druggable targets, and our three inhibitors can be applicable to the development of therapeutics for coronavirus infection.

Inhibition of BRD4 Promotes Pexophagy by Increasing ROS and ATM Activation.

Although autophagy regulates the quality and quantity of cellular compartments, the regulatory mechanisms underlying peroxisomal autophagy (pexophagy) remain largely unknown. In this study, we identified several BRD4 inhibitors, including molibresib, a novel pexophagy inducer, via chemical library screening. Treatment with molibresib promotes loss of peroxisomes selectively, but not mitochondria, ER, or Golgi apparatus in HeLa cells. Consistently, depletion of BRD4 expression also induced pexophagy in RPE cells. In addition, the inhibition of BRD4 by molibresib increased autophagic degradation of peroxisome ATG7-dependency. We further found that molibresib produced reactive oxygen species (ROS), which potentiates ATM activation. Inhibition of ROS or ATM suppressed the loss of peroxisomes in molibresib-treated cells. Taken together, our data suggest that inhibition of BRD4 promotes pexophagy by increasing ROS and ATM activation.

Nalfurafine Hydrochloride, a κ-Opioid Receptor Agonist, Induces Melanophagy via PKA Inhibition in B16F1 Cells.

Selective autophagy controls cellular homeostasis by degrading unnecessary or damaged cellular components. Melanosomes are specialized organelles that regulate the biogenesis, storage, and transport of melanin in melanocytes. However, the mechanisms underlying melanosomal autophagy, known as the melanophagy pathway, are poorly understood. To better understand the mechanism of melanophagy, we screened an endocrine-hormone chemical library and identified nalfurafine hydrochlorides, a κ-opioid receptor agonist, as a potent inducer of melanophagy. Treatment with nalfurafine hydrochloride increased autophagy and reduced melanin content in alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH)-treated cells. Furthermore, inhibition of autophagy blocked melanosomal degradation and reversed the nalfurafine hydrochloride-induced decrease in melanin content in α-MSH-treated cells. Consistently, treatment with other κ-opioid receptor agonists, such as MCOPPB or mianserin, inhibited excessive melanin production but induced autophagy in B16F1 cells. Furthermore, nalfurafine hydrochloride inhibited protein kinase A (PKA) activation, which was notably restored by forskolin, a PKA activator. Additionally, forskolin treatment further suppressed melanosomal degradation as well as the anti-pigmentation activity of nalfurafine hydrochloride in α-MSH-treated cells. Collectively, our data suggest that stimulation of κ-opioid receptors induces melanophagy by inhibiting PKA activation in α-MSH-treated B16F1 cells.

Bi-aryl Analogues of Salicylic Acids: Design, Synthesis and SAR Study to Ameliorate Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress.

INTRODUCTION: Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress condition is characterized as the accumulation of misfolded or unfolded proteins in lumen of ER. This condition has been implicated in various diseases and pathologies including ß-cell apoptosis, Alzheimer's disease and atherosclerosis. We have reported that hydroxynaphthoic acids (HNA), naphthalene analogues of salicylic acid (SA), reduced ER stress. In this study, we explored structural modification to bi-aryl analogues of SA. METHODS: Palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling was applied to synthesize bi-aryl analogues of SA. Anti-ER stress activity was monitored by using our cell-based assay system where ER stress is induced by tunicamycin. To monitor ER stress markers, ER stress was induced physiologically relevant palmitate system. RESULTS: Many analogues decreased ER stress signal induced by tunicamycin. Compounds creating dihedral angle between Ar group and SA moiety generally increased the activity but gave some cytotoxicity to indicate the crucial role of flat conformation of aromatic region. The best compound (16e) showed up to almost 6-fold and 90-fold better activity than 3-HNA and tauro-ursodeoxycholic acid, positive controls, respectively. ER stress markers such as p-PERK and p-JNK were accordingly decreased in Western blotting upon treatment of 16e under palmitate-induced condition. CONCLUSION: Anti-ER stress activity and toxicity profile of bi-aryl analogues of SA could provide a novel platform for potential therapy for protein misfolding diseases.

Raloxifene as a treatment option for viral infections.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and led to mass casualty. Even though much effort has been put into development of vaccine and treatment methods to combat COVID-19, no safe and efficient cure has been discovered. Drug repurposing or drug repositioning which is a process of investigating pre-existing drug candidates for novel applications outside their original medical indication can speed up the drug development process. Raloxifene is a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) that has been approved by FDA in 1997 for treatment and prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis and cancer. Recently, raloxifene demonstrates efficacy in treating viral infections by Ebola, influenza A, and hepatitis C viruses and shows potential for drug repurposing for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This review will provide an overview of raloxifene's mechanism of action as a SERM and present proposed mechanisms of action in treatment of viral infections.

Synergistic effect of ribavirin and vaccine for protection during early infection stage of foot-and-mouth disease.

In many countries, vaccines are used for the prevention of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). However, because there is no protection against FMD immediately after vaccination, research and development on antiviral agents is being conducted to induce protection until immunological competence is produced. This study tested whether well-known chemicals used as RNA virus treatment agents had inhibitory effects on FMD viruses (FMDVs) and demonstrated that ribavirin showed antiviral effects against FMDV in vitro/in vivo. In addition, it was observed that combining the administration of the antiviral agents orally and complementary therapy with vaccines synergistically enhanced antiviral activity and preserved the survival rate and body weight in the experimental animals. Antiviral agents mixed with an adjuvant were inoculated intramuscularly along with the vaccines, thereby inhibiting virus replication after injection and verifying that it was possible to induce early protection against viral infection prior to immunity being achieved through the vaccine. Finally, pigs treated with antiviral agents and vaccines showed no clinical signs and had low virus excretion. Based on these results, it is expected that this combined approach could be a therapeutic and preventive treatment for early protection against FMD.

Dot1 regulates nucleosome dynamics by its inherent histone chaperone activity in yeast.

Dot1 (disruptor of telomeric silencing-1, DOT1L in humans) is the only known enzyme responsible for histone H3 lysine 79 methylation (H3K79me) and is evolutionarily conserved in most eukaryotes. Yeast Dot1p lacks a SET domain and does not methylate free histones and thus may have different actions with respect to other histone methyltransferases. Here we show that Dot1p displays histone chaperone activity and regulates nucleosome dynamics via histone exchange in yeast. We show that a methylation-independent function of Dot1p is required for the cryptic transcription within transcribed regions seen following disruption of the Set2-Rpd3S pathway. Dot1p can assemble core histones to nucleosomes and facilitate ATP-dependent chromatin-remodeling activity through its nucleosome-binding domain, in vitro. Global analysis indicates that Dot1p appears to be particularly important for histone exchange and chromatin accessibility on the transcribed regions of long-length genes. Our findings collectively suggest that Dot1p-mediated histone chaperone activity controls nucleosome dynamics in transcribed regions.

Anti-diabetic effect of 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid, an endoplasmic reticulum stress-reducing chemical chaperone.

Lots of experimental and clinical evidences indicate that chronic exposure to saturated fatty acids and high level of glucose is implicated in insulin resistance, beta cell failure and ultimately type 2 diabetes. In this study, we set up cell-based experimental conditions to induce endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and insulin resistance using high concentration of palmitate (PA). Hydroxynaphthoic acids (HNAs) were formerly identified as novel chemical chaperones to resolve ER stress induced by tunicamycin. In this study, we found the compounds have the same suppressive effect on PA-induced ER stress in HepG2 cells. The representing compound, 3-HNA reduced PA-induced phosphorylation of JNK, IKKß and IRS1 (S307) and restored insulin signaling cascade which involves insulin receptor ß, IRS1 and Akt. The insulin sensitizing effect of 3-HNA was confirmed in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, where the compound augmented insulin signaling and glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) membrane translocation. 3-HNA also protected the pancreatic beta cells from PA-induced apoptosis by reducing ER stress. Upon 3-HNA treatment to ob/ob mice at 150mg/kg/day dosage, the diabetic parameters including glucose tolerance and systemic insulin sensitivity were significantly improved. Postmortem examination showed that 3-HNA markedly reduced ER stress and insulin resistance in the liver tissues and it sensitized insulin signaling in the liver and the skeletal muscle. Our results demonstrated that 3-HNA can sensitize insulin signaling by coping with lipotoxicity-induced ER stress as a chemical chaperone and suggested it holds therapeutic potential for insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

Synthesis and in-vitro evaluation of 2-amino-4-arylthiazole as inhibitor of 3D polymerase against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious vesicular disease of livestock caused by a highly variable RNA virus, foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV). One of the targets to suppress expansion of and to control FMD is 3D polymerase (FMDV 3Dpol). In this study, 2-amino-4-arylthiazole derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their inhibitory activity against FMDV 3Dpol. Among them, compound 20i exhibited the most potent functional inhibition (IC50 = 0.39 µM) of FMDV 3D polymerase and compound 24a (EC50 = 13.09 µM) showed more potent antiviral activity than ribavirin (EC50 = 1367 µM) and T1105 (EC50 = 347 µM) with IBRS-2 cells infected by the FMDV O/SKR/2010 strain.

Hydroxynaphthoic acids identified in a high throughput screening potently ameliorate endoplasmic reticulum stress as novel chemical chaperones.

Folding of newly synthesized protein occurs in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and is assisted by chaperone molecules. In ER stress conditions, misfolded proteins are enriched in a lumen of ER perturbing its normal function, which triggers cellular self-defense mechanism, the unfolded protein response (UPR). It was reported that tunicamycin-induced ER stress can be modulated with high concentration of chemicals such as 4-phenylbutyric acid and salicylate. In search of assay systems to identify such compounds, we have developed a cell-based reporter assay where renilla luciferase activity is driven by glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) promoter. Using our reporter assay, we have screened chemical libraries and found that hydroxynaphthoic acids, especially 1-, 3-, and 6-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acids, potently decrease the ER stress signal, showing an order of magnitude better activity than salicylate. UPR markers such as GRP78, C/EBP homology protein (CHOP) and phosphorylated protein kinase RNA-activated (PKR)-like ER kinase (PERK) were significantly down-regulated with hydroxynaphthoic acids in western blot. Among the analogues, 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid was the most potent in down-regulating those UPR markers. Further, both phosphorylated inositol-requiring enzyme 1α (IRE1α) and spliced form of X-box binding protein 1 (XBP1) were decreased in the protein and the mRNA level, implying both PERK and IRE1α branches in UPR mechanism are controlled with hydroxynaphthoic acids. Taken together, it was suggested that hydroxynaphthoic acids exert their ER stress-reducing activity prior to the UPR activation as chemical chaperones do. In summary, we report a cell-based assay system for the screening of ER stress-reducing compounds and hydroxynaphthoic acids as novel series of chemical chaperones.

Human histone H3K79 methyltransferase DOT1L protein [corrected] binds actively transcribing RNA polymerase II to regulate gene expression.

Histone-modifying enzymes play a pivotal role in gene expression and repression. In human, DOT1L (Dot1-like) is the only known histone H3 lysine 79 methyltransferase. hDOT1L is associated with transcriptional activation, but the general mechanism connecting hDOT1L to active transcription remains largely unknown. Here, we report that hDOT1L interacts with the phosphorylated C-terminal domain of actively transcribing RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) through a region conserved uniquely in multicellular DOT1 proteins. Genome-wide profiling analyses indicate that the occupancy of hDOT1L largely overlaps with that of RNAPII at actively transcribed genes, especially surrounding transcriptional start sites, in embryonic carcinoma NCCIT cells. We also find that C-terminal domain binding or H3K79 methylations by hDOT1L is important for the expression of target genes such as NANOG and OCT4 and a marker for pluripotency in NCCIT cells. Our results indicate that a functional interaction between hDOT1L and RNAPII targets hDOT1L and subsequent H3K79 methylations to actively transcribed genes.

A lysine-rich region in Dot1p is crucial for direct interaction with H2B ubiquitylation and high level methylation of H3K79.

Dot1p is involved in maintenance of the heterochromatin boundary, the DNA damage response, and transcriptional regulation in yeast and animals. Dot1p is a histone H3 lysine 79 (H3K79) methyltransferase, but H3K79 trimethylation (H3K79me3) by Dot1p requires histone H2B monoubiquitylation (H2Bub) as a pre-requisite. The underlying mechanism for H2Bub requirement has not been well elucidated. In this work, we found that nucleosomes containing H2Bub stimulate the yeast Dot1p to produce H3K79me3. A pulldown assay showed that the yeast Dot1p directly binds to ubiquitin. In addition, we demonstrate that a lysine-rich region (aa 101-140) in the first half of DNA binding domain of the Dot1p is critical in interaction with ubiquitin as well as binding to nucleosome core. Consistent with this, either deletion or point mutation of the lysine-rich region resulted in defect in global H3K79me3 accumulation and subtelomeric gene silencing in vivo. Taken together, our results indicate that a direct interaction between the lysine-rich region of Dot1p and the ubiquitin of H2Bub is required for H2Bub-mediated trans-tail regulation.

The human Cdc34 carboxyl terminus contains a non-covalent ubiquitin binding activity that contributes to SCF-dependent ubiquitination.

Cdc34 is an E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme that functions in conjunction with SCF (Skp1.Cullin 1.F-box) E3 ubiquitin ligase to catalyze covalent attachment of polyubiquitin chains to a target protein. Here we identified direct interactions between the human Cdc34 C terminus and ubiquitin using NMR chemical shift perturbation assays. The ubiquitin binding activity was mapped to two separate Cdc34 C-terminal motifs (UBS1 and UBS2) that comprise residues 206-215 and 216-225, respectively. UBS1 and UBS2 bind to ubiquitin in the proximity of ubiquitin Lys(48) and C-terminal tail, both of which are key sites for conjugation. When bound to ubiquitin in one orientation, the Cdc34 UBS1 aromatic residues (Phe(206), Tyr(207), Tyr(210), and Tyr(211)) are probably positioned in the vicinity of ubiquitin C-terminal residue Val(70). Replacement of UBS1 aromatic residues by glycine or of ubiquitin Val(70) by alanine decreased UBS1-ubiquitin affinity interactions. UBS1 appeared to support the function of Cdc34 in vivo because human Cdc34(1-215) but not Cdc34(1-200) was able to complement the growth defect by yeast Cdc34 mutant strain. Finally, reconstituted IkappaBalpha ubiquitination analysis revealed a role for each adjacent pair of UBS1 aromatic residues (Phe(206)/Tyr(207), Tyr(210)/Tyr(211)) in conjugation, with Tyr(210) exhibiting the most pronounced catalytic function. Intriguingly, Cdc34 Tyr(210) was required for the transfer of the donor ubiquitin to a receptor lysine on either IkappaBalpha or a ubiquitin in a manner that depended on the neddylated RING sub-complex of the SCF. Taken together, our results identified a new ubiquitin binding activity within the human Cdc34 C terminus that contributes to SCF-dependent ubiquitination.