Regulation of apoptosis by peroxisome proliferators.

Peroxisome proliferators (PPs) constitute a large and chemically diverse family of non-genotoxic rodent hepatocarcinogens that activate the PP-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha). In order to investigate the hypothesis that PPs elicit their carcinogenic effects through the suppression of apoptosis, we established an in vitro assay for apoptosis using both primary rat hepatocytes and the FaO rat hepatoma cell line. Apoptosis was induced by transforming growth factor beta1 (TGFbeta1), the physiological negative regulator of liver growth. In this system, PPs could suppress both spontaneous and TGFbeta1-induced apoptosis. In order to understand the mechanisms of this regulation of apoptosis, we conducted microarray analysis followed by pathway-specific gene clustering in TGFbeta1-treated cells. After treatment, 76 genes were up-regulated and 185 were down-regulated more than 1.5-fold. Cluster analysis of up-regulated genes revealed three clusters, A-C. Cluster A (4h) was associated with 12% apoptosis and consisted of genes mainly of the cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix such as troponin and the proteoglycan SDC4. In cluster B (8h; 25% apoptosis), there were many pro- and anti-apoptotic genes such as XIAP, BAK1 and BAD, whereas at 16h (40% apoptosis) the regulated genes were mainly those of the cellular stress pathways such as the genes implicated in the activation of the transcription factor NFkappab. Genes found down-regulated in response to TGFbeta1 were mainly those associated with oxidative stress and several genes implicated in glutathione production and maintenance. Thus, TGFbeta1 may induce apoptosis via a down regulation of oxidant defence leading to the generation of reactive oxygen species. The ability of PPs to impact on these apoptosis pathways remains to be determined. To approach this question, we have developed a technique using laser capture microdissection of livers treated with the PP, clofibric acid coupled with gene expression array analysis. Results show that some of the key steps of the LCM process had an impact on the gene profiles generated. However, this did not preclude accurate determination of a PP-specific molecular signature. Thus, the choice of appropriate controls will ensure that meaningful gene expression analyses can be performed on tissue microdissected from the foci generated in clofibric acid treated livers. These data will allow the identification of specific genes that are regulated by PPs leading to changes in apoptosis and ultimately to tumours.

Design and synthesis of new templates derived from pyrrolopyrimidine as selective multidrug-resistance-associated protein inhibitors in multidrug resistance.

In our continued effort to identify selective MRP1 modulators, we have developed two novel templates, 3 and 4, through rational drug design by identifying the key pharmacophore interaction at the 7-position of the pyrrolopyrimidine template 1. Further synthesis and SAR work on these novel templates gave a number of potent MRP1 modulators with great selectivity against Pgp. Additional studies to reduce the CYP3A4 inhibition are also reported. Several compounds of these classes were subjected to in vivo xenograft studies and in vivo efficacies were demonstrated.

Early drug safety evaluation: biomarkers, signatures, and fingerprints.

When target organ toxicity arises in animal models during routine drug safety evaluation, it raises several key questions: Is this target organ toxicity related to the pharmacology? What is the mode of action (MOA)? Is the target organ toxicity relevant to humans? Pathology or prior knowledge of the compound class may provide clues on a possible MOA for toxicity. However, if this deductive approach yields no results, the inductive approach offered by new technologies can generate novel research leads. For example, toxicogenomics can generate a gene expression profile of the toxicity that can be compared with reference compounds or with other candidate drugs. Similarly, proteomic analysis of the protein profile at the toxic vs. the efficacious dose can provide clues on MOA for the toxicity and may allow differentiation of the pathways of the toxic response from those required for pharmacological activity.

Characterization of the transforming growth factor-beta 1-induced apoptotic transcriptome in FaO hepatoma cells.

We have previously shown that transforming growth factor-beta(1) (TGF-beta(1))-induced apoptosis in FaO hepatoma cells is mediated by cytochrome c release, apoptosome formation, and caspase activation. Although TGF-beta(1) acts via the SMAD signaling pathway to initiate de novo gene transcription, little is known about the downstream gene targets that are involved in the regulation of apoptosis. Therefore, in this study, we used in-house microarrays (approximately 5500 genes) to identify pathway-specific gene clustering in TGF-beta(1)-treated cells. A total of 142 genes showed time-dependent changes in expression during TGF-beta(1)-induced apoptosis. The polycaspase inhibitor benzyloxycarbonyl-VAD-fluoromethyl ketone, which, on its own, had no effect on gene transcription, blocked TGF-beta(1)-induced cell death and significantly altered the expression of 261 genes, including 185 down-regulated genes. Cluster analysis identified up-regulation of early response genes (0-4 h) encoding for the extracellular matrix and cytoskeleton, including the pro-apoptotic CTGF gene, and delayed response genes (8-16 h), including pro-apoptotic genes. A second delayed response cluster (44 genes) was also observed when TGF-beta(1)-induced caspase activation was blocked by benzyloxycarbonyl-VAD-fluoromethyl ketone. This cluster included genes encoding stress-related proteins (e.g. Jun, ATF3, TAB1, and TANK), suggesting that their up-regulation may be in response to secondary necrosis. Finally, we identified an early response set of nine down-regulated genes that are involved in antioxidant defense. We propose that the regulation of these genes by TGF-beta(1) could provide a molecular mechanism for the observed elevation in reactive oxygen species after TGF-beta(1) treatment and may represent the primary mechanism through which TGF-beta(1) initiates apoptosis.