Unbiased screen identifies aripiprazole as a modulator of abundance of the polyglutamine disease protein, ataxin-3.

No disease-modifying treatment exists for the fatal neurodegenerative polyglutamine disease known both as Machado-Joseph disease and spinocerebellar ataxia type 3. As a potential route to therapy, we identified small molecules that reduce levels of the mutant disease protein, ATXN3. Screens of a small molecule collection, including 1250 Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs, in a novel cell-based assay, followed by secondary screens in brain slice cultures from transgenic mice expressing the human disease gene, identified the atypical antipsychotic aripiprazole as one of the hits. Aripiprazole increased longevity in a Drosophila model of Machado-Joseph disease and effectively reduced aggregated ATXN3 species in flies and in brains of transgenic mice treated for 10 days. The aripiprazole-mediated decrease in ATXN3 abundance may reflect a complex response culminating in the modulation of specific components of cellular protein homeostasis. Aripiprazole represents a potentially promising therapeutic drug for Machado-Joseph disease and possibly other neurological proteinopathies.

Narrow-spectrum inhibitors of Campylobacter jejuni flagellar expression and growth.

Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of food-borne illness due to its ability to reside within the gastrointestinal tracts of chickens. Multiple studies have identified the flagella of C. jejuni as a major determinant of chicken colonization. An inhibitor screen of approximately 147,000 small molecules was performed to identify compounds that are able to inhibit flagellar expression in a reporter strain of C. jejuni. Several compounds that modestly inhibited motility of wild-type C. jejuni in standard assays were identified, as were a number of small molecules that robustly inhibited C. jejuni growth, in vitro. Examination of similar bacterial screens found that many of these small molecules inhibited only the growth of C. jejuni. Follow-up assays demonstrated inhibition of other strains of C. jejuni and Campylobacter coli but no inhibition of the closely related Helicobacter pylori. The compounds were determined to be bacteriostatic and nontoxic to eukaryotic cells. Preliminary results from a day-of-hatch chick model of colonization suggest that at least one of the compounds demonstrates promise for reducing Campylobacter colonization loads in vivo, although further medicinal chemistry may be required to enhance bioavailability.

Application of a high-throughput fluorescent acetyltransferase assay to identify inhibitors of homocitrate synthase.

Homocitrate synthase (HCS) catalyzes the first step of l-lysine biosynthesis in fungi by condensing acetyl-coenzyme A and 2-oxoglutarate to form 3R-homocitrate and coenzyme A. Due to its conservation in pathogenic fungi, HCS has been proposed as a candidate for antifungal drug design. Here we report the development and validation of a robust fluorescent assay for HCS that is amenable to high-throughput screening for inhibitors in vitro. Using this assay, Schizosaccharomyces pombe HCS was screened against a diverse library of approximately 41,000 small molecules. Following confirmation, counter screens, and dose-response analysis, we prioritized more than 100 compounds for further in vitro and in vivo analysis. This assay can be readily adapted to screen for small molecule modulators of other acyl-CoA-dependent acyltransferases or enzymes that generate a product with a free sulfhydryl group, including histone acetyltransferases, aminoglycoside N-acetyltransferases, thioesterases, and enzymes involved in lipid metabolism.

Bicinchoninic acid (BCA) assay in low volume.

The BCA assay is a colorimetric method for estimating protein concentration. In 96-well plates, the relationship between protein content and absorbance is nearly linear over a wide range; however, performance is reduced in lower volume. To overcome this limitation, we performed the BCA assays in opaque, white 384-well plates. These plates emit fluorescence between 450-600 nm when excited at 430 nm; thus, their fluorescence is quenched by the BCA chromophore (λ(max) 562 nm). This arrangement allowed accurate determination of protein content using only 2 µL of sample. Moreover, soluble flourescein could replace the white plates, creating a homogenous format.

A nonradioactive high-throughput assay for screening and characterization of adenylation domains for nonribosomal peptide combinatorial biosynthesis.

Adenylation domains are critical enzymes that dictate the identity of the amino acid building blocks to be incorporated during nonribosomal peptide (NRP) biosynthesis. NRPs display a wide range of biological activities and are some of the most important drugs currently used in clinics. Traditionally, activity of adenylation domains has been measured by radioactive ATP-[32P]pyrophosphate (PP(i)) exchange assays. To identify adenylation domains for future combinatorial production of novel NRPs as potential drugs, we report a convenient high-throughput nonradioactive method to measure activity of these enzymes. In our assay, malachite green is used to measure orthophosphate (P(i)) concentrations after degradation by inorganic pyrophosphatase of the PP(i) released during aminoacyl-AMP formation by action of the adenylation domains. The assay is quantitative, accurate, and robust, and it can be performed in 96- and 384-well plate formats. The performance of our assay was tested by using NcpB-A(4), one of the seven adenylation domains involved in nostocyclopeptide biosynthesis. The kinetics of pyrophosphate release monitored by this method are much slower than those measured by a traditional ATP-[32P]PP(i) exchange assay. This observation indicates that the formation of the adenylated amino acid and its release are the rate-limiting steps during the catalytic turnover.

Discovery of Allosteric and Selective Inhibitors of Inorganic Pyrophosphatase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Inorganic pyrophosphatase (PPiase) is an essential enzyme that hydrolyzes inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi), driving numerous metabolic processes. We report a discovery of an allosteric inhibitor (2,4-bis(aziridin-1-yl)-6-(1-phenylpyrrol-2-yl)-s-triazine) of bacterial PPiases. Analogues of this lead compound were synthesized to target specifically Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) PPiase (MtPPiase). The best analogue (compound 16) with a Ki of 11 µM for MtPPiase is a species-specific inhibitor. Crystal structures of MtPPiase in complex with the lead compound and one of its analogues (compound 6) demonstrate that the inhibitors bind in a nonconserved interface between monomers of the hexameric MtPPiase in a yet unprecedented pairwise manner, while the remote conserved active site of the enzyme is occupied by a bound PPi substrate. Consistent with the structural studies, the kinetic analysis of the most potent inhibitor has indicated that it functions uncompetitively, by binding to the enzyme-substrate complex. The inhibitors appear to allosterically lock the active site in a closed state causing its dysfunctionalization and blocking the hydrolysis. These inhibitors are the first examples of allosteric, species-selective inhibitors of PPiases, serving as a proof-of-principle that PPiases can be selectively targeted.

Discovery of cahuitamycins as biofilm inhibitors derived from a convergent biosynthetic pathway.

Pathogenic microorganisms often have the ability to attach to a surface, building a complex matrix where they colonize to form a biofilm. This cellular superstructure can display increased resistance to antibiotics and cause serious, persistent health problems in humans. Here we describe a high-throughput in vitro screen to identify inhibitors of Acinetobacter baumannii biofilms using a library of natural product extracts derived from marine microbes. Analysis of extracts derived from Streptomyces gandocaensis results in the discovery of three peptidic metabolites (cahuitamycins A-C), with cahuitamycin C being the most effective inhibitor (IC50=14.5 µM). Biosynthesis of cahuitamycin C proceeds via a convergent biosynthetic pathway, with one of the steps apparently being catalysed by an unlinked gene encoding a 6-methylsalicylate synthase. Efforts to assess starter unit diversification through selective mutasynthesis lead to production of unnatural analogues cahuitamycins D and E of increased potency (IC50=8.4 and 10.5 µM).

Microscale Adaptation of In Vitro Transcription/Translation for High-Throughput Screening of Natural Product Extract Libraries.

Novel antimicrobials that effectively inhibit bacterial growth are essential to fight the growing threat of antibiotic resistance. A promising target is the bacterial ribosome, a 2.5 MDa organelle susceptible to several biorthogonal modes of action used by different classes of antibiotics. To promote the discovery of unique inhibitors, we have miniaturized a coupled transcription/translation assay using E. coli and applied it to screen a natural product library of ~30 000 extracts. We significantly reduced the scale of the assay to 2 µL in a 1536-well plate format and decreased the effective concentration of costly reagents. The improved assay returned 1327 hits (4.6% hit rate) with %CV and Z' values of 8.5% and 0.74, respectively. This assay represents a significant advance in molecular screening, both in miniaturization and its application to a natural product extract library, and we intend to apply it to a broad array of pathogenic microbes in the search for novel anti-infective agents.

Pharmacological chaperone for α-crystallin partially restores transparency in cataract models.

Cataracts reduce vision in 50% of individuals over 70 years of age and are a common form of blindness worldwide. Cataracts are caused when damage to the major lens crystallin proteins causes their misfolding and aggregation into insoluble amyloids. Using a thermal stability assay, we identified a class of molecules that bind α-crystallins (cryAA and cryAB) and reversed their aggregation in vitro. The most promising compound improved lens transparency in the R49C cryAA and R120G cryAB mouse models of hereditary cataract. It also partially restored protein solubility in the lenses of aged mice in vivo and in human lenses ex vivo. These findings suggest an approach to treating cataracts by stabilizing α-crystallins.

High-throughput screen of natural product extracts in a yeast model of polyglutamine proteotoxicity.

Proteins with expanded polyglutamine (polyQ) segments cause a number of fatal neurodegenerative disorders, including Huntington's disease (HD). Previous high-throughput screens in cellular and biochemical models of HD have revealed compounds that mitigate polyQ aggregation and proteotoxicity, providing insight into the mechanisms of disease and leads for potential therapeutics. However, the structural diversity of natural products has not yet been fully mobilized toward these goals. Here, we have screened a collection of ~11 000 natural product extracts for the ability to recover the slow growth of ΔProQ103-expressing yeast cells in 384-well plates (Z' ~ 0.7, CV ~ 8%). This screen identified actinomycin D as a strong inhibitor of polyQ aggregation and proteotoxicity at nanomolar concentrations (~50-500 ng/mL). We found that a low dose of actinomycin D increased the levels of the heat-shock proteins Hsp104, Hsp70 and Hsp26 and enhanced binding of Hsp70 to the polyQ in yeast. Actinomycin also suppressed aggregation of polyQ in mammalian cells, suggesting a conserved mechanism. These results establish natural products as a rich source of compounds with interesting mechanisms of action against polyQ disorders.

Chemical screens against a reconstituted multiprotein complex: myricetin blocks DnaJ regulation of DnaK through an allosteric mechanism.

DnaK is a molecular chaperone responsible for multiple aspects of bacterial proteostasis. The intrinsically slow ATPase activity of DnaK is stimulated by its co-chaperone, DnaJ, and these proteins often work in concert. To identify inhibitors we screened plant-derived extracts against a reconstituted mixture of DnaK and DnaJ. This approach resulted in the identification of flavonoids, including myricetin, which inhibited activity by up to 75%. Interestingly, myricetin prevented DnaJ-mediated stimulation of ATPase activity, with minimal impact on either DnaK's intrinsic turnover rate or its stimulation by another co-chaperone, GrpE. Using NMR, we found that myricetin binds DnaK at an unanticipated site between the IB and IIB subdomains and that it allosterically blocked binding of DnaK to DnaJ. Together, these results highlight a "gray box" screening approach, which might facilitate the identification of inhibitors of other protein-protein interactions.

High-throughput screening of the virulence regulator VirF: a novel antibacterial target for shigellosis.

Shigella flexneri is a human enteropathogen that infects about 165 million people and claims more than 1 million lives per year worldwide. Although shigellosis has been considered a disease of the "Third World," like many other contagious diseases, it does occur in developed countries. The emergence of drug and multidrug-resistant strains of Shigella emphasizes the need for novel antibiotic development. VirF, an AraC-type transcriptional regulator, is responsible for the expression of all downstream virulence factors that control intracellular invasion and cell-to-cell spread of Shigella. Gene knockout studies have validated that inhibition of VirF expression is sufficient to block the normal life cycle of Shigella in the host and thereby increase susceptibility to the host immune system. The authors have developed a high-throughput, cell-based assay to monitor inhibition of VirF using beta-galactosidase as a reporter protein. Using an avirulent strain of Shigella, they have screened libraries containing approximately 42,000 small molecules. Following confirmation and dose-response analysis, they have identified 7 compounds that demonstrate VirF inhibition in vivo >or=55% in comparison with the controls and little general antibacterial activity (measured by cell growth, OD(600)). The authors are in the process of confirming these "hits" in several secondary assays to assess the mechanism of action.

High-throughput screen for Escherichia coli heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70/DnaK): ATPase assay in low volume by exploiting energy transfer.

Members of the heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) family of molecular chaperones are emerging as potential therapeutic targets. Their ATPase activity has classically been measured using colorimetric phosphate detection reagents, such as quinaldine red (QR). Although such assays are suitable for 96-well plate formats, they typically lose sensitivity when attempted in lower volume due to path length and meniscus effects. These limitations and Hsp70's weak enzymatic activity have combined to create significant challenges in high-throughput screening. To overcome these difficulties, the authors have adopted an energy transfer strategy that was originally reported by Zuck et al. (Anal Biochem 2005;342:254-259). Briefly, white 384-well plates emit fluorescence when irradiated at 430 nm. In turn, this intrinsic fluorescence can be quenched by energy transfer with the QR-based chromophore. Using this more sensitive approach, the authors tested 55,400 compounds against DnaK, a prokaryotic member of the Hsp70 family. The assay performance was good (Z' ~0.6, coefficient of variation ~8%), and at least one promising new inhibitor was identified. In secondary assays, this compound specifically blocked stimulation of DnaK by its co-chaperone, DnaJ. Thus, this simple and inexpensive adaptation of a colorimetric method might be suitable for screening against Hsp70 family members.