Development of mAb-based polyglutamine-dependent and polyglutamine length-independent huntingtin quantification assays with cross-site validation.

Huntington's disease (HD) is caused by an expansion of the CAG trinucleotide repeat domain in the huntingtin gene that results in expression of a mutant huntingtin protein (mHTT) containing an expanded polyglutamine tract in the amino terminus. A number of therapeutic approaches that aim to reduce mHTT expression either locally in the CNS or systemically are in clinical development. We have previously described sensitive and selective assays that measure human HTT proteins either in a polyglutamine-independent (detecting both mutant expanded and non-expanded proteins) or in a polyglutamine length-dependent manner (detecting the disease-causing polyglutamine repeats) on the electrochemiluminescence Meso Scale Discovery detection platform. These original assays relied upon polyclonal antibodies. To ensure an accessible and sustainable resource for the HD field, we developed similar assays employing monoclonal antibodies. We demonstrate that these assays have equivalent sensitivity compared to our previous assays through the evaluation of cellular and animal model systems, as well as HD patient biosamples. We also demonstrate cross-site validation of these assays, allowing direct comparison of studies performed in geographically distinct laboratories.

Quantification assays for total and polyglutamine-expanded huntingtin proteins.

The expansion of a CAG trinucleotide repeat in the huntingtin gene, which produces huntingtin protein with an expanded polyglutamine tract, is the cause of Huntington's disease (HD). Recent studies have reported that RNAi suppression of polyglutamine-expanded huntingtin (mutant HTT) in HD animal models can ameliorate disease phenotypes. A key requirement for such preclinical studies, as well as eventual clinical trials, aimed to reduce mutant HTT exposure is a robust method to measure HTT protein levels in select tissues. We have developed several sensitive and selective assays that measure either total human HTT or polyglutamine-expanded human HTT proteins on the electrochemiluminescence Meso Scale Discovery detection platform with an increased dynamic range over other methods. In addition, we have developed an assay to detect endogenous mouse and rat HTT proteins in pre-clinical models of HD to monitor effects on the wild type protein of both allele selective and non-selective interventions. We demonstrate the application of these assays to measure HTT protein in several HD in vitro cellular and in vivo animal model systems as well as in HD patient biosamples. Furthermore, we used purified recombinant HTT proteins as standards to quantitate the absolute amount of HTT protein in such biosamples.

Oral administration of the pimelic diphenylamide HDAC inhibitor HDACi 4b is unsuitable for chronic inhibition of HDAC activity in the CNS in vivo.

Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors have received considerable attention as potential therapeutics for a variety of cancers and neurological disorders. Recent publications on a class of pimelic diphenylamide HDAC inhibitors have highlighted their promise in the treatment of the neurodegenerative diseases Friedreich's ataxia and Huntington's disease, based on efficacy in cell and mouse models. These studies' authors have proposed that the unique action of these compounds compared to hydroxamic acid-based HDAC inhibitors results from their unusual slow-on/slow-off kinetics of binding, preferentially to HDAC3, resulting in a distinctive pharmacological profile and reduced toxicity. Here, we evaluate the HDAC subtype selectivity, cellular activity, absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) properties, as well as the central pharmacodynamic profile of one such compound, HDACi 4b, previously described to show efficacy in vivo in the R6/2 mouse model of Huntington's disease. Based on our data reported here, we conclude that while the in vitro selectivity and binding mode are largely in agreement with previous reports, the physicochemical properties, metabolic and p-glycoprotein (Pgp) substrate liability of HDACi 4b render this compound suboptimal to investigate central Class I HDAC inhibition in vivo in mouse per oral administration. A drug administration regimen using HDACi 4b dissolved in drinking water was used in the previous proof of concept study, casting doubt on the validation of CNS HDAC3 inhibition as a target for the treatment of Huntington's disease. We highlight physicochemical stability and metabolic issues with 4b that are likely intrinsic liabilities of the benzamide chemotype in general.

Behavioral and neurochemical alterations in mice deficient in anaplastic lymphoma kinase suggest therapeutic potential for psychiatric indications.

The receptor tyrosine kinase product of the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene has been implicated in oncogenesis as a product of several chromosomal translocations, although its endogeneous role in the hematopoietic and neural systems has remained poorly understood. We describe that the generation of animals homozygous for a deletion of the ALK tyrosine kinase domain leads to alterations in adult brain function. Evaluation of adult ALK homozygotes (HOs) revealed an age-dependent increase in basal hippocampal progenitor proliferation and alterations in behavioral tests consistent with a role for this receptor in the adult brain. ALK HO animals displayed an increased struggle time in the tail suspension test and the Porsolt swim test and enhanced performance in a novel object-recognition test. Neurochemical analysis demonstrates an increase in basal dopaminergic signalling selectively within the frontal cortex. Altogether, these results suggest that ALK functions in the adult brain to regulate the function of the frontal cortex and hippocampus and identifies ALK as a new target for psychiatric indications, such as schizophrenia and depression, with an underlying deregulated monoaminergic signalling.

Identification of signal transduction pathways used by orphan g protein-coupled receptors.

The superfamily of GPCRs have diverse biological roles, transducing signals from a range of stimuli, from photon recognition by opsins to neurotransmitter regulation of neuronal function. Of the many identified genes encoding GPCRs, >130 are orphan receptors ( i.e., their endogenous ligands are unknown), and this subset represents putative novel therapeutic targets for pharmaceutical intervention in a variety of diseases. As an initial step toward drug discovery, determining a biological function for these newly identified receptors is of vital importance, and thus identification of a natural ligand(s) is a primary aim. There are several established methods for doing this, but many have drawbacks and usually require some in-depth knowledge about how the receptor functions. The technique described here utilizes a transcription-based reporter assay in live cells. This allows the determination of the signal transduction pathway any given oGPCR uses, without any prior knowledge of the endogenous ligand. This can therefore reduce the redundancy of effort involved in screening ligands at a given receptor in multiple formats (i.e., Galpha(s), Galpha(i/0), and Galpha(q) assays), as well as ensuring that the receptor targeted is capable of signaling if appropriately activated. Such knowledge is often laboriously obtained, and for almost all oGPCRs, this kind of information is not yet available. This technology can also be used to develop inverse agonist as well as agonist sensitive high throughput assays for oGPCRs. The veracity of this approach is demonstrated, using a number of known GPCRs. The likely signaling pathways of the GPR3, GPR12, GPR19, GPR21, and HG55 oGPCRs are shown, and a high throughput assay for GPR26 receptors developed. The methods outlined here for elucidation of the signal transduction pathways for oGPCRs and development of functional assays should speed up the process of identification of ligands for this potentially therapeutically useful group of receptors.

Alterations of stress related proteins in genetically altered mice revealed by two-dimensional differential in-gel electrophoresis analysis.

Transgenic, knockout and knockin mice are useful tools for linking specific genes with behaviour and other complex biological processes. However, complications arising due to compensatory changes, genetic background differences and other factors could lead to difficulty in interpreting the resulting changes in phenotype. We have used fluorescence two-dimensional differential in-gel electrophoresis in combination with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass fingerprinting to investigate the possibility that distinct genetic alterations can lead to common protein expression changes in genetically modified mice. Brain proteomes were compared from two transgenic mouse strains (Tg2576 x TgPS1 and Tg2576), two knockout mouse strains (5-HT(7)R -/- and GABA(A)Ralpha5 -/-) and one knockin mouse strain (GABA(A)Ralpha1-H101R). Both of the transgenic models showed an isoform change in the heat shock 70 related protein, mortalin. The knockout and knockin models showed similar changes in mortalin expression along with an alteration of the anti-oxidant protein 2. The observed proteomic alterations indicate that stress-responsive protein pathways may be altered artefactually in all of the mouse models used in this study and highlights an area where caution is needed in interpreting proteomic changes in genetically modified mice.

Oligomerization of G-protein-coupled receptors shown by selective co-immunoprecipitation.

Recent studies have shown that G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) can assemble as high molecular weight homo- and hetero-oligomeric complexes. This can result in altered receptor-ligand binding, signaling, or intracellular trafficking. We have co-transfected HEK-293 cells with differentially epitope-tagged GPCRs from different subfamilies and determined whether oligomeric complexes were formed by co-immunoprecipitation and immunoblot analysis. This gave the surprising result that the 5HT(1A) receptor was capable of forming hetero-oligomers with all GPCRs tested including the 5HT(1B), 5HT(1D), EDG(1), EDG(3), GPR(26), and GABA(B2) receptors. The testing of other GPCR combinations showed similar results with hetero-oligomer formation occurring for the 5HT(1D) with the 5HT(1B) and EDG(1) receptor. Control studies showed that these complexes were present in co-transfected cells before the time of lysis and that the hetero-oligomers were comprised of GPCRs at discrete stoichiometries. These findings suggest that GPCRs have a natural tendency to form oligomers when co-transfected into cells. Future studies should therefore investigate the presence and physiological role of GPCR hetero-oligomers in cells in which they are endogenously expressed.

Native and recombinant human Edg4 receptor-mediated Ca(2+) signalling.

We have developed an assay system suitable for assessment of compound action on the Edg4 subtype of the widely expressed lysophosphatidic acid (LPA)-responsive Edg receptor family. Edg4 was stably overexpressed in the rat hepatoma cell line Rh 7777, and a Ca(2+)-based FLIPR assay developed for measurement of functional responses. In order to investigate the mechanisms linking Edg4 activation to cytosolic Ca(2+) elevation, we have also studied LPA signalling in a human neuroblastoma cell line that endogenously expresses Edg4. LPA responses displayed similar kinetics and potency in the two cell lines. The Ca(2+) signal generated by activation of LPA-sensitive receptors in these cells is mediated primarily by endoplasmic reticulum. However, there is a substantial inhibition of the LPA response by FCCP, indicating that mitochondria also play a key role in the LPA response. Partial inhibition of the response by cyclosporin A could indicate an active Ca(2+) release role for mitochondria in the LPA response. The inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate receptor antagonist 2-aminoethyl diphenyl borate markedly inhibits, but does not abolish, the Ca(2+) response to LPA, suggesting further complexity to the signalling pathways activated by Edg receptors. In comparing Edg signalling in recombinant and native cells, there is a striking overall similarity in receptor expression pattern, agonist potency, and the effect of modulators on the Ca(2+) response. This indicates that the Edg4-overexpressing Rh7777 cell line is a very useful model system for studying receptor pharmacology and signalling mechanisms, and for investigating the Edg4 receptor's downstream effects.