Antimalarial Drugs as Immune Modulators: New Mechanisms for Old Drugs.

The best known of the naturally occurring antimalarial compounds are quinine, extracted from cinchona bark, and artemisinin (qinghao), extracted from Artemisia annua in China. These and other derivatives are now chemically synthesized and remain the mainstay of therapy to treat malaria. The beneficial effects of several of the antimalarial drugs (AMDs) on clinical features of autoimmune disorders were discovered by chance during World War II. In this review, we discuss the chemistry of AMDs and their mechanisms of action, emphasizing how they may impact multiple pathways of innate immunity. These pathways include Toll-like receptors and the recently described cGAS-STING pathway. Finally, we discuss the current and future impact of AMDs on systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, and devastating monogenic disorders (interferonopathies) characterized by expression of type I interferon in the brain.

Cutting edge: Antimalarial drugs inhibit IFN-ß production through blockade of cyclic GMP-AMP synthase-DNA interaction.

Type I IFN is strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of systemic autoimmune diseases, such as lupus, and rare monogenic IFNopathies, including Aicardi-Goutières syndrome. Recently, a new DNA-activated pathway involving the enzyme cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) was described and potentially linked to Aicardi-Goutières syndrome. To identify drugs that could potentially inhibit cGAS activity, we performed in silico screening of drug libraries. By computational analysis, we identified several antimalarial drugs (AMDs) that were predicted to interact with the cGAS/dsDNA complex. Our studies validated that several AMDs were effective inhibitors of IFN-ß production and that they functioned by inhibiting dsDNA stimulation of cGAS. Because AMDs have been widely used in human diseases and have an excellent safety profile, our findings suggest new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of severe debilitating diseases associated with type I IFNs due to cGAS activation.

Inhibition of Cyclic GMP-AMP Synthase Using a Novel Antimalarial Drug Derivative in Trex1-Deficient Mice.

OBJECTIVE: Type I interferon (IFN) is strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) as well as rare monogenic interferonopathies such as Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (AGS), a disease attributed to mutations in the DNA exonuclease TREX1. The DNA-activated type I IFN pathway cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP) synthase (cGAS) is linked to subsets of AGS and lupus. This study was undertaken to identify inhibitors of the DNA-cGAS interaction, and to test the lead candidate drug, X6, in a mouse model of AGS. METHODS: Trex1-/- mice were treated orally from birth with either X6 or hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) for 8 weeks. Expression of IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) was quantified by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Multiple reaction monitoring by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry was used to quantify the production of cGAMP and X6 drug concentrations in the serum and heart tissue of Trex1-/- mice. RESULTS: On the basis of the efficacy-to-toxicity ratio established in vitro, drug X6 was selected as the lead candidate for treatment of Trex1-/- mice. X6 was significantly more effective than HCQ in attenuating ISG expression in mouse spleens (P < 0.01 for Isg15 and Isg20) and hearts (P < 0.05 for Isg15, Mx1, and Ifnb, and P < 0.01 for Cxcl10), and in reducing the production of cGAMP in mouse heart tissue (P < 0.05), thus demonstrating target engagement by the X6 compound. Of note, X6 was also more effective than HCQ in reducing ISG expression in vitro (P < 0.05 for IFI27 and MX1, and P < 0.01 for IFI44L and PKR) in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with SLE. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that X6 is superior to HCQ for the treatment of an experimental autoimmune myocarditis mediated in vivo by the cGAS/stimulator of IFN genes (cGAS/STING) pathway. The findings suggest that drug X6 could be developed as a novel treatment for AGS and/or lupus to inhibit activation of the cGAS/STING pathway.

Issues in biomedical research data management and analysis: needs and barriers.

OBJECTIVES: A. Identify the current state of data management needs of academic biomedical researchers. B. Explore their anticipated data management and analysis needs. C. Identify barriers to addressing those needs. DESIGN: A multimodal needs analysis was conducted using a combination of an online survey and in-depth one-on-one semi-structured interviews. Subjects were recruited via an e-mail list representing a wide range of academic biomedical researchers in the Pacific Northwest. MEASUREMENTS: The results from 286 survey respondents were used to provide triangulation of the qualitative analysis of data gathered from 15 semi-structured in-depth interviews. RESULTS: Three major themes were identified: 1) there continues to be widespread use of basic general-purpose applications for core data management; 2) there is broad perceived need for additional support in managing and analyzing large datasets; and 3) the barriers to acquiring currently available tools are most commonly related to financial burdens on small labs and unmet expectations of institutional support. CONCLUSION: Themes identified in this study suggest that at least some common data management needs will best be served by improving access to basic level tools such that researchers can solve their own problems. Additionally, institutions and informaticians should focus on three components: 1) facilitate and encourage the use of modern data exchange models and standards, enabling researchers to leverage a common layer of interoperability and analysis; 2) improve the ability of researchers to maintain provenance of data and models as they evolve over time though tools and the leveraging of standards; and 3) develop and support information management service cores that could assist in these previous components while providing researchers with unique data analysis and information design support within a spectrum of informatics capabilities.

The University of Washington Health Sciences Library BioCommons: an evolving Northwest biomedical research information support infrastructure.

SETTING: The University of Washington Health Sciences Libraries and Information Center BioCommons serves the bioinformatics needs of researchers at the university and in the vibrant for-profit and not-for-profit biomedical research sector in the Washington area and region. PROGRAM COMPONENTS: The BioCommons comprises services addressing internal University of Washington, not-for-profit, for-profit, and regional and global clientele. The BioCommons is maintained and administered by the BioResearcher Liaison Team. The BioCommons architecture provides a highly flexible structure for adapting to rapidly changing resources and needs. EVALUATION MECHANISMS: BioCommons uses Web-based pre- and post-course evaluations and periodic user surveys to assess service effectiveness. Recent surveys indicate substantial usage of BioCommons services and a high level of effectiveness and user satisfaction. NEXT STEPS/FUTURE DIRECTIONS: BioCommons is developing novel collaborative Web resources to distribute bioinformatics tools and is experimenting with Web-based competency training in bioinformation resource use.

Inviting the public: the impact on informatics arising from emerging global health research paradigms.

This workshop will focus on disruptive processes impacting research arising from the increasing ability of individuals to create, curate and share data with scientists. Encompassing processes from funding research to providing samples to creating algorithms, including the public will require new approaches even as it opens up new possibilities. We will hear from a few researchers at the forefront of these disruptive processes, followed by a moderated discussion with the audience about these topics.

CANDO and the infinite drug discovery frontier.

The Computational Analysis of Novel Drug Opportunities (CANDO) platform (http://protinfo.org/cando) uses similarity of compound-proteome interaction signatures to infer homology of compound/drug behavior. We constructed interaction signatures for 3733 human ingestible compounds covering 48,278 protein structures mapping to 2030 indications based on basic science methodologies to predict and analyze protein structure, function, and interactions developed by us and others. Our signature comparison and ranking approach yielded benchmarking accuracies of 12-25% for 1439 indications with at least two approved compounds. We prospectively validated 49/82 'high value' predictions from nine studies covering seven indications, with comparable or better activity to existing drugs, which serve as novel repurposed therapeutics. Our approach may be generalized to compounds beyond those approved by the FDA, and can also consider mutations in protein structures to enable personalization. Our platform provides a holistic multiscale modeling framework of complex atomic, molecular, and physiological systems with broader applications in medicine and engineering.