Adeno-Associated Virus-Mediated Dorsal Root Ganglion Toxicity in the New Zealand White Rabbit.

Recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated degeneration of sensory neurons in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and trigeminal ganglia (TG) has been observed in non-human primates (NHPs) following intravenous (IV) and intrathecal (IT) delivery. Administration of recombinant AAV encoding a human protein transgene via a single intra-cisterna magna (ICM) injection in New Zealand white rabbits resulted in histopathology changes very similar to NHPs: mononuclear cell infiltration, degeneration/necrosis of sensory neurons, and nerve fiber degeneration of sensory tracts in the spinal cord and of multiple nerves. AAV-associated clinical signs and incidence/severity of histologic findings indicated that rabbits were equally or more sensitive than NHPs to sensory neuron damage. Another study using human and rabbit transgene constructs of the same protein demonstrated comparable changes suggesting that the effects are not an immune response to the non-self protein transgene. Rabbit has not been characterized as a species for general toxicity testing of AAV gene therapies, but these studies suggest that it may be an alternative model to investigate mechanisms of AAV-mediated neurotoxicity and test novel AAV designs mitigating these adverse effects.

Framework for sensitization assessment of extractables and leachables in pharmaceuticals.

During the toxicological assessment of extractables and leachables in drug products, localized hazards such as irritation or sensitization may be identified. Typically, because of the low concentration at which leachables occur in pharmaceuticals, irritation is of minimal concern; therefore, this manuscript focuses on sensitization potential. The primary objective of performing a leachable sensitization assessment is protection against Type IV induction of sensitization, rather than prevention of an elicitation response, as it is not possible to account for the immunological state of every individual. Sensitizers have a wide range of potencies and those which induce sensitization upon exposure at a low concentration (i.e. strong, or extreme sensitizers) pose the highest risk to patients and should be the focus of the risk assessment. The Extractables and Leachables Safety Information Exchange (ELSIE) consortium has reviewed the status of dermal, respiratory, and systemic risk assessment in cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries, and proposes a framework to evaluate the safety of known or potential dermal sensitizers in pharmaceuticals. Due to the lack of specific regulatory guidance on this topic, the science-driven risk-based approach proposed by ELSIE encourages consistency in the toxicological assessment of extractables and leachables to maintain high product quality and ensure patient safety.

Discovery and Preclinical Characterization of BIIB091, a Reversible, Selective BTK Inhibitor for the Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis.

Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune neurodegenerative disorder of the central nervous system (CNS) that is characterized by inflammation, demyelination, and axonal injury leading to permeant disability. In the early stage of MS, inflammation is the primary driver of the disease progression. There remains an unmet need to develop high efficacy therapies with superior safety profiles to prevent the inflammation processes leading to disability. Herein, we describe the discovery of BIIB091, a structurally distinct orthosteric ATP competitive, reversible inhibitor that binds the BTK protein in a DFG-in confirmation designed to sequester Tyr-551, an important phosphorylation site on BTK, into an inactive conformation with excellent affinity. Preclinical studies demonstrated BIB091 to be a high potency molecule with good drug-like properties and a safety/tolerability profile suitable for clinical development as a highly selective, reversible BTKi for treating autoimmune diseases such as MS.

Discovery of BIIB068: A Selective, Potent, Reversible Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor as an Orally Efficacious Agent for Autoimmune Diseases.

Autoreactive B cell-derived antibodies form immune complexes that likely play a pathogenic role in autoimmune diseases. In systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), these antibodies bind Fc receptors on myeloid cells and induce proinflammatory cytokine production by monocytes and NETosis by neutrophils. Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) is a non-receptor tyrosine kinase that signals downstream of Fc receptors and plays a transduction role in antibody expression following B cell activation. Given the roles of BTK in both the production and sensing of autoreactive antibodies, inhibitors of BTK kinase activity may provide therapeutic value to patients suffering from autoantibody-driven immune disorders. Starting from an in-house proprietary screening hit followed by structure-based rational design, we have identified a potent, reversible BTK inhibitor, BIIB068 (1), which demonstrated good kinome selectivity with good overall drug-like properties for oral dosing, was well tolerated across preclinical species at pharmacologically relevant doses with good ADME properties, and achieved >90% inhibition of BTK phosphorylation (pBTK) in humans.

Comprehensive gene expression analysis of peroxisome proliferator-treated immortalized hepatocytes: identification of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha-dependent growth regulatory genes.

Chemicals known as peroxisome proliferators (PPs) are the subject of intense study because of their ability to cause hepatocellular carcinoma in laboratory rodents. These chemicals act through a family of proteins termed the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), in particular PPARalpha. It has become increasingly apparent that the role of the PPs in the development of cancer encompasses many different aspects of cell growth regulation. Immortalized hepatocytes from wild-type (PPARalpha(+/+)) and PPARalpha(-/-) mice were generated using a temperature-sensitive SV40 virus. Characterization of the murine SV40 hepatocytes (MuSH) generated from both genotypes (MuSHalpha(+/+), MuSHalpha(-/-)) show markers of differentiation such as albumin expression, but is devoid of Kupffer cell contamination. Hallmark PPARalpha-mediated responses such as induction of acyl-CoA oxidase mRNA by PPs are present in the MuSHalpha(+/+) but are absent in MuSHalpha(-/-) cells. In contrast to most cell culture systems, the wild-type MuSH hepatocytes retain the mitogenic activity of PPs, whereas the MuSHalpha(-/-) does not respond in this manner, thus making this cell culture system an ideal tool to examine growth regulatory gene expression affected by PPs. Microarray experiments performed on both cell types identified many genes in which regulation is dependent on the presence of PPARalpha, and these changes were verified with reverse transcriptase-PCR. Genes involved in carcinogenesis and control of the cell cycle that are regulated by PPs in a PPARalpha-dependent manner include ubiquitin COOH-terminal hydrolase 37 (also known as UCT-L5) and cyclin T1. These results show that MuSH cells reflect the biological properties of both the wild-type and PPARalpha-null animals and can be used to identify novel PPARalpha-regulated genes that could be involved in regulation of the cell cycle and carcinogenesis.

Novel Series of Potent Glucokinase Activators Leading to the Discovery of AM-2394.

Glucokinase (GK) catalyzes the phosphorylation of glucose to glucose-6-phosphate. We present the structure-activity relationships leading to the discovery of AM-2394, a structurally distinct GKA. AM-2394 activates GK with an EC50 of 60 nM, increases the affinity of GK for glucose by approximately 10-fold, exhibits moderate clearance and good oral bioavailability in multiple animal models, and lowers glucose excursion following an oral glucose tolerance test in an ob/ob mouse model of diabetes.

RNAi screening in primary human hepatocytes of genes implicated in genome-wide association studies for roles in type 2 diabetes identifies roles for CAMK1D and CDKAL1, among others, in hepatic glucose regulation.

Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have described a large number of new candidate genes that contribute to of Type 2 Diabetes (T2D). In some cases, small clusters of genes are implicated, rather than a single gene, and in all cases, the genetic contribution is not defined through the effects on a specific organ, such as the pancreas or liver. There is a significant need to develop and use human cell-based models to examine the effects these genes may have on glucose regulation. We describe the development of a primary human hepatocyte model that adjusts glucose disposition according to hormonal signals. This model was used to determine whether candidate genes identified in GWA studies regulate hepatic glucose disposition through siRNAs corresponding to the list of identified genes. We find that several genes affect the storage of glucose as glycogen (glycolytic response) and/or affect the utilization of pyruvate, the critical step in gluconeogenesis. Of the genes that affect both of these processes, CAMK1D, TSPAN8 and KIF11 affect the localization of a mediator of both gluconeogenesis and glycolysis regulation, CRTC2, to the nucleus in response to glucagon. In addition, the gene CDKAL1 was observed to affect glycogen storage, and molecular experiments using mutant forms of CDK5, a putative target of CDKAL1, in HepG2 cells show that this is mediated by coordinate regulation of CDK5 and PKA on MEK, which ultimately regulates the phosphorylation of ribosomal protein S6, a critical step in the insulin signaling pathway.

Assessment of hepatotoxicity potential of drug candidate molecules including kinase inhibitors by hepatocyte imaging assay technology and bile flux imaging assay technology.

Kinases are members of a major protein family targeted for drug discovery and development. Given the ubiquitous nature of many kinases as well as the broad range of pathways controlled by these enzymes, early safety assessments of small molecule inhibitors of kinases are crucial in identifying new molecules with sufficient therapeutic window for clinical development. Failure or attrition of drug candidates in late-stage pipelines due to hepatotoxicity is a significant challenge in the drug development field. Herein we provide detailed methods for the hepatocyte imaging assay technology (HIAT) and the bile flux imaging assay technology (BIAT) to evaluate drug-induced liver injury (DILI) potentials for drug candidates. Optimized culturing methods for primary human hepatocytes, both freshly isolated and prequalified cryopreserved cells, are also presented. The applications of these high-content cellular imaging technologies in the evaluation of p38 and Her2 kinase inhibitors are highlighted to illustrate the usefulness of the research methodology in a compound screening as well as mechanistic investigative setting.

The nuclear receptor constitutively active/androstane receptor regulates type 1 deiodinase and thyroid hormone activity in the regenerating mouse liver.

We observed that the level of reverse triiodothyronine (rT3) was significantly increased after partial hepatectomy (PH) in both wild-type and constitutively active/androstane receptor (CAR) knockout (KO) mice, and treatment with phenobarbital (PB), a CAR activator, after PH decreased rT3 to restore its original level only in wild-type mice. On the other hand, no significant changes in the level of total T3 or free T3 in the serum were observed in either wild-type or CAR KO mice after PH or treatment with PB. Type 1 deiodinase (D1) activity and expression were significantly reduced by PH and up-regulated by PB in a CAR-dependent manner. In addition, known T3-regulated genes [tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT) and basic transcription element binding protein (BTEB)] were also significantly decreased by PH and induced by PB. Injection of rT3 into normal mice revealed that rT3 is capable of repressing the known thyroid hormone-regulated genes Tat, Bteb, and Cpt-1 in the liver. Our results suggest that PH decreases D1 activity leading to increased rT3 level, resulting in the repression of T3 target genes. Subsequent treatment with PB decreases rT3 in a CAR-dependent manner through the up-regulation of the D1 gene.

Examination of Ligand-Dependent Coactivator Recruitment by Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-alpha (PPARalpha).

The ligand-dependent recruitment of coactivators to peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPARalpha) was examined. PPAR-binding protein (PBP), PPARgamma coactivator-1alpha (PGC-1alpha), steroid receptor coactivator-1 (SRC-1), and CBP/p300-interacting transactivator with ED-rich tail 2 (CITED2) affected PPARalpha activity in the presence of Wy-14,643. The effects on PPARalpha activity in light of increased or decreased expression of these coactivators were qualitatively different depending on the ligand examined. Diminished expression of PGC-1alpha, SRC-1, or PBP by RNAi plasmids affected natural or synthetic agonist activity whereas only Wy-14,643 was affected by decreased PGC-1alpha. The interaction of PPARalpha with an LXXLL-containing peptide library showed ligand-specific patterns, indicative of differences in conformational change. The association of coactivators to PPARalpha occurs predominantly via the carboxyl-terminus and mutating (456)LHPLL to (456)LHPAA resulted in a dominant-negative construct. This research confirms that coactivator recruitment to PPARalpha is ligand-dependent and that selective receptor modulators (SRMs) of this important protein are likely.

Identification of the CREB-binding protein/p300-interacting protein CITED2 as a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha coregulator.

Like other nuclear receptors, the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) use a wide variety of protein-protein interactions to properly regulate transcription of target genes. In an attempt to identify novel PPAR-interacting proteins, a cDNA expression library was screened with bacterially expressed PPARalpha. One of the genes identified as a PPARalpha-associated protein by interaction cloning was the CREB-binding protein/p300-interacting transactivator with ED-rich tail 2 (CITED2, also called p35srj/mrg1/msg1). This coactivator interacted directly with PPARalpha in the presence or absence of ligand predominantly via the ligand binding domain of the nuclear receptor. In transient transfection reporter assays, CITED2 acted as a dose-dependent coactivator of PPARalpha-dependent transcriptional regulation in the presence of several exogenous ligands. CITED2 also increased PPARgamma-dependent regulation of reporter genes but had no effect on PPARbeta activity. To determine whether CITED2 affects endogenous gene expression, this protein was stably overexpressed (CITED2+) or repressed by small inhibitor RNA (CITED2-) in immortalized mouse hepatocytes. Relative to the control stably transfected or CITED2-cells, CITED2+ cells had an increased rate of cell proliferation. Microarray analysis and real time PCR showed that several genes are differentially affected by PPARalpha ligands in CITED2+ versus CITED2-cells. Genes that were affected by PPARalpha ligands in a CITED2-modulatory manner include angiopoietin-like protein 4, forkhead C2, hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha, and MAPK phosphatase 1. Interestingly these genes share common functions in that they are known to promote vascularization and angiogenesis in response to hypoxia. The results described here suggest that CIT-ED2 is a coactivator of PPARalpha and that both proteins may participate in signaling cascades of hypoxic response and angiogenesis.

Heat shock protein-90 (Hsp90) acts as a repressor of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPARalpha) and PPARbeta activity.

The nuclear receptor (NR) peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPARalpha) mediates the effects of several hypolipidemic drugs, endogenous fatty acids, and peroxisome proliferators. Despite belonging to a class of NR not known to interact with cytosolic chaperone complexes, we have recently shown that PPARalpha interacts with heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90), although the biological consequence of this association was unknown. In the present study, PPARalpha directly associated with Hsp90 in vitro to a much greater extent than either PPARbeta or PPARgamma. This interaction is similar to other NR-Hsp90 complexes with association occurring between the middle of Hsp90 and the hinge (D) and ligand binding domain (EF) of PPARalpha. Using several different approaches to disrupt Hsp90 complexes within the cell, we demonstrate that Hsp90 is a repressor of both PPARalpha and PPARbeta activity. Treatment with geldanamycin (GA) increased the activity of PPARalpha and in the presence of ligand in transient transfection assays. PPARalpha-response element (PPRE)-reporter assays in a stable cell line treated with GA resulted in enhanced expression of a known target gene, acyl-CoA oxidase. Similarly, overexpression of the tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) of protein phosphatase 5 (PP5) increased PPARalpha or PPARbeta activity in a PPRE-reporter assay and decreased the interaction between PPARalpha or PPARbeta and Hsp90 in a mammalian two-hybrid assay. Finally, cotransfection with the C-terminal hsp-interacting protein (CHIP) construct, a TPR-containing ubiquitin ligase that interacts with hsp90, increased PPARalpha's and decreased PPARbeta's ability to regulate PPRE-reporter activity upon ligand activation. All three methods to disrupt Hsp90 function (GA, PP5-TPR, CHIP) resulted in an alteration in PPARalpha or PPARbeta activity to a much greater extent than PPARgamma. While FKBP52 had no effect on PPARalpha activity, p23 greatly enhanced constitutive and Wy14 643 induced PPRE-reporter activity. Thus, we describe the chaperone complex as being a regulator of PPARalpha and PPARbeta activity and have identified a novel, subtype-specific, inhibitory role for Hsp90.

Evidence that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha is complexed with the 90-kDa heat shock protein and the hepatitis virus B X-associated protein 2.

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha) is a ligand-inducible transcription factor, which belongs to the nuclear receptor superfamily. PPARalpha mediates the carcinogenic effects of peroxisome proliferators in rodents. In humans, PPARalpha plays a fundamental role in regulating energy homeostasis via control of lipid metabolism. To study the possible role of chaperone proteins in the regulation of PPARalpha activity, a monoclonal antibody (mAb) was made against PPARalpha and designated as 3B6/PPAR. The specificity of mAb 3B6/PPAR in recognizing PPARalpha was tested in immunoprecipitations using in vitro translated PPAR subtypes. The mAb 3B6/PPAR recognized PPARalpha, failed to bind to PPARbeta or PPARgamma, and is efficient in both immunoprecipitating and visualizing the receptor on protein blots. The immunoprecipitation of PPARalpha in mouse liver cytosol using mAb 3B6/PPAR has resulted in the detection of two co-immunoprecipitated proteins, which are heat shock protein 90 (hsp90) and the hepatitis B virus X-associated protein 2 (XAP2). The concomitant depletion of PPARalpha in hsp90-depleted mouse liver cytosol was also detected. Complex formation between XAP2 and PPARalpha/FLAG was also demonstrated in an in vitro translation binding assay. hsp90 interacts with PPARalpha in a mammalian two-hybrid assay and binds to the E/F domain. Transient expression of XAP2 co-expressed with PPARalpha resulted in down-regulation of a peroxisome proliferator response element-driven reporter gene activity. Taken together, these results indicate that PPARalpha is in a complex with hsp90 and XAP2, and XAP2 appears to function as a repressor. This is the first demonstration that PPARalpha is stably associated with other proteins in tissue extracts and the first nuclear receptor shown to functionally interact with XAP2.