Improved 2,4-diarylthiazole-based antiprion agents: switching the sense of the amide group at C5 leads to an increase in potency.

Amide derivatives of 2,4-diarylthiazole-5-carboxylic acids were synthesised and tested for efficacy in a cell line model of prion disease. A number of compounds demonstrating antiprion activity were thereby identified from the screening libraries, showing improved potency and reproducibility of results relative to amide derivatives of the related 2,4-diphenyl-5-aminothiazole, which have been documented previously. Thus, 'switching' the sense of the amide bond at thiazole C5 revealed a more promising lead series of potential prion disease therapeutics. Furthermore, 3,5-diaryl-1,2,4-thiadiazoles isolated as by-products during library synthesis provided a handful of additional examples possessing an antiprion effect, thereby augmenting the set of newly identified active compounds. Evaluation of binding to cellular prion protein (PrP(C)) showed only weak affinities at best, suggesting that the newly identified antiprion agents do not mediate their biological effect through direct interaction with PrP(C).

Development of a differential scanning fluorimetry based high throughput screening assay for the discovery of affinity binders against an anthrax protein.

The anthrax protein protective antigen (PA) is responsible for cell-surface recognition and aids the delivery of the toxic anthrax enzymes into host cells. By targeting PA and preventing it from binding to host cells, it is hoped that the delivery of toxins into the cell will be inhibited. The current assay reported for PA is a low throughput functional assay. Here, the high throughput screening method using differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF) was developed and optimized to screen a number of libraries from various sources including a selection of FDA-approved drugs as well as hits selected by a virtual screening campaign. DSF is a rapid technique that uses fluorescence to monitor the thermal unfolding of proteins using a standard QPCR instrument. A positive shift in the calculated melting temperature (Tm), of the protein in the presence of a compound, relative to the Tm of the unbound protein, indicates that stabilization of the protein by ligand binding may have occurred. Optimization of the melting assay showed SYPRO Orange to be an ideal dye as a marker and lead to the reduction of DMSO concentration to <1% (v/v) in the final assay. The final assay volume was minimized to 25 L with 5 g protein per well of 96-well plate. In addition, a buffer, salt and additive screen lead to the selection of 10 mM HEPES-NaOH pH 7.5, 100 mM NaCl as the assay buffer. This method has been shown here to be useful as a primary method for the detection of small-molecule PA ligands, giving a hit rate of approximately 7%. These ligands can then be studied further using PA functional assays to confirm their biological activities before being selected as lead compounds for the treatment of anthrax.

The epoxygenases CYP2J2 activates the nuclear receptor PPARalpha in vitro and in vivo.

BACKGROUND: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are a family of three (PPARalpha, -beta/delta, and -gamma) nuclear receptors. In particular, PPARalpha is involved in regulation of fatty acid metabolism, cell growth and inflammation. PPARalpha mediates the cardiac fasting response, increasing fatty acid metabolism, decreasing glucose utilisation, and is the target for the fibrate lipid-lowering class of drugs. However, little is known regarding the endogenous generation of PPAR ligands. CYP2J2 is a lipid metabolising cytochrome P450, which produces anti-inflammatory mediators, and is considered the major epoxygenase in the human heart. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Expression of CYP2J2 in vitro results in an activation of PPAR responses with a particular preference for PPARalpha. The CYP2J2 products 8,9- and 11-12-EET also activate PPARalpha. In vitro, PPARalpha activation by its selective ligand induces the PPARalpha target gene pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK)4 in cardiac tissue. In vivo, in cardiac-specific CYP2J2 transgenic mice, fasting selectively augments the expression of PDK4. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results establish that CYP2J2 produces PPARalpha ligands in vitro and in vivo, and suggests that lipid metabolising CYPs are prime candidates for the integration of global lipid changes to transcriptional signalling events.

PPARalpha activation and increased dietary lipid oppose thyroid hormone signaling and rescue impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in hyperthyroidism.

The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of hyperthyroidism on the characteristics of the islet insulin secretory response to glucose, particularly the consequences of competition between thyroid hormone and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)alpha in the regulation of islet adaptations to starvation and dietary lipid-induced insulin resistance. Rats maintained on standard (low-fat/high-carbohydrate) diet or high-fat/low-carbohydrate diet were rendered hyperthyroid (HT) by triiodothyronine (T(3)) administration (1 mg.kg body wt(-1).day(-1) sc, 3 days). The PPARalpha agonist WY14643 (50 mg/kg body wt ip) was administered 24 h before sampling. Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) was assessed during hyperglycemic clamps or after acute glucose bolus injection in vivo and with step-up and step-down islet perifusions. Hyperthyroidism decreased the glucose responsiveness of GSIS, precluding sufficient enhancement of insulin secretion for the degree of insulin resistance, in rats fed either standard diet or high-fat diet. Hyperthyroidism partially opposed the starvation-induced increase in the glucose threshold for GSIS and decrease in glucose responsiveness. WY14643 administration restored glucose tolerance by enhancing GSIS in fed HT rats and relieved the impact of hyperthyroidism to partially oppose islet starvation adaptations. Competition between thyroid hormone receptor (TR) and PPARalpha influences the characteristics of GSIS, such that hyperthyroidism impairs GSIS while PPARalpha activation (and increased dietary lipid) opposes TR signaling and restores GSIS in the fed hyperthyroid state. Increased islet PPARalpha signaling and decreased TR signaling during starvation facilitates appropriate modification of islet function.

PPARalpha activation reverses adverse effects induced by high-saturated-fat feeding on pancreatic beta-cell function in late pregnancy.

We examined whether the additional demand for insulin secretion imposed by dietary saturated fat-induced insulin resistance during pregnancy is accommodated at late pregnancy, already characterized by insulin resistance. We also assessed whether effects of dietary saturated fat are influenced by PPARalpha activation or substitution of 7% of dietary fatty acids (FAs) with long-chain omega-3 FA, manipulations that improve insulin action in the nonpregnant state. Glucose tolerance at day 19 of pregnancy in the rat was impaired by high-saturated-fat feeding throughout pregnancy. Despite modestly enhanced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) in vivo, islet perifusions revealed an increased glucose threshold and decreased glucose responsiveness of GSIS in the saturated-fat-fed pregnant group. Thus, insulin resistance evoked by dietary saturated fat is partially countered by augmented insulin secretion, but compensation is compromised by impaired islet function. Substitution of 7% of saturated FA with long-chain omega-3 FA suppressed GSIS in vivo but did not modify the effect of saturated-fat feeding to impair GSIS by perifused islets. PPARalpha activation (24 h) rescued impaired islet function that was identified using perifused islets, but GSIS in vivo was suppressed such that glucose tolerance was not improved, suggesting modification of the feedback loop between insulin action and secretion.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha and glucocorticoids interactively regulate insulin secretion during pregnancy.

We evaluated the impact of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)alpha activation and dexamethasone treatment on islet adaptations to the distinct metabolic challenges of fasting and pregnancy, situations where lipid handling is modified to conserve glucose. PPARalpha activation (24 h) in vivo did not affect glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) in nonpregnant female rats in the fasted state, although fasting suppressed GSIS. Dexamethasone treatment (5 days) of nonpregnant rats lowered the glucose threshold and augmented GSIS at high glucose; the former effect was selectively opposed by PPARalpha activation. Pregnancy-induced changes in GSIS were opposed by PPARalpha activation at day 19 of pregnancy. Dexamethasone treatment from day 14 to 19 of pregnancy did not modify the GSIS profile of perifused islets from 19-day pregnant rats but rendered the islet GSIS profile refractory to PPARalpha activation. During sustained hyperglycemia in vivo, dexamethasone treatment augmented GSIS in nonpregnant rats but limited further modification of GSIS by pregnancy. We propose that the effect of PPARalpha activation to oppose lowering of the glucose threshold for GSIS by glucocorticoids is important as part of the fasting adaptation, and modulation of the islet GSIS profile by glucocorticoids toward term facilitates the transition of maternal islet function from the metabolic demands of pregnancy to those imposed after parturition.

Acute omega-3 fatty acid enrichment selectively reverses high-saturated fat feeding-induced insulin hypersecretion but does not improve peripheral insulin resistance.

In rats fed a high-saturated fat diet, replacement of a small percentage of total fatty acids with long-chain omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil for the duration of high-fat feeding prevents the development of insulin resistance. We investigated the effect of acute (24-h) modulation of dietary fat composition on glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) in rats made insulin resistant by high-saturated fat feeding for 4 weeks. Insulin secretion after an intravenous glucose challenge was greatly increased by high-saturated fat feeding. Glucose tolerance was minimally perturbed, demonstrating insulin hypersecretion compensated for insulin resistance. The effect of high-saturated fat feeding to enhance GSIS was retained in perifused islets, such that glucose stimulus-secretion coupling was potentiated. Acute replacement of 7% of dietary fatty acids with long-chain omega-3 fatty acids reversed insulin hypersecretion in vivo, and the effect of long-term high-saturated fat feeding to enhance insulin secretion by perifused islets was also completely reversed. Although a hyperbolic relationship existed between insulin secretion and action in the high-saturated fat and control groups, lowered insulin secretion in the acute fish oil-supplemented group was not accompanied by improved insulin action, and glucose tolerance was adversely affected. Our studies are important because they demonstrate that hyperinsulinemia can be rapidly reversed via the dietary provision of small amounts of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. However, this "insulin sparing" action of acute dietary long-chain omega-3 fatty acids occurs in the absence of an acute improvement in insulin sensitivity and therefore at the expense of maintenance of glucose tolerance.

Diabetogenic impact of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids on pancreatic beta-cell function and the regulation of endogenous glucose production.

In healthy individuals, peripheral insulin resistance evoked by dietary saturated lipid can be accompanied by increased insulin secretion such that glucose tolerance is maintained. Substitution of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids for a small percentage of dietary saturated fat prevents insulin resistance in response to high-saturated fat feeding. We substituted a small amount (7%) of dietary lipid with long-chain omega-3 fatty acids during 4 wk of high-saturated fat feeding to investigate the relationship between amelioration of insulin resistance and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS). We demonstrate that, despite dietary delivery of saturated fat throughout, this manipulation prevents high-saturated fat feeding-induced insulin resistance with respect to peripheral glucose disposal and reverses insulin hypersecretion in response to glucose in vivo. Effects of long-chain omega-3 fatty acid enrichment to lower GSIS were also observed in perifused islets suggesting a direct effect on islet function. However, long-chain omega-3 fatty acid enrichment led to hepatic insulin resistance with respect to suppression of glucose output and impaired glucose tolerance in vivo. Our data demonstrate that the insulin response to glucose is suppressed to a greater extent than whole-body insulin sensitivity is enhanced by enrichment of a high-saturated fat diet with long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. Additionally, reduced GSIS despite glucose intolerance suggests that either long-chain omega-3 fatty acids directly impair the beta-cell response to saturated fat such that insulin secretion cannot be augmented to normalize glucose tolerance or beta-cell compensatory hypersecretion represents a response to insulin resistance at the level of peripheral glucose disposal but not endogenous glucose production.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha activation during pregnancy attenuates glucose-stimulated insulin hypersecretion in vivo by increasing insulin sensitivity, without impairing pregnancy-induced increases in beta-cell glucose sensing and responsiveness.

We investigated the effects of acute (24-h) peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)alpha activation by WY14,643 (pirinixic acid) treatment on glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) during pregnancy, in the rat, in relation to insulin sensitivity. GSIS after iv glucose challenge (500 mg/kg) was increased at d 15 of pregnancy but was attenuated by WY14,643 treatment in vivo, with decreases in acute insulin response (51%; P < 0.001) and total suprabasal 30-min area under the insulin curve (deltaI) (55%; P < 0.001). GSIS was unaffected by WY14,643 treatment in unmated rats. Islet perifusions were employed to identify persistent effects of PPARalpha activation. GSIS was enhanced, and the glucose threshold was reduced in perifused islets from pregnant rats, but WY14,643 treatment failed to reverse these effects. WY14,643 treatment of 15-d-pregnant rats significantly lowered (by 63%; P < 0.01) the insulin resistance index [total suprabasal 30-min area under insulin curve x suprabasal 30-min area under glucose curve (deltaI x deltaG)]. A strong positive linear relationship (r = 0.92) between acute insulin response and deltaI x deltaG was evident between groups. Our studies show that acute PPARalpha activation reverses the augmented GSIS evoked by pregnancy in vivo, whereas the isolated islets retain pregnancy-induced enhancement of beta-cell glucose sensing and responsiveness. Normalization of maternal GSIS to that found in the nonpregnant state is observed in association with alleviation of maternal insulin resistance.