A High-Throughput Screening Triage Workflow to Authenticate a Novel Series of PFKFB3 Inhibitors.

A high-throughput screen (HTS) of human 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-biphosphatase 3 (PFKFB3) resulted in several series of compounds with the potential for further optimization. Informatics was used to identify active chemotypes with lead-like profiles and remove compounds that commonly occurred as actives in other HTS screens. The activities were confirmed with IC50 measurements from two orthogonal assay technologies, and further analysis of the Hill slopes and comparison of the ratio of IC50 values at 10 times the enzyme concentration were used to identify artifact compounds. Several series of compounds were rejected as they had both high slopes and poor ratios. A small number of compounds representing the different leading series were assessed using isothermal titration calorimetry, and the X-ray crystal structure of the complex with PFKFB3 was solved. The orthogonal assay technology and isothermal calorimetry were demonstrated to be unreliable in identifying false-positive compounds in this case. Presented here is the discovery of the dihydropyrrolopyrimidinone series of compounds as active and novel inhibitors of PFKFB3, shown by X-ray crystallography to bind to the adenosine triphosphate site. The crystal structures of this series also reveal it is possible to flip the binding mode of the compounds, and the alternative orientation can be driven by a sigma-hole interaction between an aromatic chlorine atom and a backbone carbonyl oxygen. These novel inhibitors will enable studies to explore the role of PFKFB3 in driving the glycolytic phenotype of tumors.

Unified Software Solution for Efficient SPR Data Analysis in Drug Research.

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is a powerful method for obtaining detailed molecular interaction parameters. Modern instrumentation with its increased throughput has enabled routine screening by SPR in hit-to-lead and lead optimization programs, and SPR has become a mainstream drug discovery technology. However, the processing and reporting of SPR data in drug discovery are typically performed manually, which is both time-consuming and tedious. Here, we present the workflow concept, design and experiences with a software module relying on a single, browser-based software platform for the processing, analysis, and reporting of SPR data. The efficiency of this concept lies in the immediate availability of end results: data are processed and analyzed upon loading the raw data file, allowing the user to immediately quality control the results. Once completed, the user can automatically report those results to data repositories for corporate access and quickly generate printed reports or documents. The software module has resulted in a very efficient and effective workflow through saved time and improved quality control. We discuss these benefits and show how this process defines a new benchmark in the drug discovery industry for the handling, interpretation, visualization, and sharing of SPR data.

Potent and selective bivalent inhibitors of BET bromodomains.

Proteins of the bromodomain and extraterminal (BET) family, in particular bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4), are of great interest as biological targets. BET proteins contain two separate bromodomains, and existing inhibitors bind to them monovalently. Here we describe the discovery and characterization of probe compound biBET, capable of engaging both bromodomains simultaneously in a bivalent, in cis binding mode. The evidence provided here was obtained in a variety of biophysical and cellular experiments. The bivalent binding results in very high cellular potency for BRD4 binding and pharmacological responses such as disruption of BRD4-mediator complex subunit 1 foci with an EC50 of 100 pM. These compounds will be of considerable utility as BET/BRD4 chemical probes. This work illustrates a novel concept in ligand design-simultaneous targeting of two separate domains with a drug-like small molecule-providing precedent for a potentially more effective paradigm for developing ligands for other multi-domain proteins.

Potent and Selective CK2 Kinase Inhibitors with Effects on Wnt Pathway Signaling in Vivo.

The Wnt pathway is an evolutionarily conserved and tightly regulated signaling network with important roles in embryonic development and adult tissue regeneration. Impaired Wnt pathway regulation, arising from mutations in Wnt signaling components, such as Axin, APC, and ß-catenin, results in uncontrolled cell growth and triggers oncogenesis. To explore the reported link between CK2 kinase activity and Wnt pathway signaling, we sought to identify a potent, selective inhibitor of CK2 suitable for proof of concept studies in vivo. Starting from a pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine lead (2), we identified compound 7h, a potent CK2 inhibitor with picomolar affinity that is highly selectivity against other kinase family enzymes and inhibits Wnt pathway signaling (IC50 = 50 nM) in DLD-1 cells. In addition, compound 7h has physicochemical properties that are suitable for formulation as an intravenous solution, has demonstrated good pharmacokinetics in preclinical species, and exhibits a high level of activity as a monotherapy in HCT-116 and SW-620 xenografts.

Structures of the human poly (ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase catalytic domain confirm catalytic mechanism and explain inhibition by ADP-HPD derivatives.

Poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase (PARG) is the only enzyme known to catalyse hydrolysis of the O-glycosidic linkages of ADP-ribose polymers, thereby reversing the effects of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases. PARG deficiency leads to cell death whilst PARG depletion causes sensitisation to certain DNA damaging agents, implicating PARG as a potential therapeutic target in several disease areas. Efforts to develop small molecule inhibitors of PARG activity have until recently been hampered by a lack of structural information on PARG. We have used a combination of bio-informatic and experimental approaches to engineer a crystallisable, catalytically active fragment of human PARG (hPARG). Here, we present high-resolution structures of the catalytic domain of hPARG in unliganded form and in complex with three inhibitors: ADP-ribose (ADPR), adenosine 5'-diphosphate (hydroxymethyl)pyrrolidinediol (ADP-HPD) and 8-n-octyl-amino-ADP-HPD. Our structures confirm conservation of overall fold amongst mammalian PARG glycohydrolase domains, whilst revealing additional flexible regions in the catalytic site. These new structures rationalise a body of published mutational data and the reported structure-activity relationship for ADP-HPD based PARG inhibitors. In addition, we have developed and used biochemical, isothermal titration calorimetry and surface plasmon resonance assays to characterise the binding of inhibitors to our PARG protein, thus providing a starting point for the design of new inhibitors.

Affinity-based, biophysical methods to detect and analyze ligand binding to recombinant proteins: matching high information content with high throughput.

Affinity-based technologies have become impactful tools to detect, monitor and characterize molecular interactions using recombinant target proteins. This can aid the understanding of biological function by revealing mechanistic details, and even more importantly, enables the identification of new improved ligands that can modulate the biological activity of those targets in a desired fashion. The selection of the appropriate technology is a key step in that process, as each one of the currently available technologies offers a characteristic type of biophysical information about the ligand-binding event. Alongside the indisputable advantages of each of those technologies they naturally display diverse restrictions that are quite frequently related to the target system to be studied but also to the affinity, solubility and molecular size of the ligands. This paper discusses some of the theoretical and experimental aspects of the most common affinity-based methods, what type of information can be gained from each one of those approaches, and what requirements as well as limitations are expected from working with recombinant proteins on those platforms and how those can be optimally addressed.

Isothermal titration calorimetry and differential scanning calorimetry.

Isothermal titration [Holdgate (BioTechniques 31:164-184, 2001); Ward and Holdgate (Prog. Med. Chem. 38:309-376, 2001); O'Brien et al. (2001) Isothermal titration calorimetry of biomolecules. In: Harding, S. E. and Chowdhry, B. Z. (eds.), Protein-Ligand Interactions: Hydrodynamics and Calorimetry, A Practical Approach. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK] and differential scanning calorimetry [Jelesarov and Bosshard (J. Mol. Recognit. 12:3-18, 1999); Privalov and Dragan (Biophys. Chem. 126:16-24, 2007); Cooper et al. (2001) Differential scanning microcalorimetry. In: Harding, S. E. and Chowdhry, B. Z. (eds.), Protein-Ligand Interactions: Hydrodynamics and Calorimetry, A Practical Approach. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK] are valuable tools for characterising protein targets, and their interactions with ligands, during the drug discovery process. The parameters obtained from these techniques: triangle DeltaH, triangle DeltaG, triangle DeltaS, and triangle DeltaC (p), are properties of the entire system studied and may be composed of many contributions, including the binding reaction itself, conformational changes of the protein and/or ligand during complexation, changes in solvent organisation or other equilibria linked to the binding process. Dissecting and understanding these components, and how they contribute to binding interactions, is a critical step in the ability to design ligands that have high binding affinity for the target protein.

Thermodynamics of binding interactions in the rational drug design process.

Modern drug discovery usually involves the rapid screening of large numbers of compounds, either individually or in resolvable mixtures. These compounds may be complex and lead-like or may be small fragments representing optimal scaffolds. Several methods are suitable for detecting binding interactions based on a wide range of different physical platforms. However, the use of thermodynamic measurements has a role to play both in the high-throughput identification of binders and also in the fundamental understanding of molecular interaction, which is central to rational drug design. This review describes the benefits and drawbacks of using thermodynamic characterisation of binding interactions at various stages in the rational drug design process and highlights future opportunities for advances in instrumentation and methodology.