Identification of active small-molecule modulators targeting the novel immune checkpoint VISTA.

BACKGROUND: Cancer immunotherapy has gained increasing popularity as a novel approach to treat cancer. A member of the B7 family, V-domain immunoglobulin suppressor of T-cell activation (VISTA) is a novel immune checkpoint that regulates a broad spectrum of immune responses. VISTA is an acidic pH-selective ligand for P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1(PSGL-1). CA-170, a first-in-class small-molecule dual antagonist of VISTA/PD-L1, was collaboratively developed by Aurigene Discovery Technologies Limited and Curis, Inc. It is currently in Phase I clinical trial. RESULTS: In this study, we develop homology modeling for the VISTA 3D structure and subsequent virtual screening for VISTA small-molecule hit ligands. Visualization of the binding postures of docked ligands with the VISTA protein indicates that some small molecular compounds target VISTA. The ability of antagonist to disrupt immune checkpoint VISTA pathways was investigated though functional studies in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: Affinity active molecule for VISTA was obtained through virtual screening, and the antagonist compound activity to VISTA was assayed in cellular level. We reported a small molecule with high VISTA affinity as antagonist, providing ideas for development VISTA-targeted small molecule compound in cancer immunotherapy.

Lipid-lowering effects of oleanolic acid in hyperlipidemic patients.

Oleanolic acid (OA) is a pentacyclic triterpenoid compound extracted from olea europaeal, a traditional Chinese medicine herb. OA has been used in the clinic as a hepatoprotective medicine in China since 1970s. In our previous study, we observed that OA could ameliorate hyperlipidemia in animal models. In the present study, we conducted a small-scale clinical trial to evaluate the hypolipidemia effect of OA in hyperlipidemic patients. Hyperlipidemic patients were administrated with OA for four weeks (4 tablets once, three times a day). The blood samples of the patients were collected before and after OA treatment. The biological parameters were measured. Furthermore, three patients' blood samples were studied with DNA microarray. After OA administration, the TC, TG, and HDLC levels in serum decreased significantly. DNA microarray analysis results showed that the expressions of 21 mRNAs were significantly changed after OA treatment. Bioinformatics analysis showed 17 mRNAs were up-regulated and 4 mRNAs were down-regulated significantly after OA treatment. Five mRNAs (CACNA1B, FCN, STEAP3, AMPH, and NR6A1) were selected to validate the expression levels by qRT-PCR. Therefore, OA administration differentially regulated the expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism. The data showed a clinical evidence that OA could improve hyperlipidemia and also unveiled a new insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying the pharmacological effect of OA on hyperlipidemia.

3-Acetyl-oleanolic acid ameliorates non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in high fat diet-treated rats by activating AMPK-related pathways.

3-Acetyl-oleanolic acid (3Ac-OA) is a derivative of oleanolic acid (OA), which has shown therapeutic beneficial effects on diabetes and metabolic syndrome. In this study we investigated whether 3Ac-OA exerted beneficial effect on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in rats and its potential underlying mechanisms. Treatment with 3Ac-OA (1-100 µmol/L) dose-dependently decreased the intracellular levels of total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) in FFA-treated primary rat hepatocytes and human HepG2 cell lines in vitro. Furthermore, oil red staining studies showed that 3Ac-OA caused dose-dependent decrease in the number of lipid droplets in FFA-treated primary rat hepatocytes. SD rats were fed a high fat diet (HFD) for 6 weeks and subsequently treated with 3Ac-OA (60, 30, 15 mg·kg-1·d-1) for 4 weeks. 3Ac-OA administration significantly decreased the body weight, liver weight and serum TC, TG, LDL-C levels in HFD rats. Furthermore, 3AcOA administration ameliorated lipid accumulation and cell apoptosis in the liver of HFD rats. Using adipokine array analyses, we found that the levels of 11 adipokines (HGF, ICAM, IGF-1, IGFBP-3, IGFBP-5, IGFBP-6, lipocalin-2, MCP-1, M-CSF, Pref-1 and RAGE) were increased by more than twofold in the serum of 3Ac-OA-treated rats, whereas ICAM, IGF-1 and lipocalin-2 had levels increased by more than 20-fold. Moreover, 3Ac-OA administration significantly increased the expression of glucose transporter type 2 (GLUT-2) and low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), as well as the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), protein kinase B (AKT) and glycogen synthase kinase 3ß (GSK-3ß) in the liver tissues of HFD rats. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that 3Ac-OA exerts a protective effect against hyperlipidemia in NAFLD rats through AMPK-related pathways.