Discovery of novel MIF inhibitors that attenuate microglial inflammatory activation by structures-based virtual screening and in vitro bioassays.

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a pluripotent pro-inflammatory cytokine and is related to acute and chronic inflammatory responses, immune disorders, tumors, and other diseases. In this study, an integrated virtual screening strategy and bioassays were used to search for potent MIF inhibitors. Twelve compounds with better bioactivity than the prototypical MIF-inhibitor ISO-1 (IC50 = 14.41 µM) were identified by an in vitro enzymatic activity assay. Structural analysis revealed that these inhibitors have novel structural scaffolds. Compound 11 was then chosen for further characterization in vitro, and it exhibited marked anti-inflammatory efficacy in LPS-activated BV-2 microglial cells by suppressing the activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). Our findings suggest that MIF may be involved in the regulation of microglial inflammatory activation and that small-molecule MIF inhibitors may serve as promising therapeutic agents for neuroinflammatory diseases.

Irregularities in enzyme assays: The case of macrophage migration inhibitory factor.

Inhibitors of human macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) previously reported in the literature have been reexamined by synthesis, assaying for tautomerase activity, and protein crystallography. Substantial inconsistencies between prior and current assay results are noted. They appear to arise from difficulties with the tautomerase substrates, solubility issues, and especially covalent inhibition. Incubation time variation shows that 3, 4, 6, and 9 are covalent or slow-binding inhibitors. Two protein crystal structures are provided; one confirms that the twice-discovered 3 is a covalent inhibitor.