A novel HIV-1 antiviral high throughput screening approach for the discovery of HIV-1 inhibitors

Antiviral high throughput screens remain a viable option for identifying novel target inhibitors. However, few antiviral screens have been reduced to practice on an industrial scale. In this study, we describe an HIV-1 dual reporter assay that allows for the simultaneous evaluation of the potential antiviral activities and cytotoxicities of compounds in a high throughput screen (HTS) format. We validate the assay with known HIV-1 inhibitors and show that the antiviral and cytotoxic activities of compounds are reproducibly measured under screening conditions. In addition, we show that the assay exhibits parameters (e.g., signal-to-background ratios and Z' coefficients) suitable for high throughout screening. In a pilot screen, we demonstrate that non-specific or cytotoxic compounds represent a significant fraction of the hits identified in an antiviral screen and that these false positives are identified and deprioritized by the HIV-1 dual reporter assay at the primary screening step. We propose that the HIV-1 dual reporter assay represents a novel approach to HIV-1 antiviral screening that allows for the effective execution of industrial scale HTS campaigns with significantly greater returns on resource investment when compared to previous methods.     

StpC-based gene therapy targeting latent reservoirs of HIV-1

The ability of HIV-1 to form latent reservoirs presents a major obstacle to eradication. One approach to elimination of the latent reservoir is induction therapy, whereby cells harboring latent virus are activated and therefore initiate virus replication. We have constructed a lentiviral vector encoding Herpesvirus saimiri subgroup C saimiri transformation-associated protein (StpC), which has been shown to modulate HIV-1 replication, under the control of a cytomegalovirus promoter in order to determine the ability of StpC to upregulate latent HIV-1. We have included a suicide gene, herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (TK), under the control of the HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) promoter. We hypothesized that upon StpC expression in latently infected cells induction of virus replication and subsequent production of viral transactivators of the LTR will activate expression of the tk gene, sensitizing the cells to the nucleoside analogue ganciclovir (GCV). Transduction of the latently infected cell line J1.1 resulted in increased virus replication. In the presence of GCV transduced cells exhibited decreased HIV-1 replication, inhibition of cell proliferation, and increased apoptosis. This prototype vector serves as a proof of concept of the utility of gene-based induction agents and suicide genes as a new method for targeting reservoirs of latent HIV-1.     

StpC-based gene therapy targeting latent reservoirs of HIV-1

The ability of HIV-1 to form latent reservoirs presents a major obstacle to eradication. One approach to elimination of the latent reservoir is induction therapy, whereby cells harboring latent virus are activated and therefore initiate virus replication. We have constructed a lentiviral vector encoding Herpesvirus saimiri subgroup C saimiri transformation-associated protein (StpC), which has been shown to modulate HIV-1 replication, under the control of a cytomegalovirus promoter in order to determine the ability of StpC to upregulate latent HIV-1. We have included a suicide gene, herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (TK), under the control of the HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) promoter. We hypothesized that upon StpC expression in latently infected cells induction of virus replication and subsequent production of viral transactivators of the LTR will activate expression of the tk gene, sensitizing the cells to the nucleoside analogue ganciclovir (GCV). Transduction of the latently infected cell line J1.1 resulted in increased virus replication. In the presence of GCV transduced cells exhibited decreased HIV-1 replication, inhibition of cell proliferation, and increased apoptosis. This prototype vector serves as a proof of concept of the utility of gene-based induction agents and suicide genes as a new method for targeting reservoirs of latent HIV-1.     

Prostratin as a new therapeutic agent targeting HIV viral reservoirs

The persistence of latent reservoirs of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) represents a major barrier to virus eradication in patients on combination antiretroviral therapy. It has been suggested that treating infected individuals simultaneously with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and agents that activate cells to express HIV-1 might eliminate these latent reservoirs. The phorbol ester prostratin, used in Western Samoa as an ethno-botanical treatment for viral hepatitis, was isolated at the National Cancer Institute in 1992. Prostratin represents a distinct subclass of protein kinase C activators, since unlike other phorbol esters it does not induce tumor formation. Prostratin upregulates expression of viral products from latently infected cells such as U1, ACH-2 and peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients on HAART with undetectable plasma viremia. It also inhibits HIV infection and viral spread at the entry/fusion step of viral life cycle. The lack of tumor promotion of prostratin coupled with its ability to upregulate latent HIV-1 provirus expression and inhibition of viral infection are important features that could be exploited as effective therapy to eliminate latent reservoirs.     

Development and characterization of a stable luciferase dengue virus for high-throughput screening

To facilitate dengue virus (DENV) drug discovery, we developed a stable luciferase reporter DENV-2. A renilla luciferase gene was engineered into the capsid-coding region of an infectious cDNA clone of DENV-2. Transfection of BHK-21 cells with the cDNA clone-derived RNA generated high titers (>10⁶ PFU/ml) of luciferase reporter DENV-2. The reporter virus was infectious to a variety of cells, producing robust luciferase signals. Compared with wild-type virus, the reporter virus replicated slower in both mammalian Vero and mosquito C6/36 cells. To examine the stability of the reporter virus, we continuously passaged the virus on Vero cells for five rounds. All passaged viruses stably maintained the luciferase gene, demonstrating the stability of the reporter virus. Furthermore, we found that the passaged virus accumulated a mutation (T108M) in viral NS4B gene that could enhance viral RNA replication in a cell-type specific manner. Using the reporter virus, we developed a HTS assay in a 384-well format. The HTS assay was validated with known DENV inhibitors and showed a robust Z′ factor of 0.79. The Luc-DENV-2 HTS assay allows screening for inhibitors of all steps of the viral life cycle. The reporter virus will also be a useful tool for studying DENV replication and pathogenesis.     

以病毒RNA核转运为靶点的抗HIV-1药物筛选模型的建立及应用

目前, 临床使用的抗AIDS一线药物主要是HIV逆转录酶抑制剂和蛋白质酶抑制剂。但是, 由于这类药物价格昂贵、严重的副作用、毒性、耐药性等问题日益严重, 发展新作用机制的抗HIV-1药物已成当务之急。因此, 本课题以HIV-1病毒RNA核转运关键蛋白Rev为靶点, 建立了新型抗HIV药物筛选模型, 以期寻找具有新作用机制的抗病毒药物。在筛选模型中, 选择了由HIV-1病毒偏爱性密码子所编码的GFP (GFP_HIV) 作为报告基因, 用于快速简便地分析样品对Rev依赖的RNA核转运的影响。选取抑制剂来普霉素B作为模型的阳性对照对本模型进行了初步评价, 计算出Z' 因子为0.822 0。上述结果初步证明了该模型可用于新型抗HIV药物的筛选。对3 000个化合物进行初筛, 阳性率为9.3%, 复筛阳性率为7.3%。通过抗病毒活性的测定实验以及对阳性化合物进行免疫印迹检测, 最后发现IMB7C7这个化合物以病毒RNA核转运为靶点, 是具有较好效果的特异性抑制剂。     

应用假病毒技术研究HIV-1复制抑制剂

建立以HIV-1复制为靶点的细胞水平假病毒药理筛选模型，并运用该模型筛选化合物库中随机选取的化合物。细胞水平的HIV-1假病毒药理筛选模型是应用水泡性口膜炎病毒的外壳糖蛋白(vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein，VSV-G)包装HIV-1核心建立的，简称VSVG/HIV模型。细胞被VSVG/HIV感染后，病毒携带的报告基因的表达水平(荧光素酶活性或GFP阳性细胞比例)反映了HIV-1的复制水平。对HIV-1复制有抑制作用的化合物应用VSVG/MLV模型对其特异性地进一步检测。被感染细胞中报告基因的表达水平与病毒稀释度呈显著的剂量依赖效应。阳性药物齐多夫定(zidovudine，AZT)、拉米夫定(lamivudine，3TC)、去羟基苷(didanosine，DDI)可剂量依赖性地抑制HIV-1的复制，其IC₅₀分别为48.5 nmol·L^-1、 0.13 μmol·L^-1和1.73 μmol·L^-1，与文献报道一致。在随机筛选的500个化合物中有3个化合物可以抑制HIV-1的复制，IC₅₀分别为1.92、 5.38和3.39 μmol·L^-1，而对MLV的复制无影响。VSVG/HIV假病毒系统是一种安全、有效的针对HIV-1复制的药理筛选模型。当将此模型与VSVG/MLV模型联合使用时，可判断化合物作用的特异性。实验表明：3个化合物，2-甲硫基-5-(4-甲基苯并)酰胺基-1,3,4-噻二唑(化合物A)、N-(3-羟基苯基)-2-(4-异丁基苯基)丙酰胺(化合物B)和N-(4-甲基吡啶基)-4-甲基苯磺酰胺(化合物C)可以特异性抑制HIV-1的复制。     

A 96-well surrogate survival assay coupled with a special short interfering RNA vector for assessing cancer gene targets with enhanced signal/noise ratio and its utility in HTS for cancer therapeutic targets

Transient transfection of short interfering RNAs to inactivate cancer therapeutic genes in cancer cells is an important method to induce therapeutic phenotypes (cell apoptosis, growth arrest, etc.) for cancer target validation. These phenotypes can be initially assessed by cell survival via colorimetric/fluorescence readings, e.g., alamarBlue (Trek Diagnostic Systems, Cleveland, OH) and WST-1. However, intrinsic problems exist for transient transfection-varying toxicity, inconsistent transfection efficiency, as well as other cell-specific determinants-which contribute to a low signal:noise ratio of the assays, rendering of the assay ineffective particularly when applied in high-throughput screening (HTS) multiplexed for different cells. This report describes a method using reporter as a "normalized surrogate" for the conventional survival readout in a 96-well format. In this approach, only the transfected surviving cells produce reporter activities, and many variables associated with transient transfection are excluded. A constitutively expressed reporter gene (luciferase or LacZ) expression cassette is co-transfected into cells along with a specially designed RNA interference (RNAi) vector (or a transgene for that matter). The reporter activity in either liquid cultures or in soft agar cultures in 96-well formats is then quantitated in situ. The RNAi vector construction is simplified so that it can be adapted to a 96-well format. Our data demonstrated that the relative reporter readings for survival are independent of both transfection efficiency and cellular toxicity. The signal:noise ratio is markedly increased, particularly for cells with low transfection efficiency. The assay is versatile and robust and can be applied in multiplexed HTS for cancer target identification and validation.     

Identification of human dopamine receptors agonists from Chinese herbs

AIM: To find human dopamine receptors, especially D1-like receptor specific agonists from Chinese herbs as potential antihypertension drug leads. METHODS: Two D1-like receptor cell lines carrying a beta-lactamase reporter gene, and a D2 receptor cell line coexpressing a promiscuous G protein G15 were constructed using HEK293 cells. A natural compound library made from fractionated samples of herbal extracts was used for high-throughput screening (HTS) against one of the cell lines, HEK/D5R/CRE-blax. The interested hits were evaluated for their activities against various dopamine receptors. RESULTS: Fourteen hits were identified from primary screening, of which 2 of the better hit samples, HD0522 and HD0059, were selected for further material and activity analysis, and to obtain 2 compounds that appeared as 2 single peaks in HPLC, HD0522H01 and HD0059H01. HD0059H01 could activate D1, D2, and D5 receptors, with EC(50 ) values of 2.28 microg/mL, 0.85 microg/mL, and 1.41 microg/mL, respectively. HD0522H01 could only activate D1R and D5R with EC(50 ) values of 2.95 microg/mL and 8.38 microg/mL. CONCLUSION: We established cellbased assays for 3 different human dopamine receptors and identified specific agonists HD0522H01 and HD0059H01 through HTS. The specific agonist to D1-like receptors, HD0522H01, may become a new natural product-based drug lead for antihypertension treatment.     

G-蛋白偶联受体的功能测定和高通量药物筛选

G 蛋白偶联受体家族是药物开发中最大的一类药物靶点 ,高通量药物筛选是开发药物早期阶段的最重要工具之一。根据G 蛋白偶联受体与配体结合及激发的信号通路 ,人们设计了各种可行的功能测试方法 ,用于G 蛋白偶联受体为药靶的高通量药物筛选 ,如 :微体积荧光数字图像测定技术 (Fluorometicmicrovolumeassaytechnology ,FMAT)、荧光偏振 (Fluoresencepolarization ,FP)、竞争性ELISA (Com petitiveenzyme linkedimmunosorbent)、闪烁邻近测定法(Scintillation proximityassay ,SPA)、载黑色素细胞测定法(Melanophoreassay)、报告基因测定法 (Reportergeneassay)和钙离子测定法等测定方法。在这些方法中 ,报告基因测定法和钙离子测定法占了主导地位。非放射性、无需底物和辅助剂的报告基因测定方法和荧光钙离子指示剂的钙离子测定方法可能是将来G 蛋白偶联受体的功能分析和高通量药物筛选的发展方向     

Fluorescent Cell Chip a new in vitro approach for immunotoxicity screening

The Fluorescent Cell Chip (FCC) has been developed specifically for immunotoxicity screening of chemical compounds. This in vitro test is based on a panel of genetically modified reporter cell lines that regulate the expression of fluorescent protein in the same way as they regulate expression of cytokines. Thus, changes in fluorescence intensity represent changes in cytokine expression. Consequently, this technique conforms to efficiency expected from high throughput screening assay. In a pre-validation effort we analyzed 46 compounds. The experimental protocol employed five reporter cell lines derived from murine EL-4 T cells. Reporter cells were exposed to tested chemicals on a 96 well plate and analyzed for EGFP-mediated fluorescence using automated flow cytometric assay. Tested compounds reproducibly generated compound-specific patterns of changes in fluorescence that allows for the hierarchical clustering of their expected activities based on pattern similarity analysis. Resultant classification revealed correlation with available in vivo immunotoxicity data. In conclusion, FCC is a new promising approach for in vitro screening of chemicals for their immunotoxicity.     

Human cell systems for drug discovery

In the current drug discovery paradigm, validated recombinant targets form the basis of in vitro high-throughput screening (HTS) assays. Isolated proteins cannot, however, be regarded as representative of complex biological systems; hence, cell-based systems can be employed to complement in vitro data, providing greater confidence in compound activity in an intact biological system. The scarcity of human material and the lack of proliferative capacity of primary cell cultures, combined with problems associated with the use of stem cells, mean that immortalized cell lines are generally used as a source of cells for HTS. While such cell lines have improved proliferative capacity, they often display aberrant genetic and functional characteristics. Consequently, interest has focused on creating new cell lines using defined molecular strategies that overcome senescence signals and telomere shortening. These strategies include expression of viral oncogenes and the catalytic subunit of telomerase (TERT) to generate immortalized cells. However, persistent proliferation induced by oncogenes can have undesirable effects, particularly on differentiation; hence, conditional immortalization approaches have been developed to provide more suitable cell models. The present review discusses the advantages of different technologies available for the generation of cell lines for use in in vitro biology, and describes a representative range of cell lines currently used in drug discovery.     

Design of modified U1i molecules against HIV-1 RNA

Several gene therapeutic approaches have been proposed to add to current antiretroviral therapy against HIV-1. U1 interference (U1i) is a promising new gene therapy tool that targets mRNAs with modified U1 snRNAs. For efficient inhibition, the 3'-terminal exon of pre-mRNAs must be recognized by the modified U1 snRNA. Subsequent interaction between the U1-associated 70K protein and poly(A) polymerase leads to inhibition of polyadenylation and consequently degradation of the pre-mRNA. We designed 14 new U1i inhibitors against HIV-1 mRNA regions that are 100% complementary to at least 70% of HIV-1 sequences listed in the HIV database. All U1i inhibitors were tested transiently in HIV-1 production assays as well as luciferase reporter experiments and three candidates were examined further in stably lentivirus-transduced T cell lines. We identified U1i-J that targets the region encoding the NF-κB binding sites as the most effective inhibitor that substantially reduced viral protein expression. The potency of J is determined in part by the presence of a duplicated target within the HIV-1 mRNA. The stably transduced SupT1 T cells were challenged with HIV-1 but no antiviral effect was detected. U1i inhibitors can be potent suppressors of HIV-1 production in transient assays but further optimization of this antiviral approach is needed.     

Identification of human dopamine D1-like receptor agonist using a cell-based functional assay

AIM: To establish a cell-based assay to screen human dopamine D1 and D5 receptor agonists against compounds from a natural product compound library. METHODS: Synthetic responsive elements 6 cAMP response elements (CRE) and a mini promoter containing a TATA box were inserted into the pGL3 basic vector to generate the reporter gene construct pCRE/TA/Luci. CHO cells were co-transfected with the reporter gene construct and human D1 or D5 receptor cDNA in mammalian expression vectors. Stable cell lines were established for agonist screening. A natural product compound library from over 300 herbs has been established. The extracts from these herbs were used for human D1 and D5 receptor agonist screenings. RESULTS: A number of extracts were identified that activated both D1 and D5 receptors. One of the herb extracts, SBG492, demonstrated distinct pharmacological characteristics with human D1 and D5 receptors. The EC(50) values of SBG492 were 342.7 microg/mL for the D1 receptor and 31.7 microg/mL for the D5 receptor. CONCLUSION: We have established a cell-based assay for high-throughput drug screening to identify D1-like receptor agonists from natural products. Several extracts that can active D1-like receptors were discovered. These compounds could be useful tools for studies on the functions of these receptors in the brain and could potentially be developed into therapeutic drugs for the treatment of central nervous system diseases.     

Cellular HTS assays for pharmacological characterization of Na(V)1.7 modulators

Ion channels are challenging targets in the early phases of the drug discovery process, especially because of the lack of technologies available to screen large numbers of compounds in functionally relevant assays. The electrophysiological patch-clamp technique, which is the gold standard for studying ion channels, has low throughput and is not amenable to screening large numbers of compounds. However, for random high-throughput screening (HTS) of compounds against ion channel targets, a number of functional cellular assays have become available during the last few years. Here we use the sodium channel NaV1.7 stably expressed in human embryonic kidney 293 cells and compare three HTS assays-a Li flux atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) assay, a fluorescent imaging plate reader (FLIP, Molecular Devices, Sunnyvale, CA) membrane potential assay, and a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based membrane potential assay-to an automated electrophysiological assay (the Ionworks HT [Molecular Devices] platform) and characterize 11 known NaV inhibitors. Our results show that all three HTS assays are suitable for identification of NaV1.7 inhibitors, but as an HTS assay the Li-AAS assay is more robust with higher Z' values than the FLIPR and FRET-based membrane potential assays. Furthermore, there was a better correlation between the Ionworks assay and the Li-AAS assay regarding the potency of the NaV inhibitors investigated. This paper describes the first comparison between all the HTS assays available today to study voltage-gated NaVs, and the results suggest that the Li-AAS assay is more suited as a first HTS assay when starting an NaV drug discovery campaign.