| 1. |
- Dyczynski, Matheus, et al.
(author)
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Targeting autophagy by small molecule inhibitors of vacuolar protein sorting 34 (Vps34) improves the sensitivity of breast cancer cells to Sunitinib
- 2018
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In: Cancer Letters. - : Elsevier. - 0304-3835 .- 1872-7980. ; 435, s. 32-43
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Resistance to chemotherapy is a challenging problem for treatment of cancer patients and autophagy has been shown to mediate development of resistance. In this study we systematically screened a library of 306 known anti-cancer drugs for their ability to induce autophagy using a cell-based assay. 114 of the drugs were classified as autophagy inducers; for 16 drugs, the cytotoxicity was potentiated by siRNA-mediated knock-down of Atg7 and Vps34. These drugs were further evaluated in breast cancer cell lines for autophagy induction, and two tyrosine kinase inhibitors, Sunitinib and Erlotinib, were selected for further studies. For the pharmacological inhibition of autophagy, we have characterized here a novel highly potent selective inhibitor of Vps34, SB02024. SB02024 blocked autophagy in vitro and reduced xenograft growth of two breast cancer cell lines, MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7, in vivo. Vps34 inhibitor significantly potentiated cytotoxicity of Sunitinib and Erlotinib in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 in vitro in monolayer cultures and when grown as multicellular spheroids. Our data suggests that inhibition of autophagy significantly improves sensitivity to Sunitinib and Erlotinib and that Vps34 is a promising therapeutic target for combination strategies in breast cancer.
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| 2. |
- Engen, Karin, et al.
(author)
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Identification of Drug-Like Inhibitors of Insulin-Regulated Aminopeptidase Through Small-Molecule Screening
- 2016
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In: Assay and drug development technologies. - : Mary Ann Liebert Inc. - 1540-658X .- 1557-8127. ; 14:3, s. 180-193
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Intracerebroventricular injection of angiotensin IV, a ligand of insulin-regulated aminopeptidase (IRAP), has been shown to improve cognitive functions in several animal models. Consequently, IRAP is considered a potential target for treatment of cognitive disorders. To identify nonpeptidic IRAP inhibitors, we adapted an established enzymatic assay based on membrane preparations from Chinese hamster ovary cells and a synthetic peptide-like substrate for high-throughput screening purposes. The 384-well microplate-based absorbance assay was used to screen a diverse set of 10,500 compounds for their inhibitory capacity of IRAP. The assay performance was robust with Z-values ranging from 0.81 to 0.91, and the screen resulted in 23 compounds that displayed greater than 60% inhibition at a compound concentration of 10M. After hit confirmation experiments, purity analysis, and promiscuity investigations, three structurally different compounds were considered particularly interesting as starting points for the development of small-molecule-based IRAP inhibitors. After resynthesis, all three compounds confirmed low M activity and were shown to be rapidly reversible. Additional characterization included activity in a fluorescence-based orthogonal assay and in the presence of a nonionic detergent and a reducing agent, respectively. Importantly, the characterized compounds also showed inhibition of the human ortholog, prompting our further interest in these novel IRAP inhibitors.
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| 3. |
- Fritzell, Kajsa, et al.
(author)
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Sensitive ADAR editing reporter in cancer cells enables high-throughput screening of small molecule libraries
- 2019
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In: Nucleic Acids Research. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0305-1048 .- 1362-4962. ; 47:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Adenosine to inosine editing is common in the human transcriptome and changes of this essential activity is associated with disease. Children with ADAR1 mutations develop fatal Aicardi-Goutieres syndrome characterized by aberrant interferon expression. In contrast, ADAR1 overexpression is associated with increased malignancy of breast, lung and liver cancer. ADAR1 silencing in breast cancer cells leads to increased apoptosis, suggesting an anti-apoptotic function that promotes cancer progression. Yet, suitable high-throughput editing assays are needed to efficiently screen chemical libraries for modifiers of ADAR1 activity. We describe the development of a bioluminescent reporter system that facilitates rapid and accurate determination of endogenous editing activity. The system is based on the highly sensitive and quantitative Nanoluciferase that is conditionally expressed upon reporter-transcript editing. Stably introduced into cancer cell lines, the system reports on elevated endogenous ADAR1 editing activity induced by interferon as well as knockdown of ADAR1 and ADAR2. In a single-well setup we used the reporter in HeLa cells to screen a small molecule library of 33 000 compounds. This yielded a primary hit rate of 0.9% at 70% inhibition of editing. Thus, we provide a key tool for high-throughput identification of modifiers of A-to-I editing activity in cancer cells.
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| 4. |
- Kalsum, Sadaf, et al.
(author)
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A high content screening assay for discovery of antimycobacterial compounds based on primary human macrophages infected with virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis
- 2022
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In: Tuberculosis. - : CHURCHILL LIVINGSTONE. - 1472-9792 .- 1873-281X. ; 135
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an emerging threat that makes the discovery of new candidate drugs a priority. In particular, drugs with high sterilizing activity within host cells are needed to improve efficacy and reduce treatment duration. We aimed to develope and validate a High Content Screening assay based on Mycobacterium tuberculosis-infected primary human monocyte-derived macrophages as its natural reservoir. Infected primary human monocyte-derived macrophages were exposed to control antibiotics or tested compounds on 384 well plates. Intracellular bacterial growth and macrophage numbers were evaluated using an ImageXpress High Content Screening system and Z-factor was calculated to assess the reproducibility. The combination of isoniazid and rifampicin as a positive control rendered a Z-factor above 0.4, demonstrating suitability of the assay for screening and compound profiling purposes. In a validation experiment, isoniazid, rifampicin, moxifloxacin and levofloxacin all effectively inhibited intracellular growth as expected. Finally, a pilot screening campaign including 5700 compounds from diverse libraries resulted in the identification of three compounds with confirmed antimycobacterial activity in the low micromolar range and low host cell toxicity. The assay represents an attractive screening platform for both academic research on host-pathogen mechanisms in tuberculosis and for the identification and characterization of novel antimycobacterial compounds.
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| 5. |
- Pinheiro, Tiago, et al.
(author)
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A chemical screen identifies trifluoperazine as an inhibitor of glioblastoma growth
- 2017
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In: Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications - BBRC. - : ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE. - 0006-291X .- 1090-2104. ; 494:3-4, s. 477-483
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Glioblastoma (GBM) is regarded as the most common malignant brain tumor but treatment options are limited. Thus, there is an unmet clinical need for compounds and corresponding targets that could inhibit GBM growth. We screened a library of 80 dopaminergic ligands with the aim of identifying compounds capable of inhibiting GBM cell line proliferation and survival. Out of 45 active compounds, 8 were further validated. We found that the dopamine receptor D2 antagonist trifluoperazine 2HC1 inhibits growth and proliferation of GBM cells in a dose dependent manner. Trifluoperazine's inhibition of GBM cells is cell line dependent and correlates with variations in dopamine receptor expression profile. We conclude that components of the dopamine receptor signaling pathways are potential targets for pharmacological interventions of GBM growth. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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| 6. |
- Pinheiro, Tiago, et al.
(author)
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Reprint of : A chemical screen identifies trifluoperazine as an inhibitor of glioblastoma growth
- 2018
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In: Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications - BBRC. - : Elsevier BV. - 0006-291X .- 1090-2104. ; 499:2, s. 136-142
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Glioblastoma (GBM) is regarded as the most common malignant brain tumor but treatment options are limited. Thus, there is an unmet clinical need for compounds and corresponding targets that could inhibit GBM growth. We screened a library of 80 dopaminergic ligands with the aim of identifying compounds capable of inhibiting GBM cell line proliferation and survival. Out of 45 active compounds, 8 were further validated. We found that the dopamine receptor D2 antagonist trifluoperazine 2HCl inhibits growth and proliferation of GBM cells in a dose dependent manner. Trifluoperazine’s inhibition of GBM cells is cell line dependent and correlates with variations in dopamine receptor expression profile. We conclude that components of the dopamine receptor signaling pathways are potential targets for pharmacological interventions of GBM growth.
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| 7. |
- Tenland, Erik, et al.
(author)
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A novel derivative of the fungal antimicrobial peptide plectasin is active against Mycobacterium tuberculosis
- 2018
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In: Tuberculosis. - : Elsevier BV. - 1472-9792 .- 1873-281X. ; 113, s. 231-238
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Tuberculosis has been reaffirmed as the infectious disease causing most deaths in the world. Co-infection with HIV and the increase in multi-drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains complicate treatment and increases mortality rates, making the development of new drugs an urgent priority. In this study we have identified a promising candidate by screening antimicrobial peptides for their capacity to inhibit mycobacterial growth. This non-toxic peptide, NZX, is capable of inhibiting both clinical strains of M. tuberculosis and an MDR strain at therapeutic concentrations. The therapeutic potential of NZX is further supported in vivo where NZX significantly lowered the bacterial load with only five days of treatment, comparable to rifampicin treatment over the same period. NZX possesses intracellular inhibitory capacity and co-localizes with intracellular bacteria in infected murine lungs. In conclusion, the data presented strongly supports the therapeutic potential of NZX in future anti-TB treatment.
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