Pub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-08-15DOI: 10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100264
Nelson García-Vázquez, Moustafa T. Gabr
SLIT2, a secreted glycoprotein involved in axon guidance, immune modulation, and tumor progression, remains largely unexplored as a pharmacological target due to the absence of small-molecule modulators. Here, we present a proof-of-concept high-throughput screening platform that integrates Temperature-Related Intensity Change (TRIC) technology with time-resolved Förster resonance energy transfer (TR-FRET) to identify small molecules capable of disrupting the SLIT2/ROBO1 interaction. Screening a lipid metabolism–focused compound library (653 molecules) yielded bexarotene, as the most potent small molecule SLIT2 binder reported to date, with a dissociation constant (KD) of 2.62 µM. Follow-up TR-FRET assays demonstrated dose-dependent inhibition of SLIT2/ROBO1 interaction, with relative half-maximal inhibitory concentration (relative IC50) = 77.27 ± 17.32 µM, with a maximal inhibition (Imax) of ∼40 % at 400 µM. These findings suggest a novel extracellular activity of bexarotene and validate the combined use of TRIC and TR-FRET as a scalable screening strategy for SLIT2-targeted small molecules. This platform lays the groundwork for future high-throughput discovery efforts against SLIT2 and its signaling axis.
{"title":"Orthogonal temperature-related intensity change (TRIC) and TR-FRET as a high-throughput screening platform for the discovery of SLIT2 binders: A proof-of-concept approach","authors":"Nelson García-Vázquez, Moustafa T. Gabr","doi":"10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100264","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100264","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>SLIT2, a secreted glycoprotein involved in axon guidance, immune modulation, and tumor progression, remains largely unexplored as a pharmacological target due to the absence of small-molecule modulators. Here, we present a proof-of-concept high-throughput screening platform that integrates Temperature-Related Intensity Change (TRIC) technology with time-resolved Förster resonance energy transfer (TR-FRET) to identify small molecules capable of disrupting the SLIT2/ROBO1 interaction. Screening a lipid metabolism–focused compound library (653 molecules) yielded bexarotene, as the most potent small molecule SLIT2 binder reported to date, with a dissociation constant (<em>K</em><sub>D</sub>) of 2.62 µM. Follow-up TR-FRET assays demonstrated dose-dependent inhibition of SLIT2/ROBO1 interaction, with relative half-maximal inhibitory concentration (relative IC<sub>50</sub>) = 77.27 ± 17.32 µM, with a maximal inhibition (Imax) of ∼40 % at 400 µM. These findings suggest a novel extracellular activity of bexarotene and validate the combined use of TRIC and TR-FRET as a scalable screening strategy for SLIT2-targeted small molecules. This platform lays the groundwork for future high-throughput discovery efforts against SLIT2 and its signaling axis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21764,"journal":{"name":"SLAS Discovery","volume":"35 ","pages":"Article 100264"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144863731","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-08-13DOI: 10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100263
Claudia McCown , Evan A. Ambrose , Devang M. Patel , Hassan Al-Ali , Louis Scampavia , Fangliang Zhang , Timothy P. Spicer
Arginyltransferase 1 (ATE1) catalyzes post-translational arginylation, a process implicated in protein stability, cellular function, and disease pathology. Dysregulated arginylation is associated with neurodegenerative disorders, cancer, and inflammation. Particularly, the increase of ATE1 activity has been shown to cause cell death in response to acute stress, highlighting ATE1 as a promising therapeutic target. Despite its therapeutic relevance, no selective small-molecule inhibitors of ATE1 have been FDA-approved at this time, with previous screening efforts yielding compounds with high promiscuity and toxicity. This, in part, is due to the lack of assays that would accommodate large-scale screening for effective and safe ATE1-inhibitors. To address this challenge, we developed a cell-based high-throughput screening (HTS) assay utilizing a fluorescent reporter system based on an ATE1 substrate peptide fused to a fluorescence protein and co-expressed alongside another fluorescence protein for normalization. The assay enables real-time quantification of ATE1 activity by monitoring arginylation-dependent protein degradation within intact cells, measured by the ratio of the two fluorescence signals. We validated the assay in 96-well and 1536-well plate formats, demonstrating its scalability and robustness through key performance metrics, including Z'-factor and signal-to-background ratio. A pilot screen of a Library of Pharmacologically Active Compounds (LOPAC®1280) was performed to evaluate this approach. This study establishes a scalable and selective platform for discovering ATE1 inhibitors, paving the way for future therapeutic development targeting ATE1-mediated disease pathways.
{"title":"Cell based high-throughput screening for small molecule inhibitors of ATE1","authors":"Claudia McCown , Evan A. Ambrose , Devang M. Patel , Hassan Al-Ali , Louis Scampavia , Fangliang Zhang , Timothy P. Spicer","doi":"10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100263","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100263","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Arginyltransferase 1 (ATE1) catalyzes post-translational arginylation, a process implicated in protein stability, cellular function, and disease pathology. Dysregulated arginylation is associated with neurodegenerative disorders, cancer, and inflammation. Particularly, the increase of ATE1 activity has been shown to cause cell death in response to acute stress, highlighting ATE1 as a promising therapeutic target. Despite its therapeutic relevance, no selective small-molecule inhibitors of ATE1 have been FDA-approved at this time, with previous screening efforts yielding compounds with high promiscuity and toxicity. This, in part, is due to the lack of assays that would accommodate large-scale screening for effective and safe ATE1-inhibitors. To address this challenge, we developed a cell-based high-throughput screening (HTS) assay utilizing a fluorescent reporter system based on an ATE1 substrate peptide fused to a fluorescence protein and co-expressed alongside another fluorescence protein for normalization. The assay enables real-time quantification of ATE1 activity by monitoring arginylation-dependent protein degradation within intact cells, measured by the ratio of the two fluorescence signals. We validated the assay in 96-well and 1536-well plate formats, demonstrating its scalability and robustness through key performance metrics, including Z'-factor and signal-to-background ratio. A pilot screen of a Library of Pharmacologically Active Compounds (LOPAC®1280) was performed to evaluate this approach. This study establishes a scalable and selective platform for discovering ATE1 inhibitors, paving the way for future therapeutic development targeting ATE1-mediated disease pathways.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21764,"journal":{"name":"SLAS Discovery","volume":"35 ","pages":"Article 100263"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144859975","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-06-24DOI: 10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100245
Charles S. Lay, Elvira Diamantopoulou, Katharina L. Dürr, Idlir Liko, Steven J. Charlton
The generation of action potentials in neuronal cells and many other physiological processes involve the transport of chloride ions. Whilst there have been advances in chloride imaging techniques utilizing FRET biosensors, there is a lack of methodologies that are amenable to high-throughput screening for drug discovery. In this study, we developed a novel BRET-based biosensor (Glorider), utilizing a chloride-sensitive GFP variant fused to NanoLuciferase. The Glorider biosensor was then used to kinetically measure the effect of WNK, KCC2 and NKCC1 modulators in real time in living cells, including recently reported KCC2 agonists.
{"title":"Development of a BRET based chloride biosensor for high throughput screening of KCC2 modulators","authors":"Charles S. Lay, Elvira Diamantopoulou, Katharina L. Dürr, Idlir Liko, Steven J. Charlton","doi":"10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100245","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100245","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The generation of action potentials in neuronal cells and many other physiological processes involve the transport of chloride ions. Whilst there have been advances in chloride imaging techniques utilizing FRET biosensors, there is a lack of methodologies that are amenable to high-throughput screening for drug discovery. In this study, we developed a novel BRET-based biosensor (Glorider), utilizing a chloride-sensitive GFP variant fused to NanoLuciferase. The Glorider biosensor was then used to kinetically measure the effect of WNK, KCC2 and NKCC1 modulators in real time in living cells, including recently reported KCC2 agonists.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21764,"journal":{"name":"SLAS Discovery","volume":"35 ","pages":"Article 100245"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144501316","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-08-08DOI: 10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100261
Elvis Awuni
Bacterial infections and antibiotic resistance remain significant threats to global health, with millions of related deaths recorded annually. Projections that antibacterial resistance-related deaths could reach alarming proportions in the coming years, along with the shortcomings of current interventions, highlight the need for new drug targets, novel antibiotics, and revised strategies and policy actions. The bacterial cytoskeleton, rod, and divisome systems (BCRDs) perform vital cellular roles and serve as a reserve of numerous potential therapeutic targets. The components of the BCRDs play different roles but share some relationships, suggesting the possibility of exploiting synergistic, polytherapeutic, and polypharmacological effects with antibiotics to mitigate bacterial resistance. Unfortunately, few drug targets within the BCRDs have been validated, and bacterial resistance to the inhibitors and approved antibiotics poses a challenge to the health and pharmaceutical industries. This review provides a concise but comprehensive overview of drugging the BCRDs, emphasizing the relationships and druggable potentials, validated targets, inhibitors, challenges, interventions, prospects, perspectives, and future directions geared toward reinvigorating research and overcoming bottlenecks in the sector. Overall, the material presented and discussed could facilitate the identification and validation of new therapeutic targets, the discovery and development of novel clinical drugs, and the revision of strategies and policy interventions to augment the fight against antibiotic resistance.
{"title":"An overview of drugging the bacterial cytoskeleton, rod, and divisome systems","authors":"Elvis Awuni","doi":"10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100261","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100261","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Bacterial infections and antibiotic resistance remain significant threats to global health, with millions of related deaths recorded annually. Projections that antibacterial resistance-related deaths could reach alarming proportions in the coming years, along with the shortcomings of current interventions, highlight the need for new drug targets, novel antibiotics, and revised strategies and policy actions. The bacterial cytoskeleton, rod, and divisome systems (BCRDs) perform vital cellular roles and serve as a reserve of numerous potential therapeutic targets. The components of the BCRDs play different roles but share some relationships, suggesting the possibility of exploiting synergistic, polytherapeutic, and polypharmacological effects with antibiotics to mitigate bacterial resistance. Unfortunately, few drug targets within the BCRDs have been validated, and bacterial resistance to the inhibitors and approved antibiotics poses a challenge to the health and pharmaceutical industries. This review provides a concise but comprehensive overview of drugging the BCRDs, emphasizing the relationships and druggable potentials, validated targets, inhibitors, challenges, interventions, prospects, perspectives, and future directions geared toward reinvigorating research and overcoming bottlenecks in the sector. Overall, the material presented and discussed could facilitate the identification and validation of new therapeutic targets, the discovery and development of novel clinical drugs, and the revision of strategies and policy interventions to augment the fight against antibiotic resistance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21764,"journal":{"name":"SLAS Discovery","volume":"35 ","pages":"Article 100261"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144818588","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-08-23DOI: 10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100267
Jinhee Kim , Kwang-Eun Choi , Yuno Lee , Daeyoung Jeong , Hyun Young Kim , Jung-In Lee , Heeyeong Cho , Nam-Chul Cho
Cytotoxicity profiling of screening libraries is a critical component in early-stage drug discovery to identify compounds with undesirable toxic effects. Here, we report the cytotoxicity profiling of the Korea Chemical Bank (KCB) diversity library, comprising 7040 compounds curated via virtual screening, clustering, and druggability assessment. A subset of 5181 compounds was randomly selected and screened using the WST-1 assay in five mammalian cell lines (HEK293, HFL1, HepG2, NIH3T3, and CHOK1) at concentrations of 30 µM and 10 µM, following 24 h and 48 h incubation periods. Cytotoxic compounds were defined as those exhibiting >50 % inhibition at 30 µM after 48 h. A total of 17 compounds showed consistent cytotoxicity across all five cell lines. Comparative analysis of physicochemical properties revealed that cytotoxic compounds exhibited higher lipophilicity (ALogP/ LogD) and the number of aromatic rings (AR) relative to non-cytotoxic compounds. These results indicate that the majority of the KCB diversity library comprises non-cytotoxic compounds, reflecting effective pre-filtering of toxic physicochemical properties during library design.
{"title":"Cytotoxic Profiling of Korea Chemical Bank Diversity Library","authors":"Jinhee Kim , Kwang-Eun Choi , Yuno Lee , Daeyoung Jeong , Hyun Young Kim , Jung-In Lee , Heeyeong Cho , Nam-Chul Cho","doi":"10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100267","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100267","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cytotoxicity profiling of screening libraries is a critical component in early-stage drug discovery to identify compounds with undesirable toxic effects. Here, we report the cytotoxicity profiling of the Korea Chemical Bank (KCB) diversity library, comprising 7040 compounds curated via virtual screening, clustering, and druggability assessment. A subset of 5181 compounds was randomly selected and screened using the WST-1 assay in five mammalian cell lines (HEK293, HFL1, HepG2, NIH3T3, and CHOK1) at concentrations of 30 µM and 10 µM, following 24 h and 48 h incubation periods. Cytotoxic compounds were defined as those exhibiting >50 % inhibition at 30 µM after 48 h. A total of 17 compounds showed consistent cytotoxicity across all five cell lines. Comparative analysis of physicochemical properties revealed that cytotoxic compounds exhibited higher lipophilicity (ALogP/ LogD) and the number of aromatic rings (AR) relative to non-cytotoxic compounds. These results indicate that the majority of the KCB diversity library comprises non-cytotoxic compounds, reflecting effective pre-filtering of toxic physicochemical properties during library design.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21764,"journal":{"name":"SLAS Discovery","volume":"35 ","pages":"Article 100267"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144921842","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-07-02DOI: 10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100247
Marina Fosso Yatchang , Ling Zhai , Omar Moukha-Chafiq , Bini Mathew , Fuad Al Abir , Sixue Zhang , Pedro Ruiz , Sara McKellip , Miranda Nebane , Jake Y. Chen , Anupam Agarwal , James R. Bostwick , Mark J. Suto , Mohammad Athar , Corinne E. Augelli-Szafran
Warfare arsenicals are potent blistering agents and cause severe inflammation following their skin exposure. Data from our group (unpublished) show that these chemicals act by activating bromodomain-4 and RIPK signaling. To develop a dual inhibitor of the bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) and the receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 3 (RIPK3), we conducted a high-throughput screening (HTS) campaign for inhibitors of BRD4 and RIPK3 activity to identify anti-inflammatory agent candidates that could alleviate arsenicals-induced injury. Our primary assays were adapted to 384-well microplates and used to screen a collection of 4074 compounds consisting of FDA-approved drugs and other bioactive compounds. The BRD4 primary screen had an average Z' value of 0.93 and a signal-to-background (S/B) ratio of 3018, while the RIPK3 primary screen had an average Z' value of 0.86 and S/B = 12.6. A counter screen assay was used to ensure activity was due to target engagement and not assay interference. Hits that inhibited BRD4 binding by > 54.6 % and kinase activity by > 22.4 % in the primary screen and were not statistical outliers in the counter screen assays, were confirmed in concentration-response format. Hits were also tested in a cell-based IL-6 assay to determine corresponding inflammatory inhibitory activity. Eighteen compounds were active in both BRD4 and RIPK3 assays, of which three displayed IC50 values < 10 μM with promising IL-6 inhibition. These compounds could serve as good candidates for further chemical optimization for the development of small-molecule medical counter measure agents against arsenicals.
{"title":"High-throughput screening for the identification of dual inhibitors of BRD4 and RIPK3 toward the development of small-molecule medical countermeasure agents against arsenicals","authors":"Marina Fosso Yatchang , Ling Zhai , Omar Moukha-Chafiq , Bini Mathew , Fuad Al Abir , Sixue Zhang , Pedro Ruiz , Sara McKellip , Miranda Nebane , Jake Y. Chen , Anupam Agarwal , James R. Bostwick , Mark J. Suto , Mohammad Athar , Corinne E. Augelli-Szafran","doi":"10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100247","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100247","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Warfare arsenicals are potent blistering agents and cause severe inflammation following their skin exposure. Data from our group (unpublished) show that these chemicals act by activating bromodomain-4 and RIPK signaling. To develop a dual inhibitor of the bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) and the receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 3 (RIPK3), we conducted a high-throughput screening (HTS) campaign for inhibitors of BRD4 and RIPK3 activity to identify anti-inflammatory agent candidates that could alleviate arsenicals-induced injury. Our primary assays were adapted to 384-well microplates and used to screen a collection of 4074 compounds consisting of FDA-approved drugs and other bioactive compounds. The BRD4 primary screen had an average Z' value of 0.93 and a signal-to-background (S/B) ratio of 3018, while the RIPK3 primary screen had an average Z' value of 0.86 and S/<em>B</em> = 12.6. A counter screen assay was used to ensure activity was due to target engagement and not assay interference. Hits that inhibited BRD4 binding by > 54.6 % and kinase activity by > 22.4 % in the primary screen and were not statistical outliers in the counter screen assays, were confirmed in concentration-response format. Hits were also tested in a cell-based IL-6 assay to determine corresponding inflammatory inhibitory activity. Eighteen compounds were active in both BRD4 and RIPK3 assays, of which three displayed IC<sub>50</sub> values < 10 μM with promising IL-6 inhibition. These compounds could serve as good candidates for further chemical optimization for the development of small-molecule medical counter measure agents against arsenicals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21764,"journal":{"name":"SLAS Discovery","volume":"35 ","pages":"Article 100247"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144565499","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-08-21DOI: 10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100265
Jianming Liu , Bradley Peter , Lauren Rhodes , Mats Ormö , Bo Peng , Pia Hansson , Anders Gunnarsson , Laurent Knerr , Filip Miljković , Maria Ölwegård-Halvarsson , Mahya Dezfouli , Niek Dekker , Helena Lindmark , Shalini Andersson
Hepatocyte-specific Asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) and its native ligand N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) have been actively exploited for targeted delivery of therapeutic and diagnostic agents to the liver. Identification of new potent ligands of ASGPR is of high interest to advance this field and expand to new applications in drug discovery. However, success of novel potent ASGPR ligand discovery has been limited due to the lack of robust high-throughput assays amenable to High-Throughput Screening (HTS). Here, we describe the design and development of two novel biochemical competition binding assays using recombinant human trimeric ASGR1 protein (ASGPR subunit 1) as a mimic of the native multimeric complex and a reference Alexa-647 fluorophore-labelled tri-GalNAc ligand as a tracer. Both ASGR1 TR-FRET and fluorescence polarization (FP) assays are in 384-well microplate format and have a large detection range (IC50 of 2.5 nM - 100 µM), suitable for both monovalent and multivalent ASGPR ligands as well as oligonucleotide conjugates. The ASGR1 FP assay was miniaturized into a 1536-well assay format and a pilot screen of a small molecule library of about 7500 compounds was conducted, identifying 23 positive hits with IC50 values between 12 - 100 µM. Five of the primary hits were validated in orthogonal TR-FRET and SPR binding assays and one of them was successfully docked into the ASGPR, with the docking pose closely matching the binding mode of structurally analogous compound found to be co-crystalized with ASGR1. The successful development of these new ASGR1 biochemical assays provides a new platform for an HTS campaign on small molecule collections to discover novel ASGPR ligands for liver-targeted delivery of efficient therapeutic agents, LYTACs or as potential drugs.
{"title":"Development of novel high-throughput biochemical competition assays to identify ligands of human asialoglycoprotein receptor 1","authors":"Jianming Liu , Bradley Peter , Lauren Rhodes , Mats Ormö , Bo Peng , Pia Hansson , Anders Gunnarsson , Laurent Knerr , Filip Miljković , Maria Ölwegård-Halvarsson , Mahya Dezfouli , Niek Dekker , Helena Lindmark , Shalini Andersson","doi":"10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100265","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100265","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Hepatocyte-specific Asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) and its native ligand N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) have been actively exploited for targeted delivery of therapeutic and diagnostic agents to the liver. Identification of new potent ligands of ASGPR is of high interest to advance this field and expand to new applications in drug discovery. However, success of novel potent ASGPR ligand discovery has been limited due to the lack of robust high-throughput assays amenable to High-Throughput Screening (HTS). Here, we describe the design and development of two novel biochemical competition binding assays using recombinant human trimeric ASGR1 protein (ASGPR subunit 1) as a mimic of the native multimeric complex and a reference Alexa-647 fluorophore-labelled tri-GalNAc ligand as a tracer. Both ASGR1 TR-FRET and fluorescence polarization (FP) assays are in 384-well microplate format and have a large detection range (IC<sub>50</sub> of 2.5 nM - 100 µM), suitable for both monovalent and multivalent ASGPR ligands as well as oligonucleotide conjugates. The ASGR1 FP assay was miniaturized into a 1536-well assay format and a pilot screen of a small molecule library of about 7500 compounds was conducted, identifying 23 positive hits with IC<sub>50</sub> values between 12 - 100 µM. Five of the primary hits were validated in orthogonal TR-FRET and SPR binding assays and one of them was successfully docked into the ASGPR, with the docking pose closely matching the binding mode of structurally analogous compound found to be co-crystalized with ASGR1. The successful development of these new ASGR1 biochemical assays provides a new platform for an HTS campaign on small molecule collections to discover novel ASGPR ligands for liver-targeted delivery of efficient therapeutic agents, LYTACs or as potential drugs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21764,"journal":{"name":"SLAS Discovery","volume":"35 ","pages":"Article 100265"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144917867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-06-21DOI: 10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100244
Zhi-Bin Tong, Srilatha Sakamuru, James Travers, Tuan Xu, Shu Yang, Menghang Xia, Anton Simeonov, Ruili Huang, David Gerhold
Although multiple pesticides and solvents are risk factors for Parkinson’s disease [1] and other neurodegenerative diseases, most risk factors remain undiscovered. We previously identified the metallothionein gene MT1G as a biomarker for neurotoxicity induced by all seven neurotoxicants tested in LUHMES dopaminergic neurons. Here we used CRISP/R technology to insert a HiBiT tag into the MT1G gene of the LUHMES cell line. The engineered LUHMES MT1G::HiBiT cell lines were used to develop a quantitative high throughput screening [2] assay in a 3D-suspension culture platform with 1536 well microplates. We validated this qHTS assay by screening the LOPAC (Library of Pharmacologically Active Compounds) collection composed of 1280 compounds plus 88 selected Tox21 chemicals, demonstrating high signal-to-noise and reproducibility. In screening this library, 49 compounds were confirmed to significantly increase MT1G-HiBiT activity, including 35 compounds that exhibited cytotoxicity below 50 μM, and 14 noncytotoxic compounds. Most of these MT1G-HiBiT inducers killed cells at concentrations moderately higher than their MT1G-HiBiT activation potencies (AC50), however 14 showed MT1G-HiBiT AC50 values more than 3-fold lower than cytotoxicity IC50 values, and two showed higher values. Among the 49 MT1G-HiBiT inducers, 45 compounds resembled chelators. To test this apparent association, 27 known chelators were gathered and tested. Of these, 23 were active in the MT1G-HiBiT activity assay, confirming the propensity of chelators to activate MT1G transcription. Screening chemical libraries with this validated assay and characterizing the effects of active chemicals on cultured neurons may enable the identification of neurotoxicants or neurotoxic chemotypes that may cause neurodegenerative diseases.
{"title":"MT1G activation in dopaminergic neurons identifies chelators and their relationships to cytotoxicity","authors":"Zhi-Bin Tong, Srilatha Sakamuru, James Travers, Tuan Xu, Shu Yang, Menghang Xia, Anton Simeonov, Ruili Huang, David Gerhold","doi":"10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100244","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100244","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Although multiple pesticides and solvents are risk factors for Parkinson’s disease [<span><span>1</span></span>] and other neurodegenerative diseases, most risk factors remain undiscovered. We previously identified the metallothionein gene <em>MT1G</em> as a biomarker for neurotoxicity induced by all seven neurotoxicants tested in LUHMES dopaminergic neurons. Here we used CRISP/R technology to insert a HiBiT tag into the <em>MT1G</em> gene of the LUHMES cell line. The engineered LUHMES <em>MT1G</em>::HiBiT cell lines were used to develop a quantitative high throughput screening [<span><span>2</span></span>] assay in a 3D-suspension culture platform with 1536 well microplates. We validated this qHTS assay by screening the LOPAC (Library of Pharmacologically Active Compounds) collection composed of 1280 compounds plus 88 selected Tox21 chemicals, demonstrating high signal-to-noise and reproducibility. In screening this library, 49 compounds were confirmed to significantly increase MT1G-HiBiT activity, including 35 compounds that exhibited cytotoxicity below 50 μM, and 14 noncytotoxic compounds. Most of these MT1G-HiBiT inducers killed cells at concentrations moderately higher than their MT1G-HiBiT activation potencies (AC<sub>50</sub>), however 14 showed MT1G-HiBiT AC<sub>50</sub> values more than 3-fold lower than cytotoxicity IC<sub>50</sub> values, and two showed higher values. Among the 49 MT1G-HiBiT inducers, 45 compounds resembled chelators. To test this apparent association, 27 known chelators were gathered and tested. Of these, 23 were active in the MT1G-HiBiT activity assay, confirming the propensity of chelators to activate <em>MT1G</em> transcription. Screening chemical libraries with this validated assay and characterizing the effects of active chemicals on cultured neurons may enable the identification of neurotoxicants or neurotoxic chemotypes that may cause neurodegenerative diseases.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21764,"journal":{"name":"SLAS Discovery","volume":"35 ","pages":"Article 100244"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144478192","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-07-18DOI: 10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100250
Buyun Tang, Tatiana Gladysheva, Paul Lang
The field of covalent drug development has advanced rapidly, offering promising therapeutic potential due to the ability of these drugs to form slowly reversible or irreversible bonds with target proteins, resulting in prolonged pharmacodynamic effects. This distinctive mechanism of action has sparked resurging interest in covalent inhibitors across various disease areas, including oncology, neurological disorders, and infectious diseases. However, characterization of covalent inhibitors poses unique challenges, highlighting the need for simplified and robust assay methods. This protocol describes an enzyme activity-based workflow designed to identify and characterize covalent inhibitors efficiently. By streamlining the evaluation process, this approach enhances the reliability and reproducibility of covalent inhibitor assessment, ultimately accelerating the discovery and optimization of novel covalent therapeutics.
{"title":"An enzyme activity-based workflow for the identification and characterization of covalent inhibitors","authors":"Buyun Tang, Tatiana Gladysheva, Paul Lang","doi":"10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100250","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100250","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The field of covalent drug development has advanced rapidly, offering promising therapeutic potential due to the ability of these drugs to form slowly reversible or irreversible bonds with target proteins, resulting in prolonged pharmacodynamic effects. This distinctive mechanism of action has sparked resurging interest in covalent inhibitors across various disease areas, including oncology, neurological disorders, and infectious diseases. However, characterization of covalent inhibitors poses unique challenges, highlighting the need for simplified and robust assay methods. This protocol describes an enzyme activity-based workflow designed to identify and characterize covalent inhibitors efficiently. By streamlining the evaluation process, this approach enhances the reliability and reproducibility of covalent inhibitor assessment, ultimately accelerating the discovery and optimization of novel covalent therapeutics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21764,"journal":{"name":"SLAS Discovery","volume":"35 ","pages":"Article 100250"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144676733","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-07-09DOI: 10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100248
Swetha Peddibhotla , Lauren A. Boone , Earnest L. Taylor, Bryan E. McQueen, Elizabeth M. Boazak
Current treatments for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are often ineffective long-term, as many patients ultimately become unresponsive to anti-inflammatory drugs. The need for improved therapeutics is urgent. Animal models utilized for drug development are limited by interspecies variability and poor translatability. However, most in vitro models lack the sophistication to model the key interplay of the immune system with the intestinal epithelium in line with the known role of the immune system in the etiology of the disease.
To address this gap, we developed a primary intestinal epithelial cell co-culture system to incorporate elements of innate immune signaling. This system models immune-epithelial interactions using RepliGutⓇ - Planar Transverse Colon cultured on a Transwell™ system with THP-1 derived macrophages in a receiver compartment of a 96-well plate format, compatible with high-throughput screening (HTS) workflows. Epithelial barrier integrity and cell viability were maintained in co-culture with unstimulated macrophages. However, similar to the pathology associated with IBD, epithelial integrity was compromised in co-culture with LPS + IFN-γ pre-stimulated macrophages as evidenced by declining TEER and cell viability and increased inflammatory cytokine release. Cotreatment with anti-inflammatory IBD therapeutics adalimumab or tofacitinib mitigated these effects, demonstrating the model’s ability to replicate key inflammatory responses and prevention.
Reproducibility and scalability of the model system further position the model for screening and/or mechanistic interrogation of anti-inflammatory drugs, improving drug discovery, and accelerating the translation of new IBD therapies into clinical practice.
{"title":"A scalable human gut-immune co-culture model for evaluating inflammatory bowel disease anti-inflammatory therapies","authors":"Swetha Peddibhotla , Lauren A. Boone , Earnest L. Taylor, Bryan E. McQueen, Elizabeth M. Boazak","doi":"10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100248","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100248","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Current treatments for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are often ineffective long-term, as many patients ultimately become unresponsive to anti-inflammatory drugs. The need for improved therapeutics is urgent. Animal models utilized for drug development are limited by interspecies variability and poor translatability. However, most in vitro models lack the sophistication to model the key interplay of the immune system with the intestinal epithelium in line with the known role of the immune system in the etiology of the disease.</div><div>To address this gap, we developed a primary intestinal epithelial cell co-culture system to incorporate elements of innate immune signaling. This system models immune-epithelial interactions using RepliGut<sup>Ⓡ</sup> - Planar Transverse Colon cultured on a Transwell™ system with THP-1 derived macrophages in a receiver compartment of a 96-well plate format, compatible with high-throughput screening (HTS) workflows. Epithelial barrier integrity and cell viability were maintained in co-culture with unstimulated macrophages. However, similar to the pathology associated with IBD, epithelial integrity was compromised in co-culture with LPS + IFN-γ pre-stimulated macrophages as evidenced by declining TEER and cell viability and increased inflammatory cytokine release. Cotreatment with anti-inflammatory IBD therapeutics adalimumab or tofacitinib mitigated these effects, demonstrating the model’s ability to replicate key inflammatory responses and prevention.</div><div>Reproducibility and scalability of the model system further position the model for screening and/or mechanistic interrogation of anti-inflammatory drugs, improving drug discovery, and accelerating the translation of new IBD therapies into clinical practice.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21764,"journal":{"name":"SLAS Discovery","volume":"35 ","pages":"Article 100248"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144621451","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}