Sphingosine kinases (SPHKs) are enzymes that phosphorylate the lipid sphingosine, leading to the formation of sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P). In addition to the well established role of extracellular S1P as a mitogen and potent chemoattractant, SPHK activity has been postulated to be an important intracellular regulator of apoptosis. According to the proposed rheostat theory, SPHK activity shifts the intracellular balance from the pro-apoptotic sphingolipids ceramide and sphingosine to the mitogenic S1P, thereby determining the susceptibility of a cell to apoptotic stress. Despite numerous publications with supporting evidence, a clear experimental confirmation of the impact of this mechanism on tumor cell viability in vitro and in vivo has been hampered by the lack of suitable tool reagents. Utilizing a structure based design approach, we developed potent and specific SPHK1/2 inhibitors. These compounds completely inhibited intracellular S1P production in human cells and attenuated vascular permeability in mice, but did not lead to reduced tumor cell growth in vitro or in vivo. In addition, siRNA experiments targeting either SPHK1 or SPHK2 in a large panel of cell lines failed to demonstrate any statistically significant effects on cell viability. These results show that the SPHK rheostat does not play a major role in tumor cell viability, and that SPHKs might not be attractive targets for pharmacological intervention in the area of oncology.

A generic high-throughput screening assay based on the scintillation proximity assay technology has been developed for protein kinases. In this assay, the biotinylated33P-peptide product is captured onto polylysine Ysi bead via avidin. The scintillation signal measuring the product formation increases linearly with avidin concentration due to effective capture of the product on the bead surface via strong coulombic interactions. This novel assay has been optimized and validated in 384-well microplates. In a pilot screen, a signal-to-noise ratio of 5-to 9-fold and a Z′ factor ranging from 0.6 to 0.8 were observed, demonstrating the suitability of this assay for high-throughput screening of random chemical libraries for kinase inhibitors. ( Journal of Biomolecular Screening 2003:198-204)

Interleukin 1 receptor activation innervates a cascade of signal transduction events that ultimately lead to the activation of inflammatory and immune response genes. TRAF6 is a Ub ligase (E3) involved in this pathway, and inhibition of this critical enzyme may provide a means for treating inflammatory and immune diseases. A TR-FRET assay has been developed and evaluated for HTS for TRAF6 inhibitors. Bio-Ub and Eu-Ub were polymerized in the presence of Ub activating enzyme E1, conjugating enzyme E2, and TRAF6. Following a 2-h incubation, the reaction was stopped with a buffer containing 10 m M EDTA and the fluorescence donor SA-APC. Fluorescence energy transfer from Eu to APC was measured as a ratio of fluorescence intensity at 655 nm to that at 615 nm (excitation at 340 nm). This homogeneous assay has been optimized and validated in a 384-well format. A window of five- to eightfold and Z' factor of 0.6-0.8 suggests that this assay can be applied to screen for inhibitors of the polyubiquitination activity of TRAF6.

Human genome wide association studies confirm the association of the rs738409 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the gene encoding protein patatin like phospholipase domain containing 3 (PNPLA3) with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); the presence of the resulting mutant PNPLA3 I148M protein is a driver of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). While Pnpla3-deficient mice do not display an adverse phenotype, the safety of knocking down endogenous wild type PNPLA3 in humans remains unknown. To expand the scope of a potential targeted NAFLD therapeutic to both homozygous and heterozygous PNPLA3 rs738409 populations, we sought to identify a minor allele-specific small interfering RNA (siRNA). Limiting our search to SNP-spanning triggers, a series of chemically modified siRNA were tested in vitro for activity and selectivity toward PNPLA3 rs738409 mRNA. Conjugation of the siRNA to a triantennary N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) ligand enabled in vivo screening using adeno-associated virus to overexpress human PNPLA3 I148M versus human PNPLA3 I148I in mouse livers. Structure-activity relationship optimization yielded potent and minor allele-specific compounds that achieved high levels of mRNA and protein knockdown of human PNPLA3 I148M but not PNPLA3 I148I . Testing of the minor allele-specific siRNA in PNPLA3 I148M -expressing mice fed a NASH-inducing diet prevented PNPLA3 I148Mdriven disease phenotypes, thus demonstrating the potential of a precision medicine approach to treating NAFLD.

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