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VIKRAMADITHYAN, REEBA K., JAGADHESHAN HIRIYAN, JULURI SURESH, CYNTHIA GERSHOME, RAVI K. BABU, PARIMAL MISRA, RAMANUJAM RAJAGOPALAN, AND RANJAN CHAKRABARTI. DRF 2655: a unique molecule that reduces body weight and ameliorates metabolic abnormalities. Obes Res. 2003;11: 292-303. Objective: Preclinical evaluation of DRF 2655, a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPAR␣) and PPAR␥ agonist, as a body-weight lowering, hypolipidemic and euglycemic agent. Research Methods and Procedures: DRF 2655 was studied in different genetic, normal, and hyperlipidemic animal models. HEK 293 cells were used to conduct the reporter-based transactivation of PPAR␣ and PPAR␥. To understand the biochemical mechanism of lipid-, bodyweight-, and glucose-lowering effects, activities of key ␤-oxidation and lipid catabolism enzymes and gluconeogenic enzymes were studied in db/db mice treated with DRF 2655. 3T3L1 cells were used for adipogenesis study, and HepG2 cells were used to study the effect of DRF 2655 on total cholesterol and triglyceride synthesis using [14 C]acetate and [ 3 H]glycerol. Results: DRF 2655 showed concentration-dependent transactivation of PPAR␣ and PPAR␥. In the 3T3L1 cell-differentiation study, DRF 2655 and rosiglitazone showed 369% and 471% increases, respectively, in triglyceride accumulation. DRF 2655 showed body-weight lowering and euglycemic and hypolipidemic effects in various animal models. db/db mice treated with DRF 2655 showed 5-and 3.6-fold inhibition in phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and glucose 6-phosphatase activity and 651% and 77% increases in the ␤-oxidation enzymes carnitine palmitoyltransferase and carnitine acetyltransferase, respectively. HepG2 cells treated with DRF 2655 showed significant reduction in lipid synthesis. Discussion: DRF 2655 showed excellent euglycemic and hypolipidemic activities in different animal models. An exciting finding is its body-weight lowering effect in these models, which might be mediated by the induction of target enzymes involved in hepatic lipid catabolism through PPAR␣ activation.

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Background: ODM-207 is a potent and selective BET inhibitor that is structurally unrelated to the benzodiazepine-based inhibitors including JQ1, I-BET762, and OTX015. Phase I clinical trials have now been initiated with this agent based on its potent anti-tumor activity in various in vitro and in vivo models of hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. In view of the recent publications implicating a role for BET protein BRD4 in the suppression of PD-L1 expression, an immune checkpoint ligand for PD-1, we sought to evaluate ODM-207 for its effect on immune-mediated anti-tumor efficacy in pre-clinical models. Methods and Results: Mouse splenocytes were stimulated with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 in the presence or absence of ODM-207 for four days and changes in immune cell population were analyzed by FACS. Results revealed an increase in the level of activated cytotoxic CD8+ T cells as indicated by increased intracellular IFNγ and granzyme B with ODM-207 treatment. After confirming the lack of direct anti-proliferative activity on the mouse colon carcinoma cell line CT26, in vivo evaluation of ODM-207 was carried out in the syngeneic CT26 subcutaneous tumor model established in BALB/c mice. Daily oral administration of ODM-207 at 30 mg/kg was well tolerated in this model and resulted in a statistically significant inhibition of tumor growth. Interestingly, the tumor growth inhibition observed with ODM-207 was comparable to that with a commercially available anti-mouse PD1 antibody. Studies to characterize the immune changes in the tumor and anti-tumor activity of ODM-207 in combination with an anti-mouse PD1 antibody are currently underway and the results will be presented. Conclusions: In summary, these studies demonstrate the anti-tumor activity of BET inhibitor in a syngeneic model of colon carcinoma in the absence of a direct anti-proliferative activity on tumor cells. Observed tumor growth inhibition correlated with the in vitro activation of cytotoxic CD8+ T cells supporting the immune-mediated effect leading to tumor growth inhibition. In view of the remarkable success with the immune-based therapeutic approaches, these findings are relevant in devising appropriate strategies for the continued clinical development of ODM-207. Citation Format: Pratima Deshpande, Ravi Krishna Babu, Prashant Yallappa Vadnal, Mahaboobi Jaleel, Murali Ramachandra, Chandrasekhar Abbineni, Susanta Samajdar, Anu-Maarit Moilanen, Pekka Kallio. Immune-mediated anti-tumor activity with a clinical stage BET bromodomain inhibitor ODM-207 in pre-clinical models [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-113. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-LB-113

Hepcidin is known as the master regulator of systemic iron homeostasis with reduction in synthesis leading to the development of iron overload. Hepcidin gene expression is negatively modulated by matriptase-2 (MT-2), a liver-specific type II transmembrane serine protease. MT-2 cleaves hemojuvelin (HJV), leading to the extracellular release of soluble HJV fragments and suppression of hepcidin expression. Loss-of-function of MT-2 leads to increased hepcidin expression, as has been established by human genetics (Finberg et al., 2008) and genetic mouse models (Du et al., 2008). Therefore, inhibition of MT-2 represents a potential therapeutic strategy for diseases caused by inappropriately low hepcidin leading to iron overload or where therapeutic iron restriction may be used to control excessive erythrocytosis. Here we describe the characteristics of DISC-A, a potent (low nM Ki) small molecule MT-2 inhibitor for treatment of low hepcidin disorders, with a favorable pharmacokinetics profile in rats (Clp 6.4 ml/min/kg, and t ½ 4.6 hr) and monkeys (Clp 8.1 ml/min/kg, and t ½ 2.8 hr) and drug-like properties. DISC-A inhibits proteolytic activity of MT-2 expressed on the surface of transfected HEK293 cells and prevents shedding of MT-2 from the membrane (autocleavage). In addition, in MT-2 and HJV co-transfected HEK293A cells, DISC-A shows a dose dependent inhibition of HJV cleavage. The efficacy of DISC-A was evaluated in a rat model of low hepcidin. In this model, when Sprague-Dawley rats who are fed a standard iron diet (45 ppm) reach 8 - 9 weeks of age, they are administered erythropoietin (EPO) at 30 IU/animal/day for 4-consecutive days, before dosing with DISC-A. Under the conditions of the model, the increased erythropoiesis leads to increased iron utilization and consequently suppressed hepcidin levels. We determine hepcidin changes by measuring the changes in the expression of liver HAMP (the gene that encodes hepcidin) mRNA expression. Circulating soluble HJV is assayed as a direct measure of MT-2 activity. In this model, a single subcutaneous administration of DISC-A at 20 mg/kg resulted in a 50% reduction in soluble HJV, 14-fold increase in liver HAMP expression and >50% reduction in serum iron and transferrin saturation (TSAT) at 2, 4, 6, and 8 hours. The pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics response was robust. In summary, we have identified DISC-A, a novel, potent inhibitor of MT-2. We have demonstrated that DISC-A inhibits MT-2 proteolytic activity, prevents cleavage of HJV, and modulates hepcidin gene expression and iron homeostasis in vitro and in vivo. The favorable pharmacokinetics suggest compounds from these chemical series have the potential for clinical therapeutic benefit. Disclosures Hong: Disc Medicine: Current Employment, Current equity holder in private company. Babu:Aurigene Discovery Technologies: Current Employment. Blaustein:Disc Medicine: Current Employment, Current equity holder in private company. Nguyen:Disc Medicine: Current Employment, Current equity holder in private company. Rao:Aurigene Discovery Technologies: Current Employment. Savage:Disc Medicine: Current Employment, Current equity holder in private company. MacDonald:Disc Medicine: Current equity holder in private company, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Beconi:Disc Medicine: Current Employment, Current equity holder in private company. Venkatraman:Disc Medicine: Current Employment, Current equity holder in private company.

For the last several years, the drug industry primarily has relied on drugs that target a single gene or enzyme in a pathway involved in disease progression with the idea that such a drug will have minimum side effects and maximal efficacy. Recent observations, however, indicate that a drug that targets multiple genes/enzymes involved in several pathways, thus exhibiting promiscuity, is often more efficacious with less side effects. Thus significant efforts are being made to use our understanding in pharmacogenomics and structural biology to design polypharmacological drugs that are able to act at multiple sites. Recent studies with pathogenic bacteria demonstrate that such bacteria produce water-soluble, low molecular weight redox proteins that appear to act as weapons against various invaders, internal or external, of human body that cause diseases such as cancers, malaria or AIDS. The potential of finding such promiscuous lipophilic bacterial proteins active against multiple diseases may lead in the future to an antibiotic-like industry targeted towards non-prokaryotic agents of human diseases.