We describe how room temperature storage of a 1,120 member compound library prepared in either DMSO or in a hydrated DMSO/water (67/33) mixture affects the reproducibility of potency values as monitored using cytochrome P450 1A2 and 2D6 isozyme assays. The bioluminescent assays showed Z′-factors of 0.71 and 0.62, with 18% and 32% of the library found as active against the CYP 1A2 and 2D6 isozymes respectively. We tested the library using quantitative high-throughput screening to generate potency values for every library member which was measured at seven time intervals spanning 37 weeks. We calculated the minimum significant ratio (MSR) from these potency values at each time interval and we found that for the library stored in DMSO, the CYP 1A2 and 2D6 assay MSRs progressed from approximately 2.0 to 5.0. The hydrated conditions showed similar performance in both MSR progression and analytical QC results. Based on this study we recommend that DMSO samples be stored in 1,536-well plates for < 4 months at room temperature. Further, the study shows the magnitude of potency changes that can occur in a robust bioassay due to compound sample storage.

The thyroid hormone receptors (TR) are members of the nuclear hormone receptor (NHR) superfamily that regulate development, growth, and metabolism. Upon ligand binding, TR releases bound corepressors and recruits coactivators to modulate target gene expression. Steroid Receptor Coactivator 2 (SRC2) is an important coregulator that interacts with TRβ to activate gene transcription. To identify novel inhibitors of the TRβ and SRC2 interaction, we performed a quantitative high throughput screen (qHTS) of a TRβ-SRC2 fluorescence polarization assay against more than 290,000 small molecules. The qHTS assayed compounds at six concentrations up to 92 uM to generate titration-response curves and determine the potency and efficacy of all compounds. The qHTS dataset enabled the characterization of actives for structure-activity relationships as well as for potential artifacts such as fluorescence interference. Selected qHTS actives were tested in the screening assay using fluoroprobes labeled with Texas Red or fluorescein. The retest identified 19 series and 4 singletons as active in both assays with 40% or greater efficacy, free of compound interference and not toxic to mammalian cells. Selected compounds were tested as independent samples and a methylsulfonylnitrobenzoate series inhibited the TRβ-SRC2 interaction with 5 uM IC50. This series represents a new class of thyroid hormone receptor-coactivator modulators.

All solid malignancies share characteristic traits, including unlimited cellular proliferation, evasion of immune regulation, and the propensity to metastasize. The authors have previously described that a subnuclear structure, the perinucleolar compartment (PNC), is associated with the metastatic phenotype in solid tumor cancer cells. The percentage of cancer cells that contain PNCs (PNC prevalence) is indicative of the malignancy of a tumor both in vitro and in vivo, and thus PNC prevalence is a marker that reflects metastatic capability in a population of tumor cells. Although the function of the PNC remains to be determined, the PNC is highly enriched with small RNAs and RNA binding proteins. The initial chemical biology studies using a set of anticancer drugs that disassemble PNCs revealed a direct association of the structure with DNA. Therefore, PNC prevalence reduction as a phenotypic marker can be used to identify compounds that target cellular processes required for PNC maintenance and hence used to elucidate the nature of the PNC function. Here the authors report the development of an automated high-content screening assay that is capable of detecting PNC prevalence in prostate cancer cells (PC-3M) stably expressing a green fluorescent protein (GFP)–fusion protein that localizes to the PNC. The assay was optimized using known PNC-reducing drugs and non-PNC-reducing cytotoxic drugs. After optimization, the fidelity of the assay was probed with a collection of 8284 compounds and was shown to be robust and capable of detecting known and novel PNC-reducing compounds, making it the first reported high-content phenotypic screen for small changes in nuclear structure.

The cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDEs) are intracellular enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of 3', 5'-cyclic nucleotides, such as cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), to their corresponding 5'-nucleotide monophosphates. These enzymes play an important role in controlling cellular concentrations of cyclic nucleotides and thus regulate a variety of cellular signaling events. PDEs are emerging as drug targets for several diseases including asthma, cardiovascular disease, ADHD, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. Though biochemical assays with purified recombinant PDE enzymes and cAMP or cGMP substrate are commonly used for compound screening, cell-based assays would provide a better assessment of compound activity in a more physiological context. Here we report the development and validation of a new cell-based PDE4 assay using a constitutively active GPCR as a driving force for cAMP production and a cyclic nucleotide gated (CNG) cation channel as a biosensor in 1536-well plates.

The thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) belongs to the glycoprotein hormone receptor subfamily of seven-transmembrane spanning receptors. TSHR is expressed in thyroid follicular cells and is activated by TSH, which regulates growth and function of these cells. Recombinant TSH is used in diagnostic screens for thyroid cancer, especially in patients after thyroid cancer surgery. Currently, no selective small molecule agonist of the TSHR is available. To screen for novel TSHR agonists, we miniaturized a cell-based cAMP assay into 1536-well plate format. This assay uses a HEK293 cell line stably expressing the TSHR and a cyclic nucleotide gated ion channel (CNG), which functions as a biosensor. From a quantitative high-throughput screen of 73,180 compounds in parallel with a parental cell line (without the TSHR), 276 primary active compounds were identified. The activities of the selected active compounds were further confirmed in an orthogonal HTRF cAMP-based assay. 49 compounds in several structural classes have been confirmed as small molecule TSHR agonists that will serve as starting compounds for chemical optimization and studies of thyroid physiology in health and disease.