Studies of the phosphodiesterase PDE7 family are impeded by there being only one commercially-available PDE7 inhibitor, BRL50481. We have employed a high throughput screen of commercial chemical libraries, using a fission yeast-based assay, to identify PDE7 inhibitors that include steroids, podocarpanes, and an unusual heterocyclic compound, BC30. In vitro enzyme assays measuring the potency of BC30 and two podocarpanes, in comparison with BRL50481, produce data consistent with those from yeast-based assays. In other enzyme assays, BC30 stimulates the PDE4D catalytic domain, but not full-length PDE4D2, suggesting an allosteric site of action. BC30 significantly enhances the anti-inflammatory effect of the PDE4 inhibitor rolipram as measured by release of TNFα from activated monocytes. These studies introduce several new PDE7 inhibitors that may be excellent candidates for medicinal chemistry due to the requirements for drug-like characteristics placed on them by the nature of the yeast-based screen.

Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDEs) comprise a superfamily of enzymes that serve as drug targets in many human diseases. There is a continuing need to identify high-specificity inhibitors that affect individual PDE families or even subtypes within a single family. We describe a fission yeast-based high throughput screen to detect inhibitors of heterologously-expressed cAMP PDEs. The utility of this system is demonstrated by the construction and characterization of strains that express mammalian PDE2A, PDE4A, PDE4B, and PDE8A and respond appropriately to known PDE2A and PDE4 inhibitors. High throughput screens of two bioactive compound libraries for PDE inhibitors using strains expressing PDE2A, PDE4A, PDE4B, and the yeast PDE Cgs2 identified known PDE inhibitors and members of compound classes associated with PDE inhibition. We verified that the furanocoumarin imperatorin is a PDE4 inhibitor based on its ability to produce a PDE4-specific elevation of cAMP levels. This platform can be used to identify PDE activators, as well as genes encoding PDE regulators, which could serve as targets for future drug screens.