DiscoveRx (United States)

In vitro secondary pharmacology remains a critical tool in pharmaceutical drug discovery for evaluating potential off-target interactions before lead candidates advance into clinical development. Its primary aim is to reduce clinical attrition caused by adverse drug reactions and enhance patient safety. A widely adopted approach involves safety pharmacological profiling across a broad panel of targets, typically focusing on a chemical series with an identified therapeutic target. Utilizing a robust high-throughput screening platform, such as SAFETYscan47 from Eurofins Discovery, enables the rapid identification and mitigation of potential liabilities within discovery compounds. This article highlights the utility of in vitro pharmacological profiling by comparing clinically failed drug candidates against a broader compound modality data set. By more thoroughly evaluating the data generated through SAFETYscan47, we aim to demonstrate how in vitro profiling can offer valuable insights during preclinical discovery, ultimately supporting patient safety and reducing clinical attrition.

Abstract G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) represent the most widely exploited superfamily of drug targets for FDA-approved therapies for many diseases, however, these receptors are underexploited for oncology. ONC201 is a selective antagonist of GPCRs dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) and DRD3 that has been shown to induce tumor regressions with a benign safety profile in high grade glioma patients. ONC201 (benzyl-2-methylbenzyl-imipridone) is the founding member of the imipridone class of small molecules that share a unique tri-heterocyclic core chemical structure. Imipridones share several chemical and biological properties that are desirable drug-like characteristics: oral administration, wide therapeutic window, chemical stability and blood brain barrier penetrance. In this study, we profiled a series of imipridones for GPCR engagement and anti-cancer efficacy. Several imipridones were screened against a large panel of human GPCRs using a β-arrestin recruitment assay. The imipridones tested resulted in GPCR agonist/antagonist activity (threshold set at >20% activity) that was heterogenous, but exclusive among Class A GPCRs that represent the largest class. Minor chemical modifications to the ONC201 chemical structure caused large shifts in agonist versus antagonist activity and selectivity for GPCRs. Specifically, switching the ONC201 imipridone core from an angular to a linear isomer resulted in loss of DRD2 antagonist activity and impaired inhibition of cancer cell viability, indicating the imipridone core structure is critical for GPCR engagement and anti-cancer effects. The addition of electron withdrawing groups (e.g. di- or tri-halogen substitution) to the methyl benzyl ring improved potency for GPCR engagement and anti-cancer effects, but not for the benzyl ring. Loss of the benzyl ring impaired anti-cancer effects. Among all of the GPCR hits identified, maximal variance in imipridone GPCR engagement was identified for DRD2/DRD3 antagonism and GPR132 agonism that were prioritized considering their known biological relevance in oncology. ONC206 (benzyl-2,4-difluoromethylbenzyl-imipridone) emerged as the most selective and potent antagonist for D2-like dopamine receptors that are overexpressed and critical for survival in several cancers. ONC212 (benzyl-4-trifluoromethylbenzyl-imipridone) was the most selective and potent agonist for tumor suppressor GPR132. Both compounds were tested in the GDSC panel of >1000 cancer cell lines and demonstrated broad spectrum nanomolar inhibition of cancer cell viability and a wide therapeutic window. GPCR target expression correlated with anti-cancer efficacy in the GDSC panel for both compounds, providing potential biomarkers of response. Thus, chemical derivatization of ONC201 has generated a class of novel GPCR-targeting agents with promising preclinical efficacy and safety profiles in oncology. Citation Format: Varun V. Prabhu, Abed Rahman Kawakibi, Neel S. Madhukar, Lakshmi Anantharaman, Sean Deacon, Neil S. Charter, Mathew J. Garnett, Ultan McDermott, Cyril H. Benes, Wolfgang Oster, Olivier Elemento, Martin Stogniew, Joshua E. Allen. Defining structure activity relationships for GPCR engagement and anti-cancer efficacy of imipridone small molecules [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2749.

Dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) is a G protein-coupled receptor antagonized by ONC201, an anticancer small molecule in clinical trials for high-grade gliomas and other malignancies. DRD5 is a dopamine receptor family member that opposes DRD2 signaling. We investigated the expression of these dopamine receptors in cancer and their influence on tumor cell sensitivity to ONC201. The Cancer Genome Atlas was used to determine DRD2/DRD5 expression broadly across human cancers. Cell viability assays were performed with ONC201 in >1,000 Genomic of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer and NCI60 cell lines. IHC staining of DRD2/DRD5 was performed on tissue microarrays and archival tumor tissues of glioblastoma patients treated with ONC201. Whole exome sequencing was performed in RKO cells with and without acquired ONC201 resistance. Wild-type and mutant DRD5 constructs were generated for overexpression studies. DRD2 overexpression broadly occurs across tumor types and is associated with a poor prognosis. Whole exome sequencing of cancer cells with acquired resistance to ONC201 revealed a de novo Q366R mutation in the DRD5 gene. Expression of Q366R DRD5 was sufficient to induce tumor cell apoptosis, consistent with a gain-of-function. DRD5 overexpression in glioblastoma cells enhanced DRD2/DRD5 heterodimers and DRD5 expression was inversely correlated with innate tumor cell sensitivity to ONC201. Investigation of archival tumor samples from patients with recurrent glioblastoma treated with ONC201 revealed that low DRD5 expression was associated with relatively superior clinical outcomes. These results implicate DRD5 as a negative regulator of DRD2 signaling and tumor sensitivity to ONC201 DRD2 antagonism.

PRMT3 catalyzes the asymmetric dimethylation of arginine residues of various proteins. It is essential for maturation of ribosomes, may have a role in lipogenesis, and is implicated in several diseases. A potent, selective, and cell-active PRMT3 inhibitor would be a valuable tool for further investigating PRMT3 biology. Here we report the discovery of the first PRMT3 chemical probe, SGC707, by structure-based optimization of the allosteric PRMT3 inhibitors we reported previously, and thorough characterization of this probe in biochemical, biophysical, and cellular assays. SGC707 is a potent PRMT3 inhibitor (IC50 =31±2 nM, KD =53±2 nM) with outstanding selectivity (selective against 31 other methyltransferases and more than 250 non-epigenetic targets). The mechanism of action studies and crystal structure of the PRMT3-SGC707 complex confirm the allosteric inhibition mode. Importantly, SGC707 engages PRMT3 and potently inhibits its methyltransferase activity in cells. It is also bioavailable and suitable for animal studies. This well-characterized chemical probe is an excellent tool to further study the role of PRMT3 in health and disease.

Here we describe a chemical biology approach for elucidating potential toxicity mechanisms for thrombosis-related side effects. This work takes advantage of a large chemical biology data set comprising the effects of known, well-characterized reference agents on the cell surface levels of tissue factor (TF) in a primary human endothelial cell-based model of vascular inflammation, the BioMAP® 3C system. In previous work with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the ToxCast™ program, aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) agonists and estrogen receptor (ER) antagonists were found to share an usual activity, that of increasing TF levels in this system. Since human exposure to compounds in both chemical classes is associated with increased incidence of thrombosis-related side effects, we expanded this analysis with a large number of well-characterized reference compounds in order to better understand the underlying mechanisms. As a result, mechanisms for increasing (AhR, histamine H1 receptor, histone deacetylase or HDAC, hsp90, nuclear factor kappa B or NFκB, MEK, oncostatin M receptor, Jak kinase, and p38 MAPK) and decreasing (vacuolar ATPase or V-ATPase) and mTOR) TF expression levels were uncovered. These data identify the nutrient, lipid, bacterial, and hypoxia sensing functions of autophagy as potential key regulatory points controlling cell surface TF levels in endothelial cells and support the mechanistic hypothesis that these functions are associated with thrombosis-related side effects in vivo.

Chemokines display considerable promiscuity with multiple ligands and receptors shared in common, a phenomenon that is thought to underlie their biochemical "redundancy." Their receptors are part of a larger seven-transmembrane receptor superfamily, commonly referred to as G protein-coupled receptors, which have been demonstrated to be able to signal with different efficacies to their multiple downstream signaling pathways, a phenomenon referred to as biased agonism. Biased agonism has been primarily reported as a phenomenon of synthetic ligands, and the biologic prevalence and importance of such signaling are unclear. Here, to assess the presence of biased agonism that may underlie differential signaling by chemokines targeting the same receptor, we performed a detailed pharmacologic analysis of a set of chemokine receptors with multiple endogenous ligands using assays for G protein signaling, β-arrestin recruitment, and receptor internalization. We found that chemokines targeting the same receptor can display marked differences in their efficacies for G protein- or β-arrestin-mediated signaling or receptor internalization. This ligand bias correlates with changes in leukocyte migration, consistent with different mechanisms underlying the signaling downstream of these receptors induced by their ligands. These findings demonstrate that biased agonism is a common and likely evolutionarily conserved biological mechanism for generating qualitatively distinct patterns of signaling via the same receptor in response to different endogenous ligands.