Mitigating risk in academic preclinical drug discovery.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Dahlin JL
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6002840 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Mitigating risk in academic preclinical drug discovery.
Dahlin Jayme L JL Inglese James J Walters Michael A MA
Nature reviews. Drug discovery 20150401 4
The number of academic drug discovery centres has grown considerably in recent years, providing new opportunities to couple the curiosity-driven research culture in academia with rigorous preclinical drug discovery practices used in industry. To fully realize the potential of these opportunities, it is important that academic researchers understand the risks inherent in preclinical drug discovery, and that translational research programmes are effectively organized and supported at an institutio ...[more]
Similar Datasets
Project description:According to the World Health Organization, more than 1 billion people are at risk of or are affected by neglected tropical diseases. Examples of such diseases include trypanosomiasis, which causes sleeping sickness; leishmaniasis; and Chagas disease, all of which are prevalent in Africa, South America, and India. Our aim within the New Medicines for Trypanosomatidic Infections project was to use (1) synthetic and natural product libraries, (2) screening, and (3) a preclinical absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion-toxicity (ADME-Tox) profiling platform to identify compounds that can enter the trypanosomatidic drug discovery value chain. The synthetic compound libraries originated from multiple scaffolds with known antiparasitic activity and natural products from the Hypha Discovery MycoDiverse natural products library. Our focus was first to employ target-based screening to identify inhibitors of the protozoan Trypanosoma brucei pteridine reductase 1 ( TbPTR1) and second to use a Trypanosoma brucei phenotypic assay that made use of the T. brucei brucei parasite to identify compounds that inhibited cell growth and caused death. Some of the compounds underwent structure-activity relationship expansion and, when appropriate, were evaluated in a preclinical ADME-Tox assay panel. This preclinical platform has led to the identification of lead-like compounds as well as validated hits in the trypanosomatidic drug discovery value chain.
| S-EPMC6484532 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
2016-12-07 | GSE85509 | GEO
Project description:β-Lactams are the most widely prescribed class of antibiotics that inhibit penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs), particularly transpeptidases that function in peptidoglycan synthesis. A major mechanism of antibiotic resistance is the production of β-lactamase enzymes, which are capable of hydrolyzing β-lactam antibiotics. There have been many efforts to counter increasing bacterial resistance against β-lactams. These studies have mainly focused on three areas: discovering novel inhibitors against β-lactamases, developing new β-lactams less susceptible to existing resistance mechanisms, and identifying non-β-lactam inhibitors against cell wall transpeptidases. Drug discovery in the β-lactam field has afforded a range of research opportunities for academia. In this review, we summarize the recent new findings on both β-lactamases and cell wall transpeptidases because these two groups of enzymes are evolutionarily and functionally connected. Many efforts to develop new β-lactams have aimed to inhibit both transpeptidases and β-lactamases, while several promising novel β-lactamase inhibitors have shown the potential to be further developed into transpeptidase inhibitors. In addition, the drug discovery progress against each group of enzymes is presented in three aspects: understanding the targets, screening methodology, and new inhibitor chemotypes. This is to offer insights into not only the advancement in this field but also the challenges, opportunities, and resources for future research. In particular, cyclic boronate compounds are now capable of inhibiting all classes of β-lactamases, while the diazabicyclooctane (DBO) series of small molecules has led to not only new β-lactamase inhibitors but potentially a new class of antibiotics by directly targeting PBPs. With the cautiously optimistic successes of a number of new β-lactamase inhibitor chemotypes and many questions remaining to be answered about the structure and function of cell wall transpeptidases, non-β-lactam transpeptidase inhibitors may usher in the next exciting phase of drug discovery in this field.
| S-EPMC10812508 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Murine syngeneic tumor models are the cornerstone of novel immuno-oncology (IO)-based therapy development but the molecular and immunological features of these models are still not clearly defined. The translational relevance of differences between the models is not fully understood, impeding appropriate preclinical model selection for target validation, and ultimately hindering drug development. Within a panel of commonly-used murine syngeneic tumor models, we showed variable responsiveness to IO-therapies. We employed aCGH, whole-exome sequencing, exon microarray analysis and flow cytometry to extensively characterise these models and revealed striking differences that may underlie these contrasting response profiles. We identified strong differential gene expression in immune-related pathways and changes in immune cell-specific genes that suggested differences in tumor immune infiltrates between models. We further investigated this using flow cytometry, which showed differences in both the composition and magnitude of the tumor immune infiltrates, identifying models that harbor ‘inflamed’ and ‘non-inflamed’ tumor immune infiltrate phenotypes. Moreover, we found that immunosuppressive cell types predominated in syngeneic mouse tumor models that did not respond to immune-checkpoint blockade, whereas cytotoxic effector immune cells were enriched in responsive models. A cytotoxic cell-rich tumor immune infiltrate has been correlated with increased efficacy of IO-therapy in the clinic and these differences could underlie the varying response profiles to IO-therapy between the syngeneic models. This characterisation highlighted the importance of extensive profiling and will enable investigators to select appropriate models to interrogate the activity of IO-therapies as well as combinations with targeted therapies in vivo.
2016-12-07 | GSE85508 | GEO
Project description:The aim of this study was to identify proteomic alterations associated with functional dysregulation of the retina with diabetes that could eventually be used as surrogate endpoints in preclinical drug testing studies. A multi-modal approach of antibody (Luminex)-, electrophoresis (2-DIGE)-, and LC-MS (iTRAQ)-based quantitation methods was used to provide broad coverage of the retinal proteome. Transcriptional profiling through microarray analysis was also included to increase coverage and provide insight into potential regulation of protein expression changes at the mRNA level. The different technologies proved complementary, with limited coverage overlap between methods. Diabetes was induced in Sprague-Dawley male rats (Charles River Laboratories, Wilmington, MA) by intraperitoneal injection of 65 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ) (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO) in 10mM sodium citrate pH 4.5 vehicle. Control rats were injected with an equal dose of vehicle only. Rats had free access to food and water, and were maintained on a 12 hour light/dark cycle. Blood glucose level and body weight were measured 6 days post-STZ or vehicle injection, and biweekly throughout the experiment. Only rats with blood glucose levels >250 mg/dL at the time of the original test and throughout the experiment were included in the diabetic groups. At the time of retina harvest, rats were given a lethal dose of pentobarbital, 100 mg/kg, (Ovation Pharmaceuticals Inc., Deerfield, IL) by intraperitoneal injection and sacrificed by decapitation. Retinas were rapidly excised snap- frozen in liquid nitrogen for subsequent experimentation.
2010-06-01 | E-GEOD-20886 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Murine syngeneic tumor models are the cornerstone of novel immuno-oncology (IO)-based therapy development but the molecular and immunological features of these models are still not clearly defined. The translational relevance of differences between the models is not fully understood, impeding appropriate preclinical model selection for target validation, and ultimately hindering drug development. Within a panel of commonly-used murine syngeneic tumor models, we showed variable responsiveness to IO-therapies. We employed aCGH, whole-exome sequencing, exon microarray analysis and flow cytometry to extensively characterise these models and revealed striking differences that may underlie these contrasting response profiles. We identified strong differential gene expression in immune-related pathways and changes in immune cell-specific genes that suggested differences in tumor immune infiltrates between models. We further investigated this using flow cytometry, which showed differences in both the composition and magnitude of the tumor immune infiltrates, identifying models that harbor ‘inflamed’ and ‘non-inflamed’ tumor immune infiltrate phenotypes. Moreover, we found that immunosuppressive cell types predominated in syngeneic mouse tumor models that did not respond to immune-checkpoint blockade, whereas cytotoxic effector immune cells were enriched in responsive models. A cytotoxic cell-rich tumor immune infiltrate has been correlated with increased efficacy of IO-therapy in the clinic and these differences could underlie the varying response profiles to IO-therapy between the syngeneic models. This characterisation highlighted the importance of extensive profiling and will enable investigators to select appropriate models to interrogate the activity of IO-therapies as well as combinations with targeted therapies in vivo.
2016-12-07 | GSE85507 | GEO
Project description:Interest in nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) ligands as potential therapeutic agents for cognitive disorders began more than 30 years ago when it was first demonstrated that the tobacco alkaloid nicotine could improve cognitive function in nicotine-deprived smokers as well as nonsmokers. Numerous animal and human studies now indicate that nicotine and a variety of nAChR ligands have the potential to improve multiple domains of cognition including attention, spatial learning, working memory, recognition memory, and executive function. The purpose of this review is to (1) discuss several pharmacologic strategies that have been developed to enhance nAChR activity (eg, agonist, partial agonist, and positive allosteric modulator) and improve cognitive function, (2) provide a brief overview of some of the more common rodent behavioral tasks with established translational validity that have been used to evaluate nAChR ligands for effects on cognitive function, and (3) briefly discuss some of the topics of debate regarding the development of optimal therapeutic strategies using nAChR ligands. Because of their densities in the mammalian brain and the amount of literature available, the review primarily focuses on ligands of the high-affinity ?4?2* nAChR ("*" indicates the possible presence of additional subunits in the complex) and the low-affinity ?7 nAChR. The behavioral task discussion focuses on representative methods that have been designed to model specific domains of cognition that are relevant to human neuropsychiatric disorders and often evaluated in human clinical trials. IMPLICATIONS:The preclinical literature continues to grow in support of the development of nAChR ligands for a variety of illnesses that affect humans. However, to date, no new nAChR ligand has been approved for any condition other than nicotine dependence. As discussed in this review, the studies conducted to date provide the impetus for continuing efforts to develop new nAChR strategies (ie, beyond simple agonist and partial agonist approaches) as well as to refine current behavioral strategies and create new animal models to address translational gaps in the drug discovery process.
| S-EPMC6379039 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Numerous drug treatments that have recently entered the clinic or clinical trials have their genesis in zebrafish. Zebrafish are well established for their contribution to developmental biology and have now emerged as a powerful preclinical model for human disease, as their disease characteristics, aetiology and progression, and molecular mechanisms are clinically relevant and highly conserved. Zebrafish respond to small molecules and drug treatments at physiologically relevant dose ranges and, when combined with cell-specific or tissue-specific reporters and gene editing technologies, drug activity can be studied at single-cell resolution within the complexity of a whole animal, across tissues and over an extended timescale. These features enable high-throughput and high-content phenotypic drug screening, repurposing of available drugs for personalized and compassionate use, and even the development of new drug classes. Often, drugs and drug leads explored in zebrafish have an inter-organ mechanism of action and would otherwise not be identified through targeted screening approaches. Here, we discuss how zebrafish is an important model for drug discovery, the process of how these discoveries emerge and future opportunities for maximizing zebrafish potential in medical discoveries.
| S-EPMC9210578 | biostudies-literature
Project description:High-fidelity in vitro tumor models are important for preclinical drug discovery processes. Currently, the most commonly used model for in vitro drug testing remains the two-dimensional (2D) cell monolayer. However, the natural in vivo tumor microenvironment (TME) consists of extracellular matrix (ECM), supporting stromal cells and vasculature. They not only participate in the progression of tumors but also hinder drug delivery and effectiveness on tumor cells. Here, we report an integrated engineering system to generate vessel-supported tumors for preclinical drug screening. First, gelatin-methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogel was selected to mimic tumor extracellular matrix (ECM). HCT-116 tumor cells were encapsulated into individual micro-GelMA beads with microfluidic droplet technique to mimic tumor-ECM interactions in vitro. Then, normal human lung fibroblasts were mingled with tumor cells to imitate the tumor-stromal interaction. The tumor cells and fibroblasts reconstituted in the individual GelMA microbead and formed a biomimetic heterotypic tumor model with a core-shell structure. Next, the cell-laden beads were consociated into a functional on-chip vessel network platform to restore the tumor-tumor microenvironment (TME) interaction. Afterward, the anticancer drug paclitaxel was tested on the individual and vessel-supported tumor models. It was demonstrated that the blood vessel-associated TME conferred significant additional drug resistance in the drug screening experiment. The reported system is expected to enable the large-scale fabrication of vessel-supported heterotypic tumor models of various cellular compositions. It is believed to be promising for the large-scale fabrication of biomimetic in vitro tumor models and may be valuable for improving the efficiency of preclinical drug discovery processes.
| S-EPMC10249002 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) represent an increasingly prevalent etiology of soft tissue infections in animals and humans. NTM are widely distributed in the environment and while, for the most part, they behave as saprophytic organisms, in certain situations, they can be pathogenic, so much so that the incidence of NTM infections has surpassed that of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in developed countries. As a result, a growing body of the literature has focused attention on the critical role that drug susceptibility tests and infection models play in the design of appropriate therapeutic strategies against NTM diseases. This paper is an overview of the in vitro and in vivo models of NTM infection employed in the preclinical phase for early drug discovery and vaccine development. It summarizes alternative methods, not fully explored, for the characterization of anti-mycobacterial compounds.
| S-EPMC7459799 | biostudies-literature