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Esteves S, Duarte-Silva S, Maciel P. Discovery of Therapeutic Approaches for Polyglutamine Diseases: A Summary of Recent Efforts. Med Res Rev 2016; 37:860-906. [PMID: 27870126 DOI: 10.1002/med.21425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2016] [Revised: 10/01/2016] [Accepted: 10/05/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Polyglutamine (PolyQ) diseases are a group of neurodegenerative disorders caused by the expansion of cytosine-adenine-guanine (CAG) trinucleotide repeats in the coding region of specific genes. This leads to the production of pathogenic proteins containing critically expanded tracts of glutamines. Although polyQ diseases are individually rare, the fact that these nine diseases are irreversibly progressive over 10 to 30 years, severely impairing and ultimately fatal, usually implicating the full-time patient support by a caregiver for long time periods, makes their economic and social impact quite significant. This has led several researchers worldwide to investigate the pathogenic mechanism(s) and therapeutic strategies for polyQ diseases. Although research in the field has grown notably in the last decades, we are still far from having an effective treatment to offer patients, and the decision of which compounds should be translated to the clinics may be very challenging. In this review, we provide a comprehensive and critical overview of the most recent drug discovery efforts in the field of polyQ diseases, including the most relevant findings emerging from two different types of approaches-hypothesis-based candidate molecule testing and hypothesis-free unbiased drug screenings. We hereby summarize and reflect on the preclinical studies as well as all the clinical trials performed to date, aiming to provide a useful framework for increasingly successful future drug discovery and development efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia Esteves
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal.,ICVS/3B's PT Government Associate Laboratory, University of Minho, Guimarães, Braga, Portugal
| | - Sara Duarte-Silva
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal.,ICVS/3B's PT Government Associate Laboratory, University of Minho, Guimarães, Braga, Portugal
| | - Patrícia Maciel
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal.,ICVS/3B's PT Government Associate Laboratory, University of Minho, Guimarães, Braga, Portugal
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Lewis EA, Smith GA. Using Drosophila models of Huntington's disease as a translatable tool. J Neurosci Methods 2015; 265:89-98. [PMID: 26241927 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2015.07.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2015] [Revised: 07/10/2015] [Accepted: 07/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The Huntingtin (Htt) protein is essential for a wealth of intracellular signaling cascades and when mutated, causes multifactorial dysregulation of basic cellular processes. Understanding the contribution to each of these intracellular pathways is essential for the elucidation of mechanisms that drive pathophysiology. Using appropriate models of Huntington's disease (HD) is key to finding the molecular mechanisms that contribute to neurodegeneration. While mouse models and cell lines expressing mutant Htt have been instrumental to HD research, there has been a significant contribution to our understating of the disease from studies utilizing Drosophila melanogaster. Flies have an Htt protein, so the endogenous pathways with which it interacts are likely conserved. Transgenic flies engineered to overexpress the human mutant HTT gene display protein aggregation, neurodegeneration, behavioral deficits and a reduced lifespan. The short life span of flies, low cost of maintaining stocks and genetic tools available for in vivo manipulation make them ideal for the discovery of new genes that are involved in HD pathology. It is possible to do rapid genome wide screens for enhancers or suppressors of the mutant Htt-mediated phenotype, expressed in specific tissues or neuronal subtypes. However, there likely remain many yet unknown genes that modify disease progression, which could be found through additional screening approaches using the fly. Importantly, there have been instances where genes discovered in Drosophila have been translated to HD mouse models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A Lewis
- Neurobiology Department, Aaron Lazare Research Building, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Gaynor A Smith
- Neurobiology Department, Aaron Lazare Research Building, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA.
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Bustamante MB, Ansaloni A, Pedersen JF, Azzollini L, Cariulo C, Wang ZM, Petricca L, Verani M, Puglisi F, Park H, Lashuel H, Caricasole A. Detection of huntingtin exon 1 phosphorylation by Phos-Tag SDS-PAGE: Predominant phosphorylation on threonine 3 and regulation by IKKβ. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2015; 463:1317-22. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2015.06.116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2015] [Accepted: 06/17/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Massai L, Petricca L, Magnoni L, Rovetini L, Haider S, Andre R, Tabrizi SJ, Süssmuth SD, Landwehrmeyer BG, Caricasole A, Pollio G, Bernocco S. Development of an ELISA assay for the quantification of soluble huntingtin in human blood cells. BMC BIOCHEMISTRY 2013; 14:34. [PMID: 24274906 PMCID: PMC4221641 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2091-14-34] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2013] [Accepted: 11/19/2013] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Background Huntington’s disease (HD) is a monogenic disorder caused by an aberrant expansion of CAG repeats in the huntingtin gene (HTT). Pathogenesis is associated with expression of the mutant (mHTT) protein in the CNS, with its levels most likely related to disease progression and symptom severity. Since non-invasive methods to quantify HTT in the CNS do not exist, measuring amount of soluble HTT in peripheral cells represents an important step in development of disease-modifying interventions in HD. Results An ELISA assay using commercially available antibodies was developed to quantify HTT levels in complex matrices like mammalian cell cultures lysates and human samples. The immunoassay was optimized using a recombinant full-length HTT protein, and validated both on wild-type and mutant HTT species. The ability of the assay to detect significant variations of soluble HTT levels was evaluated using an HSP90 inhibitor that is known to enhance HTT degradation. Once optimized, the bioassay was applied to peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from HD patients, demonstrating good potential in tracking the disease course. Conclusions The method described here represents a validated, simple and rapid bio-molecular assay to evaluate soluble HTT levels in blood cells as useful tool in disease and pharmacodynamic marker identification for observational and clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luisa Massai
- Pharmacology Department, Siena Biotech SpA, Strada del Petriccio e Belriguardo, 35, 53100 Siena, Italy.
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Bard J, Wall MD, Lazari O, Arjomand J, Munoz-Sanjuan I. Advances in huntington disease drug discovery: novel approaches to model disease phenotypes. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 19:191-204. [PMID: 24196395 DOI: 10.1177/1087057113510320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Huntington disease is a monogenic, autosomal dominant, progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused by a trinucleotide CAG repeat expansion in exon 1 of the huntingtin (HTT) gene; age of onset of clinical symptoms inversely correlates with expanded CAG repeat length. HD leads to extensive degeneration of the basal ganglia, hypothalamic nuclei, and selected cortical areas, and a wide range of molecular mechanisms have been implicated in disease pathology in animal or cellular models expressing mutated HTT (mHTT) proteins, either full-length or amino-terminal fragments. However, HD cellular models that recapitulate the slow progression of the disease have not been available due to the toxicity of overexpressed exogenous mHTT or to limitations with using primary cells for long-term studies. Most investigations of the effects of mHTT relied on cytotoxicity or aggregation end points in heterologous systems or in primary embryonic neuroglial cultures derived from HD mouse models. More innovative approaches are currently under active investigation, including screening using electrophysiological endpoints, as well as the recent use of primary blood mononuclear cells and of human embryonic stem cells derived from a variety of HD research participants. Here we describe how these cellular systems are being used to investigate HD biology as well as to identify mechanisms with therapeutic potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Bard
- 1CHDI Management/CHDI Foundation, Princeton, NJ, and Los Angeles, CA, USA
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La Rosa S, Benicchi T, Bettinetti L, Ceccarelli I, Diodato E, Federico C, Fiengo P, Franceschini D, Gokce O, Heitz F, Lazzeroni G, Luthi-Carter R, Magnoni L, Miragliotta V, Scali C, Valacchi M. Fused 3-Hydroxy-3-trifluoromethylpyrazoles Inhibit Mutant Huntingtin Toxicity. ACS Med Chem Lett 2013; 4:979-84. [PMID: 24900595 PMCID: PMC4027250 DOI: 10.1021/ml400251g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2013] [Accepted: 08/08/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Here, we describe the selection and optimization of a chemical series active in both a full-length and a fragment-based Huntington's disease (HD) assay. Twenty-four thousand small molecules were screened in a phenotypic HD assay, identifying a series of compounds bearing a 3-hydroxy-3-trifluoromethylpyrazole moiety as able to revert the toxicity induced by full-length mutant Htt by up to 50%. A chemical exploration around the series led to the identification of compound 4f, which demonstrated to be active in a Htt171-82Q rat primary striatal neuron assay and a PC12-Exon-1 based assay. This compound was selected for testing in R6/2 mice, in which it was well-tolerated and showed a positive effect on body weight and a positive trend in preventing ventricular volume enlargment. These studies provide strong rationale for further testing the potential benefits of 3-hydroxy-3-trifluoromethylpyrazoles in treating HD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Salvatore La Rosa
- Siena Biotech SpA, Strada del Petriccio e Belriguardo 35, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Tiziana Benicchi
- Siena Biotech SpA, Strada del Petriccio e Belriguardo 35, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Laura Bettinetti
- Siena Biotech SpA, Strada del Petriccio e Belriguardo 35, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Ilaria Ceccarelli
- Siena Biotech SpA, Strada del Petriccio e Belriguardo 35, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Enrica Diodato
- Siena Biotech SpA, Strada del Petriccio e Belriguardo 35, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Cesare Federico
- Siena Biotech SpA, Strada del Petriccio e Belriguardo 35, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Pasquale Fiengo
- Siena Biotech SpA, Strada del Petriccio e Belriguardo 35, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Davide Franceschini
- Siena Biotech SpA, Strada del Petriccio e Belriguardo 35, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Ozgun Gokce
- Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL),
Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Freddy Heitz
- Siena Biotech SpA, Strada del Petriccio e Belriguardo 35, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Giulia Lazzeroni
- Siena Biotech SpA, Strada del Petriccio e Belriguardo 35, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Ruth Luthi-Carter
- Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL),
Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Letizia Magnoni
- Siena Biotech SpA, Strada del Petriccio e Belriguardo 35, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | | | - Carla Scali
- Siena Biotech SpA, Strada del Petriccio e Belriguardo 35, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Michela Valacchi
- Siena Biotech SpA, Strada del Petriccio e Belriguardo 35, 53100 Siena, Italy
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