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Target 2035, an international federation of biomedical scientists from the public and private sectors, is leveraging ‘open’ principles to develop a pharmacological tool for every human protein.

The transforming growth factor beta-receptor I/activin receptor-like kinase 5 (TGFBR1/ALK5) and its close homologue ALK4 are receptor protein kinases associated with the development of diverse diseases, including cancer, fibrosis, heart diseases and dysfunctional immune response. Therefore, ALK4/5 are among the most studied kinases and several inhibitors have been developed. However, current commercially available inhibitors either lack selectivity or have not been comprehensively characterized, limiting their value for studying ALK4/5 function in cellular systems. To this end, we report the characterization of the 2-oxo-imidazopyridine, TP-008, a potent chemical probe with dual activity for ALK4 and ALK5 as well as the development of a matching negative control compound. TP-008 has excellent cellular potency and strongly abrogates phosphorylation of the substrate SMAD2 (mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 2). Thus, this chemical probe offers an excellent tool for mechanistic studies on the ALK4/5 signaling pathway and the contribution of these targets to disease.

Renal mesangial cells are regarded as main players in glomerular inflammatory diseases. To investigate a possible crosstalk between inflammatory and hypoxia-driven signaling processes, we stimulated cultured mouse mesangial cells with different inflammatory agents and analyzed the expression of prolyl hydroxylase domain containing proteins (PHDs), the main regulators of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) stability. Administration of IL-1β (1 nM) and TNF-α (1 nM), a combination further referred to as cytokine mix (CM), resulted in a fivefold increase in PHD3 but not PHD1 and PHD2 mRNA expression compared to untreated controls. In contrast, a combination of IL-1β, TNF-α with lipopolysaccharide (10 μg/ml), and interferon-γ (20 ng/ml) designated as CM+ showed a high (60-fold) induction of PHD3 and a moderate (twofold) induction of PHD2 mRNA expression. Interestingly, CM+ but not CM induced the expression of inducible NO synthase and endogenously produced NO was responsible for the immense induction of PHD3 in mesangial cells treated with CM+. We found that CM+ affected PHD3 expression mainly via the NO/HIF axis, whereas PHD3 regulation by CM occurred in a NF-κB-dependent manner. In turn, silencing of PHD3 expression resulted in a decrease in the mRNA expression of ICAM-1, MIP-2, MCP-1, and CXCL-10, which are under control of NF-κB. In a rat model of mesangio-proliferative glomerulonephritis, PHD3 mRNA and protein expression was markedly induced and this effect was nearly abolished when rats were treated with the iNOS-specific inhibitor L-NIL, thus confirming our findings also in vivo.PHD3 expression induced by cytokines is NF-κB dependent in mesangial cells. Endogenously produced NO further augments PHD3 expression via HIF-1α. PHD3 expression is induced by NO in anti-Thy-1 glomerulonephritis.

Th1 and Th17 cells, T helper (Th) subtypes, are key inducers of renal fibrosis. The molecular mechanisms of their recruitment into the kidney, however, are not well understood. Here, we show that biglycan, a proteoglycan of the extracellular matrix, acting in its soluble form as a danger signal, stimulates autonomously the production of Th1 and Th17 chemoattractants CXCL10 and CCL20 in macrophages. In the presence of IFNγ, biglycan synergistically stimulates CXCL9. In macrophages deficient for TLR2, TLR4, and their adaptor molecules MyD88 or TRIF, we identified highly selective mechanisms of biglycan-dependent Th1/17 chemoattraction. Thus, the expression of CXCL9 and CXCL10, common chemoattractants for CXCR3-positive Th1 and Th17 cells, is triggered in a biglycan-TLR4/TRIF-dependent manner. By contrast, biglycan induces CCL20 chemokine production, responsible for CCR6-positive Th17 cell recruitment, in a TLR2/4/MyD88-dependent manner. Importantly, at the onset of diabetes mellitus and lupus nephritis we provide evidence for biglycan-dependent recruitment of Th1 and Th17 cells, IFNγ and IL-17 production, and development of albuminuria in mice lacking or overexpressing soluble biglycan. Furthermore, by genetic ablation of Cxcl10 we showed in vivo involvement of this chemokine in biglycan-dependent recruitment of Th1 and Th17 cells into the kidney. Finally, a positive correlation of biglycan and CXCL10/CXCL9 levels was detected in plasma from patients with diabetic nephropathy and lupus nephritis. Taken together, we identified biglycan as a novel trigger of Th1 and Th17 cell recruitment into the kidney and we postulate that interfering with biglycan/TLR/TRIF/MyD88-signaling might provide novel therapeutic avenues for renal fibrosis.

Zinc metalloproteinases meprin α and meprin β are implicated in a variety of diseases, such as fibrosis, inflammation and neurodegeneration, however, there are no selective small molecule inhibitors that would allow to study their role in these processes. To address this lack of molecular tools, we have developed high throughput screening assays to enable discovery of inhibitors of both meprin α and meprin β and screened a collection of well characterized pharmaceutical agents (library of pharmaceutically active compounds, n = 1,280 compounds). Two compounds (PPNDS, NF449) confirmed their activity and selectivity for meprin β. Kinetic studies revealed competitive (PPNDS) and mixed competitive/noncompetitive (NF449) inhibition mechanisms suggesting that binding occurs in meprin β active site. Both PPNDS and NF449 exhibited low nanomolar IC50 and Ki values making them the most potent and selective inhibitors of meprin β reported to the date. These results demonstrate the ability of meprin α and β assays to identify selective compounds and discard artifacts of primary screening. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers (Pept Sci) 102: 396–406, 2014.

A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase 10 (ADAM10) and ADAM17 catalyze ectodomain shedding of a number of cell surface proteins important for embryonic development and tissue homeostasis. Changes in the expression levels or dysregulated proteolytic activity of ADAM10 and ADAM17 have been shown to play important roles in multiple diseases such as inflammation, cancer, and neurodegenerative disorders. Despite the well documented substrate repertoire of ADAM10 and ADAM17, little is known about their cleavage site specificity. We optimized Q-PICS (Quantitative Proteomics for the Identification of Cleavage Sites) to elucidate the cleavage site specificity of recombinant murine ADAM10 and ADAM17. Two different yeast proteome-derived peptide libraries were used and samples were analyzed by LC-MALDI and LC-ESI MS in parallel. We show that the largest difference in the cleavage site specificities of ADAM10 and ADAM17 is at the P1' site: while both enzymes cleave N-terminal of leucine, only ADAM10 shows additional preference toward aromatic amino acids, whereas ADAM17 exhibits the highest preference for valine. Together with further amino acid preferences more adjacent to the scissile bond, our data is in good agreement with ADAM10/17 cleavage sites previously identified in native substrates. Overall, the precise identification of ADAM10 and ADAM17 cleavage site specificity provides the basis for better substrate identification in vivo and the generation of specific inhibitors or activity based probes.

In its soluble form, the extracellular matrix proteoglycan biglycan triggers the synthesis of the macrophage chemoattractants, chemokine (C-C motif) ligand CCL2 and CCL5 through selective utilization of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and their adaptor molecules. However, the respective downstream signaling events resulting in biglycan-induced CCL2 and CCL5 production have not yet been defined. Here, we show that biglycan stimulates the production and activation of sphingosine kinase 1 (SphK1) in a TLR4- and Toll/interleukin (IL)-1R domain-containing adaptor inducing interferon (IFN)-β (TRIF)-dependent manner in murine primary macrophages. We provide genetic and pharmacological proof that SphK1 is a crucial downstream mediator of biglycan-triggered CCL2 and CCL5 mRNA and protein expression. This is selectively driven by biglycan/SphK1-dependent phosphorylation of the nuclear factor NF-κB p65 subunit, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk)1/2 and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases. Importantly, in vivo overexpression of soluble biglycan causes Sphk1-dependent enhancement of renal CCL2 and CCL5 and macrophage recruitment into the kidney. Our findings describe the crosstalk between biglycan- and SphK1-driven extracellular matrix- and lipid-signaling. Thus, SphK1 may represent a new target for therapeutic intervention in biglycan-evoked inflammatory conditions.

Inflammation and autophagy have emerged as prominent issues in the context of proteoglycan signaling. In particular, two small, leucine-rich proteoglycans, biglycan and decorin, play pivotal roles in the regulation of these vital cellular pathways and, as such, are intrinsically involved in cancer initiation and progression. In this minireview, we will address novel functions of biglycan and decorin in inflammation and autophagy, and analyze new emerging signaling events triggered by these proteoglycans, which directly or indirectly modulate these processes. We will critically discuss the dual role of proteoglycan-driven inflammation and autophagy in tumor biology, and delineate the potential mechanisms through which soluble extracellular matrix constituents affect the microenvironment associated with inflammatory and neoplastic diseases.

Meprin β is a dimeric type I transmembrane protein and acts as an ectodomain sheddase at the cell surface. It was shown that meprin β cleaves the amyloid precursor protein (APP), thereby releasing neurotoxic amyloid β peptides and implicating a role of meprin β in Alzheimer’s disease. In order to identify non-proteolytic regulators of meprin β, we performed a split ubiquitin yeast two-hybrid screen using a small intestinal cDNA library. In this screen we identified tetraspanin 8 (TSPAN8) as interaction partner for meprin β. Since several members of the tetraspanin family were described to interact with metalloproteases thereby affecting their localization and/or activity, we hypothesized similar functions of TSPAN8 in the regulation of meprin β. We employed cell biological methods to confirm direct binding of TSPAN8 to meprin β. Surprisingly, we did not observe an effect of TSPAN8 on the catalytic activity of meprin β nor on the specific cleavage of its substrate APP. However, both proteins were identified being present in tetraspanin-enriched microdomains. Therefore we hypothesize that TSPAN8 might be important for the orchestration of meprin β at the cell surface with impact on certain proteolytic processes that have to be further identified.

Since the discovery of meprins over 30 years ago, significant progress has been made in understanding their roles in health and disease. The application of proteomic techniques for identification of substrates and cleavage site specificity, combined with the use of meprin knock-out mice have especially contributed to the understanding of the physiological and pathological functions of these fascinating proteases. Now, it is well known that meprin α and meprin β play important roles in inflammation, cancer, neurodegeneration, and fibrosis. Therefore, targeted inhibition of meprins might be a suitable therapeutic application.

Biglycan, a ubiquitous proteoglycan, acts as a danger signal when released from the extracellular matrix. As such, biglycan triggers the synthesis and maturation of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in a Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2-, TLR4-, and reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent manner. Here, we discovered that biglycan autonomously regulates the balance in IL-1β production in vitro and in vivo by modulating expression, activity and stability of NADPH oxidase (NOX) 1, 2 and 4 enzymes via different TLR pathways. In primary murine macrophages, biglycan triggered NOX1/4-mediated ROS generation, thereby enhancing IL-1β expression. Surprisingly, biglycan inhibited IL-1β due to enhancement of NOX2 synthesis and activation, by selectively interacting with TLR4. Synthesis of NOX2 was mediated by adaptor molecule Toll/IL-1R domain-containing adaptor inducing IFN-β (TRIF). Via myeloid differentiation primary response protein (MyD88) as well as Rac1 activation and Erk phosphorylation, biglycan triggered translocation of the cytosolic NOX2 subunit p47(phox) to the plasma membrane, an obligatory step for NOX2 activation. In contrast, by engaging TLR2, soluble biglycan stimulated the expression of heat shock protein (HSP) 70, which bound to NOX2, and consequently impaired the inhibitory function of NOX2 on IL-1β expression. Notably, a genetic background lacking biglycan reduced HSP70 expression, rescued the enhanced renal IL-1β production and improved kidney function of Nox2(-/y) mice in a model of renal ischemia reperfusion injury. Here, we provide a novel mechanism where the danger molecule biglycan influences NOX2 synthesis and activation via different TLR pathways, thereby regulating inflammation severity. Thus, selective inhibition of biglycan-TLR2 or biglycan-TLR4 signaling could be a novel therapeutic approach in ROS-mediated inflammatory diseases.

Zinc metalloproteinases meprin α and meprin β are implicated in a variety of diseases, such as fibrosis, inflammation and neurodegeneration, however, there are no selective small molecule inhibitors that would allow to study their role in these processes. To address this lack of molecular tools, we have developed high throughput screening assays to enable discovery of inhibitors of both meprin α and meprin β and screened a collection of well characterized pharmaceutical agents (library of pharmaceutically active compounds, n = 1,280 compounds). Two compounds (PPNDS, NF449) confirmed their activity and selectivity for meprin β. Kinetic studies revealed competitive (PPNDS) and mixed competitive/noncompetitive (NF449) inhibition mechanisms suggesting that binding occurs in meprin β active site. Both PPNDS and NF449 exhibited low nanomolar IC50 and Ki values making them the most potent and selective inhibitors of meprin β reported to the date. These results demonstrate the ability of meprin α and β assays to identify selective compounds and discard artifacts of primary screening.

Twenty years after the publication of the first draft of the human genome, our knowledge of the human proteome is still fragmented. The challenge of translating the wealth of new knowledge from genomics into new medicines is that proteins, and not genes, are the primary executers of biological function. Therefore, much of how biology works in health and disease must be understood through the lens of protein function. Accordingly, a subset of human proteins has been at the heart of research interests of scientists over the centuries, and we have accumulated varying degrees of knowledge about approximately 65% of the human proteome. Nevertheless, a large proportion of proteins in the human proteome (∼35%) remains uncharacterized, and less than 5% of the human proteome has been successfully targeted for drug discovery. This highlights the profound disconnect between our abilities to obtain genetic information and subsequent development of effective medicines. Target 2035 is an international federation of biomedical scientists from the public and private sectors, which aims to address this gap by developing and applying new technologies to create by year 2035 chemogenomic libraries, chemical probes, and/or biological probes for the entire human proteome.