title: JX401, A p38alpha inhibitor containing a 4-benzylpiperidine motif, identified via a novel screening system in yeast.
abstract: In vivo screening of compounds for potential pharmacological activity is more advantageous than in vitro screening. In vivo screens eliminate the isolation of compounds that cannot cross biological membranes, are cytotoxic, or are not specific to the target. However, animal-based or even cell-based systems are usually expensive, time-consuming, and laborious. Here we describe the identification of inhibitors of the mitogen-activated protein kinase p38alpha via a high throughput screen using yeast cells. p38alpha is hyperactive in inflammatory diseases, and various indications suggest that its inhibition would reverse inflammation. However, there are currently no p38alpha inhibitors in clinical use. Because the human p38alpha imposes severe growth retardation when expressed in yeast, we screened a library of 40,000 randomly selected small molecules for compounds that would restore a normal growth rate. We identified two compounds; both share a structural motif of 4-benzylpiperidine, and both were shown to be efficient and selective p38alpha inhibitors in vitro. They were also active in mammalian cells, as manifested by their ability to reversibly inhibit myoblast differentiation. Thus, the yeast screen identified efficient and specific p38alpha inhibitors that are capable of crossing biological membranes, are not toxic, and function in mammalian cells. The rapid and cost-efficient high-throughput screening used here could be applied for isolation of inhibitors of various targets.
authors.affiliation: Jexys Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Yael
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Friedmann
authors.forename: Anat
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shriki
authors.forename: Estelle R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.forename: Stella
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Golos
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Diskin
authors.forename: Irit
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Marbach
authors.forename: Eyal
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bengal
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Engelberg
mesh_terms: D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002460:Cell Line; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D054638:Dual Specificity Phosphatase 1; D048308:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 14 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D032446:Myoblasts / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D010641:Phenotype; D010766:Phosphorylation; D054645:Protein Phosphatase 1; D017027:Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D013997:Time Factors; D015003:Yeasts / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D048308:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 14; D054645:Protein Phosphatase 1; C517019:DUSP1 protein, human; D054638:Dual Specificity Phosphatase 1; C517021:Dusp1 protein, rat; D017027:Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases