title: Development of a fission yeast-based high-throughput screen to identify chemical regulators of cAMP phosphodiesterases.
abstract: Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDEs) comprise a superfamily of enzymes that serve as drug targets in many human diseases. There is a continuing need to identify high-specificity inhibitors that affect individual PDE families or even subtypes within a single family. The authors describe a fission yeast-based high-throughput screen to detect inhibitors of heterologously expressed adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) PDEs. The utility of this system is demonstrated by the construction and characterization of strains that express mammalian PDE2A, PDE4A, PDE4B, and PDE8A and respond appropriately to known PDE2A and PDE4 inhibitors. High-throughput screens of 2 bioactive compound libraries for PDE inhibitors using strains expressing PDE2A, PDE4A, PDE4B, and the yeast PDE Cgs2 identified known PDE inhibitors and members of compound classes associated with PDE inhibition. The authors verified that the furanocoumarin imperatorin is a PDE4 inhibitor based on its ability to produce a PDE4-specific elevation of cAMP levels. This platform can be used to identify PDE activators, as well as genes encoding PDE regulators, which could serve as targets for future drug screens.
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467, USA.
authors.forename: F Douglas
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Ivey
authors.forename: Lili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Didem
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Demirbas
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Allain
authors.forename: Charles S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Hoffman
mesh_terms: D015105:3',5'-Cyclic-AMP Phosphodiesterases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000378:metabolism; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical / Q000379:methods*; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D005800:Genes, Fungal; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D051379:Mice; D010726:Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012568:Schizosaccharomyces / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D010726:Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D000242:Cyclic AMP; D015105:3',5'-Cyclic-AMP Phosphodiesterases