The HIV Protease Inhibitor Saquinavir Inhibits HMGB1-Driven Inflammation by Targeting the Interaction of Cathepsin V with TLR4/MyD88.
Extracellular high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) (disulfide form), via activation of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-dependent signaling, is a strong driver of pathologic inflammation in both acute and chronic conditions. Identification of selective inhibitors of HMGB1-TLR4 signaling could offer novel therapies that selectively target proximal endogenous activators of inflammation. A cell-based screening strategy led us to identify first generation HIV-protease inhibitors (PI) as potential inhibitors of HMGB1-TLR4 driven cytokine production. Here we report that the first-generation HIV-PI saquinavir (SQV), as well as a newly identified mammalian protease inhibitor STO33438 (334), potently block disulfide HMGB1-induced TLR4 activation, as assayed by the production of TNF-α by human monocyte-derived macrophages (THP-1). We further report on the identification of mammalian cathepsin V, a protease, as a novel target of these inhibitors. Cellular as well as recombinant protein studies show that the mechanism of action involves a direct interaction between cathepsin V with TLR4 and its adaptor protein MyD88. Treatment with SQV, 334 or the known cathepsin inhibitor SID26681509 (SID) significantly improved survival in murine models of sepsis and reduced liver damage following warm liver ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) models, both characterized by strong HMGB1-TLR4 driven pathology. The current study demonstrates a novel role for cathepsin V in TLR4 signaling and implicates cathepsin V as a novel target for first-generation HIV-PI compounds. The identification of cathepsin V as a target to block HMGB1-TLR4-driven inflammation could allow for a rapid transition of the discovery from the bench to the bedside. Disulfide HMGB1 drives pathologic inflammation in many models by activating signaling through TLR4. Cell-based screening identified the mammalian protease cathepsin V as a novel therapeutic target to inhibit TLR4-mediated inflammation induced by extracellular HMGB1 (disulfide form). We identified two protease inhibitors (PIs) that block cathepsin V and thereby inhibit disulfide HMGB1-induced TLR4 activation: saquinavir (SQV), a first-generation PI targeting viral HIV protease and STO33438 (334), targeting mammalian proteases. We discovered that cathepsin V binds TLR4 under basal and HMGB1-stimulated conditions, but dissociates in the presence of SQV over time. Thus cathepsin V is a novel target for first-generation HIV PIs and represents a potential therapeutic target of pathologic inflammation.
Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America.|Integrative Molecular and Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, United States of America.
John P
JP
Pribis
Laboratory of Biomedical Science, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, New York, United States of America.|Department of Medicinal Chemistry, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, New York, United States of America.
Yousef
Y
Al-Abed
Laboratory of Biomedical Science, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, New York, United States of America.
Huan
H
Yang
Department of Anesthesiology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America.
Domokos
D
Gero
Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America.|The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Hunan, China.
Hongbo
H
Xu
Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
Marcelo F
MF
Montenegro
Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
Eileen M
EM
Bauer
Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
Sodam
S
Kim
Laboratory of Biomedical Science, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, New York, United States of America.
Sangeeta S
SS
Chavan
Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
Changchun
C
Cai
Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America.|The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Hunan, China.
Tunliang
T
Li
Department of Anesthesiology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America.
Petra
P
Szoleczky
Department of Anesthesiology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America.
Csaba
C
Szabo
Laboratory of Biomedical Science, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, New York, United States of America.
Kevin J
KJ
Tracey
Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
Timothy R
TR
Billiar