scholarly journals Efficient Neuroprotective Rescue of Sacsin-Related Disease Phenotypes in Zebrafish

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (16) ◽  
pp. 8401
Author(s):  
Valentina Naef ◽  
Maria Marchese ◽  
Asahi Ogi ◽  
Gianluca Fichi ◽  
Daniele Galatolo ◽  
...  

Autosomal recessive spastic ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay (ARSACS) is a multisystem hereditary ataxia associated with mutations in SACS, which encodes sacsin, a protein of still only partially understood function. Although mouse models of ARSACS mimic largely the disease progression seen in humans, their use in the validation of effective therapies has not yet been proposed. Recently, the teleost Danio rerio has attracted increasing attention as a vertebrate model that allows rapid and economical screening, of candidate molecules, and thus combines the advantages of whole-organism phenotypic assays and in vitro high-throughput screening assays. Through CRISPR/Cas9-based mutagenesis, we generated and characterized a zebrafish sacs-null mutant line that replicates the main features of ARSACS. The sacs-null fish showed motor impairment, hindbrain atrophy, mitochondrial dysfunction, and reactive oxygen species accumulation. As proof of principle for using these mutant fish in high-throughput screening studies, we showed that both acetyl-DL-leucine and tauroursodeoxycholic acid improved locomotor and biochemical phenotypes in sacs−/− larvae treated with these neuroprotective agents, by mediating significant rescue of the molecular functions altered by sacsin loss. Taken together, the evidence here reported shows the zebrafish to be a valuable model organism for the identification of novel molecular mechanisms and for efficient and rapid in vivo optimization and screening of potential therapeutic compounds. These findings may pave the way for new interventions targeting the earliest phases of Purkinje cell degeneration in ARSACS.

Author(s):  
Olga V. Naidenko ◽  
David Q. Andrews ◽  
Alexis M. Temkin ◽  
Tasha Stoiber ◽  
Uloma Igara Uche ◽  
...  

The development of high-throughput screening methodologies may decrease the need for laboratory animals for toxicity testing. Here, we investigate the potential of assessing immunotoxicity with high-throughput screening data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ToxCast program. As case studies, we analyzed the most common chemicals added to food as well as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) shown to migrate to food from packaging materials or processing equipment. The antioxidant preservative tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) showed activity both in ToxCast assays and in classical immunological assays, suggesting that it may affect the immune response in people. From the PFAS group, we identified eight substances that can migrate from food contact materials and have ToxCast data. In epidemiological and toxicological studies, PFAS suppress the immune system and decrease the response to vaccination. However, most PFAS show weak or no activity in immune-related ToxCast assays. This lack of concordance between toxicological and high-throughput data for common PFAS indicates the current limitations of in vitro screening for analyzing immunotoxicity. High-throughput in vitro assays show promise for providing mechanistic data relevant for immune risk assessment. In contrast, the lack of immune-specific activity in the existing high-throughput assays cannot validate the safety of a chemical for the immune system.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhou Fang ◽  
Junjian Chen ◽  
Ye Zhu ◽  
Guansong Hu ◽  
Haoqian Xin ◽  
...  

AbstractPeptides are widely used for surface modification to develop improved implants, such as cell adhesion RGD peptide and antimicrobial peptide (AMP). However, it is a daunting challenge to identify an optimized condition with the two peptides showing their intended activities and the parameters for reaching such a condition. Herein, we develop a high-throughput strategy, preparing titanium (Ti) surfaces with a gradient in peptide density by click reaction as a platform, to screen the positions with desired functions. Such positions are corresponding to optimized molecular parameters (peptide densities/ratios) and associated preparation parameters (reaction times/reactant concentrations). These parameters are then extracted to prepare nongradient mono- and dual-peptide functionalized Ti surfaces with desired biocompatibility or/and antimicrobial activity in vitro and in vivo. We also demonstrate this strategy could be extended to other materials. Here, we show that the high-throughput versatile strategy holds great promise for rational design and preparation of functional biomaterial surfaces.


2009 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. JCD.S3660
Author(s):  
Hang Fai Kwok ◽  
Julie A. Gormley ◽  
Christopher J. Scott ◽  
James A. Johnston ◽  
Shane A. Olwill

The study of death receptor family induced apoptosis has gained momentum in recent years with the knowledge that therapeutic antibodies targeting DR4 and DR5 (death receptor's 4 and 5) have proved efficacious in multiple clinical trials. The therapeutic rationale is based on targeting and amplifying a tumour tissues normal cell death programme (apoptosis). While advances in the targeting of DR4 and DR5 have been successful the search for an agonistic antibody to another family member, the Fas receptor, has proven more elusive. This is partly due to the differing in vitro and in vivo characteristics of individual antibodies. In order to induce Fas targeted cell death an antibody must be capable of binding to and trimerising the receptor. It has been shown that antibodies capable of performing this function in vivo, with the assistance of tumour associated cells, do not always induce apoptosis in vitro. As a result the use of current methodologies to detect functional antibodies in vitro may have dismissed potential therapeutic candidates ('false negative'). Here we report a novel high throughput screening technique which artificially cross-links antibodies bound to the Fas receptor. By combining this process with Annexin-V and Prodidium Iodide (PI) staining we can select for antibodies which have the potential to induce apoptosis in vivo.


2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 687-694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoonsuk Lee ◽  
Dong-Ku Kang ◽  
Soo-Ik Chang ◽  
Moon Hi Han ◽  
In-Cheol Kang

Protein microarray is an emerging technology that makes high-throughput analysis possible for protein-protein interactions and analysis of proteome and biomarkers in parallel. The authors investigated the application of a novel protein microarray chip, Proteo Chip, in new drug discovery. Integrin αvβ3 microarray immobilized on the Proteo Chip was employed to screen new active peptides against the integrin from multiple hexapeptide sublibraries of a positional scanning synthetic peptide combinatorial library (PS-SPCL). The integrin αvβ3-vitronectin interaction was successfully demonstrated on the integrin microarray in a dose-dependent manner andwas inhibited not only by the syntheticRGDpeptide but also by various integrin antagonists on the integrin microarray chip. Novel peptide ligands with high affinity to the integrin were also identified from the peptide libraries with this chip-based screening system by a competitive inhibition assay in a simultaneous and highthroughput fashion. The authors have confirmed antiangiogenic functions of the novel peptides thus screened through an in vitro and in vivo angiogenesis assay. These results provide evidence that the Proteo Chip is a promising tool for highthroughput screening of lead molecules in new drug development.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-23
Author(s):  
Nazmina Vhora ◽  
Ujjal Naskar ◽  
Aishwarya Hiray ◽  
Abhijeet S. Kate ◽  
Alok Jain

BACKGROUND: A higher rate of attenuation of molecules in drug discovery has enabled pharmaceutical companies to enhance the efficiency of their hit identification and lead optimization. Selection and development of appropriate in-vitro and in-vivo strategies may improve this process as primary and secondary screening utilize both strategies. In-vivo approaches are too relentless and expensive for assessing hits. Therefore, it has become indispensable to develop and implement suitable in-vitro screening methods to execute the required activities and meet the respective targets. However, the selection of an appropriate in-vitro assay for specific evaluation of cellular activity is no trivial task. It requires thorough investigation of the various parameters involved. AIM: In this review, we aim to discuss in-vitro assays for type 2 diabetes (T2D), which have been utilized extensively by researchers over the last five years, including target-based, non-target based, low-throughput, and high-throughput screening assays. METHODS: The literature search was conducted using databases including Scifinder, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar to find the significant published articles. DISCUSSION and CONCLUSION: The accuracy and relevance of in-vitro assays have a significant impact on the drug discovery process for T2D, especially in assessing the antidiabetic activity of compounds and identifying the site of effect in high-throughput screening. The report reviews the advantages, limitations, quality parameters, and applications of the probed invitro assays, and compares them with one another to enable the selection of the optimal method for any purpose. The information on these assays will accelerate numerous procedures in the drug development process with consistent quality and accuracy.


2005 ◽  
Vol 125 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi KOMURA ◽  
Kenichi MATSUDA ◽  
Yukie SHIGEMOTO ◽  
Iichiro KAWAHARA ◽  
Rieko ANO ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 312 (5) ◽  
pp. H1002-H1012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junyu Yang ◽  
Milton E. Brown ◽  
Hanshuo Zhang ◽  
Mario Martinez ◽  
Zhihua Zhao ◽  
...  

Myocardial infarction (MI) is the most common cause of heart failure. Excessive production of ROS plays a key role in the pathogenesis of cardiac remodeling after MI. NADPH with NADPH oxidase (Nox)2 as the catalytic subunit is a major source of superoxide production, and expression is significantly increased in the infarcted myocardium, especially by infiltrating macrophages. While microRNAs (miRNAs) are potent regulators of gene expression and play an important role in heart disease, there still lacks efficient ways to identify miRNAs that target important pathological genes for treating MI. Thus, the overall objective was to establish a miRNA screening and delivery system for improving heart function after MI using Nox2 as a critical target. With the use of the miRNA-target screening system composed of a self-assembled cell microarray (SAMcell), three miRNAs, miR-106b, miR-148b, and miR-204, were identified that could regulate Nox2 expression and its downstream products in both human and mouse macrophages. Each of these miRNAs were encapsulated into polyketal (PK3) nanoparticles that could effectively deliver miRNAs into macrophages. Both in vitro and in vivo studies in mice confirmed that PK3-miRNAs particles could inhibit Nox2 expression and activity and significantly improve infarct size and acute cardiac function after MI. In conclusion, our results show that miR-106b, miR-148b, and miR-204 were able to improve heart function after myocardial infarction in mice by targeting Nox2 and possibly altering inflammatory cytokine production. This screening system and delivery method could have broader implications for miRNA-mediated therapeutics for cardiovascular and other diseases. NEW & NOTEWORTHY NADPH oxidase (Nox)2 is a promising target for treating cardiovascular disease, but there are no specific inhibitors. Finding endogenous signals that can target Nox2 and other inflammatory molecules is of great interest. In this study, we used high-throughput screening to identify microRNAs that target Nox2 and improve cardiac function after infarction.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (17) ◽  
pp. 9505
Author(s):  
Rui Zhang ◽  
Caili Qiao ◽  
Qiuyan Liu ◽  
Jingwen He ◽  
Yifan Lai ◽  
...  

Depression is the most frequent affective disorder and is the leading cause of disability worldwide. In order to screen antidepressants and explore molecular mechanisms, a variety of animal models were used in experiments, but there is no reliable high-throughput screening method. Zebrafish is a common model organism for mental illness such as depression. In our research, we established chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) models in C57BL/6 mice and zebrafish; the similarities in behavior and pathology suggest that zebrafish can replace rodents as high-throughput screening organisms. Stress mice (ip., 1 mg/kg/d, 3 days) and zebrafish (10 mg/L, 20 min) were treated with reserpine. As a result, reserpine caused depression-like behavior in mice, which was consistent with the results of the CUMS mice model. Additionally, reserpine reduced the locomotor ability and exploratory behavior of zebrafish, which was consistent with the results of the CUMS zebrafish model. Further analysis of the metabolic differences showed that the reserpine-induced zebrafish depression model was similar to the reserpine mice model and the CUMS mice model in the tyrosine metabolism pathway. The above results showed that the reserpine-induced depression zebrafish model was similar to the CUMS model from phenotype to internal metabolic changes and can replace the CUMS model for antidepressants screening. Moreover, the results from this model were obtained in a short time, which can shorten the cycle of drug screening and achieve high-throughput screening. Therefore, we believe it is a reliable high-throughput screening model.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanchen Xu ◽  
Yujing Liu ◽  
Peiqiu Cheng ◽  
Chunyan Wang ◽  
Yang Liu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Circular RNAs (circRNAs), an important member of the non-coding RNA family, have been revealed the role in the pathogenic progression of diseases in recent years, particularly in the malignant progression of cancer. With the application of high-throughput sequencing technology, a large number of circRNAs have been found in tumor tissues, and some circRNAs have demonstrated the role as oncogenic genes. In this study, we analyzed the circRNA expression profile in colorectal cancer (CRC) tissues and normal adjacent tissues by high-throughput sequencing, focusing on the circRNA_0000392, a circRNA with significantly increased expression in colorectal cancer tissues, and further investigating its function in the progression of colorectal cancer.Methods: The expression profile of circRNAs in 6 pairs of CRC tissues and normal adjacent tissues was analyzed by RNA-sequencing. We verified the differential circRNAs with expanded samples by qRT-PCR, focused on circRNA_0000392, and evaluated its associations with clinicopathological features. Then we knocked down circRNA_0000392 in CRC cells and evaluated the effect in vitro and in vivo by functional experiments. The dual luciferase assay and RNA pull-down were performed to further explore the downstream potential molecular mechanisms.Results: CircRNA_0000392 was significantly up-regulated in CRC compared with normal adjacent tissues and cell line. The expression level of circRNA_0000392 was positively correlated with the malignant progression of CRC. Functional studies revealed that reducing the expression of circRNA_0000392 could inhibit the proliferation and invasion of CRC both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, circRNA­_0000392 could act as a sponge of miR-193a-5p and regulate the expression of PIK3R3, then affect the activation of the AKT-mTOR pathway in CRC cells.Conclusions: The circRNA_0000392 has the function as an oncogene through miR-193a-5p/PIK3R3-Akt axis in CRC cells, implying that circRNA_0000392 is a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of colorectal cancer and a predictive marker for CRC patients.


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