JPET Fast Forward. Published on April 14, 2011 as DOI: 10.1124/jpet.110.178392 JPET TFhaiss atr tFicole rhwasa nrodt .b ePenu cbolpiysehdietedd aonnd fAorpmraitlte 1d.4 T,h 2e 0fi1na1l vaesrs iDonO mIa:y1 0di.f1fe1r 2fr4om/jp theist .v1e1rs0io.n1.78392 JPET #178392 Identification of a high affinity ligand that exhibits complete Ah receptor antagonism Kayla J. Smith, Iain A. Murray, Rachel Tanos, John Tellew, Anthony E. Boitano, William H. Bisson, Siva K. Kolluri, Michael P. Cooke, and Gary H. Perdew Center for Molecular Toxicology & Carcinogenesis, Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (K.J.S., I.A.M., R.T., G.H.P.); Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation, San Diego, CA 92121 (T.W., D A.E.B., M.P.C.); Pharmaceutical Biochemistry Group, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, ow n lo a d University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland (W.H.B.); Cancer Biology Laboratory, Department e d fro m of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, Environmental Health Sciences Center, Oregon jp e t.a s State University, Corvallis, OR 97331 (S.K.K.). p e tjo u rn a ls.o rg a t A S P E T J o u rna ls o n J a n u a ry 2 7 , 2 0 2 3 1 Copyright 2011 by the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. JPET Fast Forward. Published on April 14, 2011 as DOI: 10.1124/jpet.110.178392 This article has not been copyedited and formatted. The final version may differ from this version. JPET #178392 Running title: Redefining Ah receptor antagonism Corresponding author: Gary H. Perdew Center for Molecular Toxicology & Carcinogenesis Department of Veterinary Sciences The Pennsylvania State University 309A Life Sciences Building University Park D PA-16802 o w n Tel: 814-863-1996 loa d e d Email: [email protected] fro m jp Number of text pages: 28 e t.a s p e tjo u Number of tables: 0 rn a ls .o rg Number of figures: 11 + 1 supplement figure at A S P E T Number of references: 25 Jo u rn a ls o Abstract: 249 n J a n u a ry Introduction: 752 27 , 2 0 2 3 Discussion: 1263 Abbreviations: AHR, aryl hydrocarbon receptor; TCDD, 2, 3, 7, 8- tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin; DRE, dioxin response element; ARNT, AHR nuclear translocator; DRE, dioxin response element; DMSO, dimethyl sulfoxide; Recommended section: Cellular and Molecular 2 JPET Fast Forward. Published on April 14, 2011 as DOI: 10.1124/jpet.110.178392 This article has not been copyedited and formatted. The final version may differ from this version. JPET #178392 Abstract The biological functions of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) can be delineated into dioxin response element (DRE)-dependent or independent activities. Ligands exhibiting either full or partial agonist activity, e.g. TCDD and α-naphthoflavone, have been demonstrated to potentiate both DRE-dependent and independent AHR function. In contrast, the recently identified selective AHR modulators (SAhRMs), e.g. SGA360, bias AHR towards DRE-independent functionality while displaying antagonism with regard to ligand-induced DRE-dependent D o w n lo transcription. Recent studies have expanded the physiological role of AHR to include a d e d modulation of hematopoietic progenitor expansion and immunoregulation. It remains to be fro m jp e established whether such physiological roles are mediated through DRE-dependent or t.a s p e tjo independent pathways. Here, we present evidence for a third class of AHR ligand, ‘pure’ or urn a ls .o complete antagonists with the capacity to suppress both DRE-dependent and independent AHR rg a t A S functions, which may facilitate dissection of physiological AHR function with regard to DRE or P E T J o non-DRE-mediated signaling. Competitive ligand binding assays together with in silico u rn a ls modeling identify GNF351 (N-[2-(3H-indol-3-yl)ethyl]-9-isopropyl-2-(5-methyl-3- on J a n u pyridyl)purin-6-amine) as a high-affinity AHR ligand. DRE-dependent reporter assays, in ary 2 7 , 2 conjunction with quantitative PCR analysis of AHR targets, reveal GNF351 as a potent AHR 0 2 3 antagonist that demonstrates efficacy in the nM range. Furthermore, unlike many currently utilized AHR antagonists, e.g. α-naphthoflavone, GNF351 is devoid of partial agonist potential. Interestingly, in a model of AHR-mediated DRE-independent function, i.e. suppression of cytokine-induced acute phase gene expression, GNF351 has the capacity to antagonize agonist and SAhRM-mediated suppression of SAA1. Such data indicate that GNF351 is a pure antagonist with the capacity to inhibit both DRE-dependent and independent activity. 3 JPET Fast Forward. Published on April 14, 2011 as DOI: 10.1124/jpet.110.178392 This article has not been copyedited and formatted. The final version may differ from this version. JPET #178392 Introduction The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor, which is found in the cytoplasm in its latent form bound to HSP90, and translocates into the nucleus upon ligand mediated activation (Beischlag et al., 2008). Once inside the nucleus, it binds to the aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT), which displaces HSP90 and this complex binds to dioxin response elements (DRE) on its direct target genes. Binding to DRE sequences leads to transcription, which was first described for genes that encode for Phase I metabolic D o w n enzymes, such as CYP1A1/1A2. These enzymes are responsible for the conversion of a number loa d e d of carcinogens (e.g. benzo(a)pyrene) from procarcinogens into genotoxic intermediates. The fro m jp e most potent prototypic exogenous agonist for the AHR is 2, 3, 7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin t.a s p e tjo (TCDD), a highly toxic environmental pollutant. Thus the AHR was originally associated with u rn a ls .o toxic responses at both the cellular and whole organism level. However, in recent years the AHR rg a t A has been shown to play an important role in an array of physiological processes. Examination of S P E T J the physiological role of the AHR was greatly facilitated by the development of Ahr-null mice, ou rn a ls leading to the observation of multiple phenotypic defects including immune system dysfunction, o n J a n u reduced reproductive success and altered liver vascular development (Schmidt and Bradfield, a ry 2 7 1996). Further studies have implicated the AHR in additional physiological roles, such as anti- , 2 0 2 3 inflammatory endpoints, and T cell differentiation (Quintana et al., 2008; Patel et al., 2009). The activation of the AHR leads to the stimulation of a T cell population that secretes IL17, thus generating a proinflammatory autoimmune potential (Kimura et al., 2008; Veldhoen et al., 2008). The critical role that the AHR plays in this process was underscored by the ability of the AHR antagonist CH-223191 to attenuate T 17 cell development in vivo and subsequent secretion of H IL17 and IL22 (Veldhoen et al., 2009). Another biological endpoint that is influenced by AHR 4 JPET Fast Forward. Published on April 14, 2011 as DOI: 10.1124/jpet.110.178392 This article has not been copyedited and formatted. The final version may differ from this version. JPET #178392 activity is the expansion of human hematopoietic stem cells in cell culture (Boitano et al., 2010). The presence of the AHR antagonist StemRegenin 1 (SR1, 4-(2-(2-(benzo[b]thiophen-3-yl)-9- isopropyl-9H-purin-6-ylamino)ethyl)phenol) leads to ex vivo expansion of CD34+ cells that maintain an undifferentiated phenotype and retain the ability to engraft immunodeficient mice. These studies underscore the potential of AHR antagonists as therapeutic agents. This interest in the physiological processes regulated by the AHR has also led to an increased interest in differentiating between classes of AHR ligand and their effects on AHR-mediated D o w n transcriptional activity, in order to modulate possible beneficial roles of the AHR, while loa d e d inhibiting its potentially toxic effects. A distinct class of ligands has recently been characterized, fro m jp e which are able to bind to the AHR and fail to activate the DRE-mediated responses, yet are able t.a s p e tjo to repress cytokine-induced acute-phase gene expression. These compounds, classified as u rn a ls selective AHR modulators (SAhRM1), are interesting in a therapeutic sense, in that the effects of .org a t A DRE-mediated AHR activity would be repressed while the potentially beneficial anti- S P E T J inflammatory properties would be retained (Murray et al., 2010d). Two distinct compounds have ou rn a ls been characterized as SAhRM, SGA360 and 3′, 4′-dimethoxy α-naphthoflavone; collectively on J a n u they have been shown to repress a variety of cytokine induced acute phase genes, including ary 2 7 , 2 SAA1, CRP, LBP, C3, C1S, and C1R (Murray et al., 2010a; Murray et al., 2010c). Others also 0 2 3 use the term SAhRM in another context, that of a compound which may be used therapeutically α in the treatment of breast cancer through AHR-ER (estrogen receptor alpha) cross-talk, this compound exhibits partial agonist activity (Safe and McDougal, 2002). However, in this report the use of the term SAhRM will adhere to the definition in the footnote. After the discovery of this class of compounds, it was hypothesized that a class of AHR antagonist may exist, which not only inhibits the DRE response, but also fails to exhibit SAhRM activity. Though a number of 5 JPET Fast Forward. Published on April 14, 2011 as DOI: 10.1124/jpet.110.178392 This article has not been copyedited and formatted. The final version may differ from this version. JPET #178392 AHR antagonists are known and have been used in past studies, these compounds were characterized only in the context of antagonism of an agonist and thus may only antagonize DRE-mediated AHR activity. Also whether these AHR antagonists exhibit SAhRM activity remains to be explored. This report establishes that GNF351 is an AHR ligand that functions as a “pure antagonist”2. We have found that this compound displays antagonist activity at a lower concentration than most previously cited AHR antagonists, exhibits no AHR agonist activity, and antagonizes both the D o w n DRE-mediated and acute phase gene repression activities of the AHR. These findings will prove loa d e d valuable towards further characterization of the AHR and its ability to be activated by various fro m jp e classes of ligands, as well as yielding further insight into its possible role as a therapeutic agent. t.a s p e tjo u rna ls .o rg a t A S P E T J o u rn a ls o n Ja n u a ry 2 7 , 2 0 2 3 6 JPET Fast Forward. Published on April 14, 2011 as DOI: 10.1124/jpet.110.178392 This article has not been copyedited and formatted. The final version may differ from this version. JPET #178392 Methods Materials. GNF351 (N-[2-(3H-indol-3-yl)ethyl]-9-isopropyl-2-(5-methyl-3-pyridyl)purin-6- amine) was acquired from the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (San Diego, CA). TCDD was kindly provided by Dr. Stephen Safe (Texas A&M University, College Station, TX). SGA360 (1-Allyl-3-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-7-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-indazole) was α α synthesized as previously described (Murray et al., 2010c). NF ( -naphthoflavone) and TMF (6, 2′,4′-trimethoxyflavone) were acquired from Indofine Chemical Company, Hillsborough, NJ. D o w n lo MNF (3′-methoxy-4′-nitroflavone) was a kind gift from Dr. T. Gasiewicz (University of ad e d fro Rochester, Rochester, NY). Resveratrol (3,5,4′-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene) was purchased from m jp e t.a Biomol (Hamburg, Germany). CH-223191 (2-Methyl-2H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic Acid (2- sp e tjo u methyl-4-o-tolylazo-phenyl)-amide) was purchased from Chembridge Corporation (San Diego, rn a ls .o CA). Human recombinant interleukin-1B (ILB) was acquired from PeproTech, Rocky Hill, NJ. arg t A S P E Cell Culture. Huh7 cells, a human hepatoma-derived cell line, as well as the stable reporter cell T J o u α rn lines HepG2 40/6 and H1L1.1c2 were maintained in -minimal essential medium (Sigma, St. als o n J a Louis, MO), supplemented with 8% fetal bovine serum (FBS) (HyClone Labs, Logan, UT), 100 n u a ry 2 units/mL penicillin, and 100 µg/mL streptomycin (Sigma). Cells were grown in a humidified 7 , 2 0 2 3 incubator at 37°C, with an atmospheric composition of 95% air and 5% CO . The human 2 hepatoma-derived reporter line HepG2 40/6 contains the stably integrated pGudluc 6.1 DRE- driven reporter (Long et al., 1998), while the murine hepatoma-derived reporter line H1L1.1c2, which was originally obtained from Dr. M. Denison (University of California, Davis, CA) contains the stably integrated pGudluc 1.1 vector (Garrison et al., 1996). 7 JPET Fast Forward. Published on April 14, 2011 as DOI: 10.1124/jpet.110.178392 This article has not been copyedited and formatted. The final version may differ from this version. JPET #178392 Ligand-binding assays. Binding assays were conducted as described previously (Flaveny et al., 2009). Briefly, the AHR photoaffinity ligand 2-azido-3-[125I]iodo-7,8-dibromodibenzo-p-dioxin (PAL) was synthesized as described (Poland et al., 1986). To generate hepatic cytosol samples, mouse livers from B6.Cg-Ahrtm3.1 Bra Tg (Alb-cre, Ttr-AHR)1GHP “Humanized” AHR mice were homogenized with MENG buffer (25 mM MOPS, 2 mM EDTA, 0.02% NaN , and 10% 3 glycerol, pH 7.4) with 20 mM sodium molybdate and protease inhibitors (Sigma, St. Louis, MO). Samples were centrifuged for one h at 100,000g. Binding assays were conducted in the dark D o w except for the photo-cross linking of PAL. Next, 0.21 pmol (8 x 105 cpm/tube) of PAL (a n lo a d e saturating quantity), was combined with 150 µg of the hepatic cytosolic protein sample. This d fro m combination was then incubated with increasing concentrations of SR1 or GNF351 at room jp e t.a s p e temperature for 20 min. These samples were then photolyzed (402 nm) at 8 cm distance for 4 tjo u rn a min, after which 1% charcoal/dextran (final concentration) was incubated at 4C for 5 min. The ls .o rg a samples were then centrifuged at 3,000g for 10 min to remove remaining unbound PAL. Samples t A S P E T were then subjected to gel electrophoresis on an 8% tricine-polyacrylamide gel, after which they J o u rn a were transferred to a polyvinylidene difluoride membrane, and visualized by autoradiography. ls o γ n J a Radioactive bands were cut from the membrane and quantified by -counting. n u a ry 2 7 Cell-Based Luciferase Reporter Assay. Reporter cell lines used in luciferase reporter assays , 2 0 2 3 were grown in 6-well plates and treated with AHR ligands dissolved in DMSO (0.1% final concentration) and incubated for 4 h. For antagonism experiments the antagonist was added 5 min prior to the addition of TCDD. Lysis buffer (25 mM Tris-phosphate (pH 7.8), 2 mM DTT, 2 mM 1,2-diaminhocyclohexane-N,N,N’,N’-tetraacetic acid, 10% (v/v) glycerol, and 1% (v/v) Triton-X-100) was then added to each well. The activity of each sample was measured using a 8 JPET Fast Forward. Published on April 14, 2011 as DOI: 10.1124/jpet.110.178392 This article has not been copyedited and formatted. The final version may differ from this version. JPET #178392 TD-20e luminometer (Turner Systems, Sunnyvale, CA), using Luciferase Assay Substrate (Promega, Madison, WI) as suggested by manufacturer. RNA Isolation and Reverse Transcription. mRNA was isolated from cell cultures using TRI Reagent according to the manufacturer’s specifications (Sigma Aldrich). RNA was converted to cDNA using the High-Capacity cDNA Archive Kit (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA). Real-Time Quantitative PCR. Sequences of primers used for quantitative PCR have been D previously described (Murray et al., 2010c). PerfeCTa™ SYBR® Green SuperMix for iQ (Quanta ow n lo a d Biosciences, Gaithersburg, MD) was used to determine mRNA levels, and analysis was e d fro m conducted using MyIQ software, in conjunction with a MyIQ-single-color PCR detection system jp e t.a s (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, CA). p e tjo u rn a Acute Phase Gene Repression Assay. A human hepatoma-derived cell line (Huh7) was pre- ls.o rg a treated for one h with AHR ligands and incubated at 37°C in a cell culture incubator. After one h, t A S P β E T IL-1 and IL-6 were added to the appropriate wells at a concentration of 2 ng/mL for each J o u rn a cytokine. The cells were incubated for an additional 6 h, followed by removal of the media from ls o n J a the cells and 1 mL TRI Reagent was added per well. Quantitative PCR was performed on the nu a ry 2 samples, with the levels of SAA1 transcripts normalized to L13a. 7, 2 0 2 3 Mouse Ear Edema Assay. Mouse ear edema assays were conducted as described previously (Murray et al., 2010c). Briefly, 6-week-old male C57BL6/J mice (wild-type) were anesthetized. Then, 1.5 µg of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) in 50 µL of HPLC-grade acetone (Sigma) was applied directly to the right ear, followed by application of the test compounds. The left ear received vehicle only. After a 6 h treatment period, the mice were euthanized by carbon 9 JPET Fast Forward. Published on April 14, 2011 as DOI: 10.1124/jpet.110.178392 This article has not been copyedited and formatted. The final version may differ from this version. JPET #178392 dioxide asphyxiation. To quantify levels of inflammation, edema thickness was measured using a micrometer. AHR Modeling and Ligand Docking. Ligand binding modeling was conducted as described previously (Bisson et al., 2009). Statistical Analysis. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparison post-test using GraphPad Prism (v.5.01) software to determine statistical D significance between treatments. Data represents the mean change in a given endpoint +/- s.e.m. ow n lo a d (n=3/treatment group) and were analyzed to determine significance (*P<0.05; **P,0.01; e d fro m ***P<0.001). jp e t.a s p e tjo u rn a ls .o rg a t A S P E T J o u rn a ls o n J a n u a ry 2 7 , 2 0 2 3 10