Nihon Yakurigaku Zasshi
September 2024
Drug discovery research takes many years and tons of effort, and the success rate is extremely low. In order to overcome this situation, pharmaceutical companies struggle to improve the probability of success drug research and development with multiple approaches. Recently, it is important to predict the clinical effects of the candidates as early as possible in drug discovery stage, to stratify patients with diseases, and to provide appropriate readouts for evaluation of pharmacological efficacy for increasing the success rate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChromosome 15q11.2-13.1 duplication (Dup15q) syndrome is one of the most common autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) associated with copy number variants (CNVs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNGLY1 deficiency is a genetic disease caused by biallelic mutations of the Ngly1 gene. Although epileptic seizure is one of the most severe symptoms in patients with NGLY1 deficiency, preclinical studies have not been conducted due to the lack of animal models for epileptic seizures in NGLY1 deficiency. Here, we observed the behaviors of male and female Ngly1 mice by video monitoring and found that these mice exhibit spontaneous seizure-like behaviors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe orexin 2 receptor-selective agonist danavorexton (TAK-925) has been shown to produce wake-promoting effects in wild-type mice, narcolepsy-model mice, and individuals with narcolepsy type 1 and type 2. Here, we report wake-promoting effects of danavorexton in non-human primates and healthy men during their sleep phase. Electroencephalogram analyses revealed that subcutaneous administration of danavorexton significantly increased wakefulness in common marmosets (p < 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSchizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BP) are highly heritable major psychiatric disorders that share a substantial portion of genetic risk as well as their clinical manifestations. This raises a fundamental question of whether, and how, common neurobiological pathways translate their shared polygenic risks into shared clinical manifestations. This study shows the miR-124-3p-AMPAR pathway as a key common neurobiological mediator that connects polygenic risks with behavioral changes shared between these two psychotic disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNarcolepsy type 1 (NT1) is a sleep disorder caused by a loss of orexinergic neurons. Narcolepsy type 2 (NT2) is heterogeneous; affected individuals typically have normal orexin levels. Following evaluation in mice, the effects of the orexin 2 receptor (OX2R)-selective agonist danavorexton were evaluated in single- and multiple-rising-dose studies in healthy adults, and in individuals with NT1 and NT2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTAK-925, a potent, selective, and brain-penetrant orexin 2 receptor (OX2R) agonist, [methyl (2,3)-3-((methylsulfonyl)amino)-2-(((-4-phenylcyclohexyl)oxy)methyl)piperidine-1-carboxylate, ], was identified through the optimization of compound , which was discovered by a high throughput screening (HTS) campaign. Subcutaneous administration of compound produced wake-promoting effects in mice during the sleep phase. Compound (TAK-925) is being developed for the treatment of narcolepsy and other related disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMajor mental illnesses such as schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BP) frequently accompany metabolic conditions, but their relationship is still unclear, in particular at the mechanistic level. We implemented an approach of "from population to neuron", combining population-based epidemiological analysis with neurobiological experiments using cell and animal models based on a hypothesis built from the epidemiological study. We characterized high-quality population data, olfactory neuronal cells biopsied from patients with SZ or BP, and healthy subjects, as well as mice genetically modified for insulin signaling.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOrexin-producing neurons in the lateral hypothalamus are a critical regulator of sleep/wake states, and their loss is associated with narcolepsy type 1 (NT1). Orexin peptides act on two G protein-coupled receptors: orexin 1 receptor (OX1R) and orexin 2 receptor (OX2R). OX2R knockout (KO) mice, but not OX1R KO mice, showed clear narcolepsy-like phenotypes, including fragmented sleep-wake cycles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAutophagy plays an essential role in intracellular degradation and maintenance of cellular homeostasis in all cells, including neurons. Although a recent study reported a copy number variation of Ulk2, a gene essential for initiating autophagy, associated with a case of schizophrenia (SZ), it remains to be studied whether Ulk2 dysfunction could underlie the pathophysiology of the disease. Here we show that Ulk2 heterozygous (Ulk2+/-) mice have upregulated expression of sequestosome-1/p62, an autophagy-associated stress response protein, predominantly in pyramidal neurons of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), and exhibit behavioral deficits associated with the PFC functions, including attenuated sensorimotor gating and impaired cognition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOxidative stress is involved in pathophysiology and pathological conditions of numerous human diseases. Thus, understanding the mechanisms underlying the redox homeostasis in cells and organs is valuable for discovery of therapeutic drugs for oxidative stress-related diseases. Recently, by applying chemical biology approach with an ARE activator, BTZO-1, we found macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) as a new regulator of antioxidant response element- (ARE-) mediated gene transcription.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe recently reported a unique antioxidant response element (ARE)-activator, BTZO-1, which induced expression of cytoprotective proteins such as heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and suppressed oxidative stress-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis via binding to macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF). HO-1 induction and apoptosis inhibition have been reported to improve the outcomes following experimental sepsis by protecting the organs. Therefore, we investigated the potential of BTZO-2, an active BTZO-1 derivative, as a drug for sepsis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of chronic inflammatory disorders that are primarily represented by ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. The etiology of IBD is not well understood; however, oxidative stress is considered a potential etiological and/or triggering factor for IBD. We have recently reported the identification of BTZO-1, an activator of antioxidant response element (ARE)-mediated gene expression, which protects cardiomyocytes from oxidative stress-induced insults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn a screening program to discover therapeutic drugs for heart diseases, we identified BTZO-1, a 1,3-benzothiazin-4-one derivative, which activated antioxidant response element (ARE)-mediated gene expression and suppressed oxidative stress-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis in vitro. An active BTZO-1 derivative for ARE-activation protected heart tissue during ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), which is known to protect cells from oxidative insult, was identified as a specific BTZO-1-binding protein.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFITZ-1 is a chondroprotective agent that inhibits interleukin-1beta-induced matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) production and suppresses nitric oxide-induced chondrocyte death. Here we describe its mechanisms of action. Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) was identified as a specific ITZ-1-binding protein.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn a screening program aimed at discovering anti-osteoarthritis (OA) drugs, we identified an imidazo[5,1-c][1,4]thiazine derivative, ITZ-1, that suppressed both interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta)-induced proteoglycan and collagen release from bovine nasal cartilage in vitro and suppressed intra-articular infusion of IL-1beta-induced cartilage proteoglycan degradation in rat knee joints. ITZ-1 did not inhibit enzyme activities of various matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), which have pivotal roles in cartilage degradation, while it selectively inhibited IL-1beta-induced production of MMP-13 in human articular chondrocytes (HAC). IL-1beta-induced MMP production has been shown to be mediated by extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK), p38 kinase, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family signal transduction molecules.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAMY-1 has been identified by us as a c-Myc-binding protein and was found to stimulate c-Myc transcription activity. AMY-1 was also found to be associated with protein kinase A anchor protein 84/149 (S-AKAP84/AKAP149) in the mitochondria in somatic cells and sperm, suggesting that it plays a role in spermatogenesis. To determine the molecular function of AMY-1, a two-hybrid screening of cDNAs encoding AMY-1-binding proteins was carried out with AMY-1 as a bait using a human testis cDNA library, and a clone encoding a novel protein, AAT-1, was obtained.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAMY-1 has been identified by us as a c-Myc-binding protein and was found to stimulate c-Myc transcription activity. AMY-1 was also found to be associated with AKAP84/149 in the mitochondria in somatic cells and sperm, suggesting that it plays a role in spermatogenesis. To access the molecular function of AMY-1, a two-hybrid screening of cDNAs encoding AMY-1-binding proteins was carried out with AMY-1 as a bait using a human testis cDNA library, and a clone encoding a novel protein, AMAP-1, was obtained.
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