Comparison of potency of peptide-derived caspase inhibitors in cellular lamin cleavage assay, enzymatic activity and cell permeability.

<p>nd = not determined</p><p>a = z-VEID-TFPM enzymatic IC₅₀ is less than 0.0017 due to limit of enzymatic assay detection.</p><p>*Enzymatic IC₅₀ values were determined after a 15 minute enzyme/inhibitor preincubation and 40 minute enzyme reaction.</p

Effect of peptide-based caspase inhibitors on SKNAS cells as determined using the Caspase-Glo® 6 assay.

<p>SKNAS cells were treated with Ac-VEID-CHO (•) or Ac-DEVD-CHO (▪) prior to addition of 3 µM staurosporine for 6 hours and detection of VEID-ase activity as described in Experimental Procedures. Concentration inhibition curves were performed in duplicate and represent 1 of at least 3 experiments with similar results. Concentration-response curves for each inhibitor were normalized to zero and 100% based on no staurosporine or DMSO, respectively. The mean and standard error of the mean are reported.</p

Effect of peptide-based caspase inhibitors on the generation of cleaved lamin A/C in SKNAS cells.

<p>(A) SKNAS cells were treated with z-VEID-FMK (♦), z-DEVD-FMK (▪), Q-VD-OPh (•), Ac-VEID-CHO (▴) or Ac-DEVD-CHO (○) prior to addition of 3 µM staurosporine for 6 hours. (B) SKNAS cells were treated with z-ID-TFPM (•), z-EID-TFPM (▴) or z-VEID-TFPM (▪) prior to addition of 3 µM staurosporine for 6 hours. Detection of the small lamin A/C cleavage product was performed as described in Experimental Procedures. Concentration inhibition curves were performed in duplicate and represent 1 of at least 3 experiments with similar results. Concentration-response curves for each inhibitor were normalized to zero and 100% based on no staurosporine or DMSO, respectively. The mean and standard error of the mean are reported.</p

Potency of peptide-derived caspase inhibitors possessing aldehyde (CHO) and fluoromethyl ketone (FMK) warheads against executioner caspases.

<p>*IC₅₀ values were determined after a 15 minute enzyme/inhibitor preincubation and 40 minute enzyme reaction. Due to the capacity for time-dependent inhibition with irreversible inhibitors the values reported can be considered “apparent IC₅₀”.</p

Effect of staurosporine on the generation of cleaved lamin A/C in SKNAS cells.

<p>SKNAS cells were treated with the indicated concentration of staurosporine for 6 hours prior to detection of the small lamin A/C cleavage product as described in Experimental Procedures. The assay was performed in triplicate one time. The mean and standard error of the mean are reported.</p

Apoptosis-mediated cleavage of lamin A/C is elevated in wild-type relative to caspase-6 KO fibroblasts.

<p>Fibroblasts derived from caspase-6 KO (▪) or wild type (•) mice were treated with the indicated concentration of staurosporine for 6 hours prior to detection of the small lamin A/C cleavage product. The assay was performed in quadruplicate two times with similar results; mean and standard error of the mean are reported.</p

Western blot detection of lamin A/C from SKNAS neuroblastoma cells upon staurosporine treatment.

<p>(A) Schematic of the N- and C-terminal globular domains of Lamin A/C with VEID-containing central α-helical region as the site of caspase-6 proteolysis. (B) SKNAS cells were treated with DMSO control or staurosporine for 6 hours prior to cell lysis. Lysates were probed for small lamin A/C subunit (Lanes 1–2), large lamin A/C subunit (Lanes 3–4) or total lamin A/C (Lanes 5–6). (C) SKNAS cells were treated with DMSO or staurosporine for the indicated time prior to cell lysis. Lysates were probed for large lamin A/C subunit (red) or β-Actin (green).</p

Western blot detection of recombinant GST-lamin A processing by purified caspases.

<p>(A) The indicated concentration of caspase-6 was incubated with GST-lamin A for two hours. (B) 300 Units of caspases 1–9 were incubated with GST-lamin A for two hours. Intact and cleaved lamin A were detected via western blotting using anti-GST antibody.</p

Effect of staurosporine on the release of Lactate Dehydrogenase in SKNAS cells.

<p>SKNAS cells were treated with the indicated concentration of staurosporine for 2 (•), 4 (▪), 6 (▴) or 8 (♦) hours prior to detection of LDH release to the cell supernatant. The assay was performed in triplicate and represents 1 of at least 2 experiments with similar results. The data was normalized to fold increase over DMSO treatment. The mean and standard error of the mean are reported.</p

Selective Inhibitors of Dual Leucine Zipper Kinase (DLK, MAP3K12) with Activity in a Model of Alzheimer’s Disease

Significant data exists to suggest that dual leucine zipper kinase (DLK, MAP3K12) is a conserved regulator of neuronal degeneration following neuronal injury and in chronic neurodegenerative disease. Consequently, there is considerable interest in the identification of DLK inhibitors with a profile compatible with development for these indications. Herein, we use structure-based drug design combined with a focus on CNS drug-like properties to generate compounds with superior kinase selectivity and metabolic stability as compared to previously disclosed DLK inhibitors. These compounds, exemplified by inhibitor <b>14</b>, retain excellent CNS penetration and are well tolerated following multiple days of dosing at concentrations that exceed those required for DLK inhibition in the brain