Dysferlinopathy is a progressive muscle disorder that includes limb‐girdle muscular dystrophy type 2B and Miyoshi myopathy (MM). It is caused by mutations in the dysferlin (DYSF) gene, whose function is to reseal the muscular membrane. Treatment with proteasome inhibitor MG‐132 has been shown to increase misfolded dysferlin in fibroblasts, allowing them to recover their membrane resealing function. Here, we developed a screening system based on myocytes from MM patient‐derived induced pluripotent stem cells. According to the screening, nocodazole was found to effectively increase the level of dysferlin in cells, which, in turn, enhanced membrane resealing following injury by laser irradiation. Moreover, the increase was due to microtubule disorganization and involved autophagy rather than the proteasome degradation pathway. These findings suggest that increasing the amount of misfolded dysferlin using small molecules could represent an effective future clinical treatment for dysferlinopathy. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2019;8:1017–1029

TAK-925, a potent, selective, and brain-penetrant orexin 2 receptor (OX2R) agonist, [methyl (2 R ,3 S )-3-((methylsulfonyl)amino)-2-((( cis -4-phenylcyclohexyl)oxy)methyl)piperidine-1-carboxylate, 16 ], was identified through the optimization of compound 2 , which was discovered by a high throughput screening (HTS) campaign. Subcutaneous administration of compound 16 produced wake-promoting effects in mice during the sleep phase. Compound 16 (TAK-925) is being developed for the treatment of narcolepsy and other related disorders.

Dysferlinopathies, which are muscular diseases caused by mutations in the dysferlin gene, remain serious medical problems due to the lack of therapeutic agents. Herein, we report the design, synthesis, and structure–activity relationships of a 2,6-disubstituted 3H-imidazo­[4,5-b]­pyridine series, which was identified from the phenotypic screening of chemicals that increase the level of dysferlin in myocytes differentiated from patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Optimization studies with cell-based phenotypic assay led to the identification of a highly potent compound, 19, with dysferlin elevation effects at double-digit nanomolar concentrations. In addition, the molecular target of our chemical series was identified as tubulin, through a tubulin polymerization assay and a competitive binding assay using a photoaffinity labeling probe.