The metalloprotease ADAMTS-5 is considered a potential target for the treatment of osteoarthritis. To identify selective inhibitors of ADAMTS-5, we employed encoded library technology (ELT), which enables affinity selection of small molecule binders from complex mixtures by DNA tagging. Selection of ADAMTS-5 against a four-billion member ELT library led to a novel inhibitor scaffold not containing a classical zinc-binding functionality. One exemplar, (R)-N-((1-(4-(but-3-en-1-ylamino)-6-(((2-(thiophen-2-yl)thiazol-4-yl)methyl)amino)-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)pyrrolidin-2-yl)methyl)-4-propylbenzenesulfonamide (8), inhibited ADAMTS-5 with IC(50) = 30 nM, showing >50-fold selectivity against ADAMTS-4 and >1000-fold selectivity against ADAMTS-1, ADAMTS-13, MMP-13, and TACE. Extensive SAR studies showed that potency and physicochemical properties of the scaffold could be further improved. Furthermore, in a human osteoarthritis cartilage explant study, compounds 8 and 15f inhibited aggrecanase-mediated (374)ARGS neoepitope release from aggrecan and glycosaminoglycan in response to IL-1β/OSM stimulation. This study provides the first small molecule evidence for the critical role of ADAMTS-5 in human cartilage degradation.

Objective/Method Aggrecanase activity, most notably ADAMTS-5, is implicated in pathogenic cartilage degradation. Selective monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to both ADAMTS-5 and ADAMTS-4 were generated and in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo systems were utilized to assess target engagement, aggrecanase inhibition and modulation of disease-related endpoints with the intent of selecting a candidate for clinical development in osteoarthritis (OA). Results Structural mapping predicts the most potent mAbs employ a unique mode of inhibition by cross-linking the catalytic and disintegrin domains. In a surgical mouse model of OA, both ADAMTS-5 and ADAMTS-4-specific mAbs penetrate cartilage following systemic administration, demonstrating access to the anticipated site of action. Structural disease modification and associated alleviation of pain-related behavior were observed with ADAMTS-5 mAb treatment. Treatment of human OA cartilage demonstrated a preferential role for ADAMTS-5 inhibition over ADAMTS-4, as measured by ARGS neoepitope release in explant cultures. ADAMTS-5 mAb activity was most evident in a subset of patient-derived tissues and suppression of ARGS neoepitope release was sustained for weeks after a single treatment in human explants and in cynomolgus monkeys, consistent with high affinity target engagement and slow ADAMTS-5 turnover. Conclusion This data supports a hypothesis set forth from knockout mouse studies that ADAMTS-5 is the major aggrecanase involved in cartilage degradation and provides a link between a biological pathway and pharmacology which translates to human tissues, non-human primate models and points to a target OA patient population. Therefore, a humanized ADAMTS-5-selective monoclonal antibody (GSK2394002) was progressed as a potential OA disease modifying therapeutic.

Nuclear receptor SET domain containing protein 2 (NSD2) catalyzes the methylation of histone H3 lysine 36 (H3K36). It is a determinant in Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome and is overexpressed in human multiple myeloma. Despite the relevance of NSD2 to cancer, there are no potent, selective inhibitors of this enzyme reported. Here, a combination of kinetic isotope effect measurements and quantum chemical modeling was used to provide subangstrom details of the transition state structure for NSD2 enzymatic activity. Kinetic isotope effects were measured for the methylation of isolated HeLa cell nucleosomes by NSD2. NSD2 preferentially catalyzes the dimethylation of H3K36 along with a reduced preference for H3K36 monomethylation. Primary Me- H 2 kinetic isotope effects were measured for the methylation of H3K36 using specifically labeled S-adenosyl-L-methionine. The intrinsic kinetic isotope effects were used as boundary constraints for quantum mechanical calculations for the NSD2 transition state. The experimental and calculated kinetic isotope effects are consistent with an S N 2 chemical mechanism with methyl transfer as the first irreversible chemical step in the reaction mechanism. The transition state is a late, asymmetric nucleophilic displacement with bond separation from the leaving group at (2.53 Å) and bond making to the attacking nucleophile (2.10 Å) advanced at the transition state. The transition state structure can be represented in a molecular electrostatic potential map to guide the design of inhibitors that mimic the transition state geometry and charge.enzyme mechanism | transition state structure | histone methylation | kinetic isotope effects

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