Drug discovery at the single molecule level: inhibition-in-solution assay of membrane-reconstituted β-secretase using single-molecule imaging

Anal Chem. 2015 Apr 21;87(8):4100-3. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.5b00740. Epub 2015 Apr 10.

Abstract

Inhibition-in-solution assays (ISA) employing surface-based biosensors such as surface plasmon resonance (SPR) are an effective screening approach in drug discovery. However, analysis of potent binders remains a significant hurdle due to limited sensitivity and accompanied depletion of the inhibiting compounds due to high protein concentrations needed for detectable binding signals. To overcome this limitation, we explored a microscopy-based single-molecule ISA compatible with liposome-reconstituted membrane proteins. Using a set of validated small molecule inhibitors against β-secretase 1 (BACE1), the assay was benchmarked with respect to sensitivity and dynamic range against SPR. We demonstrate that the dynamic range of measurable affinities is greatly extended by more than 2 orders of magnitude as compared to SPR, thus facilitating measurements of highly potent (Kd < nM) compounds.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases / metabolism
  • Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases / metabolism
  • Drug Discovery*
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / chemistry
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / pharmacology*
  • Humans
  • Molecular Imaging*
  • Solutions
  • Structure-Activity Relationship
  • Surface Plasmon Resonance

Substances

  • Enzyme Inhibitors
  • Solutions
  • Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases
  • Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases
  • BACE1 protein, human