A strategy to discover decoy chemokine ligands with an anti-inflammatory activity

Sci Rep. 2015 Oct 7:5:14746. doi: 10.1038/srep14746.

Abstract

Excessive signaling by chemokines has been associated with chronic inflammation or cancer, thus attracting substantial attention as promising therapeutic targets. Inspired by chemokine-clearing molecules shaped by pathogens to escape the immune system, we designed a generic screening assay to discover chemokine neutralizing molecules (neutraligands) and unambiguously distinguish them from molecules that block the receptor (receptor antagonists). This assay, called TRIC-r, combines time-resolved intracellular calcium recordings with pre-incubation of bioactive compounds either with the chemokine or the receptor-expressing cells. We describe here the identification of high affinity neutraligands of CCL17 and CCL22, two chemokines involved in the Th2-type of lung inflammation. The decoy molecules inhibit in vitro CCL17- or CCL22-induced intracellular calcium responses, CCR4 endocytosis and human T cell migration. In vivo, they inhibit inflammation in a murine model of asthma, in particular the recruitment of eosinophils, dendritic cells and CD4(+)T cells. Altogether, we developed a successful strategy to discover as new class of pharmacological tools to potently control cell chemotaxis in vitro and in vivo.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents / pharmacology*
  • Asthma / drug therapy*
  • Asthma / immunology
  • Asthma / metabolism
  • Cell Movement
  • Chemokine CCL17 / metabolism*
  • Chemokine CCL22 / metabolism*
  • Chemokines / metabolism
  • Chemotaxis
  • Dendritic Cells / immunology
  • Dendritic Cells / metabolism
  • Eosinophils / drug effects*
  • Eosinophils / immunology
  • Eosinophils / metabolism
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Humans
  • Inflammation / drug therapy*
  • Inflammation / immunology
  • Inflammation / metabolism
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Models, Molecular
  • Receptors, CCR4 / metabolism
  • Th2 Cells / immunology

Substances

  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents
  • CCL17 protein, human
  • CCL22 protein, human
  • Chemokine CCL17
  • Chemokine CCL22
  • Chemokines
  • Receptors, CCR4