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Development of a cellular high-content, immunofluorescent HBV core assay to identify novel capsid assembly modulators that induce the formation of aberrant HBV core structures
Sarah Sauviller 1 , Karen Vergauwen 1 , Steffen Jaensch 1 , Emmanuel Gustin 1 , Danielle Peeters 1 , Peter Vermeulen 1 , Dirk Wuyts 1 , Koen Vandyck 1 , Frederik Pauwels 1 , Jan Martin Berke 2
Affiliations
Affiliations
1
Janssen Research and Development, Turnhoutseweg 30, 2340 Beerse, Belgium.
2
Janssen Research and Development, Turnhoutseweg 30, 2340 Beerse, Belgium. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 33839187 DOI: 10.1016/j.jviromet.2021.114150
Abstract
Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) core protein has multiple functions in the viral life cycle and is an attractive target for new anti-viral therapies. Capsid assembly modulators (CAMs) target the core protein and induce the formation of either morphologically normal (CAM-N) or aberrant structures (CAM-A), both devoid of genomic material. To date a diverse family of CAM-N chemotypes has been identified, but in contrast, described CAM-As are based on the heteroaryldihydropyrimidine (HAP) scaffold. We used the HBV-inducible HepG2.117 cell line with immunofluorescent labeling of HBV core to develop and validate a cellular high-content image-based assay where aggregated core structures are identified using image analysis spot texture features. Treatment with HAPs led to a dose- and time-dependent formation of aggregated core appearing as dot-like structures in the cytoplasm and nucleus. By combining a biochemical and cellular screening approach, a compound was identified as a novel non-HAP scaffold able to induce dose-dependent formation of aberrant core structures, which was confirmed by electron microscopy and native gel electrophoresis. This compound displayed anti-HBV activity in HepG2.117 cells, providing proof-of-concept for our screening approach. We believe our combined biochemical and cellular high-content screening method will aid in expanding the range of CAM-A chemotypes.
Keywords: HBV core; aberrant core structures; capsid assembly modulator; hepatitis B; high-content; non-HAP scaffold.
Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier B.V. |
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