Pharmacological inhibition of CaMKK2 with the selective antagonist STO-609 regresses NAFLD

Sci Rep. 2017 Sep 18;7(1):11793. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-12139-3.

Abstract

Binding of calcium to its intracellular receptor calmodulin (CaM) activates a family of Ca2+/CaM-dependent protein kinases. CaMKK2 (Ca2+/CaM-dependent protein kinase kinase 2) is a central member of this kinase family as it controls the actions of a CaMK cascade involving CaMKI, CaMKIV or AMPK. CaMKK2 controls insulin signaling, metabolic homeostasis, inflammation and cancer cell growth highlighting its potential as a therapeutic target for a variety of diseases. STO-609 is a selective, small molecule inhibitor of CaMKK2. Although STO-609 has been used extensively in vitro and in cells to characterize and define new mechanistic functions of CaMKK2, only a few studies have reported the in vivo use of STO-609. We synthesized functional STO-609 and assessed its pharmacological properties through in vitro (kinase assay), ex vivo (human liver microsomes) and in vivo (mouse) model systems. We describe the metabolic processing of STO-609, its toxicity, pharmacokinetics and bioavailability in a variety of mouse tissues. Utilizing these data, we show STO-609 treatment to inhibit CaMKK2 function confers protection against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. These data provide a valuable resource by establishing criteria for use of STO-609 to inhibit the in vivo functions of CaMKK2 and demonstrate its utility for treating metabolically-related hepatic disease.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Benzimidazoles* / pharmacokinetics
  • Benzimidazoles* / pharmacology
  • Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Kinase / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Kinase / metabolism
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Microsomes, Liver / enzymology
  • Microsomes, Liver / pathology
  • Naphthalimides* / pharmacokinetics
  • Naphthalimides* / pharmacology
  • Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease* / enzymology
  • Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease* / pathology
  • Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease* / prevention & control

Substances

  • Benzimidazoles
  • Naphthalimides
  • STO 609
  • Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Kinase
  • Camkk2 protein, mouse