JAK selectivity and the implications for clinical inhibition of pharmacodynamic cytokine signalling by filgotinib, upadacitinib, tofacitinib and baricitinib.
Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKinibs) are efficacious in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with variable reported rates of adverse events, potentially related to differential JAK family member selectivity. Filgotinib was compared with baricitinib, tofacitinib and upadacitinib to elucidate the pharmacological basis underlying its clinical efficacy and safety.
In vitro JAKinib inhibition of signal transducer and activator of transcription phosphorylation (pSTAT) was measured by flow cytometry in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and whole blood from healthy donors and patients with RA following cytokine stimulation of distinct JAK/STAT pathways. The average daily pSTAT and time above 50% inhibition were calculated at clinical plasma drug exposures in immune cells. The translation of these measures was evaluated in ex vivo-stimulated assays in phase 1 healthy volunteers.
JAKinib potencies depended on cytokine stimulus, pSTAT readout and cell type. JAK1-dependent pathways (interferon (IFN)α/pSTAT5, interleukin (IL)-6/pSTAT1) were among the most potently inhibited by all JAKinibs in healthy and RA blood, with filgotinib exhibiting the greatest selectivity for JAK1 pathways. Filgotinib (200 mg once daily) had calculated average daily target inhibition for IFNα/pSTAT5 and IL-6/pSTAT1 that was equivalent to tofacitinib (5 mg two times per day), upadacitinib (15 mg once daily) and baricitinib (4 mg once daily), with the least average daily inhibition for the JAK2-dependent and JAK3-dependent pathways including IL-2, IL-15, IL-4 (JAK1/JAK3), IFNγ (JAK1/JAK2), granulocyte colony stimulating factor, IL-12, IL-23 (JAK2/tyrosine kinase 2) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (JAK2/JAK2). Ex vivo pharmacodynamic data from phase 1 healthy volunteers clinically confirmed JAK1 selectivity of filgotinib.
Filgotinib inhibited JAK1-mediated signalling similarly to other JAKinibs, but with less inhibition of JAK2-dependent and JAK3-dependent pathways, providing a mechanistic rationale for its apparently differentiated efficacy:safety profile.
Traves PG
,Murray B
,Campigotto F
,Galien R
,Meng A
,Di Paolo JA
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Nonclinical evaluations of deucravacitinib and Janus kinase inhibitors in homeostatic and inflammatory pathways.
Translational medicine provides insight into novel drugs and predicts unwanted effects. In well-characterized pathways (e.g., cytokine-Janus kinase [JAK]-signal transducers and activators of transcription [STAT]), a variety of in vitro assessments were used to estimate selectivity of effects on different potential targets (i.e., JAK1, JAK2, JAK3, and tyrosine kinase 2 [TYK2]). Several approved drugs were characterized as selective for the JAK family. These assessments are challenged by a lack of compounds that only inhibit one JAK family member. Deucravacitinib is a first-in-class, oral, selective, allosteric inhibitor of TYK2, a kinase required for IL-12, IL-23, and Type I interferon signaling. Unlike deucravacitinib, which selectively binds to the TYK2 regulatory domain, JAK1,2,3 inhibitors target the catalytic domain, contributing to nonselective targeting of JAK1,2,3. Cytokines associated with JAK1,2,3 signaling are required for both immune and nonimmune functions. A similar laboratory abnormality profile was observed in clinical trials using JAK1,2,3 inhibitors that has not been observed with deucravacitinib. In vitro testing of JAK1,2,3 inhibitors has relied upon assays of signal transduction, such as those measuring STAT phosphorylation, for estimates of potency and selectivity. These assay systems can be effective in estimating in vivo efficacy; however, they may not provide insight into downstream outcomes of receptor signaling, which may be more relevant for evaluating safety aspects. Assay systems assessing functional outcomes from cells may yield a more useful translational evaluation. Here, deucravacitinib was assessed for potency and selectivity versus three representatives of the JAK inhibitor class (tofacitinib, baricitinib, and upadacitinib) based on functional assays. JAK inhibitors had suppressive activity against JAK2-dependent hematopoietic colony-forming assays modeling thrombopoiesis, erythropoiesis, and myelopoiesis; however, deucravacitinib did not. Deucravacitinib had limited potency against NK cells, cytotoxic T cells, T-helper cells, and regulatory T cells activated by JAK1/JAK3-dependent common gamma chain cytokines. These data are consistent with the biologic role of JAK1,2,3 and pharmacodynamic changes in clinical laboratory abnormalities. Against TYK2-dependent cytokines, deucravacitinib selectively inhibited Type I interferon stimulation of monocytes and dendritic cells and was a more potent inhibitor than JAK inhibitors. IL-12 and IL-23 functional outputs were similarly potently inhibited by deucravacitinib. Results are consistent with deucravacitinib selectively inhibiting TYK2.
Johnson B
,Cheng L
,Koenitzer J
,Catlett IM
,Schafer P
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《Frontiers in Immunology》
Janus kinase inhibitors prevent migration of rheumatoid arthritis neutrophils towards interleukin-8, but do not inhibit priming of the respiratory burst or reactive oxygen species production.
Neutrophils play a crucial role in the pathophysiology of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) via the release of reactive oxygen species (ROS), proteases and cytokines. Orally active Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors (JAKi), e.g. baricitinib and tofacitinib, have high clinical efficacy in RA but are linked with neutropenia and increased infections. Our aim was to determine the effect of JAK inhibition with baricitinib and tofacitinib on healthy control and RA neutrophil lifespan and function. RA (n = 7) and healthy control (n = 7) neutrophils were treated with baricitinib or tofacitinib for 30 min, prior to incubation in the absence or presence of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) or interferon (IFN)-γ. JAKi prevented GM-CSF- and IFN-γ-induced apoptosis delay in RA and healthy control neutrophils in a dose-dependent manner. Baricitinib decreased the rate of chemotaxis towards interleukin (IL)-8, but not f-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLP) in RA neutrophils. While healthy control neutrophils incubated with GM-CSF became primed to produce ROS in response to stimulation with fMLP and phorbol-12-myristate-12-acetate (PMA), RA neutrophils produced increased levels of ROS without the need for priming. JAKi prevented ROS release from primed healthy control neutrophils in response to fMLP, but had no effect on ROS production by RA neutrophils. Baricitinib reversed GM-CSF priming of ROS production in response to fMLP in healthy control, but not RA, neutrophils. We conclude that incubation with JAKi prevents chemotaxis of RA neutrophils towards IL-8, but does not prevent the production of ROS or increase the level of apoptosis. This may be due to the in-vivo exposure of RA neutrophils to priming agents other than those that activate JAK/signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signalling.
Mitchell TS
,Moots RJ
,Wright HL
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