Assay development and multivariate scoring for high-content discovery of chemoprotectants of endoplasmic-reticulum-stress-mediated amylin-induced cytotoxicity in pancreatic beta cells.

The underlying pathogenesis of type-II diabetes mellitus is in the dysfunction and selective loss of pancreatic islet β-cells, which ultimately leads to underproduction of endogenous insulin. Amylin, a 37-amino-acid human hormone that is cosecreted with insulin, helps regulate gastric emptying and maintain blood glucose homeostasis through improved postprandial satiety. It is hypothesized that amylin protofibrils cause selective loss of pancreatic β-cells in a manner similar to amyloid β aggregation in Alzheimer's disease. β-Cell death occurs in vitro when isolated human or rodent β-cells are exposed to micromolar concentrations of amylin, but the exact mechanism of selective β-cell loss in vivo remains unknown. Therefore, pursuing small-molecule drug discovery for chemoprotectants of amylin-induced β-cell toxicity is a viable phenotypic target that can lead to potential pharmacotherapies for the preservation of β-cell mass, delaying insulin dependence and allowing additional opportunities for lifestyle intervention. Additionally, chronic endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress induced by chronic hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia is a potentiating factor of amylin-induced β-cell loss. Herein, we describe a high-content/high-throughput screening (HTS) assay for the discovery of small molecules that are chemoprotective of amylin-induced, ER-stress-potentiated β-cell loss. We also put forth a general method for construction of a robust well-level multivariate scoring system using partial least squares regression analysis to improve high-content assay performance and to streamline the association of complex high-content data into HTS activity databases where univariate responses are typical.