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Effect of GB1107, a novel galectin-3 inhibitor on pro-fibrotic signalling in the liver

MacKinnon, Alison C. ; Humphries, Duncan C. ; Herman, Kimberley ; Roper, James A. ; Holyer, Ian ; Mabbitt, Joseph ; Mills, Ross ; Nilsson, Ulf J. LU ; Leffler, Hakon LU and Pedersen, Anders , et al. (2024) In European Journal of Pharmacology 985.
Abstract

Background and purpose: Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a pro-fibrotic β-galactoside binding lectin highly expressed in fibrotic liver and implicated in hepatic fibrosis. GB1107 is a novel orally active Gal-3 small molecule inhibitor that has high affinity for Gal-3 >1000-fold selectively over other galectins. The aim of this study was to characterise GB1107 and galectin-3 in vitro and in vivo in the context of fibrosis signalling and liver disease. Experimental approach: Liver fibrosis was induced by administration of CCl4 twice weekly by intraperitoneal injection in mice for 8 weeks. GB1107 was orally administered once daily (10 mg/kg) for the last 4 weeks of CCl4 treatment. Fibrosis was assessed by picrosirius red... (More)

Background and purpose: Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a pro-fibrotic β-galactoside binding lectin highly expressed in fibrotic liver and implicated in hepatic fibrosis. GB1107 is a novel orally active Gal-3 small molecule inhibitor that has high affinity for Gal-3 >1000-fold selectively over other galectins. The aim of this study was to characterise GB1107 and galectin-3 in vitro and in vivo in the context of fibrosis signalling and liver disease. Experimental approach: Liver fibrosis was induced by administration of CCl4 twice weekly by intraperitoneal injection in mice for 8 weeks. GB1107 was orally administered once daily (10 mg/kg) for the last 4 weeks of CCl4 treatment. Fibrosis was assessed by picrosirius red staining of FFPE sections. Liver enzymes, Gal-3 and downstream biomarkers were assessed in liver and plasma. Paired-end sequencing was performed on the Nextseq 2000 platform. Pathway enrichment analysis was performed to determine enrichment of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) within Reactome pathways and Gene Ontology (GO) terms. Key results: GB1107 significantly reduced plasma transaminases and liver Gal-3 and reduced liver fibrosis. RNAseq analysis of whole liver showed that 1659 DEGs were identified with CCl4 treatment compared to control. Pathways enriched in up-regulated genes in the CCl4 group included those related to the extracellular matrix, collagen biosynthesis and assembly, cell cycle and the immune system. Comparing GB1107 treatment with CCl4 control 1147 DEGs were identified. GB1107 effectively reversed the majority of the CCl4 induced gene changes. Conclusions and implications: GB1107 attenuated liver fibrosis and highlights Gal-3 as a therapeutic target for hepatic fibrosis.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
CCl, Galectin-3, GB1107, Liver fibrosis
in
European Journal of Pharmacology
volume
985
article number
177077
pages
11 pages
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85209150136
  • pmid:39528104
  • pmid:39528104
ISSN
1879-0712
DOI
10.1016/j.ejphar.2024.177077
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V
id
17f35ec7-b79e-4e2d-85d6-98d93e11a61b
date added to LUP
2024-11-14 16:47:04
date last changed
2025-06-11 11:14:34
@article{17f35ec7-b79e-4e2d-85d6-98d93e11a61b,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background and purpose: Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a pro-fibrotic β-galactoside binding lectin highly expressed in fibrotic liver and implicated in hepatic fibrosis. GB1107 is a novel orally active Gal-3 small molecule inhibitor that has high affinity for Gal-3 &gt;1000-fold selectively over other galectins. The aim of this study was to characterise GB1107 and galectin-3 in vitro and in vivo in the context of fibrosis signalling and liver disease. Experimental approach: Liver fibrosis was induced by administration of CCl<sub>4</sub> twice weekly by intraperitoneal injection in mice for 8 weeks. GB1107 was orally administered once daily (10 mg/kg) for the last 4 weeks of CCl<sub>4</sub> treatment. Fibrosis was assessed by picrosirius red staining of FFPE sections. Liver enzymes, Gal-3 and downstream biomarkers were assessed in liver and plasma. Paired-end sequencing was performed on the Nextseq 2000 platform. Pathway enrichment analysis was performed to determine enrichment of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) within Reactome pathways and Gene Ontology (GO) terms. Key results: GB1107 significantly reduced plasma transaminases and liver Gal-3 and reduced liver fibrosis. RNAseq analysis of whole liver showed that 1659 DEGs were identified with CCl<sub>4</sub> treatment compared to control. Pathways enriched in up-regulated genes in the CCl<sub>4</sub> group included those related to the extracellular matrix, collagen biosynthesis and assembly, cell cycle and the immune system. Comparing GB1107 treatment with CCl<sub>4</sub> control 1147 DEGs were identified. GB1107 effectively reversed the majority of the CCl<sub>4</sub> induced gene changes. Conclusions and implications: GB1107 attenuated liver fibrosis and highlights Gal-3 as a therapeutic target for hepatic fibrosis.</p>}},
  author       = {{MacKinnon, Alison C. and Humphries, Duncan C. and Herman, Kimberley and Roper, James A. and Holyer, Ian and Mabbitt, Joseph and Mills, Ross and Nilsson, Ulf J. and Leffler, Hakon and Pedersen, Anders and Schambye, Hans and Zetterberg, Fredrik and Slack, Robert J.}},
  issn         = {{1879-0712}},
  keywords     = {{CCl; Galectin-3; GB1107; Liver fibrosis}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{European Journal of Pharmacology}},
  title        = {{Effect of GB1107, a novel galectin-3 inhibitor on pro-fibrotic signalling in the liver}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejphar.2024.177077}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.ejphar.2024.177077}},
  volume       = {{985}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}