A High Throughput LC-MS Platform for the Discovery of Autotaxin Inhibitors

The study explored the role of the autotaxin (ATX)-lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) axis in asthma pathogenesis, hypothesizing it as a critical target for anti-asthma treatment. Using human and mouse models, including transgenic mice with ATX over-expression and LPA receptor 2 knock-out mice, researchers investigated the mechanism of this axis in asthma. The study emphasized the need for high-throughput methods to identify novel ATX inhibitors, highlighting the advantages of pulsed ultrafiltration LC-MS based screening over traditional methods. This approach offered benefits such as high throughput, low cost, and fewer false positives, facilitating the discovery of potential ATX inhibitors.