"AI-Driven Robotics Laboratory Identifies Pharmacological TNIK Inhibition as a Potent Senomorphic Agent."
"Drugs that slow down or even reverse the aging process are likely to modulate the progression of age-related diseases. However, the discovery of longevity therapeutics often requires novel drugs to first be developed to target specific diseases in order for the drug discovery program to be commercially viable. The discovery and prioritization of TNIK as a target, for example, involved AI-based integration and discovery of the biomarkers and hallmarks of aging and fibrosis [32]. Having previously implicated TNIK in the cellular senescence hallmark of aging utilizing a computational approach [10], we report here validation of the senomorphic potential of a recently developed anti-fibrotic TNIK inhibitor, INS018_055, in multiple fibroblast senescence models: chemotherapy-induced senescence and replicative senescence. Knockdown of TNIK phenocopied the anti-senescence effects of INS018_055 treatment in a chemotherapy-induced senescence model, confirming the TNIK-mediated phenotypic effects of the treatment."
"Our findings collectively demonstrate the potential of INS018_055 as a senomorphic drug in attenuating cellular senescence through the suppression of various aging processes. This study further strengthens the potential of INS018_055 as a longevity therapeutic by implicating TNIK in the cellular senescence hallmark of aging. Using AI-powered drug discovery [32] and a fully automated robotics laboratory, we achieved automated, efficient sample handling and data generation, facilitating target discovery, compound design, clinical trial prediction, mechanistic aging research, and biomarker identification. The role of INS018_055 in the attenuation of senescence may provide an explanation for its beneficial effects in preclinical and clinical investigations in IPF. However, in vivo data and validation of biomarkers supporting its use for anti-aging therapy in clinical settings are still needed."