Discovery and preliminary structure–activity relationship of 1H-indazoles with promising indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) inhibition properties

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1)-mediated kynurenine pathway of tryptophan degradation is identified as an important immune effector pathway in the tumor cells to escape a potentially effective immune response. IDO1 is an attractive target for anticancer therapy and the discovery of IDO1 inhibitors has been intensely ongoing in both academic research laboratories and pharmaceutical organizations. Our study discovered that 1H-indazole was a novel key pharmacophore with potent IDO1 inhibitory activity. A series of new 1H-indazole derivatives were synthesized and determined the enzyme inhibitory activities, and the compound 2g exhibited the highest activity with an IC₅₀ value of 5.3 μM. The structure–activity relationships (SARs) analysis of the 1H-indazole derivatives as novel IDO1 inhibitors indicated that the 1H-indazole scaffold is necessary for IDO1 inhibition, and the substituent groups at the both 4-position and 6-position largely affect inhibitory activity. The docking model exhibited that the effective interactions of 1H-indazoles with ferrous ion of heme and key residues of hydrophobic Pocket A and B ensured the IDO1 inhibitory activities. The study suggested that the 1H-indazole was a novel interesting scaffold for IDO inhibition for further development.     

Design,synthesis and biological evaluation of 2,5-dimethylfuran-3-carboxylic acid derivatives as potential IDO1 inhibitors

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) plays a vital role in tumor immune escape and has emerged as a promising target for cancer immunotherapy. In this study, a novel series of 2,5-dimethylfuran-3-carboxylic acid derivatives were designed, synthesized and evaluated for inhibitory activities against IDO1, and their structure-activity relationship was investigated. Among these, compound 19a exhibited excellent IDO1 inhibitory activity (HeLa cellular IC₅₀?=?4.0?nM, THP-1 cellular IC₅₀?=?4.6?nM). Further molecular docking studies revealed that the compound 19a formed a coordinate bond with the heme iron through the carboxylic acid moiety. These results indicate that compound 19a is a potential IDO1 inhibitor for further investigation.     

Evaluation of an octahydroisochromene scaffold used as a novel SARS 3CL protease inhibitor

An octahydroisochromene scaffold has been introduced into a known SARS 3CL protease inhibitor as a novel hydrophobic core to interact with the S2 pocket of the protease. An alkyl or aryl substituent was also introduced at the 1-position of the octahydroisochromene scaffold and expected to introduce additional interactions with the protease. Sharpless–Katsuki asymmetric epoxidation and Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation were employed to construct the octahydroisochromene scaffold. The introductions of the P1 site His-al and the substituent at 1-position was achieved using successive reductive amination reactions. Our initial evaluations of the diastereo-isomeric mixtures (16a–d) revealed that the octahydroisochromene moiety functions as a core hydrophobic scaffold for the S2 pocket of the protease and the substituent at the 1-position may form additional interactions with the protease. The inhibitory activities of the diastereoisomerically-pure inhibitors (3a–d) strongly suggest that a specific stereo-isomer of the octahydroisochromene scaffold, (1S, 3S) 3b, directs the P1 site imidazole, the warhead aldehyde, and substituent at the 1-position of the fused ring to their appropriate pockets in the protease.     

Synthesis of novel tryptanthrin derivatives as dual inhibitors of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 and tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) and tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (TDO) are promising drug development targets due to their implications in pathologies such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. The search for IDO1 inhibitor has been intensely pursued but there is a paucity of potent TDO and IDO1/TDO dual inhibitors. Natural product tryptanthrin has been confirmed to bear IDO1 and/or TDO inhibitory activities. Herein, twelve novel tryptanthrin derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for the IDO1 and TDO inhibitory potency. All of the compounds were found to be IDO1/TDO dual inhibitors, in particular, compound 9a and 9b bore IDO1 inhibitory activity similar to that of INCB024360, and compound 5a and 9b had remarkable TDO inhibitory activity superior to that of the well-known TDO inhibitor LM10. This work enriches the collection of IDO1/TDO dual inhibitors and provides chemical molecules for potential development into drugs.     

Synthesis of hybrid analogues of caffeine and eudistomin D and its affinity for adenosine receptors

Four bis-N-n-propyl analogues (3–6) in the uracil ring of two hybrid molecules (1 and 2) of caffeine and eudistomin D, a β-carboline alkaloid from a marine tunicate, were synthesized, and their affinity and selectivity for adenosine receptors A₁, A_2A, and A₃ were examined. All the compounds (3–6) showed better potency as adenosine receptor ligands than caffeine. Bis-N-n-propylation (3 and 4, respectively) of the uracil ring in 1 and 2 resulted in higher affinity for A₁ and A_2A adenosine receptors. Furthermore, it was found that a compound (5) possessing a n-propyloxy group at C-7 in compound 3 with a nitrogen at the β-position of the pyridine ring (β-N type) enhanced remarkably affinity for adenosine receptor A₃ subtype, while n-propyloxy substitution (compound 6) at C-5 in compound 4 with a nitrogen at the δ-position of the pyridine ring (δ-N type) reduced affinity for all the adenosine receptor, A₁, A_2A, and A₃. Among all the compounds (1–6) examined, compound 5 showed the most potent affinity for adenosine receptor A₃ subtype (K_i value, 0.00382 μM).     

Design,synthesis and biological evaluation of novel aryl-acrylic derivatives as novel indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) inhibitors

Two series of novel aryl-acrylic derivatives were designed, synthesized, and screened in enzymatic and cellular inhibitory activities. All compounds showed moderate to significant potency. The SAR analyses indicated that the semicarbazone linker is better than the 1,2,3-triazole linker. Among semicarbazone compounds that R₁ bearing di-chain amino groups exhibited superior activities to those with morpholino group. Furthermore, compounds with electron-withdrawing groups at the 2-position or 4-position on the terminal phenyl ring were more active. Among these, compounds 7g, 7i, 7m and 7n exhibited the inhibitory potency in the low micromolar range and displayed negligible level of cytotoxicity against normal HeLa cells. In addition, the study suggested that the aryl-acrylic is an interesting novel scaffold for IDO1 inhibition for further development.     

Synthesis and bioactivity of 3,5-dimethylpyrazole derivatives as potential PDE4 inhibitors

A series of 3,5-dimethylpyrazole derivatives containing 5-phenyl-2-furan moiety were designed and synthesized as phosphodiesterase type 4 (PDE4) inhibitors. Bioassay results showed that the title compounds exhibited considerable inhibitory activity against PDE4B and blockade of LPS-induced TNFα release. Among the designed compounds, compound If showed the best inhibitory activity against PDE4B with the IC₅₀ value of 1.7?μM, which also showed good in vivo activity in animal models of asthma/COPD and sepsis induced by LPS. The primary structure–activity relationship (SAR) study and docking results suggested that introduction of the substituent groups to the phenyl ring at the para-position, especially methoxy group, was helpful to enhance inhibitory activity against PDE4B.     

Design and synthesis of novel benzimidazole derivatives as phosphodiesterase 10A inhibitors with reduced CYP1A2 inhibition

A novel class of phosphodiesterase 10A (PDE10A) inhibitors with reduced CYP1A2 inhibition were designed and synthesized starting from 2-{[(1-phenyl-1H-benzimidazol-6-yl)oxy]methyl}quinoline (1). Introduction of an isopropyl group at the 2-position and a methoxy group at the 5-position of the benzimidazole ring of lead compound 1 resulted in the identification of 2-{[(2-isopropyl-5-methoxy-1-phenyl-1H-benzimidazol-6-yl)oxy]methyl}quinoline (25b), which exhibited potent PDE10A inhibitory activity with reduced CYP1A2 inhibitory activity compared to compound 1.     

Nature-inspired pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidines targeting the histamine H3 receptor

Inspired by marine compounds the derivatization of the natural pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine lead scaffold led to a series of novel compounds targeting the histamine H₃ receptor. The focus was set on improved binding towards the receptor and to establish an initial structure-activity relationship for this compound class based on the lead structure (compound V, K_i value of 126 nM). As highest binding affinities were found with 1,4-bipiperidines as basic part of the ligands, further optimization was focused on 4-([1,4′-bipiperidin]-1′-yl)-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidines. Related pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidines that were isolated from marine sponges like 4-amino-5-bromopyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine (compound III), showed variations in halogenation pattern, though in a next step the impact of halogenation at 2-position was evaluated. The chloro variations did not improve the affinity compared to the dehalogenated compounds. However, the simultaneous introduction of lipophilic cores with electron-withdrawing substitution patterns in 7-position and dehalogenation at 2-position (11b, 12b) resulted in compounds with significantly higher binding affinities (K_i values of 7 nM and 6 nM, respectively) than the initial lead structure compound V. The presented structures allow for a reasonable structure-activity relationship of pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidines as histamine H₃ receptor ligands and yielded novel lead structures within the natural compound library against this target.     

4,6-Substituted-1H-Indazoles as potent IDO1/TDO dual inhibitors

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) and tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (TDO) are constitutively overexpressed in many types of cancer cells and exert important immunosuppressive functions. In this article, a series of 4,6-substituted-1H-indazole derivatives were synthesized and evaluated the inhibitory activities against IDO1 and TDO, as well as their structure-activity relationships (SARs). Among these, compound 35 displayed the most IDO1 inhibitory potency with an IC₅₀ value of 0.74?μM in an enzymatic assay and 1.37?μM in HeLa cells. Quantitative analysis of the Western blot results indicated that 35 significantly decreased the INFγ-induced IDO1 expression in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, 35 showed promising TDO inhibition with an IC₅₀ value of 2.93?μM in the enzymatic assay and 7.54?μM in A172 cells. Moreover, compound 35 exhibited in vivo antitumor activity in the CT26 xenograft model. These findings suggest that 1H-indazole derivative 35 is a potent IDO1/TDO dual inhibitor, and has the potential to be developed for IDO1/TDO-related cancer treatment.     

Structure based drug design and in vitro metabolism study: Discovery of N-(4-methylthiophenyl)-N,2-dimethyl-cyclopenta[d]pyrimidine as a potent microtubule targeting agent

We report a series of tubulin targeting agents, some of which demonstrate potent antiproliferative activities. These analogs were designed to optimize the antiproliferative activity of 1 by varying the heteroatom substituent at the 4′-position, the basicity of the 4-position amino moiety, and conformational restriction. The potential metabolites of the active compounds were also synthesized. Some compounds demonstrated single digit nanomolar IC₅₀ values for antiproliferative effects in MDA-MB-435 melanoma cells. Particularly, the S-methyl analog 3 was more potent than 1 in MDA-MB-435 cells (IC₅₀?=?4.6?nM). Incubation of 3 with human liver microsomes showed that the primary metabolite of the S-methyl moiety of 3 was the methyl sulfinyl group, as in analog 5. This metabolite was equipotent with the lead compound 1 in MDA-MB-435 cells (IC₅₀?=?7.9?nM). Molecular modeling and electrostatic surface area were determined to explain the activities of the analogs. Most of the potent compounds overcome multiple mechanisms of drug resistance and compound 3 emerged as the lead compound for further SAR and preclinical development.     

A multicomponent approach in the discovery of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 inhibitors: Synthesis,biological investigation and docking studies

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase plays a crucial role in immune tolerance and has emerged as an attractive target for cancer immunotherapy. In this study, the Passerini and Ugi multicomponent reactions have been employed to assemble a small library of imidazothiazoles that target IDO1. While the p-bromophenyl and the imidazothiazole moieties have been kept fixed, a full SAR study has been performed on the side-chain, leading to the discovery of nine compounds with sub-micromolar IC₅₀ values in the enzyme-based assay. Compound 7d, displaying a α-acyloxyamide substructure, is the most potent compound, with an IC₅₀ value of 0.20?µM, but a low activity in a cell-based assay. Compound 6o, containing a α-acylaminoamide moiety, shows an IC₅₀ value of 0.81?µM in the IDO1-based assay, a full biocompatibility at 10?µM, together with a modest inhibitory activity in A375 cells. Molecular docking studies show that both 7d and 6o display a unique binding mode in the IDO1 active site, with the side-chain protruding in an additional pocket C, where a crucial hydrogen bond is formed with Lys238. Overall, this work describes an isocyanide based-multicomponent approach as a straightforward and versatile tool to rapidly access IDO1 inhibitors, providing a new direction for their future design and development.     

Design,synthesis and evaluation against Mycobacterium tuberculosis of azole piperazine derivatives as dicyclotyrosine (cYY) mimics

Three series of azole piperazine derivatives that mimic dicyclotyrosine (cYY), the natural substrate of the essential Mycobacterium tuberculosis cytochrome P450 CYP121A1, were prepared and evaluated for binding affinity and inhibitory activity (MIC) against M. tuberculosis. Series A replaces one phenol group of cYY with a C3-imidazole moiety, series B includes a keto group on the hydrocarbon chain preceding the series A imidazole, whilst series C explores replacing the keto group of the piperidone ring of cYY with a CH₂-imidazole or CH₂-triazole moiety to enhance binding interaction with the heme of CYP121A1. The series displayed moderate to weak type II binding affinity for CYP121A1, with the exception of series B 10a, which displayed mixed type I binding. Of the three series, series C imidazole derivatives showed the best, although modest, inhibitory activity against M. tuberculosis (17d MIC?=?12.5?μg/mL, 17a 50?μg/mL). Crystal structures were determined for CYP121A1 bound to series A compounds 6a and 6b that show the imidazole groups positioned directly above the haem iron with binding between the haem iron and imidazole nitrogen of both compounds at a distance of 2.2?Å. A model generated from a 1.5?Å crystal structure of CYP121A1 in complex with compound 10a showed different binding modes in agreement with the heterogeneous binding observed. Although the crystal structures of 6a and 6b would indicate binding with CYP121A1, the binding assays themselves did not allow confirmation of CYP121A1 as the target.     

Design,synthesis and molecular docking of 1,4-benzodioxane thiazolidinedione piperazine derivatives as FabH inhibitors

A series of novel 1,4-benzodioxane thiazolidinedione piperazine derivatives targeting FabH were designed and synthesized. The compounds exhibited better inhibitory activity against Gram-negative bacteria by computer-assisted screening, antibacterial activity test and E. coli FabH inhibitory activity test, wherein compound 6j exhibited the most significant inhibitory activity (MIC = 1.80 μΜ for P. aeruginosa, MIC = 1.56 μΜ for E. coli). Besides, compound 6j still showed the best E. coli FabH inhibitory activity (IC₅₀ = 0.06 μΜ). Moreover, the antibacterial activities of all compounds were strongly correlated with the inhibitory ability of FabH, with a correlation coefficient of 0.954. Computational docking studies also showed that compound 6j has interacting with FabH key residues in the active site.     

Synthesis and insecticidal evaluation of novel N-pyridylpyrazolecarboxamides containing cyano substituent in the ortho-position

In an attempt to search for potent insecticides targeting the ryanodine receptor (RyR), a series of novel N-pyridylpyrazolecarboxamides containing cyano substituent in the ortho-position were designed and synthesized. Their insecticidal activities of target compounds against oriental armyworm (Mythimna separata) and diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella) indicated that most of the compounds showed moderate to high activities at the tested concentrations. In particular, compound 6l and 6o showed 86% larvicidal activities against Plutella xylostella at the concentration of 0.1 mg/L, while the activity of compound 6h against Mythimna separate was 80% at 1 mg/L. The calcium imaging technique was applied to investigate the effects of some title compounds on the intracellular calcium ion concentration ([Ca²⁺]_i), experimental results demonstrated that compound 6h stimulates a transient elevation in [Ca²⁺]_i in the absence of external calcium after the central neurons dye loading with fluo-3 AM. However, when the central neurons were dyed with fluo-5 N and incubated with 2-APB, [Ca²⁺]i decreased transiently by treated of compound 6h. All of the calcium imaging technique experiments demonstrated that these novel compounds deliver calcium from endoplasmic reticulum to cytoplasm, which proved that the title compounds were the possible activators of insect RyR.     

Discovery of 3,6-diaryl-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridines as potent anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitors

A new series of 3,6-diaryl-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridine compounds have been discovered as potent anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitors. The 4-hydroxyphenyl in the 6-position of 1H-pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridine were crucial and a fluorine atom substitution could give promising inhibitory activity. The IC₅₀ of compound 9v against ALK was up to 1.58?nM and a binding mechanism was proposed.     

Synthesis and evaluation of imidazole–dioxolane compounds as selective heme oxygenase inhibitors: Effect of substituents at the 4-position of the dioxolane ring

Several imidazole–dioxolane compounds were synthesized and evaluated as novel inhibitors of heme oxygenase (HO). These compounds, which include a series of substituted thiophenol and substituted phenol derivatives of (2R,4S)-2-[2-(4-chlorophenyl)ethyl]-2-[(1H-imidazol-1-yl)methyl]-4-[(phenylsulfanyl)methyl]-1,3-dioxolane hydrochloride (3), in addition to smaller functionalized derivatives, continue our structure–activity studies by exploration of the aminothiophenol region (‘northeastern region’) in our original target structure azalanstat (1). In vitro, most of the compounds in this series were found to be highly potent inhibitors of the stress-induced isozyme HO-1 and the constitutive isozyme HO-2, showing only moderate selectivity for HO-1. Nevertheless, a few of the compounds displayed higher selectivity toward HO-1. None of the compounds having a larger appendage in the northeastern region were inhibitors of CYP2E1, whereas a compound having a relatively small fluorine substituent in this region did inhibit CYP2E1; all of the compounds tested exhibited high inhibitory potency against CYP3A1/3A2.     

Constrained (l-)-S-adenosyl-l-homocysteine (SAH) analogues as DNA methyltransferase inhibitors

Potent SAH analogues with constrained homocysteine units have been designed and synthesized as inhibitors of human DNMT enzymes. The five membered (2S,4S)-4-mercaptopyrrolidine-2-carboxylic acid, in 1a, was a good replacement for homocysteine, while the corresponding six-member counterpart was less active. Further optimization of 1a, changed the selectivity profile of these inhibitors. A Chloro substituent at the 2-position of 1a, compound 1d, retained potency against DNMT1, while N⁶ alkylation, compound 7a, conserved DNMT3b2 activity. The concomitant substitutions of 1a at both 2- and N⁶ positions reduced activity against both enzymes.     

New 8-amino-1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-a]pyrazin-3-one derivatives. Evaluation of different moieties on the 6-aryl ring to obtain potent and selective human A2A adenosine receptor antagonists

In this work, further structural investigations on the 8-amino-2-phenyl-6-aryl-1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-a]pyrazin-3-one series were carried out to achieve potent and selective human A_2A adenosine receptor (AR) antagonists. Different ether and amide moieties were attached at the para-position of the 6-phenyl ring, thus leading to compounds 1–9 and 10–18, respectively. Most of these moieties contained terminal basic rings (pyrrolidine, morpholine, piperidine and substituted piperazines) which were thought to confer good physicochemical and drug-like properties.Compounds 11–16, bearing the amide linker, possessed high affinity and selectivity for the hA_2A AR (K_i = 3.6–11.8 nM). Also derivatives 1–9, featuring an ether linker, preferentially targeted the hA_2A AR but with lower affinity, compared to those of the relative amide compounds. Docking studies, carried out at the hA_2A AR binding site, highlighted some crucial ligand-receptor interactions, particularly those provided by the appended substituent whose nature deeply affected hA_2A AR affinity.     

Design,synthesis, and biological evaluation of 3-aryl-3-hydroxy-1-phenylpyrrolidine derivatives as novel androgen receptor antagonists

We designed and synthesized a series of 3-aryl-3-hydroxy-1-phenylpyrrolidine derivatives D and evaluated their potential as novel androgen receptor (AR) antagonists therapeutically effective against castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Introduction of a methyl group at the 2-position (R²) of the pyrrolidine ring increased the AR binding affinity. The (2S,3R) configuration of the pyrrolidine ring was favorable for the AR antagonistic activity. It was found that introduction of an amide substituent (R¹) and a pyridin-3-yl group (Q) was effective for reducing the AR agonistic activity which appeared during the optimization of lead compound 6. Compound 54 showed potent antitumor effects against a CRPC model of LNCaP-hr cell line in a mouse xenograft, in which bicalutamide exhibited only partial suppression of tumor growth. Thus, the pyrrolidine derivatives such as 54 are novel AR antagonists, and their properties having efficacy against CRPC are distinct from those of a representative first-generation antagonist, bicalutamide.