From a drug repositioning to a structure-based drug design approach to tackle acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Cancer cells utilize the main de novo pathway and the alternative salvage pathway for deoxyribonucleotide biosynthesis to achieve adequate nucleotide pools. Deoxycytidine kinase is the rate-limiting enzyme of the salvage pathway and it has recently emerged as a target for anti-proliferative therapies for cancers where it is essential. Here, we present the development of a potent inhibitor applying an iterative multidisciplinary approach, which relies on computational design coupled with experimental evaluations. This strategy allows an acceleration of the hit-to-lead process by gradually implementing key chemical modifications to increase affinity and activity. Our lead compound, OR0642, is more than 1000 times more potent than its initial parent compound, masitinib, previously identified from a drug repositioning approach. OR0642 in combination with a physiological inhibitor of the de novo pathway doubled the survival rate in a human T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia patient-derived xenograft mouse model, demonstrating the proof-of-concept of this drug design strategy.

Rational modification, synthesis and biological evaluation of N-substituted phthalazinone derivatives designed to target interleukine-15 protein.

Interleukin (IL)-15 is a pleiotropic cytokine structurally close to IL-2 and sharing with the IL-2Rß and γc receptor (R) subunits. IL-15 plays important roles in innate and adaptative immunity, supporting the activation and proliferation of NK, NK-T, and CD8+ T cells. Over-expression of IL-15 has been shown to participate to the development of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases and diverse T cell malignancies. This study is in continuity of our previous work through which a family of small-molecule inhibitors impeding IL-15/IL-2Rß interaction with sub-micromolar activity has been identified using pharmacophore-based virtual screening and hit optimization methods. With the aim to improve the efficacy and selectivity of our lead inhibitor, specific modifications have been introduced on the basis of optimized SAR and modelisation. The new series of compounds generated have been evaluated for their capacity to inhibit the proliferation as well as the down-stream signaling of IL-15-dependent cells and to bind to IL-15.

Discovery of a Small-Molecule Inhibitor of Interleukin 15: Pharmacophore-Based Virtual Screening and Hit Optimization.

Interleukin (IL)-15 is a pleiotropic cytokine, which is structurally close to IL-2 and shares with it the IL-2 ß and γ receptor (R) subunits. By promoting the activation and proliferation of NK, NK-T, and CD8+ T cells, IL-15 plays important roles in innate and adaptative immunity. Moreover, the association of high levels of IL-15 expression with inflammatory and autoimmune diseases has led to the development of various antagonistic approaches targeting IL-15. This study is an original approach aimed at discovering small-molecule inhibitors impeding IL-15/IL-15R interaction. A pharmacophore and docking-based virtual screening of compound libraries led to the selection of 240 high-scoring compounds, 36 of which were found to bind IL-15, to inhibit the binding of IL-15 to the IL-2Rß chain or the proliferation of IL-15-dependent cells or both. One of them was selected as a hit and optimized by a structure-activity relationship approach, leading to the first small-molecule IL-15 inhibitor with sub-micromolar activity.