2-Anilino-4-(1-methyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)pyrimidine-derived CDK2 inhibitors as anticancer agents: Design, synthesis & evaluation.

Deregulation of cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) and its activating partners, cyclins A and E, is associated with the pathogenesis of a myriad of human cancers and with resistance to anticancer drugs including CDK4/6 inhibitors. Thus, CDK2 has become an attractive target for the development of new anticancer therapies and for the amelioration of the resistance to CDK4/6 inhibitors. Bioisosteric replacement of the thiazole moiety of CDKI-73, a clinically trialled CDK inhibitor, by a pyrazole group afforded 9 and 19 that displayed potent CDK2-cyclin E inhibition (Ki = 0.023 and 0.001 µM, respectively) with submicromolar antiproliferative activity against a panel of cancer cell lines (GI50 = 0.025-0.780 µM). Mechanistic studies on 19 with HCT-116 colorectal cancer cells revealed that the compound reduced the phosphorylation of retinoblastoma at Ser807/811, arrested the cells at the G2/M phase, and induced apoptosis. These results highlight the potential of the 2-anilino-4-(1-methyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)pyrimidine series in developing potent and selective CDK2 inhibitors to combat cancer.

Discovery of N,4-Di(1H-pyrazol-4-yl)pyrimidin-2-amine-Derived CDK2 Inhibitors as Potential Anticancer Agents: Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation.

Cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) has been garnering considerable interest as a target to develop new cancer treatments and to ameliorate resistance to CDK4/6 inhibitors. However, a selective CDK2 inhibitor has yet to be clinically approved. With the desire to discover novel, potent, and selective CDK2 inhibitors, the phenylsulfonamide moiety of our previous lead compound 1 was bioisosterically replaced with pyrazole derivatives, affording a novel series of N,4-di(1H-pyrazol-4-yl)pyrimidin-2-amines that exhibited potent CDK2 inhibitory activity. Among them, 15 was the most potent CDK2 inhibitor (Ki = 0.005 µM) with a degree of selectivity over other CDKs tested. Meanwhile, this compound displayed sub-micromolar antiproliferative activity against a panel of 13 cancer cell lines (GI50 = 0.127-0.560 µM). Mechanistic studies in ovarian cancer cells revealed that 15 reduced the phosphorylation of retinoblastoma at Thr821, arrested cells at the S and G2/M phases, and induced apoptosis. These results accentuate the potential of the N,4-di(1H-pyrazol-4-yl)pyrimidin-2-amine scaffold to be developed into potent and selective CDK2 inhibitors for the treatment of cancer.

Discovery of novel 4-azaaryl-N-phenylpyrimidin-2-amine derivatives as potent and selective FLT3 inhibitors for acute myeloid leukaemia with FLT3 mutations.

Feline McDonough sarcoma (FMS)-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) is one of the most pursued targets in the treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) as its gene amplification and mutations, particularly internal tandem duplication (ITD), contribute to the pathogenesis of AML and the resistance to known FLT3 inhibitors. To conquer this challenge, there is a quest for structurally novel FLT3 inhibitors. Herein, we report the discovery of a new series of 4-azaaryl-N-phenylpyrimidin-2-amine derivatives as potent and selective FLT3 inhibitors. Compounds 12b and 12r were capable of suppressing a wide range of mutated FLT3 kinases including ITD and D835Y mutants; the latter isoform is closely associated with acquired drug resistance. In addition, both compounds displayed an anti-proliferative specificity for FLT3-ITD-harbouring cell lines (i.e., MV4-11 and MOLM-13 cells) over those with expression of the wild-type kinase or even without FLT3 expression. In mechanistic studies using MV4-11 cells, 12b was found to diminish the phosphorylation of key downstream effectors of FLT3 and induce apoptosis, supporting an FLT3-ITD-targeted mechanism of its anti-proliferative action.