3,4-Dihydropyrimido(1,2-a)indol-10(2H)-ones as potent non-peptidic inhibitors of caspase-3.

Cysteine-dependant aspartyl protease (caspase) activation has been implicated as a part of the signal transduction pathway leading to apoptosis. It has been postulated that caspase-3 inhibition could attenuate cell damage after an ischemic event and thereby providing for a novel neuroprotective treatment for stroke. As part of a program to develop a small molecule inhibitor of caspase-3, a novel series of 3,4-dihydropyrimido(1,2-a)indol-10(2H)-ones (pyrimidoindolones) was identified. The synthesis, biological evaluation and structure-activity relationships of the pyrimidoindolones are described.