Design and synthesis of novel selective anaplastic lymphoma kinase inhibitors.

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) is a receptor tyrosine kinase belonging to the insulin receptor superfamily. Expression of ALK in normal human tissues is only found in a subset of neural cells, however it is involved in the genesis of several cancers through genetic aberrations involving translocation of the kinase domain with multiple fusion partners (e.g., NPM-ALK in anaplastic large cell lymphoma ALCL or EML4-ALK in non-small cell lung cancer) or activating mutations in the full-length receptor resulting in ligand-independent constitutive activation (e.g., neuroblastoma). Here we are reporting the discovery of novel and selective anaplastic lymphoma kinase inhibitors from specific modifications of the 2,4-diaminopyridine core present in TAE684 and LDK378. Synthesis, structure activity relationships (SAR), absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) profile, and in vivo efficacy in a mouse xenograft model of anaplastic large cell lymphoma are described.

(R)-2-Phenylpyrrolidine Substituted Imidazopyridazines: A New Class of Potent and Selective Pan-TRK Inhibitors.

Deregulated kinase activities of tropomyosin receptor kinase (TRK) family members have been shown to be associated with tumorigenesis and poor prognosis in a variety of cancer types. In particular, several chromosomal rearrangements involving TRKA have been reported in colorectal, papillary thyroid, glioblastoma, melanoma, and lung tissue that are believed to be the key oncogenic driver in these tumors. By screening the Novartis compound collection, a novel imidazopyridazine TRK inhibitor was identified that served as a launching point for drug optimization. Structure guided drug design led to the identification of (R)-2-phenylpyrrolidine substituted imidazopyridazines as a series of potent, selective, orally bioavailable pan-TRK inhibitors achieving tumor regression in rats bearing KM12 xenografts. From this work the (R)-2-phenylpyrrolidine has emerged as an ideal moiety to incorporate in bicyclic TRK inhibitors by virtue of its shape complementarity to the hydrophobic pocket of TRKs.

Imaging the intracellular distribution of tyrosine kinase inhibitors in living cells with quantitative hyperspectral stimulated Raman scattering.

ABL1 tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (TKI) are front-line therapy for chronic myelogenous leukaemia and are among the best-known examples of targeted cancer therapeutics. However, the dynamic uptake into cells of TKIs of low molecular weight and their intracellular behaviour is unknown because of the difficulty of observing non-fluorescent small molecules at subcellular resolution. Here we report the direct label-free visualization and quantification of two TKI drugs (imatinib and nilotinib) inside living cells using hyperspectral stimulated Raman scattering imaging. Concentrations of both drugs were enriched over 1,000-fold in lysosomes as a result of their lysosomotropic properties. In addition, low solubility appeared to contribute significantly to the surprisingly large accumulation of nilotinib. We further show that the lysosomal trapping of imatinib was reduced more than tenfold when chloroquine is used simultaneously, which suggests that chloroquine may increase the efficacy of TKIs through lysosome-mediated drug-drug interaction in addition to the commonly proposed autophagy-inhibition mechanism.

Discovery of GNF-5837, a Selective TRK Inhibitor with Efficacy in Rodent Cancer Tumor Models.

Neurotrophins and their receptors (TRKs) play key roles in the development of the nervous system and the maintenance of the neural network. Accumulating evidence points to their role in malignant transformations, chemotaxis, metastasis, and survival signaling and may contribute to the pathogenesis of a variety of tumors of both neural and non-neural origin. By screening the GNF kinase collection, a series of novel oxindole inhibitors of TRKs were identified. Optimization led to the identification of GNF-5837 (22), a potent, selective, and orally bioavailable pan-TRK inhibitor that inhibited tumor growth in a mouse xenograft model derived from RIE cells expressing both TRKA and NGF. The properties of 22 make it a good tool for the elucidation of TRK biology in cancer and other nononcology indications.

[1,2,4]triazol-3-ylsulfanylmethyl)-3-phenyl-[1,2,4]oxadiazoles: antagonists of the Wnt pathway that inhibit tankyrases 1 and 2 via novel adenosine pocket binding.

The Wnt signaling pathway is critical to the regulation of key cellular processes. When deregulated, it has been shown to play a crucial role in the growth and progression of multiple human cancers. The identification of small molecule modulators of Wnt signaling has proven challenging, largely due to the relative paucity of druggable nodes in this pathway. Several recent publications have identified small molecule inhibitors of the Wnt pathway, and tankyrase (TNKS) inhibition has been demonstrated to antagonize Wnt signaling via axin stabilization. Herein, we report the early hit assessment of a series of compounds previously reported to antagonize Wnt signaling. We report the biophysical, computational characterization, structure-activity relationship, and physicochemical properties of a novel series of [1,2,4]triazol-3-ylsulfanylmethyl)-3-phenyl-[1,2,4]oxadiazole inhibitors of TNKS1 and 2. Furthermore, a cocrystal structure of compound 24 complexed to TNKS1 demonstrates an alternate binding mode for PARP family member proteins that does not involve interactions with the nicotinamide binding pocket.

Identification of NVP-TAE684, a potent, selective, and efficacious inhibitor of NPM-ALK.

Constitutive overexpression and activation of NPM-ALK fusion protein [t(2:5)(p23;q35)] is a key oncogenic event that drives the survival and proliferation of anaplastic large-cell lymphomas (ALCLs). We have identified a highly potent and selective small-molecule ALK inhibitor, NVP-TAE684, which blocked the growth of ALCL-derived and ALK-dependent cell lines with IC(50) values between 2 and 10 nM. NVP-TAE684 treatment resulted in a rapid and sustained inhibition of phosphorylation of NPM-ALK and its downstream effectors and subsequent induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. In vivo, NVP-TAE684 suppressed lymphomagenesis in two independent models of ALK-positive ALCL and induced regression of established Karpas-299 lymphomas. NVP-TAE684 also induced down-regulation of CD30 expression, suggesting that CD30 may be used as a biomarker of therapeutic NPM-ALK kinase activity inhibition.

An efficient rapid system for profiling the cellular activities of molecular libraries.

Rapid quantitative methods for characterizing small molecules, peptides, proteins, or RNAs in a broad array of cellular assays would allow one to discover new biological activities associated with these molecules and also provide a more comprehensive profile of drug candidates early in the drug development process. Here we describe a robotic system, termed the automated compound profiler, capable of both propagating a large number of cell lines in parallel and assaying large collections of molecules simultaneously against a matrix of cellular assays in a highly reproducible manner. To illustrate its utility, we have characterized a set of 1,400 kinase inhibitors in a panel of 35 activated tyrosine-kinase-dependent cellular assays in dose-response format in a single experiment. Analysis of the resulting multidimensional dataset revealed subclusters of both inhibitors and kinases with closely correlated activities. The approach also identified activities for the p38 inhibitor BIRB796 and the dual src/abl inhibitor BMS-354825 and exposed the expected side activities for Glivec/STI571, including cellular inhibition of c-kit and platelet-derived growth factor receptor. This methodology provides a powerful tool for unraveling the cellular biology and molecular pharmacology of both naturally occurring and synthetic chemical diversity.