CCR8-targeted specific depletion of clonally expanded Treg cells in tumor tissues evokes potent tumor immunity with long-lasting memory.

Foxp3-expressing CD25+CD4+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) are abundant in tumor tissues. Here, hypothesizing that tumor Tregs would clonally expand after they are activated by tumor-associated antigens to suppress antitumor immune responses, we performed single-cell analysis on tumor Tregs to characterize them by T cell receptor clonotype and gene-expression profiles. We found that multiclonal Tregs present in tumor tissues predominantly expressed the chemokine receptor CCR8. In mice and humans, CCR8+ Tregs constituted 30 to 80% of tumor Tregs in various cancers and less than 10% of Tregs in other tissues, whereas most tumor-infiltrating conventional T cells (Tconvs) were CCR8- CCR8+ tumor Tregs were highly differentiated and functionally stable. Administration of cell-depleting anti-CCR8 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) indeed selectively eliminated multiclonal tumor Tregs, leading to cure of established tumors in mice. The treatment resulted in the expansion of CD8+ effector Tconvs, including tumor antigen-specific ones, that were more activated and less exhausted than those induced by PD-1 immune checkpoint blockade. Anti-CCR8 mAb treatment also evoked strong secondary immune responses against the same tumor cell line inoculated several months after tumor eradication, indicating that elimination of tumor-reactive multiclonal Tregs was sufficient to induce memory-type tumor-specific effector Tconvs. Despite induction of such potent tumor immunity, anti-CCR8 mAb treatment elicited minimal autoimmunity in mice, contrasting with systemic Treg depletion, which eradicated tumors but induced severe autoimmune disease. Thus, specific removal of clonally expanding Tregs in tumor tissues for a limited period by cell-depleting anti-CCR8 mAb treatment can generate potent tumor immunity with long-lasting memory and without deleterious autoimmunity.

Development of a new knock-in mouse model and evaluation of pharmacological activities of lusutrombopag, a novel, nonpeptidyl small-molecule agonist of the human thrombopoietin receptor c-Mpl.

Lusutrombopag (S-888711), an oral small-molecule thrombopoietin receptor (TPOR) agonist, has gained first approval as a drug to treat thrombocytopenia of chronic liver disease in patients undergoing elective invasive procedures in Japan. Preclinical studies were performed to evaluate its efficacy against megakaryopoiesis and thrombopoiesis. To investigate the proliferative activity and efficacy of megakaryocytic colony formation via human TPOR, lusutrombopag was applied to cultured human c-Mpl-expressing Ba/F3 (Ba/F3-hMpl) cells and human bone marrow-derived CD34-positive cells, respectively. Lusutrombopag caused a robust increase in Ba/F3-hMpl cells by activating pathways in a manner similar to that of thrombopoietin and induced colony-forming units-megakaryocyte and polyploid megakaryocytes in human CD34-positive cells. Because lusutrombopag has high species specificity for human TPOR, there was no suitable experimental animal model for drug evaluation, except for immunodeficient mouse-based xenograft models. Therefore, a novel genetically modified knock-in mouse, TPOR-Ki/Shi, was developed by replacing mouse Mpl with human-mouse chimera Mpl. In TPOR-Ki/Shi mice, lusutrombopag significantly increased circulating platelets in a dose-dependent manner during 21-day repeated oral administration. Histopathological study of the TPOR-Ki/Shi mice on day 22 also revealed a significant increase in megakaryocytes in the bone marrow. These results indicate that lusutrombopag acts on human TPOR to upregulate differentiation and proliferation of megakaryocytic cells, leading to platelet production.

A unique hinge binder of extremely selective aminopyridine-based Mps1 (TTK) kinase inhibitors with cellular activity.

Mps1, also known as TTK, is a dual-specificity kinase that regulates the spindle assembly check point. Increased expression levels of Mps1 are observed in cancer cells, and the expression levels correlate well with tumor grade. Such evidence points to selective inhibition of Mps1 as an attractive strategy for cancer therapeutics. Starting from an aminopyridine-based lead 3a that binds to a flipped-peptide conformation at the hinge region in Mps1, elaboration of the aminopyridine scaffold at the 2- and 6-positions led to the discovery of 19c that exhibited no significant inhibition for 287 kinases as well as improved cellular Mps1 and antiproliferative activities in A549 lung carcinoma cells (cellular Mps1 IC50=5.3 nM, A549 IC50=26 nM). A clear correlation between cellular Mps1 and antiproliferative IC50 values indicated that the antiproliferative activity observed in A549 cells would be responsible for the cellular inhibition of Mps1. The X-ray structure of 19c in complex with Mps1 revealed that this compound retains the ability to bind to the peptide flip conformation. Finally, comparative analysis of the X-ray structures of 19c, a deamino analogue 33, and a known Mps1 inhibitor bound to Mps1 provided insights into the unique binding mode at the hinge region.

Wnt5a promotes cancer cell invasion and proliferation by receptor-mediated endocytosis-dependent and -independent mechanisms, respectively.

Wnt5a activates the Wnt/ß-catenin-independent pathway and its overexpression is associated with tumor aggressiveness enhancing invasive activity. For this action, Wnt5a-induced receptor endocytosis with clathrin is required. Wnt5a expression was previously believed to be associated with cancer cell motility but not proliferation. Recently, it was reported that Wnt5a is also implicated in cancer cell proliferation, but the mechanism was not clear. In this study, we generated a neutralizing anti-Wnt5a monoclonal antibody (mAb5A16) to investigate the mechanism by which Wnt5a regulates cancer cell proliferation. Wnt5a stimulated both invasion and proliferation of certain types of cancer cells, including HeLaS3 cervical cancer cells and A549 lung cancer cells although Wnt5a promoted invasion but not proliferation in other cancer cells such as KKLS gastric cancer cells. mAb5A16 did not affect the binding of Wnt5a to its receptor, but it suppressed Wnt5a-induced receptor-mediated endocytosis. mAb5A16 inhibited invasion but not proliferation of HeLaS3 and A549 cells. Wnt5a activated Src family kinases (SFKs) and Wnt5a-dependent cancer cell proliferation was dependent on SFKs, yet blockade of receptor-mediated endocytosis did not affect cancer cell proliferation and SFK activity. These results suggest that Wnt5a promotes invasion and proliferation of certain types of cancer cells through receptor-mediated endocytosis-dependent and -independent mechanisms, respectively.

Discovery of imidazo[1,2-b]pyridazine derivatives: selective and orally available Mps1 (TTK) kinase inhibitors exhibiting remarkable antiproliferative activity.

Monopolar spindle 1 (Mps1) is an attractive oncology target due to its high expression level in cancer cells as well as the correlation of its expression levels with histological grades of cancers. An imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazine 10a was identified during an HTS campaign. Although 10a exhibited good biochemical activity, its moderate cellular as well as antiproliferative activities needed to be improved. The cocrystal structure of an analogue of 10a guided our lead optimization to introduce substituents at the 6-position of the scaffold, giving the 6-aryl substituted 21b which had improved cellular activity but no oral bioavailability in rat. Property-based optimization at the 6-position and a scaffold change led to the discovery of the imidazo[1,2-b]pyridazine-based 27f, an extremely potent (cellular Mps1 IC50 = 0.70 nM, A549 IC50 = 6.0 nM), selective Mps1 inhibitor over 192 kinases, which could be orally administered and was active in vivo. This 27f demonstrated remarkable antiproliferative activity in the nanomolar range against various tissue cancer cell lines.

Preclinical antitumor activity of S-222611, an oral reversible tyrosine kinase inhibitor of epidermal growth factor receptor and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) are validated molecular targets in cancer therapy. Dual blockade has been explored and one such agent, lapatinib, is in clinical practice but with modest activity. Through chemical screening, we discovered a novel EGFR and HER2 inhibitor, S-222611, that selectively inhibited both kinases with IC50 s below 10 nmol/L. S-222611 also inhibited intracellular kinase activity and the growth of EGFR-expressing and HER2-expressing cancer cells. In addition, S-222611 showed potent antitumor activity over lapatinib in a variety of xenograft models. In evaluations with two patient-oriented models, the intrafemoral implantation model and the intracranial implantation model, S-222611 exhibited excellent activity and could be effective against bone and brain metastasis. Compared to neratinib and afatinib, irreversible EGFR/HER2 inhibitors, S-222611 showed equivalent or slightly weaker antitumor activity but a safer profile. These results indicated that S-222611 is a potent EGFR and HER2 inhibitor with substantially better antitumor activity than lapatinib at clinically relevant doses. Considering the safer profile than for irreversible inhibitors, S-222611 could be an important option in future cancer therapy.

Indazole-based potent and cell-active Mps1 kinase inhibitors: rational design from pan-kinase inhibitor anthrapyrazolone (SP600125).

Monopolar spindle 1 (Mps1) is essential for centrosome duplication, the spindle assembly check point, and the maintenance of chromosomal instability. Mps1 is highly expressed in cancer cells, and its expression levels correlate with the histological grades of cancers. Thus, selective Mps1 inhibitors offer an attractive opportunity for the development of novel cancer therapies. To design novel Mps1 inhibitors, we utilized the pan-kinase inhibitor anthrapyrazolone (4, SP600125) and its crystal structure bound to JNK1. Our design efforts led to the identification of indazole-based lead 6 with an Mps1 IC50 value of 498 nM. Optimization of the 3- and 6-positions on the indazole core of 6 resulted in 23c with improved Mps1 activity (IC50 = 3.06 nM). Finally, application of structure-based design using the X-ray structure of 23d bound to Mps1 culminated in the discovery of 32a and 32b with improved potency for cellular Mps1 and A549 lung cancer cells. Moreover, 32a and 32b exhibited reasonable selectivities over 120 and 166 kinases, respectively.

Discovery of novel 5-alkynyl-4-anilinopyrimidines as potent, orally active dual inhibitors of EGFR and Her-2 tyrosine kinases.

5-Alkenyl or 5-alkynyl-4-anilinopyrimidines were prepared and evaluated for in vitro inhibition of EGFR/Her-2 kinase activity and the growth of tumor cell lines (BT474 and N87). Several of these compounds inhibited the growth of BT474 and N87 at concentrations below 200nM. Structure-activity relationship studies revealed a critical role for the 5-alkynyl moieties. The representative compound 19 exhibited significant antitumor potency in a mouse xenograft model.

Diaminopyridine-based potent and selective mps1 kinase inhibitors binding to an unusual flipped-Peptide conformation.

Monopolar spindle 1 (Mps1) is an attractive cancer drug target due to the important role that it plays in centrosome duplication, the spindle assembly checkpoint, and the maintenance of chromosomal stability. A design based on JNK inhibitors with an aminopyridine scaffold and subsequent modifications identified diaminopyridine 9 with an IC50 of 37 nM. The X-ray structure of 9 revealed that the Cys604 carbonyl group of the hinge region flips to form a hydrogen bond with the aniline NH group in 9. Further optimization of 9 led to 12 with improved cellular activity, suitable pharmacokinetic profiles, and good in vivo efficacy in the mouse A549 xenograft model. Moreover, 12 displayed excellent selectivity over 95 kinases, indicating the contribution of its unusual flipped-peptide conformation to its selectivity.

Synthesis and evaluation of novel pyrimidine-based dual EGFR/Her-2 inhibitors.

A structure-activity relationship study of 4-anilinopyrimidines for dual EGFR/Her-2 inhibitor has resulted in the identification of 4-anilino-5-alkenyl or 5-alkynyl-6-methylpyrimidine derivatives that have exhibited effective inhibitory activity against both enzymes. The presence of 5-alkenyl or 5-alkynyl moiety bearing terminal hydrophilic group played important role for inhibition of these enzymes. Selected compounds in the series demonstrated some activity against Her-2 dependent cell line (BT474).