Rational design and synthesis of 2,4-dichloro-6-methyl pyrimidine derivatives as potential selective EGFRT790M/L858R inhibitors for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.

Many patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) initially benefit from epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) targeted therapy. Unfortunately, varying degrees of resistance or side effects eventually develop. Overcoming and preventing the resistance and side effects of EGFR inhibitors has become a hot topic of research today. Based on the previous studies on AZD-9291, we designed and synthesized two series of 2,4-dichloro-6-methylpyrimidine derivatives, 19 compounds in total, as potential inhibitors of the EGFR kinase. The most promising compound, L-18, showed better inhibitory activity (81.9%) and selectivity against EGFRT790M/L858R kinase. In addition, L-18 showed strong antiproliferative activity against H1975 cells with an IC50 value of 0.65 ± 0.06 µM and no toxicity to normal cells (LO-2). L-18 was able to dose-dependently induce the apoptosis of H1975 cells and produced a cell-cycle-blocking effect, and it can also dose-dependently inhibit the migration and invasion of H1975 cells. L-18 also showed in vivo anticancer efficacy in H1975 cells xenograft mice. We also performed a series of in vivo and in vitro toxicological evaluations of compound L-18, which did not cause obvious injury in mice during administration. These results suggest that L-18 may be a promising drug candidate that warrants further investigation.

Discovery of thiapyran-pyrimidine derivatives as potential EGFR inhibitors.

A series of novel thiapyran-pyrimidine derivatives (10a-10h, 11a-11g, 12a-12f, 13a-13f, 14a-14f) were synthesized and their antiproliferative activities were tested. Most of the target compounds showed good activity on one or more cancer cell lines but low activity on human normal cell LO2. The most promising compound 13a exhibited the similar IC50 values on A549 and H1975 cell lines to the lead drug Olmutinib, and exhibited excellent activity and selectivity on EGFRT790M/L858R in the kinase experiment. AO and Hoechst33258 staining indicated that 13a could effectively induce H1975 cells apoptosis. Cell cycle and apoptosis analysis suggested that 13a could block cancer cells in G2/M phase and induce into late apoptosis in a manner of concentration-dependent. The structure-activity relationship of 13a was analyzed to explore its mechanism. All the results showed that 13a was a promising EGFR inhibitor.

An updated patent review of small-molecule c-Met kinase inhibitors (2018-present).

INTRODUCTION: c-Met tyrosine kinase receptor is a high-affinity ligand of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). c-Met is widely expressed in a variety of normal human tissues, but shows abnormally high expression, amplification or mutation in tumour tissues such as lung, gastric and breast cancers. Therefore, the use of c-Met as a target can achieve the inhibition of a series of abnormal physiological processes such as tumourigenesis, development and metastasis. A number of small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors targeting c-Met have been successfully marketed. AREAS COVERED: This article reviews recent advances in patented c-Met small molecule inhibitors and their inhibitory activity against various cancer cells from 2018 to date. EXPERT OPINION: To date, small molecule inhibitors targeting c-Met have demonstrated impressive therapeutic efficacy in the clinical setting. Most recent patents have focused on addressing the direction of c-Met amplification and overexpression. Despite the great success in the development of selective c-Met inhibitors, the effects of bypass secretion and mutagenesis have led to a need for new c-Met small molecule inhibitors that are safe, efficient, selective and less toxic with novel structures and effective against other targets.

Design, synthesis and antitumor activity of novel thiophene-pyrimidine derivatives as EGFR inhibitors overcoming T790M and L858R/T790M mutations.

Five series of novel thiophene-pyrimidine derivatives (9a-h, 10a-f, 11a-f, 12a-f, 13a-f) have been synthesized and tested for their anti-proliferative activity against several cancer cell lines in which EGF is highly expressed. Most of the target compounds showed excellent activity against one or more cancer cell lines. The most promising compound 13a, of which IC50 values on of cell lines A549 and A431 (4.34 ± 0.60 µM and 3.79 ± 0.57 µM) were similar to the lead compound Olmutinib, showed strong activity and selectivity to EGFRT790M and EGFRT790M/L858R. Inhibition data of human normal hepatoma cell line LO2 indicated that most target compounds were less toxic to normal cells and had selective inhibitory effects on cancer cells. In addition, the structure-activity relationship was analyzed and the mechanism of apoptosis induced by the 13a was studied. The results showed that compound 13a induced late apoptosis of A431 cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner.