Activity of 6-aryl-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine-4-amines to Tetrahymena.

A series 6-aryl-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine-4-amines (43 compounds), some of which are epidermal growth factor tyrosine kinase inhibitors, were tested for their protozoal toxicity using an environmental Tetrahymena strain as model organism. The protozoacidal activity of the analogues was found to be highly dependent on a 4-hydroxyl group at the 6-aryl ring, and a chiral 1-phenylethanamine substituent in position 4. Further, the potency was affected by the aromatic substitution pattern of the phenylethanamine: the unsubstituted, the meta-fluoro and the para-bromo substituted derivatives had the lowest minimum protozoacidal concentrations (8-16 µg/mL). Surprisingly, both enantiomers were found to have high potency suggesting that this compound class could have several modes of action. No correlation was found between the compounds protozoacidal activity and the in vitro epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitory potency. This suggests that the observed antimicrobial effects are related to other targets. Testing towards a panel of kinases indicated several alternative modes of action.

Chiral 6-aryl-furo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-amines as EGFR inhibitors.

Epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors are of importance in cancer therapy and possibly in the management of pain. Herein, we report a structure-activity relationship study with 29 new 6-aryl-furo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-amines, involving modification of the 4-amino group and 6-aryl function. The EGFR activity was especially dependent on having a chiral 4-benzylamino group with correct stereochemistry. Molecular dynamics indicate this to be due to favourable cation-π interactions. The most active inhibitor identified, equipotent to Erlotinib, was substituted with (R)-1-phenylethylamine at C-4 and a N(1), N(1)-dimethyl-1,2-diamine group in para position of the 6-aryl moiety. These new furopyrimidines had a different off-target kinase profile when compared to Erlotinib, and also possessed high activity towards Ba/F3 EGFR(L858R) reporter cells. Further, comparing the EGFR data of the furo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-amines with that of the corresponding thieno- and pyrrolopyrimidines concludes the furopyrimidine scaffold to be highly useful for development of new epidermal growth factor receptor antagonists.

In vitro baselining of new pyrrolopyrimidine EGFR-TK inhibitors with Erlotinib.

Epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors are useful in treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, and show promise in combination therapy settings. Two novel chiral pyrrolopyrimidines have been baselined towards Erlotinib, Lapatinib and Dasatinib using in vitro cellular studies and ADME profiling. One of these, (S)-2-((6-(4-(hydroxymethyl)-2-methoxyphenyl)-7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-yl)amino)-2-phenylethan-1-ol, was more active than Erlotinib in lung and breast cancer cell models. The compound also had promising activity towards ovarian cancer cell lines, while low activity was seen towards cells of haematological origin. ADME profiling revealed good solubility, higher metabolic stability than Erlotinib and no inhibitory effect towards the hERG voltage-gated ion channel. Investigation of inhibitory potency towards 6 CYP isoforms generally revealed low inhibitory potency, but in the case of CYP3A4, a substrate dependent inhibition was noted using testosterone as substrate (IC50: 12.5µM). No cellular or gene toxicity was noted for the compounds or products of phase I metabolism. However, permeability studies using Caco-2 cells revealed a high efflux ratio. Further experiments using ABC transporter inhibitors revealed that the pyrrolopyrimidines are actively transported by the breast cancer resistant protein and P-glycoprotein transporters, which might prevent their further development into drugs.

Structure-activity study leading to identification of a highly active thienopyrimidine based EGFR inhibitor.

Based on the thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidine scaffold, a series of new 4-amino-6-aryl thienopyrimidines have been prepared and evaluated as EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors. The in vitro activity was found to depend strongly on the substitution pattern in the 6-aryl ring, the stereochemistry, and the basicity at the secondary 4-amino group. A stepwise optimization by combination of active fragments led to the discovery of three structures with EGFR IC50 < 1 nM. The most potent drug candidate had an IC50 of 0.3 nM towards EGFR and its mutants L858R and L861Q. Studies using human cancer cell lines and an EGFR-L858R reporter cell system revealed good cellular potency, verifying the identified thienopyrimidines as promising lead structures.

Identification of new 4-N-substituted 6-aryl-7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine-4-amines as highly potent EGFR-TK inhibitors with Src-family activity.

The epidermal growth factor receptor is an important target in molecular cancer therapy. Herein, the enzymatic inhibition potential of a series of chiral and non chiral pyrrolopyrimidine based derivatives have been investigated and optimised. Overall, seven new compounds were identified having enzymatic IC50 values comparable to or better than the commercial drug Erlotinib. High activity was also confirmed towards the epidermal growth factor receptor L858R and L861Q mutants. Based on calculated druglike properties, eight compounds were further evaluated towards a panel of 52 other kinases revealing interesting Src-family kinase and colony stimulating factor 1 receptor kinase inhibitory activity. Cell proliferation studies with the cell lines A431, C-33A, AU-565, K-562 and genetically engineered Ba/F3-EGFR(L858R) cells also showed several molecules to be more active than Erlotinib, and thus confirming these pyrrolopyrimidines as attractive drug candidates or lead structures.

Synthesis and in vitro EGFR (ErbB1) tyrosine kinase inhibitory activity of 4-N-substituted 6-aryl-7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine-4-amines.

A series of 4-N-substituted 6-aryl-7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine-4-amines have been synthesised, characterised and tested for their in vitro EGFR (ErbB1) tyrosine kinase inhibitory activity. The compounds were prepared from ethyl cyanoacetate and α-bromoacetophenones via the 2-amino-3-ethoxycarbonyl-5-aryl-pyrroles and 4-chloro-6-arylpyrrolopyrimidines. Aromatic substitution with benzylic amines was performed by conventional thermal substitution, and palladium catalysed coupling. The two methods resulted in similar yields, but the palladium coupling had the benefit of lower chemical consumption and reduced reaction times. Eight of the new compounds had IC(50) values in the range of 2.8-9.0 nM. Four of these have a fluorine atom positioned at sites otherwise potentially susceptible to oxidative metabolism. Structural variation of the 6-aryl group indicated that the inhibitory action was only moderately sensitive to modifications in this fragment. However, the potency depended strongly on the structure of the aromatic part of the 4-amino group, and any aromatic substitution except fluorine reduced the in vitro activity. The cellular EGFR internalization response of selected compounds was evaluated using HeLa cells. Three fluorinated derivatives had a pronounced effect in inhibiting EGFR internalization.