Structure-based design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of imidazo[1,2-b]pyridazine-based p38 MAP kinase inhibitors.

We identified novel potent inhibitors of p38 MAP kinase using structure-based design strategy. X-ray crystallography showed that when p38 MAP kinase is complexed with TAK-715 (1) in a co-crystal structure, Phe169 adopts two conformations, where one interacts with 1 and the other shows no interaction with 1. Our structure-based design strategy shows that these two conformations converge into one via enhanced protein-ligand hydrophobic interactions. According to the strategy, we focused on scaffold transformation to identify imidazo[1,2-b]pyridazine derivatives as potent inhibitors of p38 MAP kinase. Among the herein described and evaluated compounds, N-oxide 16 exhibited potent inhibition of p38 MAP kinase and LPS-induced TNF-α production in human monocytic THP-1 cells, and significant in vivo efficacy in rat collagen-induced arthritis models. In this article, we report the discovery of potent, selective and orally bioavailable imidazo[1,2-b]pyridazine-based p38 MAP kinase inhibitors with pyridine N-oxide group.

Design, synthesis, and biological activity of novel, potent, and highly selective fused pyrimidine-2-carboxamide-4-one-based matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-13 zinc-binding inhibitors.

Matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13), a member of the collagenase family of enzymes, has been implicated to play a key role in the pathology of osteoarthritis. Recently, we have reported the discovery of a series of quinazoline-2-carboxamide based non-zinc-binding MMP-13 selective inhibitors, as exemplified by compound 1. We then continued our research of a novel class of zinc-binding inhibitors to obtain follow-up compounds with different physicochemical, pharmacokinetic, and biological activity profiles. In order to design selective MMP-13 inhibitors, we adopted a strategy of connecting a zinc-binding group with the quinazoline-2-carboxamide system, a unique S1' binder, by an appropriate linker. Among synthesized compounds, a triazolone inhibitor 35 exhibited excellent potency (IC50=0.071nM) and selectivity (greater than 170-fold) over other MMPs (MMP-1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, and 14) and tumor necrosis factor-α converting enzyme (TACE). In this article, the design, synthesis, and biological activity of novel zinc-binding MMP-13 inhibitors are described.

Novel HDAC6 Inhibitors Increase Tubulin Acetylation and Rescue Axonal Transport of Mitochondria in a Model of Charcot-Marie-Tooth Type 2F.

Disruption of axonal transport causes a number of rare, inherited axonopathies and is heavily implicated in a wide range of more common neurodegenerative disorders, many of them age-related. Acetylation of α-tubulin is one important regulatory mechanism, influencing microtubule stability and motor protein attachment. Of several strategies so far used to enhance axonal transport, increasing microtubule acetylation through inhibition of the deacetylase enzyme histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) has been one of the most effective. Several inhibitors have been developed and tested in animal and cellular models, but better drug candidates are still needed. Here we report the development and characterization of two highly potent HDAC6 inhibitors, which show low toxicity, promising pharmacokinetic properties, and enhance microtubule acetylation in the nanomolar range. We demonstrate their capacity to rescue axonal transport of mitochondria in a primary neuronal culture model of the inherited axonopathy Charcot-Marie-Tooth Type 2F, caused by a dominantly acting mutation in heat shock protein beta 1.

Identification of 2,6-Disubstituted 3H-Imidazo[4,5-b]pyridines as Therapeutic Agents for Dysferlinopathies through Phenotypic Screening on Patient-Derived Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.

Dysferlinopathies, which are muscular diseases caused by mutations in the dysferlin gene, remain serious medical problems due to the lack of therapeutic agents. Herein, we report the design, synthesis, and structure-activity relationships of a 2,6-disubstituted 3H-imidazo[4,5-b]pyridine series, which was identified from the phenotypic screening of chemicals that increase the level of dysferlin in myocytes differentiated from patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Optimization studies with cell-based phenotypic assay led to the identification of a highly potent compound, 19, with dysferlin elevation effects at double-digit nanomolar concentrations. In addition, the molecular target of our chemical series was identified as tubulin, through a tubulin polymerization assay and a competitive binding assay using a photoaffinity labeling probe.

Structure-Based Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Imidazo[4,5-b]Pyridin-2-one-Based p38 MAP Kinase Inhibitors: Part†2.

We identified novel potent inhibitors of p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase using a structure-based design strategy, beginning with lead compound, 3-(butan-2-yl)-6-(2,4-difluoroanilino)-1,3-dihydro-2H-imidazo[4,5-b]pyridin-2-one (1). To enhance the inhibitory activity of 1 against production of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in human whole blood (hWB) cell assays, we designed and synthesized hybrid compounds in which the imidazo[4,5-b]pyridin-2-one core was successfully linked with the p-methylbenzamide fragment. Among the compounds evaluated, 3-(3-tert-butyl-2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-imidazo[4,5-b]pyridin-6-yl)-4-methyl-N-(1-methyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)benzamide (25) exhibited potent p38 inhibition, superior suppression of TNF-α production in hWB cells, and also significant in vivo efficacy in a rat model of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). In this paper, we report the discovery of potent, selective, and orally bioavailable imidazo[4,5-b]pyridin-2-one-based p38 MAP kinase inhibitors.

Structure-Based Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Imidazo[4,5-b]pyridin-2-one-Based p38 MAP Kinase Inhibitors: Part 1.

We identified a lead series of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitors using a structure-based design strategy from high-throughput screening of hit compound 1. X-ray crystallography of 1 with the kinase showed an infrequent flip of the peptide bond between Met109 and Gly110, which was considered to lead to high kinase selectivity. Our structure-based design strategy was to conduct scaffold transformation of 1 with maintenance of hydrogen bond interactions with the flipped hinge backbone of the enzyme. In accordance with this strategy, we focused on scaffold transformation to identify imidazo[4,5-b]pyridin-2-one derivatives as potent inhibitors of the p38 MAP kinase. Of the compounds evaluated, 21 was found to be a potent inhibitor of the p38 MAP kinase, lipopolysaccharide-induced tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) production in human monocytic leukemia cells, and TNF-α-induced production of interleukin-8 in human whole blood cells. Herein we describe the discovery of potent and orally bioavailable imidazo[4,5-b]pyridin-2-one-based p38 MAP kinase inhibitors that suppressed cytokine production in a human whole blood cell-based assay.

Discovery of Novel, Highly Potent, and Selective Matrix Metalloproteinase (MMP)-13 Inhibitors with a 1,2,4-Triazol-3-yl Moiety as a Zinc Binding Group Using a Structure-Based Design Approach.

On the basis of a superposition study of X-ray crystal structures of complexes of quinazoline derivative 1 and triazole derivative 2 with matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-13 catalytic domain, a novel series of fused pyrimidine compounds which possess a 1,2,4-triazol-3-yl group as a zinc binding group (ZBG) was designed. Among the herein described and evaluated compounds, 31f exhibited excellent potency for MMP-13 (IC50 = 0.036 nM) and selectivities (greater than 1,500-fold) over other MMPs (MMP-1, -2, -3, -7, -8, -9, -10, and -14) and tumor necrosis factor-α converting enzyme (TACE). Furthermore, the inhibitor was shown to protect bovine nasal cartilage explants against degradation induced by interleukin-1 and oncostatin M. In this article, we report the discovery of extremely potent, highly selective, and orally bioavailable fused pyrimidine derivatives that possess a 1,2,4-triazol-3-yl group as a novel ZBG for selective MMP-13 inhibition.