Selective Pharmaceutical Inhibition of PARP14 Mitigates Allergen-Induced IgE and Mucus Overproduction in a Mouse Model of Pulmonary Allergic Response.

The type 2 cytokines IL-4 and IL-13, which share use of an IL-4 receptor α-chain and its nuclear induction of the transcription factor STAT6, are crucial in elicitation and maintenance of allergic conditions including asthma. STAT6 binds poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP)14, an ADP-ribosyl monotransferase. Elimination of PARP14 by gene targeting led to attenuation of OVA-specific allergic lung inflammation. However, PARP14 has multiple functional domains apart from the portion that catalyzes ADP-ribosylation, and it is not clear whether inhibition of the catalytic function has any biological consequence. Using BALB/c mice sensitized to the allergen Alternaria alternata, we show that peroral administration of RBN012759, a highly selective inhibitor of ADP-ribosylation by PARP14 with negligible impact on other members of the PARP gene family, achieved biologically active plasma concentrations and altered several responses to the Ag. Specifically, the pharmaceutical compound decreased mucus after allergen challenge, blunted the induced increases in circulating IgE, and prevented suppression of IgG2a. We conclude that PARP14 catalytic activity can contribute to pathogenesis in allergic or atopic processes and propose that other biological endpoints dependent on ADP-ribosylation by PARP14 can be targeted using selective inhibition.

Targeted Degradation of PARP14 Using a Heterobifunctional Small Molecule.

PARP14 is an interferon-stimulated gene that is overexpressed in multiple tumor types, influencing pro-tumor macrophage polarization as well as suppressing the antitumor inflammation response by modulating IFN-γ and IL-4 signaling. PARP14 is a 203 kDa protein that possesses a catalytic domain responsible for the transfer of mono-ADP-ribose to its substrates. PARP14 also contains three macrodomains and a WWE domain which are binding modules for mono-ADP-ribose and poly-ADP-ribose, respectively, in addition to two RNA recognition motifs. Catalytic inhibitors of PARP14 have been shown to reverse IL-4 driven pro-tumor gene expression in macrophages, however it is not clear what roles the non-enzymatic biomolecular recognition motifs play in PARP14-driven immunology and inflammation. To further understand this, we have discovered a heterobifunctional small molecule designed based on a catalytic inhibitor of PARP14 that binds in the enzyme's NAD+ -binding site and recruits cereblon to ubiquitinate it and selectively target it for degradation.

A potent and selective PARP14 inhibitor decreases protumor macrophage gene expression and elicits inflammatory responses in tumor explants.

PARP14 has been implicated by genetic knockout studies to promote protumor macrophage polarization and suppress the antitumor inflammatory response due to its role in modulating interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interferon-γ signaling pathways. Here, we describe structure-based design efforts leading to the discovery of a potent and highly selective PARP14 chemical probe. RBN012759 inhibits PARP14 with a biochemical half-maximal inhibitory concentration of 0.003 µM, exhibits >300-fold selectivity over all PARP family members, and its profile enables further study of PARP14 biology and disease association both in vitro and in vivo. Inhibition of PARP14 with RBN012759 reverses IL-4-driven protumor gene expression in macrophages and induces an inflammatory mRNA signature similar to that induced by immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in primary human tumor explants. These data support an immune suppressive role of PARP14 in tumors and suggest potential utility of PARP14 inhibitors in the treatment of cancer.

In Vitro and Cellular Probes to Study PARP Enzyme Target Engagement.

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) enzymes use nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) to modify up to seven different amino acids with a single mono(ADP-ribose) unit (MARylation deposited by PARP monoenzymes) or branched poly(ADP-ribose) polymers (PARylation deposited by PARP polyenzymes). To enable the development of tool compounds for PARP monoenzymes and polyenzymes, we have developed active site probes for use in in vitro and cellular biophysical assays to characterize active site-directed inhibitors that compete for NAD+ binding. These assays are agnostic of the protein substrate for each PARP, overcoming a general lack of knowledge around the substrates for these enzymes. The in vitro assays use less enzyme than previously described activity assays, enabling discrimination of inhibitor potencies in the single-digit nanomolar range, and the cell-based assays can differentiate compounds with sub-nanomolar potencies and measure inhibitor residence time in live cells.

Forced Self-Modification Assays as a Strategy to Screen MonoPARP Enzymes.

Mono(ADP-ribosylation) (MARylation) and poly(ADP-ribosylation) (PARylation) are posttranslational modifications found on multiple amino acids. There are 12 enzymatically active mono(ADP-ribose) polymerase (monoPARP) enzymes and 4 enzymatically active poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (polyPARP) enzymes that use nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) as the ADP-ribose donating substrate to generate these modifications. While there are approved drugs and clinical trials ongoing for the enzymes that perform PARylation, MARylation is gaining recognition for its role in immune function, inflammation, and cancer. However, there is a lack of chemical probes to study the function of monoPARPs in cells and in vivo. An important first step to generating chemical probes for monoPARPs is to develop biochemical assays to enable hit finding, and determination of the potency and selectivity of inhibitors. Complicating the development of enzymatic assays is that it is poorly understood how monoPARPs engage their substrates. To overcome this, we have developed a family-wide approach to developing robust high-throughput monoPARP assays where the enzymes are immobilized and forced to self-modify using biotinylated-NAD+, which is detected using a dissociation-enhanced lanthanide fluorescence immunoassay (DELFIA) readout. Herein we describe the development of assays for 12 monoPARPs and 3 polyPARPs and apply them to understand the potency and selectivity of a focused library of inhibitors across this family.

Discovery of a biarylamide series of potent, state-dependent NaV1.7 inhibitors.

The NaV1.7 ion channel has garnered considerable attention as a target for the treatment of pain. Herein we detail the discovery and structure-activity relationships of a novel series of biaryl amides. Optimization led to the identification of several state-dependent, potent and metabolically stable inhibitors which demonstrated promising levels of selectivity over NaV1.5 and good rat pharmacokinetics. Compound 18, which demonstrated preferential inhibition of a slow inactivated state of NaV1.7, was advanced into a rat formalin study where upon reaching unbound drug levels several fold over the rat NaV1.7 IC50 it failed to demonstrate a robust reduction in nociceptive behavior.

Application of a Parallel Synthetic Strategy in the Discovery of Biaryl Acyl Sulfonamides as Efficient and Selective NaV1.7 Inhibitors.

The majority of potent and selective hNaV1.7 inhibitors possess common pharmacophoric features that include a heteroaryl sulfonamide headgroup and a lipophilic aromatic tail group. Recently, reports of similar aromatic tail groups in combination with an acyl sulfonamide headgroup have emerged, with the acyl sulfonamide bestowing levels of selectivity over hNaV1.5 comparable to the heteroaryl sulfonamide. Beginning with commercially available carboxylic acids that met selected pharmacophoric requirements in the lipophilic tail, a parallel synthetic approach was applied to rapidly generate the derived acyl sulfonamides. A biaryl acyl sulfonamide hit from this library was elaborated, optimizing for potency and selectivity with attention to physicochemical properties. The resulting novel leads are potent, ligand and lipophilic efficient, and selective over hNaV1.5. Representative lead 36 demonstrates selectivity over other human NaV isoforms and good pharmacokinetics in rodents. The biaryl acyl sulfonamides reported herein may also offer ADME advantages over known heteroaryl sulfonamide inhibitors.

Optimization of a Novel Quinazolinone-Based Series of Transient Receptor Potential A1 (TRPA1) Antagonists Demonstrating Potent in Vivo Activity.

There has been significant interest in developing a transient receptor potential A1 (TRPA1) antagonist for the treatment of pain due to a wealth of data implicating its role in pain pathways. Despite this, identification of a potent small molecule tool possessing pharmacokinetic properties allowing for robust in vivo target coverage has been challenging. Here we describe the optimization of a potent, selective series of quinazolinone-based TRPA1 antagonists. High-throughput screening identified 4, which possessed promising potency and selectivity. A strategy focused on optimizing potency while increasing polarity in order to improve intrinsic clearance culminated with the discovery of purinone 27 (AM-0902), which is a potent, selective antagonist of TRPA1 with pharmacokinetic properties allowing for >30-fold coverage of the rat TRPA1 IC50 in vivo. Compound 27 demonstrated dose-dependent inhibition of AITC-induced flinching in rats, validating its utility as a tool for interrogating the role of TRPA1 in in vivo pain models.

Discovery of N-(4-(3-(2-aminopyrimidin-4-yl)pyridin-2-yloxy)phenyl)-4-(4-methylthiophen-2-yl)phthalazin-1-amine (AMG 900), a highly selective, orally bioavailable inhibitor of aurora kinases with activity against multidrug-resistant cancer cell lines.

Efforts to improve upon the physical properties and metabolic stability of Aurora kinase inhibitor 14a revealed that potency against multidrug-resistant cell lines was compromised by increased polarity. Despite its high in vitro metabolic intrinsic clearance, 23r (AMG 900) showed acceptable pharmacokinetic properties and robust pharmacodynamic activity. Projecting from in vitro data to in vivo target coverage was not practical due to disjunctions between enzyme and cell data, complex and apparently contradictory indicators of binding kinetics, and unmeasurable free fraction in plasma. In contrast, it was straightforward to relate pharmacokinetics to pharmacodynamics and efficacy by following the time above a threshold concentration. On the basis of its oral route of administration, a selectivity profile that favors Aurora-driven pharmacology and its activity against multidrug-resistant cell lines, 23r was identified as a potential best-in-class Aurora kinase inhibitor. In phase 1 dose expansion studies with G-CSF support, 23r has shown promising single agent activity.

Development of novel azabenzofuran TRPA1 antagonists as in vivo tools.

The transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) channel is activated by noxious stimuli including chemical irritants and endogenous inflammatory mediators. Antagonists of this channel are currently being investigated for use as therapeutic agents for treating pain, airway disorders, and itch. A novel azabenzofuran series was developed that demonstrated in vitro inhibition of allyl isothiocyanate (AITC)-induced (45)Ca(2+) uptake with nanomolar potencies against both human and rat TRPA1. From this series, compound 10 demonstrated in vivo target coverage in an AITC-induced flinching model in rats while providing unbound plasma concentrations up to 16-fold higher than the TRPA1 rat IC50.

Differential selectivity of JAK2 inhibitors in enzymatic and cellular settings.

Small molecule inhibitors of Janus kinase (JAK) family members (JAK1, JAK2, JAK3, and Tyk2) are currently being pursued as potential new modes of therapy for a variety of diseases, including the inhibition of JAK2 for the treatment of myeloproliferative disorders. Selective inhibition within the JAK family can be beneficial in avoiding undesirable side effects (e.g., immunosuppression) caused by parallel inhibition of other JAK members. In an effort to design an assay paradigm for the development of JAK2 selective inhibitors, we investigated whether compound selectivity differed between cellular and purified enzyme environments. A set of JAK2 inhibitors was tested in a high-throughput JAK family cell assay suite and in corresponding purified enzyme assays. The high-throughput JAK cell assay suite comprises Ba/F3 cells individually expressing translocated ETS leukemia (TEL) fusions of each JAK family member (TEL-JAK Ba/F3) and an AlphaScreen phosphorylated-STAT5 (pSTAT5) immunoassay. Compound potencies from the TEL-JAK Ba/F3 pSTAT5 assays were similar to those determined in downstream cell proliferation measurements and more physiologically relevant cytokine-induced pSTAT5 PBMC assays. However, compound selectivity data between cell and purified enzyme assays were discrepant because of different potency shifts between cell and purified enzyme values for each JAK family member. For any JAK small molecule development program, our results suggest that relying solely on enzyme potency and selectivity data may be misleading. Adopting the high-throughput TEL-JAK Ba/F3 pSTAT5 cell assay suite in lead development paradigms should provide a more meaningful understanding of selectivity and facilitate the development of more selective JAK inhibitors.

Synthesis of 4-substituted chlorophthalazines, dihydrobenzoazepinediones, 2-pyrazolylbenzoic acid, and 2-pyrazolylbenzohydrazide via 3-substituted 3-hydroxyisoindolin-1-ones.

Herein we describe a general three-step synthesis of 4-substituted chlorophthalazines in good overall yields. In the key step, N,N-dimethylaminophthalimide (8a) directs the selective monoaddition of alkyl, aryl, and heteroaryl organometallic reagents to afford 3-substituted 3-hydroxyisoindolinones 9b, 9i-9am. Many of these hydroxyisoindolinones are converted to chlorophthalazines 1b-1v via reaction with hydrazine, followed by chlorination with POCl(3). We have also discovered two novel transformations of 3-vinyl- and 3-alkynyl-3-hydroxyisoindolinones. Addition of vinyl organometallic reagents to N,N-dimethylaminophthalimide (8a) provided dihydrobenzoazepinediones 15a-15c via the proposed ring expansion of 3-vinyl-3-hydroxyisoindolinone intermediates. 3-Alkynyl-3-hydroxyisoindolinones react with hydrazine and substituted hydrazines to afford 2-pyrazolyl benzoic acids 16a-16d and 2-pyrazolyl benzohydrazides 17a-17g rather than the expected alkynyl phthalazinones.

Discovery of potent and highly selective thienopyridine Janus kinase 2 inhibitors.

Developing Janus kinase 2 (Jak2) inhibitors has become a significant focus for small molecule drug discovery programs in recent years due to the identification of a Jak2 gain-of-function mutation in the majority of patients with myeloproliferative disorders (MPD). Here, we describe the discovery of a thienopyridine series of Jak2 inhibitors that culminates with compounds showing 100- to >500-fold selectivity over the related Jak family kinases in enzyme assays. Selectivity for Jak2 was also observed in TEL-Jak cellular assays, as well as in cytokine-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) and whole blood assays. X-ray cocrystal structures of 8 and 19 bound to the Jak2 kinase domain aided structure-activity relationship efforts and, along with a previously reported small molecule X-ray cocrystal structure of the Jak1 kinase domain, provided structural rationale for the observed high levels of Jak2 selectivity.

Discovery of triazine-benzimidazoles as selective inhibitors of mTOR.

mTOR is part of the PI3K/AKT pathway and is a central regulator of cell growth and survival. Since many cancers display mutations linked to the mTOR signaling pathway, mTOR has emerged as an important target for oncology therapy. Herein, we report the discovery of triazine benzimidazole inhibitors that inhibit mTOR kinase activity with up to 200-fold selectivity over the structurally homologous kinase PI3Kα. When tested in a panel of cancer cell lines displaying various mutations, a selective inhibitor from this series inhibited cellular proliferation with a mean IC(50) of 0.41 µM. Lead compound 42 demonstrated up to 83% inhibition of mTOR substrate phosphorylation in a murine pharmacodynamic model.

Preclinical evaluation of AMG 900, a novel potent and highly selective pan-aurora kinase inhibitor with activity in taxane-resistant tumor cell lines.

In mammalian cells, the aurora kinases (aurora-A, -B, and -C) play essential roles in regulating cell division. The expression of aurora-A and -B is elevated in a variety of human cancers and is associated with high proliferation rates and poor prognosis, making them attractive targets for anticancer therapy. AMG 900 is an orally bioavailable, potent, and highly selective pan-aurora kinase inhibitor that is active in taxane-resistant tumor cell lines. In tumor cells, AMG 900 inhibited autophosphorylation of aurora-A and -B as well as phosphorylation of histone H3 on Ser(10), a proximal substrate of aurora-B. The predominant cellular response of tumor cells to AMG 900 treatment was aborted cell division without a prolonged mitotic arrest, which ultimately resulted in cell death. AMG 900 inhibited the proliferation of 26 tumor cell lines, including cell lines resistant to the antimitotic drug paclitaxel and to other aurora kinase inhibitors (AZD1152, MK-0457, and PHA-739358), at low nanomolar concentrations. Furthermore, AMG 900 was active in an AZD1152-resistant HCT116 variant cell line that harbors an aurora-B mutation (W221L). Oral administration of AMG 900 blocked the phosphorylation of histone H3 in a dose-dependent manner and significantly inhibited the growth of HCT116 tumor xenografts. Importantly, AMG 900 was broadly active in multiple xenograft models, including 3 multidrug-resistant xenograft models, representing 5 tumor types. AMG 900 has entered clinical evaluation in adult patients with advanced cancers and has the potential to treat tumors refractory to anticancer drugs such as the taxanes.

Discovery of a potent, selective, and orally bioavailable pyridinyl-pyrimidine phthalazine aurora kinase inhibitor.

The discovery of aurora kinases as essential regulators of cell division has led to intense interest in identifying small molecule aurora kinase inhibitors for the potential treatment of cancer. A high-throughput screening effort identified pyridinyl-pyrimidine 6a as a moderately potent dual inhibitor of aurora kinases -A and -B. Optimization of this hit resulted in an anthranilamide lead (6j) that possessed improved enzyme and cellular activity and exhibited a high level of kinase selectivity. However, this anthranilamide and subsequent analogues suffered from a lack of oral bioavailability. Converting the internally hydrogen-bonded six-membered pseudo-ring of the anthranilamide to a phthalazine (8a-b) led to a dramatic improvement in oral bioavailability (38-61%F) while maintaining the potency and selectivity characteristics of the anthranilamide series. In a COLO 205 tumor pharmacodynamic assay measuring phosphorylation of the aurora-B substrate histone H3 at serine 10 (p-histone H3), oral administration of 8b at 50 mg/kg demonstrated significant reduction in tumor p-histone H3 for at least 6 h.

New air-stable catalysts for general and efficient suzuki-miyaura cross-coupling reactions of heteroaryl chlorides.

[reaction: see text] New air-stable PdCl(2){P(t)Bu(2)(p-R-Ph)}(2) (R = H, NMe(2), CF(3),) complexes represent simple, general, and efficient catalysts for the Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions of aryl halides including five-membered heteroaryl halides and heteroatom-substituted six-membered heteroaryl chlorides with a diverse range of arylboronic acids. High product yields (89-99% isolated yields) and turn-over-numbers (10,000 TON) are observed.

Self-condensation of N-tert-butanesulfinyl aldimines: application to the rapid asymmetric synthesis of biologically important amine-containing compounds.

[reaction: see text] Highly diastereoselective intra- and intermolecular self-condensation reactions of N-tert-butanesulfinyl aldimines have been developed and applied to the rapid, asymmetric synthesis of trans-2-aminocyclopentanecarboxylic acid and the drug candidate SC-53116. Key to both syntheses is a novel microwave-assisted reaction in which N-sulfinyl aldimines are cleanly converted into nitriles in high-yielding concerted elimination processes.

Application of P,N-sulfinyl imine ligands to iridium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of olefins.

The utility of a novel class of P,N-ligands incorporating a chiral sulfinyl imine moiety is demonstrated in the iridium-catalyzed hydrogenation of both functionalized and unfunctionalized olefins, in which enantioselectivities of up to 94% are achieved. The modularity of the P,N-sulfinyl ligand class is highlighted by the facile preparation of a variety of sterically and electronically different ligands. Interesting structure-activity data for both the phosphine and sulfinamide components is provided by this expanded ligand set.

Novel sulfinyl imine ligands for asymmetric catalysis.

[structure: see text] A novel class of P,N-sulfinyl imine ligands has been prepared that incorporates chirality solely at sulfur. The Pd complex of ligand 14 catalyzes the allylic alkylation reaction with high enantioselectivity (94%), and the first crystal structure of a Pd-bound sulfinyl imine provides insight into binding mode and origins of stereoselectivity.