1-Aminomethyl SAR in a novel series of flavagline-inspired eIF4A inhibitors: Effects of amine substitution on cell potency and in vitro PK properties.

Flavaglines such as silvestrol (1) and rocaglamide (2) constitute an interesting class of natural products with promising anticancer activities. Their mode of action is based on inhibition of eukaryotic initiation factor 4A (eIF4A) dependent translation through formation of a stable ternary complex with eIF4A and mRNA, thus blocking ribosome scanning. Herein we describe initial SAR studies in a novel series of 1-aminomethyl substituted flavagline-inspired eIF4A inhibitors. We discovered that a variety of N-substitutions at the 1-aminomethyl group are tolerated, making this position pertinent for property and ADME profile tuning. The findings presented herein are relevant to future drug design efforts towards novel eIF4A inhibitors with drug-like properties.

Targeting Oncogene mRNA Translation in B-Cell Malignancies with eFT226, a Potent and Selective Inhibitor of eIF4A.

The PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway is often activated in lymphoma through alterations in PI3K, PTEN, and B-cell receptor signaling, leading to dysregulation of eIF4A (through its regulators, eIF4B, eIF4G, and PDCD4) and the eIF4F complex. Activation of eIF4F has a direct role in tumorigenesis due to increased synthesis of oncogenes that are dependent on enhanced eIF4A RNA helicase activity for translation. eFT226, which inhibits translation of specific mRNAs by promoting eIF4A1 binding to 5'-untranslated regions (UTR) containing polypurine and/or G-quadruplex recognition motifs, shows potent antiproliferative activity and significant in vivo efficacy against a panel of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and Burkitt lymphoma models with ≤1 mg/kg/week intravenous administration. Evaluation of predictive markers of sensitivity or resistance has shown that activation of eIF4A, mediated by mTOR signaling, correlated with eFT226 sensitivity in in vivo xenograft models. Mutation of PTEN is associated with reduced apoptosis in vitro and diminished efficacy in vivo in response to eFT226. In models evaluated with PTEN loss, AKT was stimulated without a corresponding increase in mTOR activation. AKT activation leads to the degradation of PDCD4, which can alter eIF4F complex formation. The association of eFT226 activity with PTEN/PI3K/mTOR pathway regulation of mRNA translation provides a means to identify patient subsets during clinical development.

Strategic Diastereoselective C1 Functionalization in the Aza-Rocaglamide Scaffold toward Natural Product-Inspired eIF4A Inhibitors.

Rocaglates, rocaglamides, and related flavagline natural products exert their remarkable anticancer activity through inhibition of eukaryotic initiation factor 4A (eIF4A) but generally display suboptimal drug-like properties. In our efforts to identify potent drug-like eIF4A inhibitors, we developed synthetic strategies for diastereoselectively functionalizing the C1 position of aza-rocaglamide scaffolds (cf. 14 and 18), which proceed via retention or inversion of configuration at C1 depending on the C2 substituent (cf. 15 and 21) and ultimately enabled the discovery of novel and potent eIF4A inhibitors such as 25.

Disposition and metabolism of 2',2'"-Dithiobisbenzanilide in rodents following intravenous and oral administration and dermal application.

2',2'''-Dithiobisbenzanilide (DTBBA) is a high-production-volume chemical used as a peptizing agent for rubber. The disposition and metabolism of [14C]DTBBA were determined in male and female rats and mice following oral (4, 40, or 400 mg/kg) and intravenous (IV) (4 mg/kg) administration and dermal application (0.4 or 4 mg/kg). [14C]DTBBA was well absorbed following oral administration (> 60%) and dermal application (∼40-50%) in rats and mice. Following oral administration, the majority of radioactivity was excreted in urine (29 - 70%) and feces (16 - 45%). Unlike rats, mice excreted ∼1-5% of the dose as exhaled CO2. The residual radioactivity in tissues was <1% in both species and sexes. The pattern of disposition following IV administration in male rats was similar to that following oral. When [14C]DTBBA was administered via IV to rats, a significant portion of the dose was recovered in bile (∼13%) suggesting that at least a portion of the dose recovered in feces following oral administration was likely the absorbed dose. The profiles of urine from rats and mice were similar and consisted of four major metabolites and three minor metabolites. The predominant metabolite in urine was the S-glucuronide of the thiol/sulfide cleavage product N-(2-mercaptophenyl)benzamide, which accounted for more than 50% of radioactivity in the radiochromatogram.

Design of Development Candidate eFT226, a First in Class Inhibitor of Eukaryotic Initiation Factor 4A RNA Helicase.

Dysregulation of protein translation is a key driver for the pathogenesis of many cancers. Eukaryotic initiation factor 4A (eIF4A), an ATP-dependent DEAD-box RNA helicase, is a critical component of the eIF4F complex, which regulates cap-dependent protein synthesis. The flavagline class of natural products (i.e., rocaglamide A) has been shown to inhibit protein synthesis by stabilizing a translation-incompetent complex for select messenger RNAs (mRNAs) with eIF4A. Despite showing promising anticancer phenotypes, the development of flavagline derivatives as therapeutic agents has been hampered because of poor drug-like properties as well as synthetic complexity. A focused effort was undertaken utilizing a ligand-based design strategy to identify a chemotype with optimized physicochemical properties. Also, detailed mechanistic studies were undertaken to further elucidate mRNA sequence selectivity, key regulated target genes, and the associated antitumor phenotype. This work led to the design of eFT226 (Zotatifin), a compound with excellent physicochemical properties and significant antitumor activity that supports clinical development.

Metabolism and disposition of 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone, a sunscreen ingredient, in Harlan Sprague Dawley rats and B6C3F1/N mice; a species and route comparison.

2-Hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone (HMB) is a common ingredient in personal care products and used as an UV stabilizer. In these studies, disposition and metabolism of [14C]HMB in rats and mice was assessed following single gavage administration (10, 100, or 500 mg/kg), single IV administration (10 mg/kg), or dermal application (0.1, 1, 10, or 15 mg/kg).Following gavage administration, [14C]HMB was well absorbed and excreted mainly in urine (39-57%) and feces (24-42%) with no apparent difference between doses, species or sexes. Distribution of HMB in tissues was minimal in rats (0.36%) and mice (<0.55%).Distribution of HMB following dermal application was comparable to that following gavage administration; no differences between doses, sexes, or species were observed but absorption varied between dose vehicles. Light paraffin oil had the highest absorption and excretion (98% of the HMB dose absorbed).In rats, HMB slowly appeared in the systemic circulation (Tmax ∼2-6 h) and had poor bioavailability (F%<1).Urine metabolites for both species and all routes included HMB, HMB-glucuronide, 2,4-dihydroxybenzophenone (DHB), DHB-glucuronide, and DHB-sulfates, and novel minor dihydroxy metabolites including 2,5-dihydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone.In vitro hepatic metabolism in mice differed from human and in vivo metabolism especially for phase II conjugates.

Structure-based Design of Pyridone-Aminal eFT508 Targeting Dysregulated Translation by Selective Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Interacting Kinases 1 and 2 (MNK1/2) Inhibition.

Dysregulated translation of mRNA plays a major role in tumorigenesis. Mitogen-activated protein kinase interacting kinases (MNK)1/2 are key regulators of mRNA translation integrating signals from oncogenic and immune signaling pathways through phosphorylation of eIF4E and other mRNA binding proteins. Modulation of these key effector proteins regulates mRNA, which controls tumor/stromal cell signaling. Compound 23 (eFT508), an exquisitely selective, potent dual MNK1/2 inhibitor, was designed to assess the potential for control of oncogene signaling at the level of mRNA translation. The crystal structure-guided design leverages stereoelectronic interactions unique to MNK culminating in a novel pyridone-aminal structure described for the first time in the kinase literature. Compound 23 has potent in vivo antitumor activity in models of diffuse large cell B-cell lymphoma and solid tumors, suggesting that controlling dysregulated translation has real therapeutic potential. Compound 23 is currently being evaluated in Phase 2 clinical trials in solid tumors and lymphoma. Compound 23 is the first highly selective dual MNK inhibitor targeting dysregulated translation being assessed clinically.

Disposition of ß-N-methylamino-l-alanine (L-BMAA), a neurotoxin, in rodents following a single or repeated oral exposure.

ß-N-methylamino-l-alanine (L-BMAA) is produced by cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). Human exposure to L-BMAA occurs via consumption of L-BMAA-contaminated water and food. It is speculated that exposure to L-BMAA, and subsequent brain accumulation, may contribute to an increased incidence of neurodegenerative diseases indicating the need to evaluate risk of L-BMAA exposure to humans. As an initial step in this process, we have evaluated disposition following a single or repeated gavage administration of 1, 10 or 100mg/kg [14C]L-BMAA in rats and mice. L-BMAA was well absorbed following a single gavage administration with minimal dose, species, or sex-related effect. In both species, the main excretion route was as exhaled CO2 (46-61%) with 7-13% and 1.4-8% of the administered dose excreted in the urine and feces, respectively. L-BMAA was distributed to all tissues examined; the total radioactivity in tissues increased with the dose and was significant in both species (8-20%). In male rats, L-BMAA was slowly eliminated from blood and tissues (half-lives ≥48h). Following 1, 5 and 10days of dosing in male rats, levels in tissues increased with the number of doses demonstrating potential for accumulation of BMAA-derived equivalents. There was no greater affinity for accumulation in the brain compared to other organs and tissues. Following repeated exposure in rats, amino acid mass shifts associated with L-BMAA were detected in brain peptides. However, the low frequency of occurrence suggests that the substitution of an amino acid with L-BMAA is not significant relative to substitutions and/or modifications by other L-BMAA-derived equivalents.

Disposition and metabolism of cumene in F344 rats and B6C3F1 mice.

Cumene is a high-production volume chemical that has been shown to be a central nervous system depressant and has been implicated as a long-term exposure carcinogen in experimental animals. The absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of [(14)C]cumene (isopropylbenzene) was studied in male rats and mice of both sexes after oral or intravenous administration. In both species and sexes, urine accounted for the majority of the excretion (typically ≥ 70%) by oral and intravenous administration. Enterohepatic circulation of cumene and/or its metabolites was indicated because 37% of the total dose was excreted in bile in bile duct-cannulated rats with little excreted in normal rats. The highest tissue (14)C levels in rats were observed in adipose tissue, liver, and kidney with no accumulation observed after repeat dosing up to 7 days. In contrast, mice contained the highest concentrations of (14)C at 24 h after dosing in the liver, kidney, and lung, with repeat dosing accumulation of (14)C observed in these tissues as well as in the blood, brain, heart, muscle, and spleen. The metabolites in the expired air, urine, bile, and microsomes were characterized with 16 metabolites identified. The volatile organics in the expired air comprised mainly cumene and up to 4% α-methylstyrene. The major urinary and biliary metabolite was 2-phenyl-2-propanol glucuronide, which corresponded with the main microsomal metabolite being 2-phenyl-2-propanol.

A serendipitous discovery of isomotuporin-containing sponge populations of Theonella swinhoei.

An in-depth LCMS examination of 14 different collections of Indo-Pacific Theonella swinhoei sponges resulted in the discovery of four diastereomeric analogues of the cyclic pentapeptide motuporin. These motuporin analogues all contain a novel 2R configuration for the Adda amino acid. Additionally, one analogue has a unique nonoxygenated Adda amino acid. In all, 15 different compounds were observed by LCMS or isolated. The stereochemistries of the constituent amino acids were determined through a combination of the advanced Marfey technique and 1H NMR data.

Using a kinase screen to investigate the constituents of the sponge Stelletta clavosa obtained from diverse habitats.

Fourteen collections of the marine sponge Stelletta clavosa have been obtained from diverse Indo-Pacific locations in order to conduct a comparison of their major constituents. The dichloromethane extract of one collection (no. 00369) exhibited activity in a c-Raf-1 kinase assay. Bioactivity-directed isolation resulted in the known porphyrin analogs pyropheophorbide a (2) and purpurin 18 methyl ester (3). Further spectroscopic screening of the various sponge extracts resulted in the isolation of four swinholide polyketides, a carotenoid, and three diketopiperazines. Pyropheophorbide a (2) exhibited the best IC(50) among the porphyrin type compounds (IC(50)<0.31microg/mL). This prompted further screening of 2 against a panel of 85 kinases.