Identification of 1,2,4-Oxadiazoles-Based Novel EGFR Inhibitors: Molecular Dynamics Simulation-Guided Identification and in vitro ADME Studies.

Background: In this work, we have identified heterocyclic derivatives with 1,2,4 oxadiazole scaffold mimicking the functions of tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Fourteen molecules that displayed the best fit were picked from the library of compounds and studied under in-silico and in-vitro conditions. Four compounds were selected for further cytotoxicity and ADME (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Elimination) profiling showing IC50 (from 8-13 µM) values against EGFR positive cancer cell line (MCF7). Methods: A molecular dynamics simulation study was performed to understand the correlation of non-covalent binding energies with biological activity. The drug-like properties of the selected four compounds (7a, 7b, 7e, and 7m) were evaluated by in-vitro ADME studies. Compounds 7a, 7b, and 7m were the active compounds in the molecular dynamics simulations study. Further, EGFR binding activity was confirmed with EGFRWT and EGFRT790M kinase assay using a luminescence-based method. Results: These compounds (7a, 7b, and 7m) showed activity against EGFRWT and mutant EGFRT790M, exhibiting IC50 values of <10 and <50 micromolar, respectively. These compounds also possess moderate aqueous solubility in 40-70 µg/mL at pH 7.4 and 30-100 µg/mL at pH 4.0. Further, 7a, 7b, and 7m showed balanced lipophilicity with Log D values ranging from 1-3. They demonstrated a good correlation in Caco-2 permeability with Apparent permeability (Papp) 1 to 5 × 10-6 cm/s in comparison with 7e, which was found to be highly lipophilic (Log D >5) and showed high permeability (Papp 17 × 10-6 cm/s). Lastly, all these compounds were moderately stable in liver microsomes at alkaline pH with a half-life of 30-60 min, while at a highly acidic pH (2.0), the compounds were stable up to 15-20 min. Conclusion: Overall, in-vitro ADME results of these molecules showed good drug-like properties, which are well correlated with the in-silico ADME data, making them ideal for developing an oral drug delivery formulation.

Rational design-aided discovery of novel 1,2,4-oxadiazole derivatives as potential EGFR inhibitors.

A molecular dynamics-based sampling of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase (EGFR-TK) was carried out to search for energetically more stable protein, which was then used for molecular docking of a series of 1,2,4-oxadiazole derivatives previously reported from our laboratory. A total of 14 compounds were docked, where compounds 6a and 6b showed better binding to EGFR in silico. Further, physicochemical properties of all the compounds were calculated, which suggested that all the molecules obeyed Lipinski's rule of 5 and had favorable polar surface area and CaCO2 permeability along with the low potential for HERG inhibition. All the compounds were then screened for their ability to produce cytotoxicity in four different cell lines overexpressing EGFR (A549, HCT-116, HEPG2, MCF-7) and one EGFR negative cancer cell line (SW620); at three concentrations: 10, 1, and 0.1 µM. None of the compounds showed activity against SW620, which suggested that the compounds show cytotoxicity through inhibition of EGFR. Compounds that showed promise in this 3-concentration screen were further subjected to multiple dose-response curves to identify the IC50 values for the shortlisted eight compounds. It was encouraging to see 6a and 6b showing the best IC50 values against almost all the cell-lines which further suggests that our design protocol can be applied to optimize this lead (which are currently in the low micromolar range) to design the homologous compounds to achieve the desired potency in the nanomolar range and also to achieve selectivity across a range of kinases.

Design, Synthesis of Novel, Potent, Selective, Orally Bioavailable Adenosine A2A Receptor Antagonists and Their Biological Evaluation.

Our initial structure-activity relationship studies on 7-methoxy-4-morpholino-benzothiazole derivatives featured by aryloxy-2-methylpropanamide moieties at the 2-position led to identification of compound 25 as a potent and selective A2A adenosine receptor (A2AAdoR) antagonist with reasonable ADME and pharmacokinetic properties. However, poor intrinsic solubility and low to moderate oral bioavailability made this series unsuitable for further development. Further optimization using structure-based drug design approach resulted in discovery of potent and selective adenosine A2A receptor antagonists bearing substituted 1-methylcyclohexyl-carboxamide groups at position 2 of the benzothiazole scaffold and endowed with better solubility and oral bioavailability. Compounds 41 and 49 demonstrated a number of positive attributes with respect to in vitro ADME properties. Both compounds displayed good pharmacokinetic properties with 63% and 61% oral bioavailability, respectively, in rat. Further, compound 49 displayed oral efficacy in 6-OHDA lesioned rat model of Parkinson diseases.

Synthesis and structure-activity relationship of potent, selective and orally active anthranilamide-based factor Xa inhibitors: application of weakly basic sulfoximine group as novel S4 binding element.

A novel series of potent and efficacious factor Xa inhibitors which possesses sulfoximine moiety as novel S4 binding element in anthranilamide chemotype has been identified. Lead optimization at this novel P4 group led to many potent factor Xa inhibitors with excellent anticoagulant activity in human plasma. Selected compounds were dosed orally in rats and checked for their ex vivo prothrombin time prolonging activity, which resulted in identification of compound 5-chloro-N-(5-chloropyridin-2-yl)-2-(4-(N-(2-(diethylamino)acetyl)-S-methylsulfonimidoyl)benzamido)benzamide (18f). The detailed pharmacokinetic evaluation and subsequent metabolism study of 18f suggested the presence of an active metabolite. The compound 18f and its active metabolite 18b demonstrated excellent in vivo efficacy in both arterial and venous thrombosis model in rats and were found to be highly selective against related serine proteases. Based on this promising profile, compound 18f was selected for further evaluation.

Bioisosteric replacement of dihydropyrazole of 4S-(-)-3-(4-chlorophenyl)-N-methyl-N'-[(4-chlorophenyl)-sulfonyl]-4-phenyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazole-1-caboxamidine (SLV-319) a potent CB1 receptor antagonist by imidazole and oxazole.

Design, synthesis and conformational analysis of few imidazole and oxazole as bioisosters of 4S-(-)-3-(4-chlorophenyl)-N-methyl-N'-[(4-chlorophenyl)-sulfonyl]-4-phenyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazole-1-caboxamidine (SLV-319) 2 is reported. Computer assisted conformational analysis gave a direct clue for the loss of CB1 antagonistic activity of the ligands without a fine docking simulation for the homology model.