Structure-based optimization identified novel furyl-containing 2,4-diarylaminopyrimidine analogues as ALK/ROS1 dual inhibitors with anti-mutation effects

Recent advances in the development of dual ALK/ROS1 inhibitors for non-small cell lung cancer therapy

As a member of the insulin-receptor superfamily, ALK plays an important role in regulating the growth, proliferation, and survival of cells. ROS1 is highly homologous with ALK, and can also regulate normal physiological activities of cells. The overexpression of both is closely related to the development and metastasis of tumors. Therefore, ALK and ROS1 may serve as important therapeutic targets in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Clinically, many ALK inhibitors have shown powerful therapeutic efficacy in ALK and ROS1-positive NSCLC patients. However, after some time, patients inevitably develop drug resistance, leading to treatment failure. There are no significant drug breakthroughs in solving the problem of drug-resistant mutations. In this review, we summarize the chemical structural features of several novel dual ALK/ROS1 inhibitors, their inhibitory effect on ALK and ROS1 kinases, and future treatment strategies for patients with ALK and ROS1 inhibitor-resistant mutations.

Discovery of novel 2-phenylamino-4-prolylpyrimidine derivatives as TRK/ALK dual inhibitors with promising antitumor effects

In order to explore novel TRK and ALK dual inhibitors, a series of 2-phenylamino-4-prolylpyrimidine derivatives were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro cytotoxicity and enzymatic activities. Delightfully, most compounds were detected moderated to excellent activities in cellular assay. Among them, compound 21 exhibited encouraging cytotoxicity on KM12, H2228 and KARPAS299 cells with IC₅₀ values of 0.86, 0.141 and 0.072 μM. Meanwhile, the performances of 21 in the enzymatic assays were in good accordance with anti-proliferative activity with IC₅₀ values of 2.2, 9.3 and 38 nM towards TRKA, ALK^WT and ALK^L1196M, respectively. Compared with Entrectinib, compound 21 not only ensured the inhibitory activity on TRKA, but also improved the affinity with ALK and ALK^L1196M to a certain extent. Ultimately, the binding model of 21 with TRKA and ALK were ideally established through molecular docking, which further confirmed the SARs analysis.