Structure-guided design and development of novel N-phenylpyrimidin-2-amine derivatives as potential c-Met inhibitors

Targeting c-Met in Cancer Therapy: Unravelling Structure-activity Relationships and Docking Insights for Enhanced Anticancer Drug Design

The c-Met receptor, a pivotal player in oncogenesis and tumor progression, has become a compelling target for anticancer drug development. This review explores the intricate landscape of Structure-Activity Relationship (SAR) studies and molecular binding analyses performed on c-Met inhibitors. Through a comprehensive examination of various chemical scaffolds and modifications, SAR investigations have elucidated critical molecular features essential for the potent inhibition of c-Met activity. Additionally, molecular docking studies have provided invaluable insights into how c-Met inhibitors interact with their target receptor, facilitating the rational design of novel compounds with enhanced efficacy and selectivity. This review highlights key findings from recent SAR and docking studies, particularly focusing on the structural determinants that govern inhibition potency and selectivity. Furthermore, the integration of computational methodologies with experimental approaches has accelerated the discovery and optimization of c-Met inhibitors, fostering the advancement of promising candidates for clinical applications. Overall, this review underscores the pivotal role of SAR and molecular docking studies in advancing our understanding of c-Met inhibition and guiding the rational design of next-generation anticancer agents targeting this pathway.

Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of 2-Substituted Aniline Pyrimidine Derivatives as Potent Dual Mer/c-Met Inhibitors

Mer and c-Met kinases, which are commonly overexpressed in various tumors, are ideal targets for the development of antitumor drugs. This study focuses on the design, synthesis, and evaluation of several 2-substituted aniline pyrimidine derivatives as highly potent dual inhibitors of Mer and c-Met kinases for effective tumor treatment. Compound 18c emerged as a standout candidate, demonstrating robust inhibitory activity against Mer and c-Met kinases, with IC50 values of 18.5 ± 2.3 nM and 33.6 ± 4.3 nM, respectively. Additionally, compound 18c displayed good antiproliferative activities on HepG2, MDA-MB-231, and HCT116 cancer cells, along with favorable safety profiles in hERG testing. Notably, it exhibited exceptional liver microsomal stability in vitro, with a half-life of 53.1 min in human liver microsome. Compound 18c also exhibited dose-dependent cytotoxicity and hindered migration of HCT116 cancer cells, as demonstrated in apoptosis and migration assays. These findings collectively suggest that compound 18c holds promise as a dual Mer/c-Met agent for cancer treatment.

Design and biological evaluation of 3-substituted quinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-dione derivatives as dual c-Met/VEGFR-2-TK inhibitors

The dual c-Met/vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) TK inhibition is a good strategy to overcome therapeutic resistance to small molecules VEGFR-2 inhibitors. In this study, we designed 3-substituted quinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-dione derivatives as dual c-Met/VEGFR-2 TK inhibitors. We introduced new synthetic methods for reported derivatives of 3-substituted quinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-dione 2a-g, in addition to the preparation of some new derivatives namely, 3 and 4a-j. Three compounds namely, 2c, 4b, and 4e showed substantial amount of inhibition for both c-Met and VEGFR-2 TK (IC₅₀ range 0.052-0.084 µM). Both compounds 4b, 4e showed HB with highly conserved residue Asp1222 in the HB region of c-Met TK. For VEGFR-2 TK, compound 4b showed HB with a highly conserved residue Asp1046 in the HB region. Compound 4e showed HB with Glu885 and Asp1046. Moreover, in silico prediction of pharmacokinetic and physicochemical parameters of target compounds was carried out using SwissADME website. The quinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-dione derivatives are promising antiproliferative candidates that require further optimisation.HighlightsNew 3-substituted quinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-dione derivatives were synthesised and characterised.Compounds 4b and 4e showed higher cytotoxic activity than cabozantinib against HCT-116 colorectal cell lines.Both compounds 4b and 4e showed less toxicity to WI38 normal cell line compared to HCT 116 colon cancer cell line.Compound 4b was superior to cabozantinib in VEGFR-2 inhibition while compound 2c was equipotent to cabozantinib.Compounds 4b and 4e showed remarkable c-Met inhibitory activity.Compounds 4b and 4e arrested cell cycle and induced significant levels of apoptosis.In silico ADME prediction revealed high oral bioavailability and enhanced water solubility of target compounds as compared to cabozantinib.Target compounds interacted with both c-Met and VEGFR-2 active site in similar way to cabozantinib.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of 4-(4-aminophenoxy)picolinamide derivatives as potential antitumor agents

Cancer is a leading cause of death in humans. Molecular targeted therapy for cancer has become a research hotspot as it is associated with low toxicity and high efficiency. In this study, a total of 36 derivatives of 4-(4-aminophenoxy)pyridinamide were designed and synthesized, based on the analysis of the binding patterns of cabozantinib and BMS-777607 to MET protein. Most target compounds exhibited moderate to excellent antiproliferative activity against three different cell lines (A549, HeLa and MCF-7). A total of 7 compounds had stronger inhibitory activities than cabozantinib, and the IC₅₀ value of the most promising compound 46 was 0.26 μM against the A549 cells, which was 2.4 times more active than that of cabozantinib. The structure-activity relationship of the target compounds was analyzed and summarized, and the action mechanism was discussed. The acridine orange (AO) staining assay and cell cycle apoptosis revealed that compound 46 dose-dependently induced apoptosis of A549 cells, and blocked the cells mainly in G0/G1 phase. The IC₅₀ value of compound 46 on c-Met kinase was 46.5 nM. Further docking studies and molecular dynamics simulations signaled that compound 46 formed four key hydrogen bonds to c-Met kinase, and these key amino acids played a major role in binding free energy. In addition, compound 46 also showed good pharmacokinetic characteristics in rats. In conclusion, compound 46 is a promising antitumor agent.

Visible Light-Promoted Radical Relay Cyclization/C-C Bond Formation of N-Allylbromodifluoroacetamides with Quinoxalin-2(1H)-ones

A visible light-promoted radical relay of N-allylbromodifluoroacetamide with quinoxalin-2(1H)-ones was developed in which 5-exo-trig cyclization and C-C bond formation were involved. This protocol was performed under mild conditions to facilely offer a variety of hybrid molecules bearing both quinoxalin-2(1H)-one and 3,3-difluoro-γ-lactam motifs. These prepared novel skeletons would expand the accessible chemical space for structurally complex heterocycles with potential biological activities.

An updated patent review of small-molecule c-Met kinase inhibitors (2018-present)

INTRODUCTION

c-Met tyrosine kinase receptor is a high-affinity ligand of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). c-Met is widely expressed in a variety of normal human tissues, but shows abnormally high expression, amplification or mutation in tumour tissues such as lung, gastric and breast cancers. Therefore, the use of c-Met as a target can achieve the inhibition of a series of abnormal physiological processes such as tumourigenesis, development and metastasis. A number of small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors targeting c-Met have been successfully marketed.

AREAS COVERED

This article reviews recent advances in patented c-Met small molecule inhibitors and their inhibitory activity against various cancer cells from 2018 to date.

EXPERT OPINION

To date, small molecule inhibitors targeting c-Met have demonstrated impressive therapeutic efficacy in the clinical setting. Most recent patents have focused on addressing the direction of c-Met amplification and overexpression. Despite the great success in the development of selective c-Met inhibitors, the effects of bypass secretion and mutagenesis have led to a need for new c-Met small molecule inhibitors that are safe, efficient, selective and less toxic with novel structures and effective against other targets.