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Kim D, Orr MJ, Kwong AJ, Deibler KK, Munshi HH, Bridges CS, Chen TJ, Zhang X, Lacorazza HD, Scheidt KA. Rational Design of Highly Potent and Selective Covalent MAP2K7 Inhibitors. ACS Med Chem Lett 2023; 14:606-613. [PMID: 37197477 PMCID: PMC10184151 DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.3c00029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling cascade is conserved across eukaryotes, where it plays a critical role in the regulation of activities including proliferation, differentiation, and stress responses. This pathway propagates external stimuli through a series of phosphorylation events, which allows external signals to influence metabolic and transcriptional activities. Within the cascade, MEK, or MAP2K, enzymes occupy a molecular crossroads immediately upstream to significant signal divergence and cross-talk. One such kinase, MAP2K7, also known as MEK7 and MKK7, is a protein of great interest in the molecular pathophysiology underlying pediatric T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). Herein, we describe the rational design, synthesis, evaluation, and optimization of a novel class of irreversible MAP2K7 inhibitors. With a streamlined one-pot synthesis, favorable in vitro potency and selectivity, and promising cellular activity, this novel class of compounds wields promise as a powerful tool in the study of pediatric T-ALL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dalton
R. Kim
- Department
of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Meghan J. Orr
- Department
of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Ada J. Kwong
- Department
of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Kristine K. Deibler
- Department
of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Hasan H. Munshi
- Department
of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Cory Seth Bridges
- Department
of Pathology & Immunology, Baylor College
of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Taylor Jie Chen
- Department
of Pathology & Immunology, Baylor College
of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Xiaoyu Zhang
- Department
of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Chemistry
of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern
University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United
States
| | - H. Daniel Lacorazza
- Department
of Pathology & Immunology, Baylor College
of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Karl A. Scheidt
- Department
of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Chemistry
of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern
University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United
States
- Department
of Pharmacology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States
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Katzengruber L, Sander P, Laufer S. MKK4 Inhibitors-Recent Development Status and Therapeutic Potential. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24087495. [PMID: 37108658 PMCID: PMC10144091 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24087495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Revised: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
MKK4 (mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 4; also referred to as MEK4) is a dual-specificity protein kinase that phosphorylates and regulates both JNK (c-Jun N-terminal kinase) and p38 MAPK (p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase) signaling pathways and therefore has a great impact on cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. Overexpression of MKK4 has been associated with aggressive cancer types, including metastatic prostate and ovarian cancer and triple-negative breast cancer. In addition, MKK4 has been identified as a key regulator in liver regeneration. Therefore, MKK4 is a promising target both for cancer therapeutics and for the treatment of liver-associated diseases, offering an alternative to liver transplantation. The recent reports on new inhibitors, as well as the formation of a startup company investigating an inhibitor in clinical trials, show the importance and interest of MKK4 in drug discovery. In this review, we highlight the significance of MKK4 in cancer development and other diseases, as well as its unique role in liver regeneration. Furthermore, we present the most recent progress in MKK4 drug discovery and future challenges in the development of MKK4-targeting drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leon Katzengruber
- Department of Pharmaceutical/Medicinal Chemistry, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Tuebingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Pascal Sander
- Department of Pharmaceutical/Medicinal Chemistry, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Tuebingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Stefan Laufer
- Department of Pharmaceutical/Medicinal Chemistry, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Tuebingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC 2180) 'Image-Guided & Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies', Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
- Tübingen Center for Academic Drug Discovery, Auf der Morgenstelle 8, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
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Li H, Shen M, Li B, Zhang X, Fan X. Solvent-Dependent Selective Synthesis of CF 3-Tethered Indazole Derivatives Based on Multiple Bond Activations. Org Lett 2023; 25:720-725. [PMID: 36706028 DOI: 10.1021/acs.orglett.2c04003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Presented herein is a solvent-dependent selective synthesis of CF3-tethered indazole derivatives via the cascade reactions of 1-arylpyrazolidinones with trifluoromethyl ynones. Mechanistically, the formation of the title products involves cascade N-H/C-H/C-N/C-C bond cleavage along with pyrazole ring formation and pyrazolidinone ring opening. For the formation of a pyrazole scaffold, 1-phenylpyrazolidinone acts as a C2N2 synthon, while trifluoromethyl ynone serves as a C1 synthon. Meanwhile, trifluoromethyl ynone also acts as an enol unit to facilitate the ring opening of the pyrazolidinone ring and provide a trifluoropropenoxy fragment via cleavage of the alkynyl triple bond and migration of the cleaved moiety. When the reaction was run in trifluoroethanol instead of DCE, it selectively afforded indazole derivatives tethered with a trifluoroethoxy moiety through in situ transesterification. To our knowledge, this is the first synthesis of CF3-tethered indazole derivatives via concurrent alkynyl activation, pyrazole formation, and CF3 migration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Li
- NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Innovative Drug, Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Province for Green Manufacturing of Fine Chemicals, Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Media and Reactions, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, Henan 453007, China
| | - Mengyang Shen
- NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Innovative Drug, Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Province for Green Manufacturing of Fine Chemicals, Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Media and Reactions, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, Henan 453007, China
| | - Bin Li
- NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Innovative Drug, Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Province for Green Manufacturing of Fine Chemicals, Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Media and Reactions, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, Henan 453007, China
| | - Xinying Zhang
- NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Innovative Drug, Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Province for Green Manufacturing of Fine Chemicals, Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Media and Reactions, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, Henan 453007, China
| | - Xuesen Fan
- NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Innovative Drug, Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Province for Green Manufacturing of Fine Chemicals, Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Media and Reactions, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, Henan 453007, China
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Booth L, Roberts JL, West C, Dent P. GZ17-6.02 kills prostate cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Front Oncol 2022; 12:1045459. [PMCID: PMC9671078 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.1045459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
GZ17-6.02 is undergoing clinical evaluation in solid tumors and lymphoma. We defined the biology of GZ17-6.02 in prostate cancer cells and determined whether it interacted with the PARP1 inhibitor olaparib to enhance tumor cell killing. GZ17-6.02 interacted in a greater than additive fashion with olaparib to kill prostate cancer cells, regardless of androgen receptor expression or loss of PTEN function. Mechanistically, GZ17-6.02 initially caused peri-nuclear activation of ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) that was followed after several hours by activation of nuclear ATM, and which at this time point was associated with increased levels of DNA damage. Directly downstream of ATM, GZ17-6.02 and olaparib cooperated to activate the AMP-dependent protein kinase (AMPK) which then activated the kinase ULK1, resulting in autophagosome formation that was followed by autophagic flux. Knock down of ATM, AMPKα or the autophagy-regulatory proteins Beclin1 or ATG5 significantly reduced tumor cell killing. GZ17-6.02 and olaparib cooperated to activate protein kinase R which phosphorylated and inactivated eIF2α, i.e., enhanced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress signaling. Knock down of eIF2α also significantly reduced autophagosome formation and tumor cell killing. We conclude that GZ17-6.02 and olaparib interact to kill prostate cancer cells in vitro by increasing autophagy and by enhancing ER stress signaling. In vivo, GZ17-6.02 as a single agent profoundly reduced tumor growth and significantly prolonged animal survival. GZ17-6.02 interacted with olaparib to further suppress the growth of LNCaP tumors without ultimately enhancing animal survival. Our data support the consideration of GZ17-6.02 as a possible therapeutic agent in patients with AR+ prostate cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurence Booth
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States
| | - Jane L. Roberts
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States
| | - Cameron West
- Genzada Pharmaceuticals, Sterling, KS, United States
| | - Paul Dent
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States
- *Correspondence: Paul Dent,
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