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Page N, Wappett M, O'Dowd CR, O'Rourke M, Gavory G, Zhang L, Rountree JSS, Jordan L, Barker O, Gibson H, Boyd C, Feutren-Burton S, McLean E, Trevitt G, Harrison T. Identification and development of a subtype-selective allosteric AKT inhibitor suitable for clinical development. Sci Rep 2022; 12:15715. [PMID: 36127435 PMCID: PMC9489722 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-20208-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The serine/threonine protein kinase AKT plays a pivotal role within the PI3K pathway in regulating cellular proliferation and apoptotic cellular functions, and AKT hyper-activation via gene amplification and/or mutation has been implicated in multiple human malignancies. There are 3 AKT isoenzymes (AKT1-3) which mediate critical, non-redundant functions. We present the discovery and development of ALM301, a novel, allosteric, sub-type selective inhibitor of AKT1/2. ALM301 binds in an allosteric pocket created by the combined movement of the PH domain and the catalytic domain, resulting in a DFG out conformation. ALM301 was shown to be highly selective against a panel of over 450 kinases and potently inhibited cellular proliferation. These effects were particularly pronounced in MCF-7 cells containing a PI3KCA mutation. Subsequent cellular downstream pathway analysis in this sensitive cell line revealed potent inhibition of pAKT signalling up to 48 h post dosing. ALM301 treatment was well tolerated in an MCF-7 xenograft model and led to a dose-dependent reduction in tumour growth. Enhanced efficacy was observed in combination with tamoxifen. In summary, ALM301 is a highly specific AKT 1/2 inhibitor with an excellent pharmacological profile suitable for further clinical development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie Page
- Almac Discovery Ltd, Health Sciences Building, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7AE, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - Mark Wappett
- Almac Discovery Ltd, Health Sciences Building, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7AE, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - Colin R O'Dowd
- Almac Discovery Ltd, Health Sciences Building, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7AE, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - Martin O'Rourke
- Amphista Therapeutics, BioCity, Bo'Ness Rd, Newhouse, Chapelhall, Motherwell, ML1 5UH, UK
| | - Gerald Gavory
- Ridgeline Therapeutics GmbH, Technologiepark, Hochbergerstrasse 60C, 4057, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Lixin Zhang
- Shenyang University of Chemical Technology, Shenyang, China
| | - J S Shane Rountree
- Almac Discovery Ltd, Health Sciences Building, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7AE, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - Linda Jordan
- Globachem, Alderley Park, 2 BioHub, Mereside, Macclesfield, SK10 4TG, UK
| | - Oliver Barker
- Almac Discovery Ltd, Health Sciences Building, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7AE, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - Hayley Gibson
- Almac Discovery Ltd, Health Sciences Building, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7AE, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - Caroline Boyd
- Almac Discovery Ltd, Health Sciences Building, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7AE, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - Stephanie Feutren-Burton
- Almac Discovery Ltd, Health Sciences Building, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7AE, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - Estelle McLean
- Almac Discovery Ltd, Health Sciences Building, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7AE, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - Graham Trevitt
- Sygnature Discovery, BioCity, Pennyfoot Street, Nottingham, NG1 1GR, UK
| | - Timothy Harrison
- Almac Discovery Ltd, Health Sciences Building, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7AE, Northern Ireland, UK. .,Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT9 7AE, Northern Ireland, UK.
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O’Dowd CR, Helm MD, Rountree JSS, Flasz JT, Arkoudis E, Miel H, Hewitt PR, Jordan L, Barker O, Hughes C, Rozycka E, Cassidy E, McClelland K, Odrzywol E, Page N, Feutren-Burton S, Dvorkin S, Gavory G, Harrison T. Identification and Structure-Guided Development of Pyrimidinone Based USP7 Inhibitors. ACS Med Chem Lett 2018. [PMID: 29541367 DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.7b00512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Ubiquitin specific protease 7 (USP7, HAUSP) has become an attractive target in drug discovery due to the role it plays in modulating Mdm2 levels and consequently p53. Increasing interest in USP7 is emerging due to its potential involvement in oncogenic pathways as well as possible roles in both metabolic and immune disorders in addition to viral infections. Potent, novel, and selective inhibitors of USP7 have been developed using both rational and structure-guided design enabled by high-resolution cocrystallography. Initial hits were identified via fragment-based screening, scaffold-hopping, and hybridization exercises. Two distinct subseries are described along with associated structure-activity relationship trends, as are initial efforts aimed at developing compounds suitable for in vivo experiments. Overall, these discoveries will enable further research into the wider biological role of USP7.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colin R. O’Dowd
- Almac Discovery Ltd., Centre for Precision Therapeutics, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT9 7AE, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew D. Helm
- Almac Discovery Ltd., Centre for Precision Therapeutics, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT9 7AE, United Kingdom
| | - J. S. Shane Rountree
- Almac Discovery Ltd., Centre for Precision Therapeutics, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT9 7AE, United Kingdom
| | - Jakub T. Flasz
- Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland BT9 7AE, United Kingdom
| | - Elias Arkoudis
- Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland BT9 7AE, United Kingdom
| | - Hugues Miel
- Almac Discovery Ltd., Centre for Precision Therapeutics, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT9 7AE, United Kingdom
| | - Peter R. Hewitt
- Almac Discovery Ltd., Centre for Precision Therapeutics, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT9 7AE, United Kingdom
| | - Linda Jordan
- Almac Discovery Ltd., Centre for Precision Therapeutics, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT9 7AE, United Kingdom
| | - Oliver Barker
- Almac Discovery Ltd., Centre for Precision Therapeutics, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT9 7AE, United Kingdom
| | - Caroline Hughes
- Almac Discovery Ltd., Centre for Precision Therapeutics, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT9 7AE, United Kingdom
| | - Ewelina Rozycka
- Almac Discovery Ltd., Centre for Precision Therapeutics, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT9 7AE, United Kingdom
| | - Eamon Cassidy
- Almac Discovery Ltd., Centre for Precision Therapeutics, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT9 7AE, United Kingdom
| | - Keeva McClelland
- Almac Discovery Ltd., Centre for Precision Therapeutics, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT9 7AE, United Kingdom
| | - Ewa Odrzywol
- Almac Discovery Ltd., Centre for Precision Therapeutics, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT9 7AE, United Kingdom
| | - Natalie Page
- Almac Discovery Ltd., Centre for Precision Therapeutics, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT9 7AE, United Kingdom
| | - Stephanie Feutren-Burton
- Almac Discovery Ltd., Centre for Precision Therapeutics, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT9 7AE, United Kingdom
| | - Scarlett Dvorkin
- Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland BT9 7AE, United Kingdom
| | - Gerald Gavory
- Almac Discovery Ltd., Centre for Precision Therapeutics, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT9 7AE, United Kingdom
| | - Timothy Harrison
- Almac Discovery Ltd., Centre for Precision Therapeutics, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT9 7AE, United Kingdom
- Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland BT9 7AE, United Kingdom
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Higgins CA, Delbederi Z, McGarel K, Mills T, McGrath O, Feutren-Burton S, Watters W, Armstrong P, Johnston PG, Waugh D, van den Berg H. Synthesis and in vitro and in vivo evaluation of a series of dihydroisocoumarin derivatives conjugated with fatty acids, alcohols, and amines as potential anticancer agents. Bioconjug Chem 2009; 20:1737-51. [PMID: 19708666 DOI: 10.1021/bc900122g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
In this paper, we report the synthesis and biological activity of a series of dihydroisocoumarin analogues conjugated with fatty acids, alcohols, or amines, of varying hydrocarbon chain length and degree of unsaturation, to the dihydroisocoumarins, kigelin and mellein, at the C-7 and C-8 positions on the core dihydroisocoumarin structure. These compounds were evaluated for their antiproliferative activity against human breast cancer (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468) and melanoma cells (SK-MEL-28 and Malme-3M) using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Two compounds conjugated with gamma-linolenyl alcohol (18:3 n-6) demonstrated potent antiproliferative activity in vitro with one of these 4-hydroxy-3-oxo-1,3-dihydro-isobenzofuran-5-carboxylic acid octadeca-6,9,12-trienyl ester, demonstrating significant antitumor activity in vivo in a number of human tumor xenograft models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine A Higgins
- Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology (CCRCB), Queens University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT9 7BL, United Kingdom.
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Higgins CA, McGrath O, Delbederi Z, McGarel K, Feutren-Burton S, Watters W, Armstrong P, Waugh D, van den Berg H. Abstract A175: Isolation and identification of compounds from the fruits of Kigelia pinnata with anti-proliferative activity towards human cancer cells. Mol Cancer Ther 2009. [DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.targ-09-a175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Kigelia pinnata DC. (Bignoniaceae also referred to as K. Africana or sausage tree), is a tree which is found widely in Africa and the tropics in general. Traditionally hot aqueous extracts of fruit pods from Kigelia pinnata have been claimed to have widespread ethnomedicinal importance. A preliminary study of the components of the aqueous extracts from the fruits of Kigelia pinnata was undertaken to identify fractions with potential anti-cancer activity. A bioactivity guided fractionation process of extracts from fruits of the tree was carried out yielding a number of crude fractions, which demonstrated cytotoxicity in vitro against human melanoma cells. A number of compounds were isolated and identified within purified fractions of several fruit extracts including the dihydroisocoumarins, demethylkigelin and kigelin, a number of fatty acids, and a furonaphthoquinone, as compounds at least in part responsible for the anti-proliferative activity observed in extracted material from the fruits. We tested a number of structurally related dihydroisocoumarins for their anti-proliferative activity in order to conduct a preliminary structure-activity relationship (SAR) study. The preliminary medicinal chemistry programme clearly identified structures with enhanced anti-proliferative activity relative to the isolated compounds. In conclusion, using a bioassay fractionation approach, we have isolated and characterized several classes of compounds that exhibit biological activity against human cancer cell lines. Structurally-related derivatives of these compounds have been synthesized to develop knowledge of the structure-activity relationship for these classes of compounds. Our data to date suggest that this class of molecule has structural features that appear to be of importance in determining its activity against human cancer cells.
Citation Information: Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(12 Suppl):A175.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Owen McGrath
- 1 CCRCB, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
| | | | | | | | | | | | - David Waugh
- 1 CCRCB, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
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