Structure-Guided Design of a Highly Potent Partial RXR Agonist with Superior Physicochemical Properties.
J Med Chem 2024;
67:2152-2164. [PMID:
38237049 DOI:
10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c02095]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
Retinoid X receptors (RXRs, NR2B1-3) hold therapeutic potential in oncology, neurodegeneration, and metabolic diseases, but traditional RXR agonists mimicking the natural ligand 9-cis retinoic acid exhibit poor physicochemical properties, pharmacokinetics, and safety profiles. Improved RXR ligands are needed to exploit RXR modulation as a promising therapeutic concept in various indications beyond its current role in second-line cancer treatment. Here, we report the co-crystal structure of RXR in complex with a novel pyrimidine-based ligand and the structure-informed optimization of this scaffold to highly potent and highly soluble RXR agonists. Focused structure-activity relationship elucidation and rigidization resulted in a substantially optimized partial RXR agonist with low nanomolar potency, no cytotoxic activity, and very favorable physicochemical properties highlighting this promising scaffold for the development of next-generation RXR targeting drugs.
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