SAR study of 5-alkynyl substituted quinazolin-4(3H)-ones as phosphoinositide 3-kinase delta (PI3Kδ) inhibitors

Modifications in the piperazine ring of nucleozin affect anti-influenza activity

The infection caused by the influenza virus is a latent tret. The limited access to vaccines and approved drugs highlights the need for additional antiviral agents. Nucleozin and its analogs have gain attention for their promising anti-influenza activity. To contribute to the advancement of the discovery and design of nucleozin analogs, we analyzed piperazine-modified nucleozin analogs to increase conformational freedom. Also, we describe a new synthetic strategy to obtain nucleozin and its analogues, three molecules were synthesized and two of them were biologically evaluated in vitro. Although the analogues were less active than nucleozin, the loss of activity highlights the need for the piperazine ring to maintain the activity of nucleozin analogs. Interestingly, this result agrees with the prediction of anti-influenza activity made with a QSAR model presented in this work. The proposed model and the synthetic route will be useful for the further development of nucleozin analogs with antiviral activity.

SAF-248, a novel PI3Kδ-selective inhibitor, potently suppresses the growth of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

PI3Kδ is expressed predominately in leukocytes and overexpressed in B-cell-related malignances. PI3Kδ has been validated as a promising target for cancer therapy, and specific PI3Kδ inhibitors were approved for clinical practice. However, the substantial toxicity and relatively low efficacy as a monotherapy in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) limit their clinical use. In this study, we described a novel PI3Kδ inhibitor SAF-248, which exhibited high selectivity for PI3Kδ (IC₅₀ = 30.6 nM) over other PI3K isoforms at both molecular and cellular levels, while sparing most of the other human protein kinases in the kinome profiling. SAF-248 exhibited superior antiproliferative activity against 27 human lymphoma and leukemia cell lines compared with the approved PI3Kδ inhibitor idelalisib. In particular, SAF-248 potently inhibited the proliferation of a panel of seven DLBCL cell lines (with GI₅₀ values < 1 μM in 5 DLBCL cell lines). We demonstrated that SAF-248 concentration-dependently blocked PI3K signaling followed by inducing G₁ phase arrest and apoptosis in DLBCL KARPAS-422, Pfeiffer and TMD8 cells. Its activity against the DLBCL cells was negatively correlated to the protein level of PI3Kα. Oral administration of SAF-248 dose-dependently inhibited the growth of xenografts derived from Pfeiffer and TMD8 cells. Activation of mTORC1, MYC and JAK/STAT signaling was observed upon prolonged treatment and co-targeting these pathways would potentiate the activity of SAF-248. Taken together, SAF-248 is a promising selective PI3Kδ inhibitor for the treatment of DLBCL and rational drug combination would further improve its efficacy.

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of new thieno[2,3-d] pyrimidine derivatives as targeted therapy for PI3K with molecular modelling study

Cancer is one of the most aggressive diseases characterised by abnormal growth and uncontrolled cell division. PI3K is a lipid kinase involved in cancer progression which makes it fruitful target for cancer control. 28 new morpholine based thieno[2,3-d] pyrimidine derivatives were designed and synthesised as anti-PI3K agents maintaining the common pharmacophoric features of several potent PI3K inhibitors. Their antiproliferative activity on NCI 60 cell lines as well as their enzymatic activity against PI3K isoforms were evaluated. Three compounds revealed good cytotoxic activities against breast cancer cell lines, especially T-47D. Compound VIb exhibited the best enzymatic inhibitory activity (72% & 84% on PI3Kβ & PI3Kγ), respectively and good activity on most NCI cell lines especially those with over expressed PI3K. Docking was carried out into PI3K active site which showed comparable binding mode to that of the PI-103 inhibitor. Compound VIb could be optimised to serve as a new chemical entity for discovering new anticancer agents.

Construction of N-Boc-2-Alkylaminoquinazolin-4(3H)-Ones via a Three-Component, One-Pot Protocol Mediated by Copper(II) Chloride that Spares Enantiomeric Purity

Chiral 2-alkylquinazolinones are key synthetic intermediates, but their preparation in high optical purity is challenging. Thus, a multicomponent procedure integrating anthranilic acids, N-Boc-amino acids, and amines in the presence of methanesulfonyl chloride, N-methylimidazole, and copper(II) chloride was developed to mildly afford N-Boc-2-alkylaminoquinazolin-4(3H)-ones with excellent preservation of enantiomeric purity (>99% ee). Copper(II) chloride was essential to retaining enantiopurity, and reaction component structural changes were well tolerated, resulting in an efficient, all-in-one procedure that promotes sequential coupling, lactonization, aminolysis, and cyclization in good yields. The method was applied to the rapid assembly of four key intermediates used in the synthesis of high profile quinazolinones, including several PI3K inhibitor drugs.

Discovery of novel quinazoline derivatives as potent PI3Kδ inhibitors with high selectivity

Inhibition of PI3Kδ has been proved to be an efficacious strategy for the treatment of hematological malignancies where the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway is hyperactive. Herein, a series of quinazoline derivatives bearing acrylamide fragment were prepared using skeleton-deconstruction strategy. The preliminary bioactivity evaluation resulted in the discovery of lead compound 15c. Compound 15c exhibited excellent enzyme activity against PI3Kδ (IC₅₀ = 27.5 nM) compared with BEZ235 as well as the significant anti-proliferation activities. With the high selectivity over other PI3K isoforms and potent effects on PI3K/Akt pathway, 15c can be identified as a promising PI3Kδ inhibitor worthy of further profiling.

Targeting phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase gamma (PI3Kγ): Discovery and development of its selective inhibitors

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase gamma (PI3Kγ) has been regarded as a promising drug target for the treatment of advanced solid tumors, leukemia, lymphoma, and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. However, the high level of structural conservation among the members of the PI3K family and the diverse physiological roles of Class I PI3K isoforms (α, β, δ, and γ) highlight the importance of isoform selectivity in the development of PI3Kγ inhibitors. In this review, we provide an overview of the structural features of PI3Kγ that influence γ-isoform selectivity and discuss the structure-selectivity-activity relationship of existing clinical PI3Kγ inhibitors. Additionally, we summarize the experimental and computational techniques utilized to identify PI3Kγ inhibitors. The insights gained so far could be used to overcome the main challenges in development and accelerate the discovery of PI3Kγ-selective inhibitors.

Research advances on selective phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase δ (PI3Kδ) inhibitors

PI3Kδ in B cells mediates antigen receptor signaling and promote neutrophil chemotaxis. The activation of PI3Kδ can cause mast cell maturation and degranulation, myeloid cell dysfunction, and cytokine release. As a key signal molecule, PI3Kδ interacts with the lipid binding domain of a variety of cellular proteins as a secondary messenger, ultimately affecting a series of significant cellular pathways in disease pathology. Therefore, many research organizations and pharmaceutical companies have studied it to develop effectively selective PI3Kδ inhibitors as therapeutics. This review summarizes research advances in varying chemical classes of selective PI3Kδ inhibitors and the structure-activity relationship, and it mainly focuses on the propeller- versus flat-type class of inhibitors.

Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Quinazolin-4-one-Based Hydroxamic Acids as Dual PI3K/HDAC Inhibitors

A series of quinazolin-4-one based hydroxamic acids was rationally designed and synthesized as novel dual PI3K/HDAC inhibitors by incorporating an HDAC pharmacophore into a PI3K inhibitor (Idelalisib) via an optimized linker. Several of these dual inhibitors were highly potent (IC₅₀ < 10 nM) and selective against PI3Kγ, δ and HDAC6 enzymes and exhibited good antiproliferative activity against multiple cancer cell lines. The lead compound 48c, induced necrosis in several mutant and FLT3-resistant AML cell lines and primary blasts from AML patients, while showing no cytotoxicity against normal PBMCs, NIH3T3, and HEK293 cells. Target engagement of PI3Kδ and HDAC6 by 48c was demonstrated in MV411 cells using the cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA). Compound 48c showed good pharmacokinetics properties in mice via intraperitoneal (ip) administration and provides a means to examine the biological effects of inhibiting these two important enzymes with a single molecule, either in vitro or in vivo.

Structural Determinants of Isoform Selectivity in PI3K Inhibitors

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases (PI3Ks) are important therapeutic targets for the treatment of cancer, thrombosis, and inflammatory and immune diseases. The four highly homologous Class I isoforms, PI3K, PI3K, PI3K and PI3K have unique, non-redundant physiological roles and as such, isoform selectivity has been a key consideration driving inhibitor design and development. In this review, we discuss the structural biology of PI3Ks and how our growing knowledge of structure has influenced the medicinal chemistry of PI3K inhibitors. We present an analysis of the available structure-selectivity-activity relationship data to highlight key insights into how the various regions of the PI3K binding site influence isoform selectivity. The picture that emerges is one that is far from simple and emphasizes the complex nature of protein-inhibitor binding, involving protein flexibility, energetics, water networks and interactions with non-conserved residues.

Crystal structure of (1S,4S)-2,5-diazo-niabi-cyclo[2.2.1]heptane dibromide

The cage of 2,5-di-aza-bicyclo-[2.2.1]heptane is frequently employed in synthetic chemistry as a rigid bicyclic counterpart of the piperazine ring. The 2,5-di-azabicyclo-[2.2.1]heptane scaffold is incorporated into a variety of compounds having pharmacological and catalytic applications. The unsubstituted parent ring of the system, 2,5-di-aza-bicyclo-[2.2.1]heptane itself, has not been structurally characterized. We herein report on the mol-ecular structure of the parent ring in (1S,4S)-2,5-diazo-niabi-cyclo-[2.2.1]heptane dibromide, C5H12N22+·2Br-. The asymmetric unit contains two crystallographically independent cages of 2,5-di-aza-bicyclo-[2.2.1]heptane. Each cage is protonated at the two nitro-gen sites. The overall charge balance is maintained by four crystallographically independent bromide ions. In the crystal, the components of the structure are linked via a complex three-dimensional network of N-H⋯Br hydrogen bonds.