Structure-activity relationship study of novel quinazoline-based 1,6-naphthyridinones as MET inhibitors with potent antitumor efficacy

Current scenario of fused pyrimidines with in vivo anticancer therapeutic potential

Cancer, characterized by uncontrolled cell growth and metastasis, is responsible for nearly one in six deaths and represents a severe threat to public health worldwide. Chemotherapy can substantially improve the quality of life and survival of patients with cancer, but anticancer chemotherapeutics are associated with a range of adverse effects. Moreover, almost all currently available anticancer chemotherapeutics could develop drug resistance over a period of time of application in cancer patients and ultimately lead to cancer relapse and death in 90% of patients, creating an urgent need to develop new anticancer agents. Fused pyrimidines trait the inextricable part of DNA and RNA and are vital in numerous biological processes. Fused pyrimidines can act on various biological cancer targets and have the potential to address drug resistance. In addition, more than 20 fused pyrimidines have already been approved for clinical treatment of different cancers and occupy a prominent place in the current therapeutic arsenal, revealing that fused pyrimidines are privileged scaffolds for the development of novel anticancer chemotherapeutics. The purpose of this review is to summarize the current scenario of fused pyrimidines with in vivo anticancer therapeutic potential along with their acute toxicity, metabolic profiles as well as pharmacokinetic properties, toxicity and mechanisms of action developed from 2020 to the present to facilitate further rational exploitation of more effective candidates.

Preparation, Agricultural Bioactivity Evaluation, Structure-Activity Relationships Estimation, and Molecular Docking of Some Quinazoline Compounds

Quinazoline compounds have gained significant attention in the fields of agriculture and chemistry due to their diverse activities. In this study, we focused on a series of quinazoline derivatives (4a-l). The objectives involved multiple aspects, including preparation, evaluation of their agricultural bioactivity against the maize aphid (Rhopalosiphum maidis), estimation of the structure-activity relationships (SAR), and conducting molecular docking analysis. The results of the agricultural bioactivities revealed that compound (4b) possesses the highest insecticidal activity, and the other compounds have good potential as insecticidal agents. We conducted the SARs and also molecular docking investigation to elucidate the binding modes and interactions of these compounds with target proteins relevant to the agricultural bioactivity. The docking results provided valuable information on the binding affinities and molecular interactions, aiding in the rationalization of the observed bioactivity trends. The enzyme, acetylcholinesterase (AChE), was docked with the 12 synthetic compounds (4a-l). Among these compounds, (4b), (4i), and (4e)exhibited the highest binding affinity, with docking scores (S) of -7.96, -7.83, and -7.73 kcal/mol, respectively. They were followed by compounds (4d) (S = -7.57 kcal/mol), (4c) (S = -7.53 kcal/mol), (4g) (S = -7.34 kcal/mol), (4f) (S = -7.23 kcal/mol), (4h) (S = -7.14 kcal/mol), (4k) (S = -6.61 kcal/mol), (4j) (S = -6.57 kcal/mol), (4a) (S = -6.28 kcal/mol), and finally (4l) (S = -6.01 kcal/mol). These compounds were shown to have a variety of binding interactions within the 2ACE active site, as evidenced by protein-ligand docking configurations. This study gives evidence that those compounds have AChE-inhibitory capabilities and, hence, may be used for AChE-targeting development. Also, the findings in this study highlight the potential of these compounds as agricultural agents and provide valuable insights for the design and development of some quinazoline derivatives with enhanced bioactivity for crop protection.

Structure-activity relationship study of 1,6-naphthyridinone derivatives as selective type II AXL inhibitors with potent antitumor efficacy

The role of AXL in various oncogenic processes has made it an attractive target for cancer therapy. Currently, kinase selectivity profiles, especially circumventing MET inhibition, remain a scientific issue of great interest in the discovery of selective type II AXL inhibitors. Starting from a dual MET/AXL-targeted lead structure from our previous work, we optimized a 1,6-naphthyridinone series using molecular modeling-assisted compound design to improve AXL potency and selectivity over MET, resulting in the potent and selective type II AXL-targeted compound 25c. This showed excellent AXL inhibitory activity (IC50 = 1.1 nM) and 343-fold selectivity over the highly homologous kinase MET in biochemical assays. Moreover, compound 25c significantly inhibited AXL-driven cell proliferation, dose-dependently suppressed 4T1 cell migration and invasion, and induced apoptosis. Compound 25c also showed noticeable antitumor efficacy in a BaF3/TEL-AXL xenograft model at well-tolerated doses. Overall, this study presented a potent and selective type II AXL-targeted lead compound for further drug discovery.

Palladium-Catalyzed Carbo-Aminative Cyclization of 1,6-Enynes: Access to Napthyridinone Derivatives

1,6-Enynes have recently stimulated enormous attention toward paving the way to unique cascade cyclizations offering complex cyclic motifs from linear substrates. We describe herein a general approach to napthyridinones via the Pd-catalyzed annulation of 1,6-enynes with 2-iodoanilines. This protocol represents a rare carbo-aminative annulative cyclization via the 6-endo-trig mode, subduing the well-documented exo-trig/dig cyclizations. The regioselective aryl palladation of alkyne followed by Heck-type intramolecular coupling before isomerization were key in realizing this cascade.

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.