Optimization of Covalent MKK7 Inhibitors via Crude Nanomole-Scale Libraries

Click chemistry-aided drug discovery: A retrospective and prospective outlook

Click chemistry has emerged as a valuable tool for rapid compound synthesis, presenting notable advantages and convenience in the exploration of potential drug candidates. In particular, in situ click chemistry capitalizes on enzymes as reaction templates, leveraging their favorable conformation to selectively link individual building blocks and generate novel hits. This review comprehensively outlines and introduces the extensive use of click chemistry in compound library construction, and hit and lead discovery, supported by specific research examples. Additionally, it discusses the limitations and precautions associated with the application of click chemistry in drug discovery. Our intention for this review is to contribute to the development of a modular synthetic approach for the rapid identification of drug candidates.

Direct-to-biology, automated, nano-scale synthesis, and phenotypic screening-enabled E3 ligase modulator discovery

Thalidomide and its analogs are molecular glues (MGs) that lead to targeted ubiquitination and degradation of key cancer proteins via the cereblon (CRBN) E3 ligase. Here, we develop a direct-to-biology (D2B) approach for accelerated discovery of MGs. In this platform, automated, high throughput, and nano scale synthesis of hundreds of pomalidomide-based MGs was combined with rapid phenotypic screening, enabling an unprecedented fast identification of potent CRBN-acting MGs. The small molecules were further validated by degradation profiling and anti-cancer activity. This revealed E14 as a potent MG degrader targeting IKZF1/3, GSPT1 and 2 with profound effects on a panel of cancer cells. In a more generalized view, integration of automated, nanoscale synthesis with phenotypic assays has the potential to accelerate MGs discovery.

Open science discovery of potent noncovalent SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitors

We report the results of the COVID Moonshot, a fully open-science, crowdsourced, and structure-enabled drug discovery campaign targeting the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) main protease. We discovered a noncovalent, nonpeptidic inhibitor scaffold with lead-like properties that is differentiated from current main protease inhibitors. Our approach leveraged crowdsourcing, machine learning, exascale molecular simulations, and high-throughput structural biology and chemistry. We generated a detailed map of the structural plasticity of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease, extensive structure-activity relationships for multiple chemotypes, and a wealth of biochemical activity data. All compound designs (>18,000 designs), crystallographic data (>490 ligand-bound x-ray structures), assay data (>10,000 measurements), and synthesized molecules (>2400 compounds) for this campaign were shared rapidly and openly, creating a rich, open, and intellectual property-free knowledge base for future anticoronavirus drug discovery.

Rational Design of Highly Potent and Selective Covalent MAP2K7 Inhibitors

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.