Toward a Treatment of Cancer: Design and In Vitro/In Vivo Evaluation of Uncharged Pyrazoline Derivatives as a Series of Novel SHP2 Inhibitors

JC-010a, a novel selective SHP2 allosteric inhibitor, overcomes RTK/non-RTK-mediated drug resistance in multiple oncogene-addicted cancers

Src homology 2 domain-containing phosphatase (SHP2) is a non-receptor protein phosphatase that transduces signals from upstream receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs)/non-RTKs to Ras/MAPK pathway. Accumulating studies indicated that SHP2 is a critical mediator of resistance to current targeted therapies in multiple cancers. Here, we reported a novel SHP2 allosteric inhibitor JC-010a, which was highly selective to SHP2 and bound at the "tunnel" allosteric site of SHP2. The effect of JC-010a on combating RTK/non-RTK or MAPK inhibitors-induced acquired resistance was explored. Our study demonstrated that JC-010a monotherapy significantly inhibited the proliferation of cancer cells with different oncogenic drivers via inhibiting signaling through SHP2. Importantly, JC-010a abolished acquired resistance induced by targeted therapies: in KRAS-mutant cancers, JC-010a abrogated selumetinib-induced adaptive resistance mediated by RTK/SHP2; in BCR-ABL-driven leukemia cells, we demonstrated JC-010a inhibited BCR-ABL T315I mutation-mediated imatinib resistance and proposed a novel mechanism of JC-010a involving the disrupted co-interaction of SHP2, BCR-ABL, and Hsp90; in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells, JC-010a inhibited both EGFR T790M/C797S mutation and alternate RTK-driven resistance to gefitinib or osimertinib; importantly, we first proposed a novel potential therapeutic strategy for RET-rearranged cancer, we confirmed that JC-010a monotherapy inhibited cell resistance to BLU-667, and JC-010a/BLU-667 combination prolonged anticancer response both in vivo and in vitro cancer models by inhibiting the alternate MET activation-induced RAS/MAPK reactivation, thereby promoting cancer cell apoptosis. These findings suggested that JC-010a was a novel selective SHP2 allosteric inhibitor, and combing JC-010a with current targeted therapy agents provided a promising therapeutic approach for clinical resistant cancers.

Current scenario of pyrazole hybrids with in vivo therapeutic potential against cancers

Chemotherapeutics occupy a pivotal role in the medication of different types of cancers, but the prevalence and mortality rates of cancer remain high. The drug resistance and low specificity of current available chemotherapeutics are the main barriers for the effective cancer chemotherapy, evoking an immediate need for the development of novel anticancer agents. Pyrazole is a highly versatile five-membered heterocycle with two adjacent nitrogen atoms and possesses remarkable therapeutic effects and robust pharmacological potency. The pyrazole derivatives especially pyrazole hybrids have demonstrated potent in vitro and in vivo efficacies against cancers through multiple mechanisms, inclusive of apoptosis induction, autophagy regulation, and cell cycle disruption. Moreover, several pyrazole hybrids such as crizotanib (pyrazole-pyridine hybrid), erdafitinib (pyrazole-quinoxaline hybrid) and ruxolitinib (pyrazole-pyrrolo [2,3-d]pyrimidine hybrid) have already been approved for the cancer therapy, revealing that pyrazole hybrids are useful scaffolds to develop novel anticancer agents. The purpose of this review is to summarize the current scenario of pyrazole hybrids with potential in vivo anticancer efficacy along with mechanisms of action, toxicity, and pharmacokinetics, covering papers published in recent 5 years (2018-present), to facilitate further rational exploitation of more effective candidates.