Lakkaniga NR, Zhang L, Belachew B, Gunaganti N, Frett B, Li HY. Discovery of SP-96, the first non-ATP-competitive Aurora Kinase B inhibitor, for reduced myelosuppression.
Eur J Med Chem 2020;
203:112589. [PMID:
32717530 DOI:
10.1016/j.ejmech.2020.112589]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2020] [Revised: 06/01/2020] [Accepted: 06/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Aurora Kinase B is a serine-threonine kinase known to be overexpressed in several cancers, with no inhibitors approved for clinical use. Herein, we present the discovery and optimization of a series of novel quinazoline-based Aurora Kinase B inhibitors. The lead inhibitor SP-96 shows sub-nanomolar potency in Aurora B enzymatic assays (IC50 = 0.316 ± 0.031 nM). We identified the important pharmacophore features resulting in selectivity against receptor tyrosine kinases. Particularly, SP-96 shows >2000 fold selectivity against FLT3 and KIT which is important for normal hematopoiesis. This could diminish the adverse effect of neutropenia reported in the clinical trials of the Aurora B inhibitor Barasertib, which inhibits FLT3 and KIT in addition to Aurora B. Enzyme kinetics of SP-96 shows non-ATP-competitive inhibition which makes it a first-in-class inhibitor. Further, SP-96 shows selective growth inhibition in NCI60 screening, including inhibition of MDA-MD-468, a Triple Negative Breast Cancer cell line.
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