Chemoproteomic discovery of a covalent allosteric inhibitor of WRN helicase

WRN helicase is a promising target for treatment of cancers with microsatellite instability (MSI) due to its essential role in resolving deleterious non-canonical DNA structures that accumulate in cells with faulty mismatch repair mechanisms1-5. Currently there are no approved drugs directly targeting human DNA or RNA helicases, in part owing to the challenging nature of developing potent and selective compounds to this class of proteins. Here we describe the chemoproteomics-enabled discovery of a clinical-stage, covalent allosteric inhibitor of WRN, VVD-133214. This compound selectively engages a cysteine (C727) located in a region of the helicase domain subject to interdomain movement during DNA unwinding. VVD-133214 binds WRN protein cooperatively with nucleotide and stabilizes compact conformations lacking the dynamic flexibility necessary for proper helicase function, resulting in widespread double-stranded DNA breaks, nuclear swelling and cell death in MSI-high (MSI-H), but not in microsatellite-stable, cells. The compound was well tolerated in mice and led to robust tumour regression in multiple MSI-H colorectal cancer cell lines and patient-derived xenograft models. Our work shows an allosteric approach for inhibition of WRN function that circumvents competition from an endogenous ATP cofactor in cancer cells, and designates VVD-133214 as a promising drug candidate for patients with MSI-H cancers.

Oxidative diversification of amino acids and peptides by small-molecule iron catalysis

Secondary metabolites synthesized by non-ribosomal peptide synthetases display diverse and complex topologies and possess a range of biological activities. Much of this diversity derives from a synthetic strategy that entails pre- and post-assembly oxidation of both the chiral amino acid building blocks and the assembled peptide scaffolds. The vancomycin biosynthetic pathway is an excellent example of the range of oxidative transformations that can be performed by the iron-containing enzymes involved in its biosynthesis. However, because of the challenges associated with using such oxidative enzymes to carry out chemical transformations in vitro, chemical syntheses guided by these principles have not been fully realized in the laboratory. Here we report that two small-molecule iron catalysts are capable of facilitating the targeted C-H oxidative modification of amino acids and peptides with preservation of α-centre chirality. Oxidation of proline to 5-hydroxyproline furnishes a versatile intermediate that can be transformed to rigid arylated derivatives or flexible linear carboxylic acids, alcohols, olefins and amines in both monomer and peptide settings. The value of this C-H oxidation strategy is demonstrated in its capacity for generating diversity: four 'chiral pool' amino acids are transformed to twenty-one chiral unnatural amino acids representing seven distinct functional group arrays; late-stage C-H functionalizations of a single proline-containing tripeptide furnish eight tripeptides, each having different unnatural amino acids. Additionally, a macrocyclic peptide containing a proline turn element is transformed via late-stage C-H oxidation to one containing a linear unnatural amino acid.

Formation of acridones by ethylene extrusion in the reaction of arynes with β-lactams and dihydroquinolinones

N-Unsubstituted β-lactams react with a molecule of aryne by insertion into the amide bond to form a 2,3-dihydroquinolin-4-one, which subsequently reacts with another molecule of aryne to form an acridone by extrusion of a molecule of ethylene. 2,3-Dihydroquinolin-4-ones react under the same reaction conditions to afford identical results. This is the first example of ethylene extrusion in aryne chemistry.

Synthesis of pyrido[1,2-a]indole malonates and amines through aryne annulation

Pyrido[1,2-a]indoles are known as medicinally and pharmaceutically important compounds, but there is a lack of efficient methods for their synthesis. We report a convenient and efficient route to these privileged structures starting from easily accessible 2-substituted pyridines and aryne precursors. A small library of compounds has been synthesized utilizing the developed method, affording variously substituted pyrido[1,2-a]indoles in moderate to good yields.

Synthesis of acridines by the [4 + 2] annulation of arynes and 2-aminoaryl ketones

The reaction of 2-aminoaryl ketones and arynes generated by the treatment of various o-(trimethylsilyl)aryl triflates with CsF results in [4 + 2] annulation to afford substituted acridines in good yields.

Rapid synthesis of the indole-indolone scaffold via [3+2] annulation of arynes by methyl indole-2-carboxylates

The reaction of methyl indole-2-carboxylates and arynes affords a very efficient, high yielding synthesis of a novel indole-indolone ring system, which tolerates considerable functionality, is broad in scope and proceeds under mild reaction conditions.