Design and synthesis of the first generation of novel potent, selective, and in vivo active (benzothiazol-2-yl)acetonitrile inhibitors of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase.
Several lines of evidence support the hypothesis that c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNKs) plays a critical role in a wide range of diseases including cell death (apoptosis)-related disorders (neurodegenerative diseases, brain, heart, and renal ischemia, epilepsy) and inflammatory disorders (multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel diseases). Screening of our internal compound collection for inhibitors of JNK3 led to the identification of (benzothiazol-2-yl)acetonitrile derivatives as potent and selective JNK1, -2, -3 inhibitors. Starting from initial hit 1 (AS007149), the chemistry and initial structure-activity relationship (SAR) of this novel and unique kinase inhibitor template were explored. Investigation of the SAR rapidly revealed that the benzothiazol-2-ylacetonitrile pyrimidine core was crucial to retain a good level of potency on rat JNK3. Therefore, compound 6 was further optimized by exploring a number of distal combinations in place of the chlorine atom. This led to the observation that the presence of an aromatic group, two carbons away from the aminopyrimidine moiety and bearing substituents conferring hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA) properties, could improve the potency. Further improvements to the biological and biopharmaceutical profile of the most promising compounds were performed, resulting in the discovery of compound 59 (AS601245). The in vitro and in vivo anti-inflammatory potential of this new JNK inhibitor was investigated and found to demonstrate efficacy per oral route in an experimental model of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Department of Chemistry, Serono Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Geneva, Switzerland.
Pascale
P
Gaillard
Isabelle
I
Jeanclaude-Etter
Vittoria
V
Ardissone
Steve
S
Arkinstall
Yves
Y
Cambet
Montserrat
M
Camps
Christian
C
Chabert
Dennis
D
Church
Rocco
R
Cirillo
Denise
D
Gretener
Serge
S
Halazy
Anthony
A
Nichols
Cedric
C
Szyndralewiez
Pierre-Alain
PA
Vitte
Jean-Pierre
JP
Gotteland
D000097:Acetonitriles / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D001169:Arthritis, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy; D052160:Benzothiazoles; D006801:Humans; D048031:JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000737:chemistry; D019169:Jurkat Cells; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA; D051381:Rats; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D013844:Thiazoles / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000096:biosynthesis
C489138:1,3-benzothiazol-2-yl(2-((2-(3-pyridinyl)ethyl)amino)-4-pyrimidinyl)acetonitrile; D000097:Acetonitriles; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D052160:Benzothiazoles; D013844:Thiazoles; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D048031:JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases