title: Discovery of highly selective inhibitors of p38alpha.
abstract: The p38 MAP kinases are a family of serine/threonine protein kinases that play a key role in cellular pathways leading to pro-inflammatory responses. We have developed and implemented a method for rapidly identifying and optimizing potent and selective p38alpha inhibitors, which is amenable to other targets and target classes. A diverse library of druggable, purified and quantitated molecules was assembled and standardized enzymatic assays were performed in a microfluidic format that provided very accurate and precise inhibition data allowing for development of SAR directly from the primary HTS. All compounds were screened against a collection of more than 60 enzymes (kinases, proteases and phosphatases), allowing for removal of promiscuous and non-selective inhibitors very early in the discovery process. Follow-up enzymological studies included measurement of concentration of compound in buffer, yielding accurate determination of K(i) and IC50 values, as well as mechanism of action. In addition, active compounds were screened against less desirable properties such as inhibition of the enzyme activity by aggregation, irreversible binding, and time-dependence. Screening of an 88,634-compound library through the above-described process led to the rapid identification of multiple scaffolds (>5 active compounds per scaffold) of potential drug leads for p38alpha that are highly selective against all other enzymes tested, including the three other p38 isoforms. Potency and selectivity data allowed prioritization of the identified scaffolds for optimization. Herein we present results around our 3-thio-1,2,4-triazole lead series of p38- selective inhibitors, including identification, SAR, synthesis, selectivity profile, enzymatic and cellular data in their progression towards drug candidates.
authors.affiliation: Amphora Discovery Corporation, P.O. Box 12169, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA. Burke@amphoracorp.com
authors.forename: Ioana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Popa-Burke
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Birkos
authors.forename: Leonard
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Blackwell
authors.forename: Lynn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cheatham
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: John K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Dickson
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Galasinski
authors.forename: William P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Janzen
authors.forename: Jose
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mendoza
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Robert P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Mohney
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Steed
authors.forename: C Nicholas
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Hodge
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015195:Drug Design; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical / Q000379:methods; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D048308:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 14 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D008954:Models, Biological; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D013678:Technology, Pharmaceutical; D014230:Triazoles / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D014230:Triazoles; D048308:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 14