Design, synthesis, and evaluation of novel porcupine inhibitors featuring a fused 3-ring system based on the 'reversed' amide scaffold.
The Wnt signaling pathway is an essential signal transduction pathway which leads to the regulation of cellular processes such as proliferation, differentiation and migration. Aberrant Wnt signaling is known to have an association with multiple cancers. Porcupine is an enzyme that catalyses the addition of palmitoleate to a serine residue in Wnt proteins, a process which is required for the secretion of Wnt proteins. Here we report the synthesis and structure-activity-relationship of the novel porcupine inhibitors based on a 'reversed' amide scaffold. The leading compound 53 was as potent as the clinical compound LGK974 in a cell based STF reporter gene assay. Compound 53 potently inhibited the secretion of Wnt3A, therefore was confirmed to be a porcupine inhibitor. Furthermore, compound 53 showed excellent chemical and plasma stabilities. However, the clearance of compound 53 in liver microsomal tests was moderate to high, and the solubility of compound 53 was suboptimal. Collective efforts toward further optimization of this novel tricyclic template to develop better porcupine inhibitors will be subsequently undertaken and reported in due course.
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Translational Research and Therapy for Neuro-Psychiatric-Diseases and College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215021, PR China.
Zhixiang
Z
Xu
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Translational Research and Therapy for Neuro-Psychiatric-Diseases and College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215021, PR China.
Xiangxiang
X
Xu
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 123 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Ruadhan
R
O'Laoi
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Translational Research and Therapy for Neuro-Psychiatric-Diseases and College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215021, PR China.
Haikuo
H
Ma
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Translational Research and Therapy for Neuro-Psychiatric-Diseases and College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215021, PR China. Electronic address: jyzheng@suda.edu.cn.
Jiyue
J
Zheng
BeiGene (Beijing) Co., Ltd, No. 30 Science Park Road, Zhongguancun Life Science Park, Beijing 102206, PR China.
Shuaishuai
S
Chen
BeiGene (Beijing) Co., Ltd, No. 30 Science Park Road, Zhongguancun Life Science Park, Beijing 102206, PR China. Electronic address: lusong.luo@beigene.com.
Lusong
L
Luo
Cyrus Tang Hematology Center, Jiangsu Institute of Hematology, First Affiliated Hospital, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Hematology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, PR China.
Zhilin
Z
Hu
Cyrus Tang Hematology Center, Jiangsu Institute of Hematology, First Affiliated Hospital, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Hematology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, PR China.
Sudan
S
He
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Translational Research and Therapy for Neuro-Psychiatric-Diseases and College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215021, PR China.
Jiajun
J
Li
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Translational Research and Therapy for Neuro-Psychiatric-Diseases and College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215021, PR China.
Hongjian
H
Zhang
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Translational Research and Therapy for Neuro-Psychiatric-Diseases and College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215021, PR China. Electronic address: xiaohuzhang@suda.edu.cn.
Xiaohu
X
Zhang
D000217:Acyltransferases; D000577:Amides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D015195:Drug Design; D006801:Humans; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism; D008862:Microsomes, Liver / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D015394:Molecular Structure; D012995:Solubility; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D060449:Wnt Signaling Pathway / Q000187:drug effects; D060509:Wnt3A Protein / Q000378:metabolism
D000577:Amides; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D060509:Wnt3A Protein; D000217:Acyltransferases; C491188:PORCN protein, human
Antagonist; Cancer therapy; Porcupine; Scaffold hybridization; Wnt signaling pathway