Summary An in vivo screen was performed in search of chemicals capable of enhancing neuron formation in the hippocampus of adult mice. Eight of 1,000 small molecules tested enhanced neuron formation in the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus. Among these was an aminopropyl carbazole, designated P7C3, endowed with favorable pharmacological properties. In vivo studies gave evidence that P7C3 exerts its pro-neurogenic activity by protecting newborn neurons from apoptosis. Mice missing the gene encoding neuronal PAS domain protein 3 (NPAS3) are devoid of hippocampal neurogenesis and display malformation and electrophysiological dysfunction of the dentate gyrus. Prolonged administration of P7C3 to npas3-/- mice corrected these deficits by normalizing levels of apoptosis of newborn hippocampal neurons. Prolonged administration of P7C3 to aged rats also enhanced neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus, impeded neuron death, and preserved cognitive capacity as a function of terminal aging.

Degeneration of the hippocampus is associated with Alzheimer’s disease, and occurs very early in the progression of the disease. Current options for treating the cognitive symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s are inadequate, giving urgency to the search for novel therapeutic strategies. Pharmacologic agents that safely enhance hippocampal neurogenesis may provide new therapeutic approaches. We discovered the first synthetic molecule, named P7C3, which protects newborn neurons from apopotic cell death, and thus promotes neurogenesis in mice and rats in the subgranular zone of the hippocampal dentate gyrus, the site of normal neurogenesis in adult mammals. We describe the results of a medicinal chemistry campaign to optimize the potency, toxicity profile and stability of P7C3. Systematic variation of nearly every position of the lead compound revealed elements conducive towards increases in activity and regions subject to modification. We have discovered compounds that are orally available, non-toxic, stable in mice, rats and cell culture, and capable of penetrating the blood-brain barrier. The most potent compounds are active at nanomolar concentrations. Finally, we have identified derivatives that may facilitate mode-of-action studies through affinity chromatography or photocrosslinking.

The Ebola virus (EBOV) genome only encodes a single viral polypeptide with enzymatic activity, the viral Large (L) RNA-dependent RNA polymerase protein. However, currently there is limited information about L protein, which has hampered development of antivirals. Therefore, antifiloviral therapeutic efforts must include additional targets such as protein-protein interfaces (PPIs). Viral protein 35 (VP35) is multifunctional and plays important roles in viral pathogenesis, including viral mRNA synthesis and replication of the negative-sense RNA viral genome. Previous studies revealed that mutation of key basic residues within the VP35 interferon inhibitory domain (IID) results in significant EBOV attenuation, both in vitro and in vivo. In the current study, we use an experimental pipeline that includes structure-based in silico screening, biochemical and structural characterization, along with medicinal chemistry to identify and characterize small molecules that target a binding pocket within VP35. NMR mapping experiments and high resolution x-ray crystal structures show that select small molecules bind to a region of VP35 IID that is important for replication complex formation through interactions with the viral nucleoprotein (NP). We also tested select compounds for their ability to inhibit VP35 IID-NP interactions in vitro as well as VP35 function in a minigenome assay and EBOV replication. These results confirm the ability of compounds identified in this study to inhibit VP35-NP interactions in vitro and to impair viral replication in cell-based assays. These studies provide an initial framework to guide development of antifiloviral compounds against filoviral VP35 proteins.

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The design, synthesis, and evaluation of a predictably more potent analogue of CC-1065 entailing the substitution replacement of a single skeleton atom in the alkylation subunit are disclosed and was conducted on the basis of design principles that emerged from a fundamental parabolic relationship between chemical reactivity and cytotoxic potency. Consistent with projections, the MeCTI (7-methyl-1,2,8,8a-tetrahydrocyclopropa[c]thieno[3,2-e]indol-4-one) alkylation subunit as well as its isomer iso-MeCTI (6-methyl-1,2,8,8a-tetrahydrocyclopropa[c]thieno[2,3-e]indol-4-one) were found to be 5-6 times more stable than the MeCPI alkylation subunit found in CC-1065 and slightly more stable than even the DSA alkylation subunit found in duocarmycin SA placing it at the point of optimally balanced stability and reactivity for this class of antitumor agents. Their incorporation into the key analogues of the natural products provided derivatives that surpassed the potency of MeCPI derivatives (3-10 fold) matching or slightly exceeding the potency of the corresponding DSA derivatives consistent with projections made based on the parabolic relationship. Notable of these, MeCTI-TMI proved to be as potent or slightly more potent than the natural product duocarmycin SA (DSA-TMI, IC 50 = 5 vs 8 pM) and MeCTI-PDE 2 proved to be 3-fold more potent than the natural product CC-1065 (MeCPI-PDE 2 , IC 50 = 7 vs 20 pM). Both exhibited efficiencies of DNA alkylation that correlate with this enhanced potency without impacting the intrinsic selectivity characteristic of this class of antitumor agents.