The recently discovered enzyme tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase 2 (TDP2) has been implicated in the topoisomerase-mediated repair of DNA damage. In the clinical setting, it has been hypothesized that TDP2 may mediate drug resistance to topoisomerase II (topo II) inhibition by etoposide. Therefore, selective pharmacological inhibition of TDP2 is proposed as a novel approach to overcome intrinsic or acquired resistance to topo II-targeted drug therapy. Following a high-throughput screening (HTS) campaign, toxoflavins and deazaflavins were identified as the first reported sub-micromolar and selective inhibitors of this enzyme. Toxoflavin derivatives appeared to exhibit a clear structure-activity relationship (SAR) for TDP2 enzymatic inhibition. However, we observed a key redox liability of this series, and this, alongside early in vitro drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) issues, precluded further exploration. The deazaflavins were developed from a singleton HTS hit. This series showed distinct SAR and did not display redox activity; however low cell permeability proved to be a challenge.

Novel derivatives of the steroid DHEA 1, a known uncompetitive inhibitor of G6PD, were designed, synthesized, and tested for their ability to inhibit this dehydrogenase enzyme. Several compounds with approximately 10-fold improved potency in an enzyme assay were identified, and this improved activity translated to efficacy in a cellular assay. The SAR for steroid inhibition of G6PD has been substantially developed; the 3β-alcohol can be replaced with 3β-H-bond donors such as sulfamide, sulfonamide, urea, and carbamate. Improved potency was achieved by replacing the androstane nucleus with a pregnane nucleus, provided a ketone at C-20 is present. For pregnan-20-ones incorporation of a 21-hydroxyl group is often beneficial. The novel compounds generally have good physicochemical properties and satisfactory in vitro DMPK parameters. These derivatives may be useful for examining the role of G6PD inhibition in cells and will assist the future design of more potent steroid inhibitors with potential therapeutic utility.

The progesterone receptor is able to bind to a large number and variety of ligands that elicit a broad range of transcriptional responses ranging from full agonism to full antagonism and numerous mixed profiles inbetween. We describe here two new progesterone receptor ligand binding domain x-ray structures bound to compounds from a structurally related but functionally divergent series, which show different binding modes corresponding to their agonistic or antagonistic nature. In addition, we present a third progesterone receptor ligand binding domain dimer bound to an agonist in monomer A and an antagonist in monomer B, which display binding modes in agreement with the earlier observation that agonists and antagonists from this series adopt different binding modes.

Various cyclic ether and other 3 alpha-hydroxyandrostane derivatives bearing a conformationally constrained hydrogen-bonding moiety were prepared. Their anesthetic potency and their binding affinity for GABA(A) receptors, measured by intravenous administration to mice and inhibition of [(35)S]TBPS binding to rat whole brain membranes, were compared with that of known anesthetic 3 alpha-hydroxypregnan-20-ones. Synthetic steroids with similar in vitro and in vivo activities to the endogenous 3 alpha-hydroxypregnan-20-ones all had an ether oxygen on the beta-face of the steroid D-ring. These results suggest that for optimal GABA(A) receptor modulation, the hydrogen bond-accepting substituent should be near perpendicular to the plane of the D-ring on the beta-face of the steroid.

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Deregulation of the receptor tyrosine kinase RET has been implicated in medullary thyroid cancer, a small percentage of lung adenocarcinomas, endocrine-resistant breast cancer and pancreatic cancer. There are several clinically approved multi-kinase inhibitors that target RET as a secondary pharmacology but additional activities, most notably inhibition of KDR, lead to dose-limiting toxicities. There is, therefore, a clinical need for more specific RET kinase inhibitors. Herein we report our efforts towards identifying a potent and selective RET inhibitor using vandetanib 1 as the starting point for structure-based drug design. Phenolic anilinoquinazolines exemplified by 6 showed improved affinities towards RET but, unsurprisingly, suffered from high metabolic clearance. Efforts to mitigate the metabolic liability of the phenol led to the discovery that a flanking substituent not only improved the hepatocyte stability, but could also impart a significant gain in selectivity. This culminated in the identification of 36; a potent RET inhibitor with much improved selectivity against KDR.

Over the last two decades there has been a resurgence of interest in steroids as potential therapeutics for central nervous system disorders. This interest followed the discovery that neurosteroids and neuroactive steroids are potent modulators of GABA(A) receptor function. This article traces those developments focussing particularly on the structure-activity relationships that have been identified through synthetic modification of established ligands, but also examines the influence of GABA(A) receptor subunit composition for steroid modulation. The review then covers some of the physiological effects such steroids are liable to exert and their therapeutic potential for treating central nervous system disorders including epilepsy, anxiety and insomnia.

DNA damage repair enzymes are promising targets in the development of new therapeutic agents for a wide range of cancers and potentially other diseases. The enzyme poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase (PARG) plays a pivotal role in the regulation of DNA repair mechanisms; however, the lack of potent drug-like inhibitors for use in cellular and in vivo models has limited the investigation of its potential as a novel therapeutic target. Using the crystal structure of human PARG in complex with the weakly active and cytotoxic anthraquinone 8a, novel quinazolinedione sulfonamides PARG inhibitors have been identified by means of structure-based virtual screening and library design. 1-Oxetan-3-ylmethyl derivatives 33d and 35d were selected for preliminary investigations in vivo. X-ray crystal structures help rationalize the observed structure−activity relationships of these novel inhibitors.