Until now, a lack of inhibitors with high potency and selectivity in vivo has hampered investigation of the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. We describe the design of skepinone-L, which is, to our knowledge, the first ATP-competitive p38 MAPK inhibitor with excellent in vivo efficacy and selectivity. Therefore, skepinone-L is a valuable probe for chemical biology research, and it may foster the development of a unique class of kinase inhibitors.
In this study, we report on the discovery of isoxazole 1 as a potent dual inhibitor of p38alpha (IC(50) = 0.45 microM) and CK1delta (IC(50) = 0.23 microM). Because only a few effective small molecule inhibitors of CK1 have been described so far, we aimed to develop this structural class toward specific agents. Molecular modeling studies comparing p38alpha/CK1delta suggested an optimization strategy leading to design, synthesis, biological characterization, and SAR of highly potent compounds including 9 (IC(50) p38alpha = 0.006 microM; IC(50) CK1delta = 1.6 microM), 13 (IC(50) p38alpha = 2.52 microM; IC(50) CK1delta = 0.033 microM), 17 (IC(50) p38alpha = 0.019 microM; IC(50) CK1delta = 0.004 microM; IC(50) CK1epsilon = 0.073 microM), and 18 (CKP138) (IC(50) p38alpha = 0.041 microM; IC(50) CK1delta = 0.005 microM; IC(50) CK1epsilon = 0.447 microM) possessing differentiated specificity. Selected compounds were profiled over 76 kinases and evaluation of their cellular efficacy showed 18 (CKP138) to be a highly potent and dual-specific inhibitor of CK1delta and p38alpha.
The p38 MAP kinase is a key player in signaling pathways regulating the biosynthesis of inflammatory cytokines. Small molecule p38 inhibitors suppress the production of these cytokines. Therefore p38 is a promising drug target for novel anti-inflammatory drugs. In this study, we report novel dibenzepinones, dibenzoxepines, and benzosuberones as p38α MAP kinase inhibitors. Previously reported dibenzepinones and dibenzoxepines were chemically modified by introduction of functional groups or removal of a phenyl ring. This should result in targeting of the hydrophobic region I, the "deep pocket", and the hinge glycine flip of the kinase. Potent inhibitors with IC(50) values in the single digit nanomolar range (up to 3 nM) were identified. Instead of targeting the "deep pocket" in the DFG-out conformation, interactions with the DFG-motif in the in-conformation could be observed by protein X-ray crystallography.
Synthesis, biological testing, structure-activity relationships (SARs), and selectivity of novel disubstituted dibenzosuberone derivatives as p38 MAP kinase inhibitors are described. Hydrophilic moieties were introduced at the 7-, 8-, and 9-position of the 2-phenylamino-dibenzosuberones, improving physicochemical properties as well as potency. Extremely potent inhibitors were obtained, with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) values in the low nM range in a whole blood assay measuring the inhibition of cytokine release. The high potency of the target compounds together with the outstanding selectivity of this novel class of compounds toward p38 mitogen activated protein (MAP) kinase as compared to other kinases indicate them to be most applicable as tools in pharmacological research and eventually they may foster a new generation of anti-inflammatory drugs.
A series of 42 naturally occurring flavonoids and one flavonoid glucuronide were tested for their ability to inhibit p38α mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38α) and c-Jun-N-terminal kinase 3 (JNK3). Potent inhibitors with IC(50) values in the low micromolar range were identified. Structure-activity relationships were evaluated and the most promising compounds were docked into the ATP binding site of these kinases. Among the different classes of flavonoids, the flavonol group showed better inhibition of p38α. Of this class, kaempferol-7,4'-dimethylether was a potent p38α inhibitor, displaying 13-fold selectivity for p38α over JNK3. The flavone compounds without a 6-methoxy group preferentially inhibited JNK3. The flavone glycoside, luteolin-7-O-glycoside, was identified as a potent inhibitor with the greatest selectivity toward JNK3. In contrast, the flavanol compounds displayed similar inhibitory activities toward both kinases.
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