Michael R. Michaelides

Preclinical activity of ABT-869, a multitargeted receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor

ABT-869 is a structurally novel, receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) inhibitor that is a potent inhibitor of members of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptor families (e.g., KDR IC50 = 4 nmol/L) but has much less activity (IC50s > 1 μmol/L) against unrelated RTKs, soluble tyrosine kinases, or serine/threonine kinases. The inhibition profile of ABT-869 is evident in cellular assays of RTK phosphorylation (IC50 = 2, 4, and 7 nmol/L for PDGFR-β, KDR, and CSF-1R, respectively) and VEGF-stimulated proliferation (IC50 = 0.2 nmol/L for human endothelial cells). ABT-869 is not a general antiproliferative agent because, in most cancer cells, >1,000-fold higher concentrations of ABT-869 are required for inhibition of proliferation. However, ABT-869 exhibits potent antiproliferative and apoptotic effects on cancer cells whose proliferation is dependent on mutant kinases, such as FLT3. In vivo ABT-869 is effective orally in the mechanism-based murine models of VEGF-induced uterine edema (ED50 = 0.5 mg/kg) and corneal angiogenesis (>50% inhibition, 15 mg/kg). In tumor growth studies, ABT-869 exhibits efficacy in human fibrosarcoma and breast, colon, and small cell lung carcinoma xenograft models (ED50 = 1.5–5 mg/kg, twice daily) and is also effective (>50% inhibition) in orthotopic breast and glioma models. Reduction in tumor size and tumor regression was observed in epidermoid carcinoma and leukemia xenograft models, respectively. In combination, ABT-869 produced at least additive effects when given with cytotoxic therapies. Based on pharmacokinetic analysis from tumor growth studies, efficacy correlated more strongly with time over a threshold value (cellular KDR IC50 corrected for plasma protein binding = 0.08 μg/mL, ≥7 hours) than with plasma area under the curve or Cmax. These results support clinical assessment of ABT-869 as a therapeutic agent for cancer. [Mol Cancer Ther 2006;5(4):995–1006]

Trifluoromethyl ketones as inhibitors of histone deacetylase.

Trifluoromethyl ketones were found to be inhibitors of histone deacetylases (HDACs). Optimization of this series led to the identification of submicromolar inhibitors such as 20 that demonstrated antiproliferative effects against the HT1080 and MDA 435 cell lines.

Succinimide hydroxamic acids as potent inhibitors of histone deacetylase (HDAC).

A series of succinimide hydroxamic acids was prepared and evaluated in vitro for HDAC inhibition and tumor cell antiproliferation. While the original macrocyclic analogue 6 was quite potent in both assays, several appropriately substituted non-macrocyclic succinimides, such as 23, were equipotent.

Discovery and development of potent and selective inhibitors of histone methyltransferase g9a.

G9a is a histone lysine methyltransferase responsible for the methylation of histone H3 lysine 9. The discovery of A-366 arose from a unique diversity screening hit, which was optimized by incorporation of a propyl-pyrrolidine subunit to occupy the enzyme lysine channel. A-366 is a potent inhibitor of G9a (IC50: 3.3 nM) with greater than 1000-fold selectivity over 21 other methyltransferases.

α-Keto amides as inhibitors of histone deacetylase

α-Keto ester and amides were found to be potent inhibitors of histone deacetylase. Nanomolar inhibitors against the isolated enzyme and sub-micromolar inhibitors of cellular proliferation were obtained. The α-keto amide 30 also exhibited significant anti-tumor effects in an in vivo tumor model.

Inhibition of phosphorylation of the colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor (c-Fms) tyrosine kinase in transfected cells by ABT-869 and other tyrosine kinase inhibitors

The properties of several multitargeted receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors have been studied for their inhibition of colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor (CSF-1R) signaling. A structurally novel, multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor (ABT-869), imatinib (STI571), and four compounds currently in clinical development (AG013736, BAY 43-9006, CHIR258, and SU11248) were tested for inhibition of CSF-1R signaling in both the enzymatic and cellular assays. ABT-869 showed potent CSF-1R inhibition in both the enzyme and cell-based assays (IC50s < 20 nmol/L). In contrast to a previous report, we have found that imatinib has activity against human CSF-1R in both assays at submicromolar concentrations. In enzyme assays, we have found that the inhibition of CSF-1R by both ABT-869 and imatinib are competitive with ATP, with Ki values of 3 and 120 nmol/L, respectively. SU11248 is a potent inhibitor of CSF-1R in the enzyme assay (IC50 = 7 nmol/L) and inhibits receptor phosphorylation in the cellular assay (IC50 = 61 nmol/L). AG013736 was also a potent inhibitor of CSF-1R in both assays (enzyme, IC50 = 16 nmol/L; cellular, IC50 = 21 nmol/L), whereas BAY 43-9006 is less potent in the enzyme assay (IC50 = 107 nmol/L) than in the cellular system (IC50 = 20 nmol/L). In contrast, we found that CHIR258 had less activity in the cellular assay (IC50 = 535 nmol/L) relative to its enzymatic potency (IC50 = 26 nmol/L). These results show the use of a cell-based assay to confirm the inhibitory activity of lead compounds and drug candidates, such as ABT-869, against the CSF-1R protein in situ. [Mol Cancer Ther 2006;5(4):1007–13]

Discovery of selective hydroxamic acid inhibitors of tumor necrosis factor-α converting enzyme

Abstract Modification of the P1′ substituent of macrocyclic matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitors provided compounds that are selective for inhibition of tumor necrosis factor-α converting enzyme (TACE) over MMP-1 and MMP-2. Several analogues potently inhibited the release of TNF-α in a THP-1 cellular assay. Compounds containing a trimethoxyphenyl group in the P1′ substituent demonstrated TACE selectivity across several series of hydroxamate-based inhibitors.

Biaryl Ether Retrohydroxamates as Potent, Long-lived, Orally Bioavailable MMP Inhibitors

A novel series of biaryl ether reverse hydroxamate MMP inhibitors has been developed. These compounds are potent MMP-2 inhibitors with limited activity against MMP-1. Select members of this series exhibit excellent pharmacokinetic properties with long elimination half-lives (7 h) and high oral bioavailability (100%).

Indole amide hydroxamic acids as potent inhibitors of histone deacetylases.

A series of hydroxamic acid-based HDAC inhibitors with an indole amide residue at the terminus have been synthesized and evaluated. Compounds with a 2-indole amide moiety have been found as the most active inhibitors among the different regioisomers. Introduction of substituents on the indole ring further improved the potency and generated a series of very potent inhibitors with significant antiproliferative activity. A representative compound in the series, 7b, has been found to be orally active in tumor growth inhibition model.

Discovery of a selective catalytic p300/CBP inhibitor that targets lineage-specific tumours

The dynamic and reversible acetylation of proteins, catalysed by histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs), is a major epigenetic regulatory mechanism of gene transcription and is associated with multiple diseases. Histone deacetylase inhibitors are currently approved to treat certain cancers, but progress on the development of drug-like histone actyltransferase inhibitors has lagged behind. The histone acetyltransferase paralogues p300 and CREB-binding protein (CBP) are key transcriptional co-activators that are essential for a multitude of cellular processes, and have also been implicated in human pathological conditions (including cancer). Current inhibitors of the p300 and CBP histone acetyltransferase domains, including natural products, bi-substrate analogues and the widely used small molecule C646, lack potency or selectivity. Here, we describe A-485, a potent, selective and drug-like catalytic inhibitor of p300 and CBP. We present a high resolution (1.95 Å) co-crystal structure of a small molecule bound to the catalytic active site of p300 and demonstrate that A-485 competes with acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA). A-485 selectively inhibited proliferation in lineage-specific tumour types, including several haematological malignancies and androgen receptor-positive prostate cancer. A-485 inhibited the androgen receptor transcriptional program in both androgen-sensitive and castration-resistant prostate cancer and inhibited tumour growth in a castration-resistant xenograft model. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using small molecule inhibitors to selectively target the catalytic activity of histone acetyltransferases, which may provide effective treatments for transcriptional activator-driven malignancies and diseases.