Moshe Weitzberg

Structure-directed discovery of potent non-peptidic inhibitors of human urokinase that access a novel binding subsite

BACKGROUND Human urokinase-type plasminogen activator has been implicated in the regulation and control of basement membrane and interstitial protein degradation. Because of its role in tissue remodeling, urokinase is a central player in the disease progression of cancer, making it an attractive target for design of an anticancer clinical agent: Few urokinase inhibitors have been described, which suggests that discovery of such a compound is in the early stages. Towards integrating structural data into this process, a new human urokinase crystal form amenable to structure-based drug design has been used to discover potent urokinase inhibitors. RESULTS On the basis of crystallographic data, 2-naphthamidine was chosen as the lead scaffold for structure-directed optimization. This co-crystal structure shows the compound binding at the primary specificity pocket of the trypsin-like protease and at a novel binding subsite that is accessible from the 8-position of 2-napthamidine. This novel subsite was characterized and used to design two compounds with very different 8-substituents that inhibit urokinase with K(i) values of 30-40 nM. CONCLUSIONS Utilization of a novel subsite yielded two potent urokinase inhibitors even though this site has not been widely used in inhibitor optimization with other trypsin-like proteases, such as those reported for thrombin or factor Xa. The extensive binding pockets present at the substrate-binding groove of these other proteins are blocked by unique insertion loops in urokinase, thus necessitating the utilization of additional binding subsites. Successful implementation of this strategy and characterization of the novel site provides a significant step towards the discovery of an anticancer clinical agent.

Gene Expression Analysis in Rats Treated with Experimental Acetyl-Coenzyme A Carboxylase Inhibitors Suggests Interactions with the Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor α Pathway

Acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACC) 2, which catalyzes the carboxylation of acetyl-CoA to form malonyl-CoA, has been identified as a potential target for type 2 diabetes and obesity. Small-molecule inhibitors of ACC2 would be expected to reduce de novo lipid synthesis and increase lipid oxidation. Treatment of ob/ob mice with compound A-908292 (S) ({(S)-3-[2-(4-isopropoxy-phenoxy)-thiazol-5-yl]-1-methyl-prop-2-ynyl}-carbamic acid methyl ester), a small-molecule inhibitor with an IC50 of 23 nM against ACC2, resulted in a reduction of serum glucose and triglyceride levels. However, compound A-875400 (R) ({(R)-3-[2-(4-isopropoxy-phenoxy)-thiazol-5-yl]-1-methyl-prop-2-ynyl}-carbamic acid methyl ester), an inactive enantiomer of A-908292 (S) with approximately 50-fold less activity against ACC2, also caused a similar reduction in glucose and triglycerides, suggesting that the glucose-lowering effects in ob/ob mice may be mediated by other metabolic pathways independent of ACC2 inhibition. To characterize the pharmacological activity of these experimental compounds at a transcriptional level, rats were orally dosed for 3 days with either A-908292 (S) or A-875400 (R), and gene expression analysis was performed. Gene expression analysis of livers showed that treatment with A-908292 (S) or A-875400 (R) resulted in gene expression profiles highly similar to known peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-α activators. The results suggest that, in vivo, both A-908292 (S) and A-875400 (R) stimulated the PPAR-α-dependent signaling pathway. These results were further supported by both an in vitro genomic evaluation using rat hepatocytes and immunohistochemical evaluation using 70-kDa peroxisomal membrane protein. Overall, the gene expression analysis suggests a plausible mechanism for the similar pharmacological findings with active and inactive enantiomers of an ACC2 inhibitor.