1. Pyridinylimidazoles as dual glycogen synthase kinase 3β/p38α mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitors
- Author
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Tatu Pantsar, Mark Kudolo, Fabian Heider, Eva Döring, Stefan Laufer, Francesco Ansideri, Roberta Tesch, Pierre Koch, Wolfgang Albrecht, Urs Haun, and Antti Poso
- Subjects
Gene isoform ,Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization ,Pyridines ,Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ,p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases ,01 natural sciences ,Inhibitory Concentration 50 ,Structure-Activity Relationship ,03 medical and health sciences ,GSK-3 ,Drug Discovery ,Humans ,Amino Acid Sequence ,Carbon-13 Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ,Kinase activity ,Protein kinase A ,Protein Kinase Inhibitors ,030304 developmental biology ,Pharmacology ,chemistry.chemical_classification ,0303 health sciences ,Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta ,Sequence Homology, Amino Acid ,biology ,010405 organic chemistry ,Kinase ,Organic Chemistry ,Imidazoles ,General Medicine ,0104 chemical sciences ,Molecular Docking Simulation ,Enzyme ,chemistry ,Biochemistry ,Docking (molecular) ,Mitogen-activated protein kinase ,biology.protein - Abstract
Compounds simultaneously inhibiting two targets that are involved in the progression of the same complex disease may exhibit additive or even synergistic therapeutic effects. Here we unveil 2,4,5-trisubstituted imidazoles as dual inhibitors of p38α mitogen-activated protein kinase and glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β). Both enzymes are potential therapeutic targets for neurodegenerative disorders, like Alzheimer's disease. A set of 39 compounds was synthesized and evaluated in kinase activity assays for their ability to inhibit both target kinases. Among the synthesized compounds, potent dual-target-directed inhibitors showing IC50 values down to the low double-digit nanomolar range, were identified. One of the best balanced dual inhibitors presented in here is N-(4-(2-ethyl-4-(4-fluorophenyl)-1H-imidazol-5-yl)pyridin-2-yl)cyclopropanecarboxamide (20c) (p38α, IC50 = 16 nM; GSK3β, IC50 = 35 nM) featuring an excellent metabolic stability and an appreciable isoform selectivity over the closely related GSK3α. Our findings were rationalized by computational docking studies based on previously published X-ray structures.
- Published
- 2019
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