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Glutathione transferase omega-1 (GSTO1-1) is an enzyme whose function supports the activation of interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18 that are implicated in a variety of inflammatory disease states for which small-molecule inhibitors are sought. The potent reactivity of the active-site cysteine has resulted in reported inhibitors that act by covalent labeling. In this study, structure-activity relationship (SAR) elaboration of the reported GSTO1-1 inhibitor C1-27 was undertaken. Compounds were evaluated for inhibitory activity toward purified recombinant GSTO1-1 and for indicators of target engagement in cell-based assays. As covalent inhibitors, the k inact / K I values of selected compounds were determined, as well as in vivo pharmacokinetics analysis. Cocrystal structures of key novel compounds in complex with GSTO1-1 were also solved. This study represents the first application of a biochemical assay for GSTO1-1 to determine k inact / K I values for tested inhibitors and the most extensive set of cell-based data for a GSTO1-1 inhibitor SAR series reported to date. Our research culminated in the discovery of 25 , which we propose as the preferred biochemical tool to interrogate cellular responses to GSTO1-1 inhibition.

Early stage drug discovery reporting on relatively new or difficult targets is often associated with insufficient hit triage. Literature reviews of such targets seldom delve into the detail required to critically analyze the associated screening hits reported. Here we take the enzyme glutathione transferase omega-1 (GSTO1-1) as an example of a relatively difficult target and review the associated literature involving small-molecule inhibitors. As part of this process we deliberately pay closer-than-usual attention to assay interference and hit quality aspects. We believe this Perspective will be a useful guide for future development of GSTO1-1 inhibitors, as well serving as a template for future review formats of new or difficult targets.

1H NMR experiments at 300 MHz have been carried out to determine the identity and study the interconversion of two conformations of butaclamol in solution. The hydrochloride salt in DMSO exists as an equilibrium mixture of two conformations, which differ in their stereochemistry about the ring junction that contains the single nitrogen atom in butaclamol. The trans form has a relative population of 80% and the cis I form 20%. In CDCl3 only the trans form is observed, while in CDCl3-DMSO mixtures, both forms are detected in a ratio (trans:cis I) that decreases as the percentage of CDCl3 decreases. For the free base in either CD2Cl2 or DMSO, only a single set of resonances is observed at room temperature, but as temperature is lowered, peaks from methine protons H4a and H13b near the ring junction broaden and (for samples in CD2Cl2) eventually split into two resonances corresponding to the cis and trans forms. It is suggested that nitrogen inversion is the dynamic process responsible for the interconversion of the two forms. Line shape analysis as a function of temperature yielded an energy barrier of 9.6 +/- 0.5 kcal/mol for the interconversion, in good agreement with values obtained from saturation transfer experiments. In the hydrochloride salt, the barrier in DMSO was somewhat higher, i.e., 17.3 +/- 0.9 kcal/mol, as determined by saturation transfer and variable-temperature measurements.

A theoretical (MM2) and experimental (1H and 13C NMR) study of butaclamol hydrochloride in CDCl3 has been done in order to determine preferred conformations and internal molecular flexibility of this molecule. The theoretical calculations suggest the presence of four low-energy conformations, two of which involve a trans junction of the D and E rings, with the other two involving a cis I ring junction. An alternative cis junction (cis II) was excluded on energetic grounds. The 1H NMR data strongly suggest the presence of a trans D-E ring junction and are consistent with a chair conformation of the E ring. 13C spin-lattice relaxation time measurements show that most of the molecule is rigid, although there is some degree of mobility in the seven-membered B ring, associated with rapid flipping of the bridging C8 and C9 carbons between two skewed conformations, which have previously been referred to as conformer A and conformer B (Laus et al. Heterocycles 1984, 22, 311).