1. Defining Target Engagement Required for Efficacy In Vivo at the Retinoic Acid Receptor-Related Orphan Receptor C2 (RORγt).
- Author
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Lugar CW, Clarke CA, Morphy R, Rudyk H, Sapmaz S, Stites RE, Vaught GM, Furness K, Broughton HB, Durst GL, Clawson DK, Stout SL, Guo SY, Durbin JD, Stayrook KR, Edmondson DD, Kikly K, New NE, Bina HA, Chambers MG, Shetler P, Chang WY, Chang VC, Barr R, Gough WH, Steele JP, Getman B, Patel N, Mathes BM, and Richardson TI
- Subjects
- Animals, Arthritis chemically induced, Arthritis drug therapy, Arthritis pathology, Binding Sites, Crystallography, X-Ray, Disease Models, Animal, Drug Design, Female, Half-Life, Humans, Interleukin-17 genetics, Interleukin-17 metabolism, Leukocytes, Mononuclear cytology, Leukocytes, Mononuclear drug effects, Leukocytes, Mononuclear metabolism, Mice, Molecular Dynamics Simulation, Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 1, Group F, Member 3 chemistry, Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 1, Group F, Member 3 genetics, Protein Binding, Structure-Activity Relationship, Thiophenes metabolism, Thiophenes pharmacology, Thiophenes therapeutic use, Ligands, Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 1, Group F, Member 3 metabolism, Thiophenes chemistry
- Abstract
The Th17 pathway has been implicated in autoimmune diseases. The retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor C2 (RORγt) is a master regulator of Th17 cells and controls the expression of IL-17A. RORγt is expressed primarily in IL-17A-producing lymphoid cells. Here we describe a virtual screen of the ligand-binding pocket and subsequent screen in a binding assay that identified the 1-benzyl-4',5'-dihydrospiro[piperidine-4,7'-thieno[2,3- c ]pyran]-2'-carboxamide scaffold as a starting point for optimization of binding affinity and functional activity guided by structure-based design. Compound 12 demonstrated activity in a mouse PK/PD model and efficacy in an inflammatory arthritis mouse model that were used to define the level and duration of target engagement required for efficacy in vivo . Further optimization to improve ADME and physicochemical properties with guidance from simulations and modeling provided compound 22 , which is projected to achieve the level and duration of target engagement required for efficacy in the clinic.
- Published
- 2021
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