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  2. Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of novel 4,4'-bipyridine derivatives acting as CDK9-Cyclin T1 protein-protein interaction inhibitors against triple-negative breast cancer

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of novel 4,4'-bipyridine derivatives acting as CDK9-Cyclin T1 protein-protein interaction inhibitors against triple-negative breast cancer

  • Eur J Med Chem. 2023 Oct 6:261:115858. doi: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115858.
Guiping Gao 1 Jiayi Li 2 Yin Cao 2 Xudan Li 2 Yuqing Qian 3 Xiumei Wang 2 Mengyu Li 2 Yingkun Qiu 2 Tong Wu 4 Liqiang Wang 5 Meijuan Fang 6
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Target Research and State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China; Huaqiao University School of Medicine Science, Quanzhou, 362021, China.
  • 2 Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Target Research and State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China.
  • 3 Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Target Research and State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China; School of Pharmacy, Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanchang, 330006, PR China.
  • 4 Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Target Research and State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China. Electronic address: tongywu@gmail.com.
  • 5 Huaqiao University School of Medicine Science, Quanzhou, 362021, China. Electronic address: wlq1599@163.com.
  • 6 Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Target Research and State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China. Electronic address: fangmj@xmu.edu.cn.
Abstract

Cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK9) is directly related to tumor development in triple-negative breast Cancer (TNBC) patients. Increased CDK9 is significantly associated with poor patient prognosis, while inhibiting CDK9-Cyclin T1 protein-protein interaction has recently been demonstrated as a new approach to TNBC treatment. Herein, we synthesized a novel class of 4,4'-bipyridine derivatives as potential CDK9-Cyclin T1 PPI inhibitors against TNBC. The represented compound B19 was found to be an excellent and selective CDK9-Cyclin T1 PPI inhibitor with good potency against TNBC cell lines while exhibiting lower toxicity in normal human cell lines than the positive compound I-CDK9. Notably, compound B19 showed good pharmacokinetic properties and excellent antitumor activity against TNBC (4T1) allografts in mice with a therapeutic index of more than 42 (TGI4T1(12.5 mg/kg,i.p.) = 63.1% vs. LD50 = 537 mg/kg). Moreover, the administration of B19 in combination with the PARP Inhibitor Olaparib results in a significant increase of the antitumor activity in MDA-MB-231 cells relative to that of either single agent. To our knowledge, B19 is the first reported non-metal organic compound that acts as a selective CDK9-Cyclin T1 PPI inhibitor with in vivo antitumor activity, and it may be alone and in combination with PARP Inhibitor Olaparib for TNBC therapy.

Keywords

4,4′-Bipyridine derivatives; Antitumor activity; CDK9-Cyclin T1; PPI inhibitor; Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

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