1. Academic Validation
  2. Discovery and Optimization of Novel h DHODH Inhibitors for the Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Discovery and Optimization of Novel h DHODH Inhibitors for the Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

  • J Med Chem. 2023 Oct 23. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c01365.
Xia Zhou 1 2 Kun Gou 1 Jing Xu 1 Lunan Jian 1 Yuan Luo 1 Chungen Li 1 Xinqi Guan 1 Jiahao Qiu 1 Jiao Zou 1 Yu Zhang 3 Xi Zhong 4 Ting Zeng 4 Yue Zhou 1 Yuzhou Xiao 1 Xinyu Yang 4 Weijie Chen 4 Ping Gao 1 Chunqi Liu 1 Yang Zhou 1 Lei Tao 1 Xingchen Liu 4 Xiaobo Cen 5 Qiang Chen 1 Qingxiang Sun 1 6 Youfu Luo 1 Yinglan Zhao 1 4
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Biotherapy, Cancer Center and State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
  • 2 Green Pharmaceutical Technology Key Laboratory of Luzhou, Central Nervous System Drug Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, China.
  • 3 School of Medicine, Tibet University, Lhasa 850000, China.
  • 4 West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
  • 5 National Chengdu Center for Safety Evaluation of Drugs, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
  • 6 Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610072, China.
Abstract

As a key rate-limiting Enzyme in the de novo synthesis of pyrimidine nucleotides, human Dihydroorotate Dehydrogenase (hDHODH) is considered a known target for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Herein, BAY 41-2272 with a 1H-pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridine scaffold was identified as an hDHODH inhibitor by screening an active compound library containing 5091 molecules. Further optimization led to 2-(1-(2-chloro-6-fluorobenzyl)-1H-pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridin-3-yl)-5-cyclopropylpyrimidin-4-amine (w2), which was found to be the most promising and drug-like compound with potent inhibitory activity against hDHODH (IC50 = 173.4 nM). Compound w2 demonstrated acceptable pharmacokinetic characteristics and alleviated the severity of acute ulcerative colitis induced by dextran sulfate sodium in a dose-dependent manner. Notably, w2 exerted better therapeutic effects on ulcerative colitis than hDHODH inhibitor vidofludimus and Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor tofacitinib. Taken together, w2 is a promising hDHODH inhibitor for the treatment of IBD and deserves to be developed as a preclinical candidate.

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