Discovery of 1-Amino-1 H-imidazole-5-carboxamide Derivatives as Highly Selective, Covalent Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase (BTK) Inhibitors

J Med Chem. 2021 Nov 11;64(21):16242-16270. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c01559. Epub 2021 Oct 21.

Abstract

Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors suppressing the aberrant activation of BTK have led to a paradigm shift in the therapy of B-cell malignancies. However, there is an urgent need to discover more selective covalent BTK inhibitors owing to the off-target adverse effects of the approved inhibitor, ibrutinib. Herein, we disclose the discovery and preliminary activity studies of novel BTK inhibitors carrying 1-amino-1H-imidazole-5-carboxamide as a hinge binder. The most potent BTK inhibitor 26 demonstrates impressive selectivity, favorable pharmacokinetic properties, and robust antitumor efficacy in vivo, which indicates its potential as a novel therapeutic option for B-cell lymphomas. Importantly, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of a 1-amino-1H-imidazole-5-carboxamide scaffold used as the hinge binder of kinase inhibitors, which will largely expand the chemical diversity of kinase inhibitors.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Agammaglobulinaemia Tyrosine Kinase / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Apoptosis / drug effects
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme Inhibitors / pharmacology
  • Drug Discovery*
  • Humans
  • Imidazoles / pharmacology*
  • Molecular Docking Simulation
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / pharmacology*
  • Signal Transduction / drug effects
  • Structure-Activity Relationship

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme Inhibitors
  • Imidazoles
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors
  • Agammaglobulinaemia Tyrosine Kinase