Discovery of a Potent and Selective FLT3 Inhibitor (Z)- N-(5-((5-Fluoro-2-oxoindolin-3-ylidene)methyl)-4-methyl-1 H-pyrrol-3-yl)-3-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)propanamide with Improved Drug-like Properties and Superior Efficacy in FLT3-ITD-Positive Acute Myeloid Leukemia

J Med Chem. 2021 Apr 22;64(8):4870-4890. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c02247. Epub 2021 Apr 2.

Abstract

Overcoming the FLT3-ITD mutant has been a promising drug design strategy for treating acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Herein, we discovered a novel FLT3 inhibitor 17, which displayed potent inhibitory activity against the FLT3-ITD mutant (IC50 = 0.8 nM) and achieved good selectivity over c-KIT kinase (over 500-fold). Compound 17 selectively inhibited the proliferation of FLT3-ITD-positive AML cell lines MV4-11 (IC50 = 23.5 nM) and MOLM-13 (IC50 = 35.5 nM) and exhibited potent inhibitory effects against associated acquired resistance mutations. In cellular mechanism studies, compound 17 strongly inhibited FLT3-mediated signaling pathways and induced apoptosis by arresting the cell cycle in the sub-G1 phase. In in vivo studies, compound 17 demonstrated a good bioavailability (73.6%) and significantly suppressed tumor growth in MV4-11 (10 mg/kg, TGI 93.4%) and MOLM-13 (20 mg/kg, TGI 98.0%) xenograft models without exhibiting obvious toxicity. These results suggested that compound 17 may be a promising drug candidate for treating FLT3-ITD-positive AML.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Apoptosis / drug effects
  • Binding Sites
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Drug Design*
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / drug effects
  • G1 Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints / drug effects
  • Humans
  • Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / drug therapy
  • Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / metabolism
  • Mice
  • Mice, Nude
  • Molecular Docking Simulation
  • Mutation
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / chemistry*
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / metabolism
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / pharmacology
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / therapeutic use
  • Pyrazoles / chemistry*
  • Pyrazoles / metabolism
  • Pyrazoles / pharmacology
  • Pyrazoles / therapeutic use
  • Signal Transduction / drug effects
  • Structure-Activity Relationship
  • Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
  • fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 3 / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 3 / genetics
  • fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 3 / metabolism

Substances

  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors
  • Pyrazoles
  • FLT3 protein, human
  • fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 3