How does binding of imidazole-based inhibitors to heme oxygenase-1 influence their conformation? Insights combining crystal structures and molecular modelling.

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) inhibition is associated with antitumor activity. Imidazole-based analogues show effective and selective inhibitory potency of HO-1. In this work, five single-crystal structures of four imidazole-based compounds are presented, with an in-depth structural analysis. In order to study the influence of the conformation of the ligands on binding to protein, conformational data from crystallography are compared with quantum mechanics analysis and molecular docking studies. Molecular docking of imidazole-based analogues in the active site of HO-1 is in good agreement with the experimental structures. Inhibitors interact with the heme cofactor and a hydrophobic pocket (Met34, Phe37, Val50, Leu147 and Phe214) in the HO-1 binding site. An alternate binding mode can be hypothesized for some inhibitors in the series.

Thiosemicarbazide, a fragment with promising indolamine-2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) inhibition properties.

With the aim to explore the interest of the thiosemicarbazide scaffold for the inhibition of the indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), a promising therapeutic target for anticancer immunotherapy, a series of 32 phenylthiosemicarbazide derivatives was prepared and their IDO inhibition evaluated. Our study demonstrated that among these derivatives, compound 14 characterized with a 4-cyanophenyl group on the thiosemicarbazide was the more potent IDO inhibitor in this series being endowed with an IC50 of 1.2 µM. The SAR depicted showed that substitution in the 3- and 4-position relative to the phenylthiosemicarbazide are very promising whereas substitution in the 2-position always leads to less potent or inactive derivatives. In fact the study highlighted a novel interesting scaffold for IDO inhibition for further development.

Synthesis, crystal structures and electronic properties of isomers of chloro-pyridinylvinyl-1H-indoles.

Three isomers of chloro-3-(2-pyridin-3-ylvinyl)-1H-indole were synthesized and tested as inhibitors of human tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (hTDO). The crystal structures of two of them were solved by X-ray diffraction. The solubility of the molecules also was determined experimentally. The molecular electrostatic potentials and dipole moments of the three isomers were calculated by ab initio quantum mechanics (HF/6-311G). The single crystal X-ray analyses reveal non-planar structures. This non-coplanarity is retained during docking of the compounds into a model of hTDO, the molecular target of this series. The position of the Cl atom does not significantly affect the electronic delocalization. Nevertheless, the position of the Cl atom produces a local variation of bond lengths inducing different dipole moments for these isomers. Variations in dipole moments are consistent with the different melting points and crystal packings. Differences in aqueous solubilities are best explained by subtle changes in H-bonds resulting from different accessibilities of the indole NH's due to steric effects of the Cl substituent. The non-coplanarity plays an important role in the crystalline packing of the molecules in contrast to the position of the Cl. This study leads to a better understanding of the structural and electronic characteristics of this chemical series and can potentially help to better understand their inhibitory activity.

Tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (TDO) inhibitors. 3-(2-(pyridyl)ethenyl)indoles as potential anticancer immunomodulators.

Tryptophan catabolism mediated by indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) is an important mechanism of peripheral immune tolerance contributing to tumoral immune resistance. IDO inhibition is thus an active area of research in drug development. Recently, our group has shown that tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (TDO), an unrelated hepatic enzyme also catalyzing the first step of tryptophan degradation, is also expressed in many tumors and that this expression prevents tumor rejection by locally depleting tryptophan. Herein, we report a structure-activity study on a series of 3-(2-(pyridyl)ethenyl)indoles. More than 70 novel derivatives were synthesized, and their TDO inhibitory potency was evaluated. The rationalization of the structure-activity relationships (SARs) revealed essential features to attain high TDO inhibition and notably a dense H-bond network mainly involving His(55) and Thr(254) residues. Our study led to the identification of a very promising compound (58) displaying good TDO inhibition (K(i) = 5.5 µM), high selectivity, and good oral bioavailability. Indeed, 58 was chosen for preclinical evaluation.

Discovery and preliminary SARs of keto-indoles as novel indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) inhibitors.

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) is an important new therapeutic target for the treatment of cancer. With the aim of discovering novel IDO inhibitors, a virtual screen was undertaken and led to the discovery of the keto-indole derivative 1a endowed with an inhibitory potency in the micromolar range. Detailed kinetics were performed and revealed an uncompetitive inhibition profile. Preliminary SARs were drawn in this series and corroborated the putative binding orientation as suggested by docking.

Indol-2-yl ethanones as novel indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) inhibitors.

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) is a heme dioxygenase which has been shown to be involved in the pathological immune escape of diseases such as cancer. The synthesis and structure-activity relationships (SAR) of a novel series of IDO inhibitors based on the indol-2-yl ethanone scaffold is described. In vitro and in vivo biological activities have been evaluated, leading to compounds with IC(50) values in the micromolar range in both tests. Introduction of small substituents in the 5- and 6-positions of the indole ring, indole N-methylation and variations of the aromatic side chain are all well tolerated. An iron coordinating group on the linker is a prerequisite for biological activity, thus corroborating the virtual screening results.