Discovery of a quinoline-containing compound JT21-25 as a potent and selective inhibitor of apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1).

ASK1 kinase inhibition has become a promising strategy for treating inflammatory diseases, such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and multiple sclerosis. Here, we reported the discovery of a promising compound 9h (JT21-25) containing quinoline structures as a potent small molecule inhibitor of ASK1. The compound JT21-25 was selective against MAP3K kinases TAK1 (>1960.8-fold), and much higher than the selectivity of GS-4997 for TAK1 (312.3-fold). In addition, different concentrations of JT21-25 did not show significant toxicity in normal LO2 liver cells, and the cell survival rate was greater than 80 %. The Oil Red O staining experiment showed that at the 4 µM and 8 µM concentrations of JT21-25, only slight cytoplasmic fat droplets were observed in LO2 cells, and there was no significant fusion between fat droplets. In the biochemical analysis experiment, JT21-25 significantly reduced the content of CHOL, LDL, TG, ALT, and AST. In summary, these findings suggested that compound JT21-25 might be valuable for further investigation as a potential candidate in the treatment of associated diseases.

Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation of Novel Benzo[d]isoxazole Derivatives as Anticonvulsants by Selectively Blocking the Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel NaV1.1.

Sodium channel blockers are important antiseizure drugs. Since the launch of phenobarbital in 1912, it has a development history of nearly 100 years. However, because of the confounding symptoms, complications, and complex intrinsic pathogenesis of epilepsy, the design and development of blockers specifically targeting sodium channels as antiseizure drugs are difficult and rarely reported. In this study, we designed and synthesized a series of novel benzo[d]isoxazole derivatives as anticonvulsants. Among them, the most potent Z-6b displayed high protection against the MES-induced seizures with an ED50 value of 20.5 mg/kg and a high protective index (TD50/ED50) of 10.3. In addition, Z-6b significantly inhibited NaV1.1 channels in patch-clamp experiments but almost did not inhibit NaV1.2, NaV1.3, and NaV1.6 channels. These findings strongly support the hypothesis that new benzo[d]isoxazole derivatives display anticonvulsant activity by selectively blocking voltage-gated sodium channel NaV1.1, which provides good alternatives for developing selective NaV1.1 channel blockers as antiseizure drugs in the future.