Discovery of 1,3-Diaryl-pyridones as Potent VEGFR-2 Inhibitors: Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation.

In this study, we described the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of 1,3-diaryl-pyridones as vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) inhibitors. The 1,3-diaryl-pyridones were synthesized via Chan-Lam and Suzuki coupling reactions. Two representative compounds, 17 and 35h, displayed excellent enzymatic inhibitory activities, with IC50 values of 3.5 and 3.0 nm, respectively. Furthermore, compounds 17 and 35h blocked the tube formation and suppressed the VEGF-induced phosphorylation of VEGFR-2 and downstream extracellular signal-regulated kinases (Erk) in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) at 10 nm concentration. The docking simulation showed that compound 17 bound well into the active site of VEGFR-2 via two hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions.