Document Report Card

Basic Information

ID: ALA4433267

Journal: Bioorg Med Chem Lett

Title: Symmetry-based ligand design and evaluation of small molecule inhibitors of programmed cell death-1/programmed death-ligand 1 interaction.

Authors: Kawashita S, Aoyagi K, Yamanaka H, Hantani R, Naruoka S, Tanimoto A, Hori Y, Toyonaga Y, Fukushima K, Miyazaki S, Hantani Y.

Abstract: The development of small molecule inhibitors of PD-1/PD-L1 is eagerly anticipated for treatment of cancer. We focused on the symmetry of the ternary complex structure of reported small molecule ligands and hPD-L1 homodimers, and designed partially- or fully-symmetric compounds for more potent inhibitors. The design of the new compounds was guided by our hypothesis that the designed symmetric compound would induce a flip of sidechain of ATyr56 protein residue to form a new cavity. The designed compound 4 exhibited substantially increased binding affinity to hPD-L1, as well as PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitory activity in physiological conditions. Compound 4 also showed a dose-dependent increase in IFN-γ secretion levels in a mixed lymphocyte reaction assay. These results not only indicate the feasibility of targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway with small molecules, but illustrate the applicability of the symmetry-based ligand design as an attractive methodology for targeting protein-protein interaction stabilizers.

CiteXplore: 31351692

DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2019.07.027