[Development and biochemical characterization of EGFR/c-Met dual inhibitors]

Abstract

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) family has been well-known for more than ten years as the target of non-small lung carcinoma (NSCLC) which is one of the leading cause of mortality among the cancer types. The receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (gefitinib, erlotinib, lapatinib) which have been applied in the therapy, are not able to inhibit the progression of this disease perfectly because of resistance. It has been demonstrated that the amplification of mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (c-Met) or secondary mutation of EGFR kinase causes the resistance against EGFR inhibitors in 18-20 percent of the cases. Clinical candidates inhibiting both of EGFR and c-Met kinases are unknown in the literature. We have developed quinoline-based inhibitors in our research project, which inhibit both kinases in submicromolar range in enzymatic assays, moreover we have demonstrated by western blot analysis that these compounds inhibit the autophosphorylation in vivo. The binding of the effective compounds was examined by in silico and docking simulations.