Novel pyrrolidine diketopiperazines selectively inhibit melanoma cells via induction of late-onset apoptosis

J Med Chem. 2014 Feb 27;57(4):1599-608. doi: 10.1021/jm4019542. Epub 2014 Feb 5.

Abstract

A common liability of cancer drugs is toxicity to noncancerous cells. Thus, molecules are needed that are potent toward cancer cells while sparing healthy cells. The cost of traditional cell-based HTS is dictated by the library size, which is typically in the hundreds of thousands of individual compounds. Mixture-based combinatorial libraries offer a cost-effective alternative to single-compound libraries while eliminating the need for molecular target validation. Presently, lung cancer and melanoma cells were screened in parallel with healthy cells using a mixture-based library. A novel class of compounds was discovered that selectively inhibited melanoma cell growth via apoptosis with submicromolar potency while sparing healthy cells. Additionally, the cost of screening and biological follow-up experiments was significantly lower than in typical HTS. Our findings suggest that mixture-based phenotypic HTS can significantly reduce cost and hit-to-lead time while yielding novel compounds with promising pharmacology.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Apoptosis*
  • Melanoma, Experimental / pathology*
  • Mice
  • Piperazines / chemistry
  • Piperazines / pharmacology*
  • Pyrrolidines / chemistry*

Substances

  • Piperazines
  • Pyrrolidines