Design and Synthesis of Fungal-Selective Resorcylate Aminopyrazole Hsp90 Inhibitors

J Med Chem. 2020 Mar 12;63(5):2139-2180. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.9b00826. Epub 2019 Sep 26.

Abstract

The molecular chaperone Hsp90, essential in all eukaryotes, plays a multifaceted role in promoting survival, virulence, and drug resistance across diverse pathogenic fungal species. The chaperone is also critically important, however, to the pathogen's human host, preventing the use of known clinical Hsp90 inhibitors in antifungal applications due to concomitant host toxicity issues. With the goal of developing Hsp90 inhibitors with acceptable therapeutic indices for the treatment of invasive fungal infections, we initiated a program to design and synthesize potent inhibitors with selective activity against fungal Hsp90 isoforms over their human counterparts. Building on our previously reported derivatization of resorcylate natural products to produce fungal-selective compounds, we have developed a series of synthetic aminopyrazole-substituted resorcylate amides with broad, potent, and fungal-selective Hsp90 inhibitory activity. Herein we describe the synthesis of this series, as well as biochemical structure-activity relationships driving selectivity for the Hsp90 isoforms expressed by Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida albicans, two pathogenic fungi of major clinical importance.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

  • Amination
  • Animals
  • Antifungal Agents / chemical synthesis
  • Antifungal Agents / chemistry
  • Antifungal Agents / pharmacology*
  • Candida albicans / drug effects*
  • Candida albicans / metabolism
  • Candidiasis / drug therapy
  • Candidiasis / microbiology
  • Cryptococcosis / drug therapy
  • Cryptococcosis / microbiology
  • Cryptococcus neoformans / drug effects*
  • Cryptococcus neoformans / metabolism
  • Drug Design
  • Fungal Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Fungal Proteins / metabolism
  • HSP90 Heat-Shock Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • HSP90 Heat-Shock Proteins / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Pyrazoles / chemical synthesis
  • Pyrazoles / chemistry
  • Pyrazoles / pharmacology*
  • Structure-Activity Relationship

Substances

  • Antifungal Agents
  • Fungal Proteins
  • HSP90 Heat-Shock Proteins
  • Pyrazoles