Hinge Binder Scaffold Hopping Identifies Potent Calcium/Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Kinase 2 (CAMKK2) Inhibitor Chemotypes

J Med Chem. 2021 Aug 12;64(15):10849-10877. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c02274. Epub 2021 Jul 15.

Abstract

CAMKK2 is a serine/threonine kinase and an activator of AMPK whose dysregulation is linked with multiple diseases. Unfortunately, STO-609, the tool inhibitor commonly used to probe CAMKK2 signaling, has limitations. To identify promising scaffolds as starting points for the development of high-quality CAMKK2 chemical probes, we utilized a hinge-binding scaffold hopping strategy to design new CAMKK2 inhibitors. Starting from the potent but promiscuous disubstituted 7-azaindole GSK650934, a total of 32 compounds, composed of single-ring, 5,6-, and 6,6-fused heteroaromatic cores, were synthesized. The compound set was specifically designed to probe interactions with the kinase hinge-binding residues. Compared to GSK650394 and STO-609, 13 compounds displayed similar or better CAMKK2 inhibitory potency in vitro, while compounds 13g and 45 had improved selectivity for CAMKK2 across the kinome. Our systematic survey of hinge-binding chemotypes identified several potent and selective inhibitors of CAMKK2 to serve as starting points for medicinal chemistry programs.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

  • Calcium / chemistry
  • Calcium / pharmacology*
  • Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Kinase / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Kinase / metabolism
  • Calmodulin / chemistry
  • Calmodulin / pharmacology*
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Humans
  • Molecular Structure
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / chemical synthesis
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / chemistry
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / pharmacology*
  • Structure-Activity Relationship

Substances

  • Calmodulin
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors
  • CAMKK2 protein, human
  • Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Kinase
  • Calcium