Janus kinases (JAKs) are involved in numerous cellular signaling processes related to immune cell functions. JAK2 and JAK3 are associated with the pathogenesis of leukemia and common lymphoid-derived illnesses. JAK2/3 inhibitors could reduce the risk of various diseases by targeting this pathway. Herein, the naphthoquinones were experimentally and theoretically investigated to identify novel JAK2/3 inhibitors. Napabucasin and 2'-methyl napabucasin exhibited potent cell growth inhibition in TF1 (IC50 = 9.57 and 18.10 μM) and HEL (IC50 = 3.31 and 6.65 μM) erythroleukemia cell lines, and they significantly inhibited JAK2/3 kinase activity (in a nanomolar range) better than the known JAK inhibitor, tofacitinib. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that these two compounds induced apoptosis in TF1 cells in a time and dose-dependent manner. From the molecular dynamics study, both compounds formed hydrogen bonds with Y931 and L932 residues and hydrophobically contacted with the conserved hinge region, G loop, and catalytic loop of the JAK2. Our obtained results suggested that napabucasin and its methylated analog were potential candidates for further development of novel anticancer drug targeting JAKs.
Keywords: JAK2/3 inhibitors; enzymatic and cell-based assay; molecular dynamics simulations; naphthoquinones.