Innovative Strategy toward Mutant CFTR Rescue in Cystic Fibrosis: Design and Synthesis of Thiadiazole Inhibitors of the E3 Ligase RNF5

J Med Chem. 2023 Jul 27;66(14):9797-9822. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c00608. Epub 2023 Jul 13.

Abstract

In cystic fibrosis (CF), deletion of phenylalanine 508 (F508del) in the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is associated to misfolding and defective gating of the mutant channel. One of the most promising CF drug targets is the ubiquitin ligase RNF5, which promotes F508del-CFTR degradation. Recently, the first ever reported inhibitor of RNF5 was discovered, i.e., the 1,2,4-thiadiazol-5-ylidene inh-2. Here, we designed and synthesized a series of new analogues to explore the structure-activity relationships (SAR) of this class of compounds. SAR efforts ultimately led to compound 16, which showed a greater F508del-CFTR corrector activity than inh-2, good tolerability, and no toxic side effects. Analogue 16 increased the basal level of autophagy similar to what has been described with RNF5 silencing. Furthermore, co-treatment with 16 significantly improved the F508del-CFTR rescue induced by the triple combination elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor in CFBE41o- cells. These findings validate the 1,2,4-thiadiazolylidene scaffold for the discovery of novel RNF5 inhibitors and provide evidence to pursue this unprecedented strategy for the treatment of CF.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aminophenols
  • Benzodioxoles / pharmacology
  • Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator / genetics
  • Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator / metabolism
  • Cystic Fibrosis* / drug therapy
  • Cystic Fibrosis* / genetics
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Mutation
  • Structure-Activity Relationship
  • Thiadiazoles* / pharmacology
  • Thiadiazoles* / therapeutic use
  • Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases / metabolism

Substances

  • Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator
  • Thiadiazoles
  • Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases
  • Aminophenols
  • Benzodioxoles
  • RNF5 protein, human
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • CFTR protein, human