0000000000681198
AUTHOR
Christoph Schächtele
Profile and molecular modeling of 3-(indole-3-yl)-4-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)-1 H-pyrrole-2,5-dione (1) as a highly selective VEGF-R2/3 inhibitor.
We report on selectivity profiling of 1 in a panel of 20 protein kinases and molecular modeling indicating 1 to be highly active and selective for VEGF-R2/3. Sequence alignment analysis and detailed insights into the ATP binding pockets of targeted protein kinases from the panel result in a unique structural architecture of VEGF-R2 mainly caused by the hydrophobic pocket I, determining the molecular basis for activity and selectivity of 1.
Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of 3,4-Diarylmaleimides as Angiogenesis Inhibitors
The new analogue 2 of combretastatin A-4 was discovered to be an inhibitor of tubulin polymerization with an IC50 of 7.6 microM and reduced angiogenesis in the in vivo chick embryo model. Interestingly, in a series of 2,3-diarylmaleimides closely related to this lead, no other compound was found to be active in the tubulin polymerization assay. However, by screening in the in vivo chick embryo assay 10 was identified as a potent angiogenesis inhibitor indicating an alternative target. Indeed, molecular modeling studies suggest a reasonable binding mode of 10 at the ATP-binding site of the model kinase CDK2. Motivated by these results, analogues of 10 were screened for inhibitory activity in…