Covalent‐Allosteric Kinase Inhibitors

Targeting and stabilizing distinct kinase conformations is an instrumental strategy for dissecting conformation‐dependent signaling of protein kinases. Herein the structure‐based design, synthesis, and evaluation of pleckstrin homology (PH) domain‐dependent covalent‐allosteric inhibitors (CAIs) of the kinase Akt is reported. These inhibitors bind covalently to a distinct cysteine of the kinase and thereby stabilize the inactive kinase conformation. These modulators exhibit high potency and selectivity, and represent an innovative approach for chemical biology and medicinal chemistry research.     

A Photoaffinity Displacement Assay and Probes to Study the Cyclin‐Dependent Kinase Family

The CDK family plays a crucial role in the control of the cell cycle. Dysregulation and mutation of the CDKs has been implicated in cancer and the CDKs have been investigated extensively as potential therapeutic targets. Selective inhibition of specific isoforms of the CDKs is crucial to achieve therapeutic effect while minimising toxicity. We present a group of photoaffinity probes designed to bind to the family of CDKs. The site of crosslinking of the optimised probe, as well as its ability to enrich members of the CDK family from cell lysates, was investigated. In a proof of concept study, we subsequently developed a photoaffinity probe‐based competition assay to profile CDK inhibitors. We anticipate that this approach will be widely applicable to the study of small molecule binding to protein families of interest.     

Furo[3,2‐b]pyridine: A Privileged Scaffold for Highly Selective Kinase Inhibitors and Effective Modulators of the Hedgehog Pathway

Reported is the identification of the furo[3,2‐b]pyridine core as a novel scaffold for potent and highly selective inhibitors of cdc‐like kinases (CLKs) and efficient modulators of the Hedgehog signaling pathway. Initially, a diverse target compound set was prepared by synthetic sequences based on chemoselective metal‐mediated couplings, including assembly of the furo[3,2‐b]pyridine scaffold by copper‐mediated oxidative cyclization. Optimization of the subseries containing 3,5‐disubstituted furo[3,2‐b]pyridines afforded potent, cell‐active, and highly selective inhibitors of CLKs. Profiling of the kinase‐inactive subset of 3,5,7‐trisubstituted furo[3,2‐b]pyridines revealed sub‐micromolar modulators of the Hedgehog pathway.     

para‐Nitroblebbistatin,the Non‐Cytotoxic and Photostable Myosin II Inhibitor

Blebbistatin, the best characterized myosin II‐inhibitor, is commonly used to study the biological roles of various myosin II isoforms. Despite its popularity, the use of blebbistatin is greatly hindered by its blue‐light sensitivity, resulting in phototoxicity and photoconversion of the molecule. Additionally, blebbistatin has serious cytotoxic side effects even in the absence of irradiation, which may easily lead to the misinterpretation of experimental results since the cytotoxicity‐derived phenotype could be attributed to the inhibition of the myosin II function. Here we report the synthesis as well as the in vitro and in vivo characterization of a photostable, C15 nitro derivative of blebbistatin with unaffected myosin II inhibitory properties. Importantly, para‐nitroblebbistatin is neither phototoxic nor cytotoxic, as shown by cellular and animal tests; therefore it can serve as an unrestricted and complete replacement of blebbistatin both in vitro and in vivo.     

Halogen Bonding Increases the Potency and Isozyme Selectivity of Protein Arginine Deiminase 1 Inhibitors

Protein arginine deiminases (PADs) hydrolyze the side chain of arginine to form citrulline. Aberrant PAD activity is associated with rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lupus, and certain cancers. These pathologies established the PADs as therapeutic targets and multiple PAD inhibitors are known. Herein, we describe the first highly potent PAD1‐selective inhibitors ( 1 and 19 ). Detailed structure–activity relationships indicate that their potency and selectivity is due to the formation of a halogen bond with PAD1. Importantly, these inhibitors inhibit histone H3 citrullination in HEK293TPAD1 cells and mouse zygotes with excellent potency. Based on this scaffold, we also developed a PAD1‐selective activity‐based probe that shows remarkable cellular efficacy and proteome selectivity. Based on their potency and selectivity we expect that 1 and 19 will be widely used chemical tools to understand PAD1 biology.     

ɛ‐TiO,a Novel Stable Polymorph of Titanium Monoxide

For the Ti/O system, three titanium monoxide (TiO) phases (α, β, and γ) with defective NaCl‐type structures and a high‐temperature hexagonal phase (H) have been known for decades. In this work, single crystals of a novel polymorph, ɛ‐TiO, were synthesized by using a bismuth flux. X‐ray diffraction (XRD) revealed a hexagonal crystal structure (a=4.9936(3) Å, c=2.8773(2) Å, P 2m) that is isotypic with ɛ‐TaN. While the Ti atoms are surrounded by trigonal prismatic (sixfold coordination) and trigonal planar (threefold coordination) arrangements of O atoms, the O atoms are found in a pseudo‐square‐pyramidal arrangement of Ti atoms. First‐principles calculations of the formation enthalpy and the electron and phonon density of states and crystal orbital Hamilton population (COHP) analysis revealed that ɛ‐TiO is more stable than α‐TiO, which had previously been regarded as the most stable phase at low temperatures.