Structural Basis for Design of New Purine-Based Inhibitors Targeting the Hydrophobic Binding Pocket of Hsp90

Abstract

Inhibition of the molecular chaperone heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) represents a promising approach for cancer treatment. BIIB021 is a highly potent Hsp90 inhibitor with remarkable anticancer activity; however, its clinical application is limited by lack of potency and response. In this study, we aimed to investigate the impact of replacing the hydrophobic moiety of BIIB021, 4-methoxy-3,5-dimethylpyridine, with various five-membered ring structures on the binding to Hsp90. A focused array of N-7/N-9-substituted purines, featuring aromatic and non-aromatic rings, was designed, considering the size of hydrophobic pocket B in Hsp90 to obtain insights into their binding modes within the ATP binding site of Hsp90 in terms of pi-pi stacking interactions in pocket B as well as outer alpha-helix 4 configurations. The target molecules were synthesized and evaluated for their Hsp90 alpha inhibitory activity in cell-free assays. Among the tested compounds, the isoxazole derivatives 6b and 6c, and the sole six-membered derivative 14 showed favorable Hsp90 alpha inhibitory activity, with IC50 values of 1.76 mu M, 0.203 mu M, and 1.00 mu M, respectively. Furthermore, compound 14 elicited promising anticancer activity against MCF-7, SK-BR-3, and HCT116 cell lines. The X-ray structures of compounds 4b, 6b, 6c, 8, and 14 bound to the N-terminal domain of Hsp90 were determined in order to understand the obtained results and to acquire additional structural insights, which might enable further optimization of BIIB021.