From a natural product lead to the identification of potent and selective benzofuran-3-yl-(indol-3-yl)maleimides as glycogen synthase kinase 3beta inhibitors that suppress proliferation and survival of pancreatic cancer cells

• Published in: Journal of medicinal chemistry Vol. 52; no. 7; pp. 1853 - 1863
• Main Authors: Gaisina, Irina N, Gallier, Franck, Ougolkov, Andrei V, Kim, Ki H, Kurome, Toru, Guo, Songpo, Holzle, Denise, Luchini, Doris N, Blond, Sylvie Y, Billadeau, Daniel D, Kozikowski, Alan P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 09.04.2009
• Subjects: Antineoplastic Agents - chemical synthesis; Antineoplastic Agents - chemistry; Antineoplastic Agents - pharmacology; Apoptosis; Benzofurans - chemical synthesis; Benzofurans - chemistry; Benzofurans - pharmacology; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation - drug effects; Cell Survival - drug effects; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2 - antagonists & inhibitors; Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 - antagonists & inhibitors; Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 - chemistry; Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta; Humans; Indoles - chemical synthesis; Indoles - chemistry; Indoles - pharmacology; Maleimides - chemical synthesis; Maleimides - chemistry; Maleimides - pharmacology; Models, Molecular; Pancreatic Neoplasms; Structure-Activity Relationship; X-Linked Inhibitor of Apoptosis Protein - antagonists & inhibitors; X-Linked Inhibitor of Apoptosis Protein - biosynthesis
• ISSN: 1520-4804
• DOI: 10.1021/jm801317h

Recent studies have demonstrated that glycogen synthase kinase 3beta (GSK-3beta) is overexpressed in human colon and pancreatic carcinomas, contributing to cancer cell proliferation and survival. Here, we report the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of benzofuran-3-yl-(indol-3-yl)maleimides, potent GSK-3beta inhibitors. Some of these compounds show picomolar inhibitory activity toward GSK-3beta and an enhanced selectivity against cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK-2). Selected GSK-3beta inhibitors were tested in the pancreatic cancer cell lines MiaPaCa-2, BXPC-3, and HupT3. We determined that some of these compounds, namely compounds 5, 6, 11, 20, and 26, demonstrate antiproliferative activity against some or all of the pancreatic cancer cells at low micromolar to nanomolar concentrations. We found that the treatment of pancreatic cancer cells with GSK-3beta inhibitors 5 and 26 resulted in suppression of GSK-3beta activity and a distinct decrease of the X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP) expression, leading to significant apoptosis. The present data suggest a possible role for GSK-3beta inhibitors in cancer therapy, in addition to their more prominent applications in CNS disorders.