Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation of Small Molecule Gαq/11 Protein Inhibitors for the Treatment of Uveal Melanoma

J Med Chem. 2021 Mar 25;64(6):3131-3152. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c01977. Epub 2021 Mar 15.

Abstract

Uveal melanoma is the ocular malignancy and mainly driven by oncogenic mutations of Gαq/11 proteins. Previous targeted therapy for melanoma treatment was limited to specific downstream signaling pathway, and inhibiting the "molecular switches" G proteins for melanoma treatment therapy was rarely described. We herein report the discovery of imidazopiperazine derivatives as Gαq/11 protein inhibitors. The most promising compound GQ127 showed good efficacy and safety in inositol monophosphate (IP1) assay by directly inhibiting Gαq/11 proteins. GQ127 induced uveal melanoma cells apoptosis and displayed potent antitumor activities in uveal melanoma cells viability, migration, and invasion. The effects of GQ127 on Gαq/11 signaling pathway were confirmed by analyzing the downstream effectors yes-associated protein (YAP) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). More importantly, GQ127 significantly suppressed UM xenograft growth in mouse model without severe toxicity at the testing dose. These findings provide a lead compound that directly targets the Gαq/11 proteins for uveal melanoma treatment.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemical synthesis
  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemistry*
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Apoptosis / drug effects
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Drug Design
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / chemical synthesis
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / chemistry
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / pharmacology
  • GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits, Gq-G11 / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits, Gq-G11 / metabolism
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Humans
  • Melanoma / drug therapy*
  • Melanoma / metabolism
  • Piperazine / chemical synthesis
  • Piperazine / chemistry*
  • Piperazine / pharmacology*
  • Uveal Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Uveal Neoplasms / metabolism

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Enzyme Inhibitors
  • Piperazine
  • GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits, Gq-G11

Supplementary concepts

  • Uveal melanoma