Discovery of new inhibitors of Cdc25B dual specificity phosphatases by structure-based virtual screening

J Med Chem. 2012 May 10;55(9):4142-58. doi: 10.1021/jm201624h. Epub 2012 May 1.

Abstract

Cell division cycle 25 (Cdc25) proteins are highly conserved dual specificity phosphatases that regulate cyclin-dependent kinases and represent attractive drug targets for anticancer therapies. To discover more potent and diverse inhibitors of Cdc25 biological activity, virtual screening was performed by docking 2.1 million compounds into the Cdc25B active site. An initial subset of top-ranked compounds was selected and assayed, and 15 were found to have enzyme inhibition activity at micromolar concentration. Among these, four structurally diverse inhibitors with a different inhibition profile were found to inhibit human MCF-7, PC-3, and K562 cancer cell proliferation and significantly affect the cell cycle progression. A subsequent hierarchical similarity search with the most active reversible Cdc25B inhibitor found led to the identification of an additional set of 19 ligands, three of which were confirmed as Cdc25B inhibitors with IC(50) values of 7.9, 4.2, and 9.9 μM, respectively.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemistry
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Cell Cycle / drug effects
  • Cell Survival / drug effects
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / chemistry
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / pharmacology*
  • Humans
  • Inhibitory Concentration 50
  • K562 Cells
  • Kinetics
  • Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Dynamics Simulation
  • Protein Binding
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization
  • Structure-Activity Relationship
  • cdc25 Phosphatases / antagonists & inhibitors
  • cdc25 Phosphatases / chemistry
  • cdc25 Phosphatases / metabolism

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Enzyme Inhibitors
  • cdc25 Phosphatases