Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of novel 2,4-diaryl pyrimidine derivatives as selective EGFRL858R/T790M inhibitors

Eur J Med Chem. 2021 Feb 15:212:113019. doi: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2020.113019. Epub 2020 Nov 13.

Abstract

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths. It has been demonstrated that epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKI) are efficacious in patients with EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In this work, a new series of 2,4-diaryl pyrimidine derivatives containing cyclopropyl moiety were designed, synthesized and evaluated as novel selective EGFRL858R/T790M inhibitors. The most promising compound, 8l demonstrated excellent kinase inhibitory activity against EGFR double mutation with IC50 value of 0.26 nM. Moreover, 8l provided strong activity against H1975 cells with IC50 value of 0.008 μM and exhibited little toxicity toward four non-tumorigenic cell lines. Furthermore, 8l showed potent anti-tumor efficacy in a murine EGFRL858R/T790M-driven H1975 xenograft model. These results indicated that 8l may be a promising drug candidate for further study.

Keywords: Anti-proliferation; Anti-tumor efficacy in vivo; Epidermal growth factor receptor; L858R/T790M double mutants; Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemical synthesis
  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemistry
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Drug Design*
  • ErbB Receptors / antagonists & inhibitors
  • ErbB Receptors / genetics
  • ErbB Receptors / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Nude
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Structure
  • Neoplasms, Experimental / drug therapy
  • Neoplasms, Experimental / metabolism
  • Neoplasms, Experimental / pathology
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / chemical synthesis
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / chemistry
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / pharmacology*
  • Pyrimidines / chemical synthesis
  • Pyrimidines / chemistry
  • Pyrimidines / pharmacology*
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Structure-Activity Relationship

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors
  • Pyrimidines
  • EGFR protein, human
  • ErbB Receptors
  • pyrimidine