Cancer is one of the leading causes of death, so the development of cancer therapies is critical to the successful treatment of this disease. An important target of chemotherapy is human DNA topoisomerase IIα, which regulates topological changes in the DNA molecule. Most clinically useful agents directed at this target are classified as topoisomerase poisons, which inhibit the enzyme by stabilizing the covalent complex between the DNA molecule and the enzyme. This mechanism of action is responsible for severe side effects, such as cardiotoxicity and formation of secondary forms of cancer. This challenge is addressed by catalytic inhibitors that do not stabilize the said complex. A subset of these inhibitors acts by inhibiting the binding of the ATP molecule that the enzyme requires for its function.
In this Master’s thesis we optimized 4,6-substituted-1,3,5-triazin-2(1H)-ones acting as catalytic inhibitors of the enzyme using a structure-based design approach. To evaluate new possible substituents at position 6 of the triazinone ring, we used a previously developed binding model of these compounds in the ATP-binding site and the DeepFrag compound optimization program based on machine learning methods.
The synthesis of the selected compounds was carried out according to the developed procedure using appropriately substituted isothiourea and ethoxycarbonyl isothiocyanate to form the triazinone ring. In the final step of the synthesis, the most promising fragments from previous studies were attached to the 4-position of the resulting ring. A total of eight new triazinones were synthesized, of which compound 4, containing a 2-methylthiazole fragment at position 6, showed the best topo IIα inhibition, comparable to the clinically used topo poison etoposide. For compound 4, we demonstrated by the cleavage assay that it inhibited the enzyme as a catalytic inhibitor rather than as a topoisomerase poison. The binding of the compounds was also determined by the analysis of the docking poses obtained, and for the active compound 4 we observed the presence of new interactions between the amino acid residues in the ATP site and the 2-methylthiazole substituent.
The results of our research expand the knowledge of the structure-activity relationship (SAR) of these compounds as catalytic inhibitors of human DNA topoisomerase IIα and will be useful for the ongoing development of this chemical class as potential anticancer agents.
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