Article

Discovery of a Novel, Potent Spirocyclic Series of γ-Secretase Inhibitors

Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Merck Research Laboratories, 2000 Galloping Hill Road, Kenilworth, New Jersey 07033, United States
Department of Neurobiology, Merck Research Laboratories, 2000 Galloping Hill Road, Kenilworth, New Jersey 07033, United States
J. Med. Chem., 2015, 58 (22), pp 8806–8817
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.5b00774
Publication Date (Web): October 23, 2015
Copyright © 2015 American Chemical Society
*Phone: 908-740-2383. E-mail: zhiqiang.zhao@merck.com.

Abstract

Abstract Image

In the present paper, we described the design, synthesis, SAR, and biological profile of a novel spirocyclic sulfone series of γ-secretase inhibitors (GSIs) related to MRK-560. We utilized an additional spirocyclic ring system to stabilize the active chair conformation of the parent γ-secretase inhibitors. The resulting series is devoid of the CYP2C9 inhibition liability of MRK-560. A few representative analogs were assessed in a nontransgenic animal model of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), demonstrating reduction of amyloid-β (Aβ) in the CNS after acute oral dosing. A spirocyclic phosphonate was identified as the optimal ring system for both potency and pharmacokinetics. Compared to GSIs studied in the clinic, representative spirocyclic phosphonate 18a(−) features improved selectivity for the inhibition of the PS-1 isoform of γ-secretase (33-fold vs PS-2), which may alleviate the adverse effect profile of the clinical GSIs.

Supporting Information


. The Supporting Information is available free of charge on the ACS Publications website at DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.5b00774.

  • Protocols for in vitro studies: membrane-based and cell-based γ-secretase assays, determination of PS-1 vs PS-2 selectivity; protocols for the in vivo studies (PDF)

  • Molecular formula strings (CSV)

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Article Views: 1,760 Times
Received 1 June 2015
Published online 23 October 2015
Published in print 25 November 2015
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