2. Academic Validation
  3. Design and synthesis of novel JNK inhibitors targeting liver pyruvate kinase for the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma

Design and synthesis of novel JNK inhibitors targeting liver pyruvate kinase for the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma

  • Bioorg Chem. 2024 Jun:147:107425. doi: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2024.107425.
Shazia Iqbal 1,  Jihad Sebhaoui 2,  Sajda Ashraf 1,  Mehmet Ozcan 3,  Woonghee Kim 4,  Burcu Belmen 1,  Güldeniz Yeşilyurt 1,  Essam Hanashalshahaby 1,  Cheng Zhang 4,  Mathias Uhlen 4,  Jan Boren 5,  Hasan Turkez 6,  Adil Mardinoglu 7
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Trustlife Labs Drug Research & Development Center, 34774 Istanbul, Turkiye.
  • 2 Trustlife Labs Drug Research & Development Center, 34774 Istanbul, Turkiye; Life and Health Sciences Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Tangier, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Morocco.
  • 3 Science for Life Laboratory, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Zonguldak Bulent Ecevit University, Zonguldak, Turkiye.
  • 4 Science for Life Laboratory, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
  • 5 Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden.
  • 6 Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkiye.
  • 7 Science for Life Laboratory, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden; Centre for Host-Microbiome Interactions, Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, King's College London, London SE1 9RT, UK. Electronic address: adilm@scilifelab.se.
PMID: 38714117 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2024.107425
Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) comprises a broad range of liver disease including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with is no FDA-approved drug. Liver Pyruvate Kinase (PKL) is a major regulator of metabolic flux and ATP generation in liver presenting a potential target for the treatment of NAFLD. Based on our recent finding of JNK-5A's effectiveness in inhibiting PKLR expression through a drug repositioning pipeline, this study aims to improve its efficacy further. We synthesized a series of JNK-5A analogues with targeted modifications, guided by molecular docking studies. These compounds were evaluated for their activities on PKL expression, cell viability, triacylglyceride (TAG) levels, and the expressions of steatosis-related proteins in the human HepG2 cell line. Subsequently, the efficacy of these compounds was assessed in reducing TAG level and toxicity. Compounds 40 (SET-151) and 41 (SET-152) proved to be the most efficient in reducing TAG levels (11.51 ± 0.90 % and 10.77 ± 0.67 %) and demonstrated lower toxicity (61.60 ± 5.00 % and 43.87 ± 1.42 %) in HepG2 cells. Additionally, all synthesized compounds were evaluated for their anti-cancer properties revealing that compound 74 (SET-171) exhibited the highest toxicity in cell viability with IC50 values of 8.82 µM and 2.97 µM in HepG2 and Huh7 cell lines, respectively. To summarize, compounds 40 (SET-151) and 41 (SET-152) show potential for treating NAFLD, while compound 74 (SET-171) holds potential for HCC therapy.

Keywords

HCC; JNK-IN-5A; Liver pyruvate kinase; NAFLD; TAG level.

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