- Author:
Peilu SONG
1
;
Fan ZHAO
2
;
Dahong LI
1
;
Jiqiang QU
3
;
Miao YAO
4
;
Yuan SU
1
;
Hanxun WANG
1
;
Miaomiao ZHOU
4
;
Yujie WANG
1
;
Yinli GAO
1
;
Feng LI
5
;
Dongmei ZHAO
1
;
Fengjiao ZHANG
4
;
Yu RAO
6
;
Mingyu XIA
3
;
Haitao LI
2
;
Jian WANG
1
;
Maosheng CHENG
1
Author Information
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords: Anti-cancer; Cocrystallization; EMT; Kinase selectivity; Lung metastasis; PAK4 inhibitor
- From: Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2022;12(6):2905-2922
- CountryChina
- Language:English
- Abstract: The p21 activated kinase 4 (PAK4) is serine/threonine protein kinase that is critical for cancer progression. Guided by X-ray crystallography and structure-based optimization, we report a novel subseries of C-3-substituted 6-ethynyl-1H-indole derivatives that display high potential and specificity towards group II PAKs. Among these inhibitors, compound 55 exhibited excellent inhibitory activity and kinase selectivity, displayed superior anti-migratory and anti-invasive properties against the lung cancer cell line A549 and the melanoma cell line B16. Compound 55 exhibited potent in vivo antitumor metastatic efficacy, with over 80% and 90% inhibition of lung metastasis in A549 or B16-BL6 lung metastasis models, respectively. Further mechanistic studies demonstrated that compound 55 mitigated TGF-β1-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT).