1. Academic Validation
  2. Discovery of Chromane-6-Sulfonamide Derivative as a Potent, Selective, and Orally Available Novel Retinoic Acid Receptor-Related Orphan Receptor γt Inverse Agonist

Discovery of Chromane-6-Sulfonamide Derivative as a Potent, Selective, and Orally Available Novel Retinoic Acid Receptor-Related Orphan Receptor γt Inverse Agonist

  • J Med Chem. 2021 Nov 11;64(21):16106-16131. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c01436.
Lei Chen Mei Su 1 Qiu Jin 1 Wei Wang 1 Chun-Gu Wang Israa Assani Mu-Xuan Wang Shi-Feng Zhao Shen-Min Lv Jia-Wei Wang Bo Sun Yan Li Zhi-Xin Liao
Affiliations

Affiliation

  • 1 Jiangsu Carefree Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Nanjing 210042, China.
Abstract

Interleukin-17 (IL-17) is a proinflammatory cytokine that plays a dominant role in inflammation, autoimmunity, and host defense. RORγt is a key transcription factor mediating T helper 17 (Th17) cell differentiation and IL-17 production, which is able to activate CD8+ T cells and elicit antitumor efficacy. A series of sulfonamide derivatives as novel RORγt inverse agonists were designed and synthesized. Using GSK2981278 (phase II) as a starting point, we engineered structural modifications that significantly improved the activity and pharmacokinetic profile. In animal studies, oral administration of compound d3 showed a robust and dose-dependent inhibition of the IL-17A cytokine expression in a mouse imiquimod-induced skin inflammation model. Docking analysis of the binding mode revealed that the compound d3 occupied the active pocket suitably. Thus, compound d3 was selected as a clinical compound for the treatment of Th17-driven autoimmune diseases.

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