2. Academic Validation
  3. Brain-restricted mTOR inhibition with binary pharmacology

Brain-restricted mTOR inhibition with binary pharmacology

  • Nature. 2022 Sep;609(7928):822-828. doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-05213-y.
Ziyang Zhang 1,  Qiwen Fan 2 3,  Xujun Luo 2 3,  Kevin Lou 1,  William A Weiss 2 3 4 5,  Kevan M Shokat 6
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
  • 2 Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA, USA.
  • 3 Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
  • 4 Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
  • 5 Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
  • 6 Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA. [email protected].
PMID: 36104566 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05213-y
Abstract

On-target-off-tissue drug engagement is an important source of adverse effects that constrains the therapeutic window of drug candidates1,2. In diseases of the central nervous system, drugs with brain-restricted pharmacology are highly desirable. Here we report a strategy to achieve inhibition of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) while sparing mTOR activity elsewhere through the use of the brain-permeable mTOR Inhibitor RapaLink-1 and the brain-impermeable FKBP12 ligand RapaBlock. We show that this drug combination mitigates the systemic effects of mTOR inhibitors but retains the efficacy of RapaLink-1 in glioblastoma xenografts. We further present a general method to design cell-permeable, FKBP12-dependent kinase inhibitors from known drug scaffolds. These inhibitors are sensitive to deactivation by RapaBlock, enabling the brain-restricted inhibition of their respective kinase targets.

Figures
Products
  • Cat. No.
    Product Name
    Description
    Target
    Research Area
  • HY-153806
    ≥98.0%, FKBP12 Ligand