The identification of 8,9-dimethoxy-5-(2-aminoalkoxy-pyridin-3-yl)-benzo[c][2,7]naphthyridin-4-ylamines as potent inhibitors of 3-phosphoinositide-dependent kinase-1 (PDK-1).

A series of 8,9-dimethoxy-5-(2-aminoalkoxy-pyridin-3-yl)-benzo[c][2,7]naphthyridin-4-ylamine-based inhibitors of 3-phosphoinositide-dependent kinase-1 (PDK-1) has been identified. Several examples appear to be potent and relatively selective inhibitors of PDK-1 over the related AGC kinases PKA, PKB/AKT, and p70S6K. The introduction of a stereochemical center beside the amino substituent on the aminoalkoxy-side chain had little effect upon the inhibitory activity against these enzymes, and X-ray crystallographic analyses of a representative pair of enantiomeric inhibitors bound to the active site of PDK-1 revealed comparable binding modes for each enantiomer.