Tellis John C, Wei BinQing, Siu Michael, An Le, Chan Grace Kayan, Chen Yong, Du Xiangnan, Gazzard Lewis, Hu Baihua, Kiefer James, Kakiuchi-Kiyota Satoko, Lainchbury Michael, Linehan Jonathan L, Luo Xifeng, Malhotra Sushant, Mendonca Rohan, Pang Jodie, Ran Yinqing, Sethuraman Vijay, Seward Eileen, Sneeringer Chris, Su Dian, Wang Weiru, Wu Ping, Moffat John G, Heffron Timothy P, Choo Edna F, Chan Bryan K
Genentech Inc., 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States.
Pharmaron Beijing Co., No. 6 Tai He Road, BDA, Beijing 100176, P.R. China.
ACS Med Chem Lett. 2024 Sep 3;15(9):1606-1614. doi: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.4c00319. eCollection 2024 Sep 12.
Hematopoietic progenitor kinase 1 (HPK1) serves a key immunosuppressive role as a negative regulator of T-cell receptor (TCR) signaling. HPK1 loss-of-function is associated with augmentation of immune function and has demonstrated synergy with immune checkpoint inhibitors in syngeneic mouse cancer models. These data offer compelling evidence for the use of selective small molecule inhibitors of HPK1 in cancer immunotherapy. We identified a novel series of isoquinoline HPK1 inhibitors through fragment-based screening that displayed promising levels of biochemical potency and activity in functional cell-based assays. We used structure-based drug design to introduce key selectivity elements while simultaneously addressing pharmacokinetic liabilities. These efforts culminated in a molecule demonstrating subnanomolar biochemical inhibition of HPK1 and strong augmentation of TCR signaling in primary human T-cells. Further profiling of this molecule revealed excellent kinase selectivity (347/356 kinases <50% inhibition @ 0.1 μM), a favorable safety profile, and good projected human pharmacokinetics.
造血祖细胞激酶1(HPK1)作为T细胞受体(TCR)信号传导的负调节因子发挥关键的免疫抑制作用。HPK1功能丧失与免疫功能增强相关,并已在同基因小鼠癌症模型中证明与免疫检查点抑制剂具有协同作用。这些数据为在癌症免疫治疗中使用HPK1的选择性小分子抑制剂提供了有力证据。我们通过基于片段的筛选鉴定了一系列新型异喹啉HPK1抑制剂,这些抑制剂在基于细胞的功能测定中显示出有前景的生化效力和活性水平。我们使用基于结构的药物设计引入关键的选择性元件,同时解决药代动力学问题。这些努力最终得到了一种分子,该分子在原代人T细胞中表现出亚纳摩尔级的HPK1生化抑制作用,并强烈增强了TCR信号传导。对该分子的进一步分析显示出优异的激酶选择性(347/356种激酶在0.1μM时抑制率<50%)、良好的安全性和良好的预测人体药代动力学。