T. Tawaraishi et al.
Bioorganic&MedicinalChemistryLettersxxx(xxxx)xxx–xxx
Fig. 1. Hit compound 1, N-benzenesulfonylpiper-
idine derivative effective as a human CCR6 inhibitor,
and design of a novel 1,4-trans-1-benzenesulfonyl-4-
aminocyclohexane series.
Replacement of piperidine ring of compound 2 with pyrrolidine (3) or
homopiperidine (4) led to a > 5-fold drop in potency. Then, as for the
arylamino moiety at the 4-position of the piperidine ring, transposition
of a cyano group at the 5-position on the pyridine ring to the 6-position
(5) and 4-position (6) resulted in a loss of activity. Potency relative to
Table 1
Human CCR6 inhibitory activity of N-benzenesulfonyl cyclic amine derivatives.
that of compound
2 was maintained by introduction of a tri-
fluoromethyl group (7) into the 5-position and was decreased by in-
troduction of a methyl group (8), showing that electron-withdrawing
groups at the 5-position enhanced potency. It could be considered that
cyano and trifluoromethyl groups might affect the electron density of
the aromatic ring or directly interact with the protein surface via hy-
drogen bonding to boost potency. A comparison of phenyl derivative 9
with compound 2 showed that the nitrogen atom of the pyridine ring
was non-essential for activity but had critical effects to increase meta-
bolic stability and reduce cytotoxicity [human metabolic stability (μL/
min/mg): 19 (compound 2), 69 (compound 9); cytotoxicity (% of ATP
content at 30 μM): 72.7 (compound 2), 44.9 (compound 9)]. 4-Meth-
oxyphenyl (10) and unsubstituted phenyl derivative (11) were less
potent than compound 9. Next, effect of the substituents on the ben-
zenesulfonyl moiety was investigated. Introduction of a lipophilic group
such as a chloro, trifluoromethyl, tert-butyl, or phenyl group (12–16) at
the 4-position afforded equipotent or enhanced activity relative to
compound 1. Especially, bulky groups such as the tert-butyl (14) and
phenyl group (15 and 16) showed relatively high potency among them.
On the other hand, the cyano (17) and acetamide group (18) had a
detrimental effect on activity. Meta-substitution of a methyl (19) or
phenyl group (20) also led to a decrease in activity. These results
suggest that the tolerable polarity and position of substituents in the
moiety are limited. As a result of initial SAR study, we identified several
compounds (14, 15, and 16) that were 10-fold more potent than hit
compound 1.
Cmpd
Ar
n
1
R
IC50 (nM)
1
4-Me
3100 (2800–3400)
2
3
4
1
0
2
4-MeO
4-MeO
4-MeO
2500 (2100–3000)
5
6
1
1
4-MeO
4-MeO
7400 (6500–8300)
> 30000
7
1
1
1
1
4-MeO
4-MeO
4-MeO
4-MeO
940 (730–1200)
21,000 (18000–25000)
1900 (1300–2800)
> 30000
8
9
10
11
12
1
1
4-MeO
4-Cl
12,000 (8700–17000)
1500 (1300–1800)
We next conducted scaffold morphing of the hit series' central pi-
peridine ring, which we replaced with a cyclohexane ring (Fig. 2). We
envisioned that cyclohexane derivatives afford two isomers, 1,4-cis and
trans, and if either isomer gets the better of the other in potency, fa-
vorable conformation is clarified. It was also expected that introduction
of a cyclohexane ring might rigidify the conformation and thereby
enhance potency. Consequently, the 1,4-trans isomer 21 exhibited as
potent activity as the parent compound 14, whereas the 1,4-cis isomer
22 was less potent. In order to verify the result, a docking study using
Maestro was performed (Fig. 3).13 The key pyridine ring with a cyano
group at the 5-position overlaps considerably between potent com-
pounds 14 and 21 (shown in a cyan circle). On the other hand, the 5-
cyanopyridyl moiety of compound 22 cannot be placed in the proper
direction due to its axial conformation (shown in a white circle).
Compound 21 showed not only equipotent activity but also higher
solubility compared with the piperidine series [solubility in water and
buffer solutions adjusted to pH 6.8 described in the Japanese
Pharmacopoeia (μg/mL): < 0.10 (compound 14), 3.8 (compound 21)],
and therefore we focused on the modification of this novel cyclohexane
series to identify in vitro biological probes (Table 2). 4-Biphenyl sul-
fones 23 and 24 were equipotent to compound 21. Especially, tri-
fluoromethyl derivative 24 showed activity with an IC50 value of <
100 nM. Moreover, to exploit the surrounding environment of the
biaryl moiety, the incorporation of a nitrogen atom into the terminal
aryl group was examined. As a result, derivatives with 4-pyridyl (25)
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
4-CF3
4-tert-Bu
4-Ph
800 (390–1700)
220 (130–360)
290 (220–370)
170 (110–250)
12,000 (5900–24000)
> 30000
4-Ph
4-CN
4-AcNH
3-Me
> 30000
3-Ph
> 30000
a
Values shown in parentheses are 95% confidence intervals.
b
Data of racemate.
compounds to show their potential as biological probes.
Our SAR exploration of the hit series focused on three moieties (the
central cyclic amine, arylamine, and benzenesulfonyl moiety) to en-
hance inhibitory activity (Table 1). At first, we showed that 4-meth-
oxyphenyl derivative 2 and compound 1 had similar inhibitory activity.
2