Synthesis and biological evaluation of (E)-4-(3-arylvinyl-1H-indazol-6-yl)pyrimidin-2-amine derivatives as PLK4 inhibitors for the treatment of breast cancer

Abstract

Polo-like kinase 4 (PLK4), a vital regulator of centriole duplication, is important for maintaining genome stability. Dysregulation of PLK4 has been found in several human cancers and is associated with a predisposition to tumorigenesis. Herein, we describe the discovery of (E)-4-(3-arylvinyl-1H-indazol-6-yl)pyrimidin-2-amine derivatives as potent PLK4 inhibitors with more concise structure using a scaffold hopping strategy. SAR exploration and preliminary assessment identified 14i as a new PLK4 inhibitor which displayed excellent potency in vitro. 14i could inhibit the activity of PLK4, perturb centriole replication, result in mitosis disorder and induce cell apoptosis in breast cancer cells. Moreover 14i demonstrated significant antitumor efficacy in the MDA-MB-468 and MDA-MB-231 xenograft models. This study suggested that this concise chemotype would represent a promising scaffold of PLK4 inhibitors for cancer therapy and 14i would be an attractive lead compound for further optimization and evaluation.