3tem

Publication Abstract from PubMed

Imidazoacridin-6-ones are shown to be potent nanomolar inhibitors of the enzyme NQO2. By use of computational molecular modeling, a reliable QSAR was established, relating inhibitory potency with calculated binding affinity. Further, crystal structures of NQO2 containing two of the imidazoacridin-6-ones have been solved. To generate compounds with reduced off-target (DNA binding) effects, an N-oxide moiety was introduced into the tertiary aminoalkyl side chain of the imidazoacridin-6-ones. This resulted in substantially less toxicity in a panel of eight cancer cell lines, decreased protein binding, and reduced DNA binding and nuclear accumulation. Finally, one of the N-oxides showed potent ability to inhibit the enzymatic function of NQO2 in cells, and therefore, it may be useful as a pharmacological probe to study the properties of the enzyme in vitro and in vivo.

Novel Inhibitors of NRH:Quinone Oxidoreductase 2 (NQO2): Crystal Structures, Biochemical Activity, and Intracellular Effects of Imidazoacridin-6-ones.,Dunstan MS, Barnes J, Humphries M, Whitehead RC, Bryce RA, Leys D, Stratford IJ, Nolan KA J Med Chem. 2011 Sep 13. PMID:21859103^[2]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.