Design, Synthesis, and Structure-Activity Relationship of N-Aryl-N'-(thiophen-2-yl) thiourea Derivatives as Novel and Specific Human TLR1/2 Agonists for Potential Cancer ImmunotherapyShow others and affiliations
2021 (English)In: Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, ISSN 0022-2623, E-ISSN 1520-4804, Vol. 64, no 11, p. 7371-7389Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
The previous virtual screening of ten million compounds yielded two novel nonlipopeptide-like chemotypes as TLR2 agonists. Herein, we present the chemical optimization of our initial hit, 1-phenyl-3-(thiophen-2-yl) urea, which resulted in the identification of SMU-C80 (EC50 = 31.02 ± 1.01 nM) as a TLR2-specific agonist with a 370-fold improvement in bioactivity. Mechanistic studies revealed that SMU-C80, through TLR1/2, recruits the adaptor protein MyD88 and triggers the NF-κB pathway to release cytokines such as TNF-α and IL-1β from human, but not murine, cells. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first species-specific TLR1/2 agonist reported until now. Moreover, SMU-C80 increased the percentage of T, B, and NK cells ex vivo and activated the immune cells, which suppressed cancer cell growth in vitro. In summary, we obtained a highly efficient and specific human TLR1/2 agonist that acts through the MyD88 and NF-κB pathway, facilitating cytokine release and the simultaneous activation of immune cells that in turn affects the apoptosis of cancer cells. © 2021 American Chemical Society
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Washington, DC: American Chemical Society (ACS), 2021. Vol. 64, no 11, p. 7371-7389
Keywords [en]
small-molecule inhibitors, discovery, recognition, receptors, immunity, cells
National Category
Pharmaceutical Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-48323DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c02266ISI: 000662187100018PubMedID: 34029463Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85108021146OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hh-48323DiVA, id: diva2:1702432
2022-10-102022-10-102022-11-25Bibliographically approved