Development of anti-CXCR4 compounds to block breast cancer metastasis

描述（由申请人提供）：转移，即肿瘤细胞向远处器官部位的扩散和生长，是癌症最具破坏性的特征，在乳腺癌的发病率和死亡率中起主要作用。乳腺癌以常规模式转移，导致在淋巴结、肺、肝和骨髓中发现病变。与造血干细胞归巢（其中注意力集中在CXC趋化因子受体-4（CXCR 4）及其配体基质细胞衍生因子-1（SDF-1）的作用）平行，转移研究的最新进展表明，CXCR 4/SDF-1在乳腺癌的器官选择性发展中也起着关键作用。具有讽刺意味的是，目前还没有专门针对转移过程的安全疗法。CXCR 4/SDF-1相互作用和由此产生的细胞信号级联已经成为高度相关的靶点，因为它们在转移进展中发挥多效性作用，特别是归巢。AMD 3100（Mozobil）是目前临床上唯一的抗CXCR 4药物，已被批准作为干细胞动员剂。然而，由于间充质干细胞向肺和肝的动员，长期使用可导致纤维化。我们已经开发了一类有趣的新型嘧啶胺，具有独特的部分抗CXCR 4活性。所述化合物是有效的抗转移剂，其阻断癌细胞和肿瘤基质组分的归巢和募集，而不动员干细胞或干扰CXCR 4的其它功能。这是特别有价值的，因为CXCR 4和SDF-1之间的相互作用对正常生理至关重要。小分子嘧啶胺为抗CXCR 4药物提供了化学结构基础，预示着更安全的治疗方法，有可能长期消除对转移性癌症发展至关重要的CXCR 4功能。目的是开发一种口服、安全有效的药物，对抗CXCR 4/SDF-1的长期作用，同时证明其药代动力学和特异性特征，值得进入人体临床评价。具体目标是：1）设计和制备具有日益多样化的化学支架的改进的抗转移化合物; 2）基于血浆稳定性、口服生物利用度和体内功效选择和发展合适的候选物;以及3）表征用于临床发展的合适的候选药物。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Metastasis, the spread and growth of tumor cells to distant organ sites, represents the most devastating attribute of cancer and plays a major role in the morbidity and mortality of breast cancer. Breast cancer metastasizes in a stereotypical pattern, resulting in lesions found in the lymph node, lung, liver and bone marrow. In parallel with hemopoietic stem cell homing, where attention has focused on the role of CXC chemokine receptor-4 (CXCR4) and its ligand stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1), recent advances in metastasis research suggest that here too CXCR4/SDF-1 play a critical role in the organ-selective development of breast cancer. Ironically, at present there are no safe therapies that specifically target the metastatic process. The CXCR4/SDF-1 interaction and the resulting cell signaling cascade have emerged as highly relevant targets since they play pleiotropic roles in metastatic progression, especially homing. AMD3100 (Mozobil), the only anti-CXCR4 drug currently in the clinic, has been approved as a stem cell mobilizing agent. However, long-term use can result in fibrosis due to mobilization of mesenchymal stem cells to the lungs and liver. We have developed an intriguing novel class of pyrimidine amines with unique partial anti-CXCR4 activity. The compounds are effective anti- metastatic agents that block homing and recruitment of both cancerous cells and tumor stromal components without mobilizing stem cells or interfering with other functions of CXCR4. This is of particular merit because the interplay between CXCR4 and SDF-1 is critical for normal physiology. The small molecule pyrimidine amines offer a chemical structural foundation for anti-CXCR4 drugs that foretell safer therapeutics with potential for long-term elimination of CXCR4 functions critical for the development of metastatic cancer. The objective is to develop an orally available, safe and efficacious drug against the long-term effects of CXCR4/SDF-1, while demonstrating a pharmacokinetic and specificity profile to merit advancement into human clinical evaluation. The specific aims are: 1) Design and prepare improved anti-metastatic compounds with increasingly diverse chemical scaffolds; 2) Select and progress suitable candidates based on plasma stability, oral bioavailability and in vivo efficacy; and 3) Characterize suitable drug-candidates for advancement to the clinic.