To expand the chemical toolkit for targeted protein degradation, we report the generation of a new series of non-thalidomide Cereblon (CRBN) ligands. Readily available 2-methylidene glutarimide was converted to a series of 2-((hetero)aryl(methyl))thio glutarimides via the thio-Michael addition reaction. The compounds thus synthesized were evaluated for their affinity to the thalidomide-binding domain of human CRBN and their binding modes studied via X-ray crystallography. This helped identify several promising glutarimide derivatives which bind stronger to CRBN compared to thalidomide and contain a functional group which permits further chemical conjugation. Oxidation of the sulfur atom in a select group of 2-((hetero)aryl(methyl))thio glutarimides produced the respective sulfones which were found to possess a markedly stronger antiproliferative profile against multiple myeloma cell lines and a sophisticated structural binding mode with additional hydrogen bonding interactions. The newly identified Cereblon ligands form the basis for the synthesis of novel PROTAC protein degraders.

Original languageEnglish
Article number114990
JournalEuropean Journal of Medicinal Chemistry
Volume246
DOIs
StatePublished - 15 Jan 2023

    Research areas

  • Cereblon, IMiDs, Molecular glue, New ligand space, PROTAC, Thio-Michael addition, Humans, Peptide Hydrolases/metabolism, Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing/metabolism, Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases/metabolism, Proteolysis, Cell Line, Tumor, Multiple Myeloma/drug therapy, Thalidomide

    Scopus subject areas

  • Drug Discovery
  • Pharmacology
  • Organic Chemistry

ID: 101522380