GZD2202, a novel TrkB inhibitor, suppresses BDNF-mediated proliferation and metastasis in neuroblastoma models

Collective data suggest tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB), which is correlated with the growth, migration and poor prognosis of neuroblastoma (NB), is a potential target for NB target therapy. Several Phase I/II pan-Trk inhibitors display impressive clinical outcomes but still no drug has been approved for general use. In this paper, we report a novel structural TrkB inhibitor GZD2202, a structural derivative of our previously identified DDR1 antagonists. GZD2202 demonstrates a moderate selectivity between Trk B/C and TrkA. GZD2202 suppresses the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) -mediated TrkB signalling pathway, proliferation, migration and invasion in SH-SY5Y-TrkB neuroblastoma cells, and causes about 36.1% growth inhibition in a SH-SY5Y-TrkB neuroblastoma xenograft model.