Discovery of dual-specificity tyrosine-phosphorylation-regulated kinase 1A (DYRK1A) inhibitors using an artificial intelligence model and their effects on tau and tubulin dynamics

The dual-specificity tyrosine-phosphorylation-regulated kinase 1 A (DYRK1A) presents a promising therapeutic target for neurological diseases. However, current inhibitors lack selectivity, which can lead to unexpected side effects and increase the difficulty of studying DYRK1A. Therefore, identifying selective inhibitors targeting DYRK1A is essential for reducing side effects and facilitating neurological disease research. This study aimed to discover DYRK1A inhibitors through a screening pipeline incorporating a deep neural network (DNN) model. Herein, we report an optimized model with an accuracy of 0.93 on a testing set. The pipeline was then performed to identify potential DYRK1A inhibitors from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) library. Four novel DYRK1A inhibitors were identified, and compounds NSC657702 and NSC31059 were noteworthy for their potent inhibition, with IC₅₀ values of 50.9 and 39.5 nM, respectively. NSC31059 exhibited exceptional selectivity across 70 kinases. The compounds also significantly reduced DYRK1A-induced tau phosphorylation at key sites associated with the pathology of neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, they promoted tubulin polymerization, suggesting a role in microtubule stabilization. Cytotoxicity assessments further confirmed the neuronal safety of the compounds. Together, the results demonstrated a promising screening pipeline and novel DYRK1A inhibitors as candidates for further optimization and development.