Discovery and Rational Design of Pteridin-7(8H)-one-Based Inhibitors Targeting FMS-like Tyrosine Kinase 3 (FLT3) and Its Mutants

FLT3 has been validated as a therapeutic target for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In this paper, we describe for the first time, pteridin-7(8H)-one as a scaffold for potent FLT3 inhibitors derived from structural optimizations on irreversible EGFR inhibitors. The representative inhibitor (31) demonstrates single-digit nanomolar inhibition against FLT3 and subnanomolar KD for drug-resistance FLT3 mutants. In profiling of the in vitro tumor cell lines, it shows good selectivity against AML cells harboring FLT3-ITD mutations over other leukemia and solid tumor cell lines. The mechanism of action study illustrates that pteridin-7(8H)-one derivatives suppress the phosphorylation of FLT3 and its downstream pathways, thereby inducing G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in AML cells. In in vivo studies, 31 significantly suppresses the tumor growth in MV4-11 xenograft model. Overall, we provide a structurally distinct chemical scaffold with which to develop FLT3 mutants-selective inhibitors for AML treatment.