Discovery of CDK5 Inhibitors through Structure-Guided Approach

Specific abrogation of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) activity has been validated as a viable approach for the development of anticancer agents. However, no selective CDK5 inhibitor has been reported to date. Herein, a structure-based in silico screening was employed to identify novel scaffolds from a library of compounds to identify potential CDK5 inhibitors that would be relevant for drug discovery. Hits, representatives of three chemical classes, were identified as inhibitors of CDK5. Structural modification of hit-1 resulted in 29 and 30. Compound 29 is a dual inhibitor of CDK5 and CDK2, whereas 30 preferentially inhibits CDK5. Both leads exhibited anticancer activity against acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells via a mechanism consistent with targeting cellular CDK5. This study provides an effective strategy for discovery of CDK5 inhibitors as potential antileukemic agents