Colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor (CSF1R) is a receptor tyrosine kinase that controls the differentiation and
maintenance of most tissue-resident macrophages. Inhibition of CSF1R has been considered a potential therapeutic
approach for a variety of human diseases. Here, researchers report the synthesis, development, and
structure-activity relationship of a series of highly selective pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine compounds. These compounds
exhibit sub-nanomolar inhibitory activity against this receptor and excellent selectivity for other kinases in the
platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) family. The crystal structures of the protein and compound 23
indicate that the protein's binding conformation is similar to DFG-out. Cellular activity analysis, pharmacokinetic
analysis, and in vivo stability studies were performed on the most promising compounds in this series, suggesting
their potential therapeutic value for various diseases. Furthermore, these compounds primarily inhibit the
autoinhibitory form of the receptor, contrasting with the behavior of pexidartinib, which may explain the excellent
selectivity of these structures.
Here, researchers performed two cell-based assays on some compounds: one using genetically engineered Ba/F3 cells
dependent on CSF1R activation, and the other using mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages. Disappointingly, the
potency of these compounds showed a low correlation with the potency observed in the CSF1R kinase activity assay.
However, in the mouse bone marrow-derived macrophage activity assay, some compounds showed activity comparable to
pexidartinib. The Ba/F3 cell activity assay showed superior activity of pexidartinib, while some compounds that
performed well in the kinase activity assay showed no activity. Among these new inhibitors, the metabolically
unstable 3-pyridyl compound 39 showed the best inhibitory effect on CSF1R-overexpressing Ba/F3 cells. Unfortunately,
when interleukin-3 was administered concurrently as a toxicity control, both phenol 36 and 3-pyridyl compound 39
severely affected CSF1R-overexpressing Ba/F3 cell viability. The efflux ratio also clearly indicated that the
carboxylic acid group was highly unfavorable, which may also be one of the reasons for their inactivity in the Ba/F3
assay.
Figure 1. Cellular potency of selected compounds toward CSF1R-overexpressing Ba/F3
cells, bone marrow-derived
macrophages from mice, osteoclast differentiation, and the corresponding Caco2-Efflux ratio. (Aarhus T I, et
al., 2023)