Crowdsourced mapping of unexplored target space of kinase inhibitors

Despite decades of intensive search for compounds that modulate the activity of particular protein targets, a large proportion of the human kinome remains as yet undrugged. Effective approaches are therefore required to map the massive space of unexplored compound-kinase interactions for novel and potent activities. Here, we carry out a crowdsourced benchmarking of predictive algorithms for kinase inhibitor potencies across multiple kinase families tested on unpublished bioactivity data. We find the top-performing predictions are based on various models, including kernel learning, gradient boosting and deep learning, and their ensemble leads to a predictive accuracy exceeding that of single-dose kinase activity assays. We design experiments based on the model predictions and identify unexpected activities even for under-studied kinases, thereby accelerating experimental mapping efforts. The open-source prediction algorithms together with the bioactivities between 95 compounds and 295 kinases provide a resource for benchmarking prediction algorithms and for extending the druggable kinome. The IDG-DREAM Challenge carried out crowdsourced benchmarking of predictive algorithms for kinase inhibitor activities on unpublished data. This study provides a resource to compare emerging algorithms and prioritize new kinase activities to accelerate drug discovery and repurposing efforts

Synthesis and biological evaluation of indole-2-carbohydrazides and thiazolidinyl-indole-2-carboxamides as potent tubulin polymerization inhibitors

A new series of N'-(substituted phenyl)-5-chloro/iodo-3-phenyl-1H-indole-2-carbohydrazide (5, 6) and N-[2-(substituted phenyl)-4-oxo-1,3-thiazolidin-3-yl]-5-iodo/chloro-3-phenyl-1H-indole-2-carboxamide (7, 8) derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their anticancer properties. Compounds 5a and 6b, selected as prototypes by the National Cancer Institute for screening against the full panel of 60 human tumor cell lines at a minimum of five concentrations at 10-fold dilutions, demonstrated remarkable antiproliferative activity against leukemia, non-small cell lung cancer, colon cancer, central nervous system (CNS) cancer, melanoma, ovarian cancer, renal cancer, and breast cancer (MCF-7) cell lines with GI(50) values < 0.4 mu M. A subset of the compounds was then tested for their potential to inhibit tubulin polymerization. Compounds 6f and 6g showed significant cytotoxicity at the nM level on MCF-7 cells and exhibited significant inhibitory activity on tubulin assembly and colchicine binding at about the same level as combretastatin A-4. Finally, docking calculations were performed to identify the binding mode of these compounds. Group 5 and 6 compounds interacted with the colchicine binding site through hydrophobic interactions similar to those of colchicine. These compounds with antiproliferative activity at high nanomolar concentration can serve as scaffolds for the design of novel microtubule targeting agents