Fragment-Based Approach to the Development of an Orally Bioavailable Lactam Inhibitor of Lipoprotein-Associated Phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA₂)

Lp-PLA₂ has been explored as a target for a number of inflammation associated diseases, including cardiovascular disease and dementia. This article describes the discovery of a new fragment derived chemotype that interacts with the active site of Lp-PLA₂. The starting fragment hit was discovered through an X-ray fragment screen and showed no activity in the bioassay (IC₅₀ > 1 mM). The fragment hit was optimized using a variety of structure-based drug design techniques, including virtual screening, fragment merging, and improvement of shape complementarity. A novel series of Lp-PLA₂ inhibitors was generated with low lipophilicity and a promising pharmacokinetic profile

Exploitation of a Novel Binding Pocket in Human Lipoprotein-Associated Phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA₂) Discovered through X‑ray Fragment Screening

Elevated levels of human lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA₂) are associated with cardiovascular disease and dementia. A fragment screen was conducted against Lp-PLA₂ in order to identify novel inhibitors. Multiple fragment hits were observed in different regions of the active site, including some hits that bound in a pocket created by movement of a protein side chain (approximately 13 Å from the catalytic residue Ser273). Using structure guided design, we optimized a fragment that bound in this pocket to generate a novel low nanomolar chemotype, which did not interact with the catalytic residues

Exploitation of a Novel Binding Pocket in Human Lipoprotein-Associated Phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA₂) Discovered through X‑ray Fragment Screening

Elevated levels of human lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA₂) are associated with cardiovascular disease and dementia. A fragment screen was conducted against Lp-PLA₂ in order to identify novel inhibitors. Multiple fragment hits were observed in different regions of the active site, including some hits that bound in a pocket created by movement of a protein side chain (approximately 13 Å from the catalytic residue Ser273). Using structure guided design, we optimized a fragment that bound in this pocket to generate a novel low nanomolar chemotype, which did not interact with the catalytic residues