Discovery of novel indole derivatives as potent and selective inhibitors of proMMP-9 activation.
Nishikawa-Shimono, R., Kuwabara, M., Fujisaki, S., Matsuda, D., Endo, M., Kamitani, M., Futamura, A., Nomura, Y., Yamaguchi-Sasaki, T., Yabuuchi, T., Yamaguchi, C., Tanaka-Yamamoto, N., Satake, S., Abe-Sato, K., Funayama, K., Sakata, M., Takahashi, S., Hirano, K., Fukunaga, T., Uozumi, Y., Kato, S., Tamura, Y., Nakamori, T., Mima, M., Mishima-Tsumagari, C., Nozawa, D., Imai, Y., Asami, T.(2023) Bioorg Med Chem Lett 97: 129541-129541
- PubMed: 37952596 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bmcl.2023.129541
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
8K5V, 8K5W, 8K5X, 8K5Y - PubMed Abstract: 
Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is a secreted zinc-dependent endopeptidase that degrades the extracellular matrix and basement membrane of neurons, and then contributes to synaptic plasticity by remodeling the extracellular matrix. Inhibition of MMP-9 activity has therapeutic potential for neurodegenerative diseases such as fragile X syndrome. This paper reports the molecular design, synthesis, and in vitro studies of novel indole derivatives as inhibitors of proMMP-9 activation. High-throughput screening (HTS) of our internal compound library and subsequent merging of hit compounds 1 and 2 provided compound 4 as a bona-fide lead. X-ray structure-based design and subsequent lead optimization led to the discovery of compound 33, a highly potent and selective inhibitor of proMMP-9 activation.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Medicinal Chemistry Laboratories, Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., 1-403 Yoshino-cho, Kita-ku, Saitama 331-9530, Japan.