Discovery of MDI-114215: A Potent and Selective LIMK Inhibitor To Treat Fragile X Syndrome.

LIMKs are serine/threonine and tyrosine kinases responsible for controlling cytoskeletal dynamics as key regulators of actin stability, ensuring synaptic health through normal synaptic bouton structure and function. However, LIMK1 overactivation results in abnormal dendritic synaptic development that characterizes the pathogenesis of Fragile X Syndrome (FXS). As a result, the development of LIMK inhibitors represents an emerging disease-modifying therapeutic approach for FXS.

Comparative Analysis of Small-Molecule LIMK1/2 Inhibitors: Chemical Synthesis, Biochemistry, and Cellular Activity.

LIM domain kinases 1 and 2 (LIMK1 and LIMK2) regulate actin dynamics and subsequently key cellular functions such as proliferation and migration. LIMK1 and LIMK2 phosphorylate and inactivate cofilin leading to increased actin polymerization. As a result, LIMK inhibitors are emerging as a promising treatment strategy for certain cancers and neurological disorders.

A toolkit for the identification of NEAT1_2/paraspeckle modulators.

Paraspeckles are ribonucleoprotein granules assembled by NEAT1_2 lncRNA, an isoform of Nuclear Paraspeckle Assembly Transcript 1 (NEAT1). Dysregulation of NEAT1_2/paraspeckles has been linked to multiple human diseases making them an attractive drug target. However currently NEAT1_2/paraspeckle-focused translational research and drug discovery are hindered by a limited toolkit.

Tyrosine 121 moves revealing a ligandable pocket that couples catalysis to ATP-binding in serine racemase.

Human serine racemase (hSR) catalyses racemisation of L-serine to D-serine, the latter of which is a co-agonist of the NMDA subtype of glutamate receptors that are important in synaptic plasticity, learning and memory. In a 'closed' hSR structure containing the allosteric activator ATP, the inhibitor malonate is enclosed between the large and small domains while ATP is distal to the active site, residing at the dimer interface with the Tyr121 hydroxyl group contacting the α-phosphate of ATP. In contrast, in 'open' hSR structures, Tyr121 sits in the core of the small domain with its hydroxyl contacting the key catalytic residue Ser84.

Rational design of diphosphorus ligands--a route to superior catalysts.

The development of catalytic chemical conversions owes its success to the procreation of ligand variety and parameter quantification. Rational ligand design can provide a powerful means to tune transition metal reactivity and reaction selectivity. In this review an attempt is made to describe the quantification of ligand parameters and to present examples of successful ligand design in several academically and industrially important catalytic systems.