Accelerated skin wound healing by selective 11β-Hydroxylase (CYP11B1) inhibitors.

Previous studies have shown that inhibition of cortisol biosynthesis in skin leads to accelerated wound healing. Here, pyridylmethyl pyridine type 11β-hydroxylase (CYP11B1) inhibitors were optimized for topical application to avoid systemic side effects. The resulting very potent, non-toxic CYP11B1 inhibitor 14 (IC = 0.8 nM) exhibited good selectivity over 11β-HSD1, CYP17A1 and CYP19A1. The compound showed high stability toward human plasma (t= > 150 min, as a substitute for wound fluid) and low stability toward HLS9 (t = 19 min) for rapid metabolic clearance after absorption. Compound 14 was able to accelerate wound healing in human skin.