Identification of novel PD-1/PD-L1 small molecule inhibitors: virtual screening, synthesis and in vitro characterisation

The PD-1/PD-L1 pathway is considered as one of the most promising immune checkpoints in tumour immunotherapy. However, researchers are faced with the inherent limitations of antibodies, driving them to pursue PD-L1 small molecule inhibitors. Virtual screening followed by experimental validation is a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tingting Wu, Hu Cheng, Lijie Sima, Zhongyuan Wang, Weiwei Ouyang, Jianta Wang, Yunlei Hou, Dongsheng Zhao, Weike Liao, Chujiao Hu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024-12-01
Series:Journal of Enzyme Inhibition and Medicinal Chemistry
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Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/14756366.2024.2353711
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Summary:The PD-1/PD-L1 pathway is considered as one of the most promising immune checkpoints in tumour immunotherapy. However, researchers are faced with the inherent limitations of antibodies, driving them to pursue PD-L1 small molecule inhibitors. Virtual screening followed by experimental validation is a proven approach to discover active compounds. In this study, we employed multistage virtual screening methods to screen multiple compound databases to predict new PD-1/PD-L1 ligands. 35 compounds were proposed by combined analysis of fitness scores, interaction pattern and MM-GBSA binding affinities. Enzymatic assay confirmed that 10 out of 35 ligands were potential PD-L1 inhibitors, with inhibitory rate higher than 50% at the concentration of 30 µM. Among them, ZDS20 was identified as the most effective inhibitor with low micromolar activity (IC50 = 3.27 μM). Altogether, ZDS20 carrying novel scaffold was identified and could serve as a lead for the development of new classes of PD-L1 inhibitors.
ISSN:1475-6366
1475-6374