文摘
Structural modification of the indolecarbazole natural product (+)K-252a identified structural requirementsfor MLK activity and a novel series of potent fused pyrrolocarbazole MLK1/3 inhibitors. The SAR revealedthat the lactam regiochemistry, the shape of the heterocycle, and aryl rings B and F are important to MLKactivity. Heteroatom and alkyl replacement of the N-12 and/or N-13 indole nitrogen atoms identified thenonplanar dihydronaphthyl[3,4-a]pyrrolo[3,4-c]carbazole-7-one (8) and corresponding 5,7-dione (7) as potentcell-permeable MLK1/3 family-selective leads with in vitro activity comparable to that of (+)K-252a anddetermined them to be 2- to 3-fold more potent than the aglycone natural product K-252c.