| First Author | Fell MJ | Year | 2015 |
| Journal | J Pharmacol Exp Ther | Volume | 355 |
| Issue | 3 | Pages | 397-409 |
| PubMed ID | 26407721 | Mgi Jnum | J:302951 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6510972 | Doi | 10.1124/jpet.115.227587 |
| Citation | Fell MJ, et al. (2015) MLi-2, a Potent, Selective, and Centrally Active Compound for Exploring the Therapeutic Potential and Safety of LRRK2 Kinase Inhibition. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 355(3):397-409 |
| abstractText | Mutations in the leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene are the most common genetic cause of familial and sporadic Parkinson's disease (PD). That the most prevalent mutation, G2019S, leads to increased kinase activity has led to a concerted effort to identify LRRK2 kinase inhibitors as a potential disease-modifying therapy for PD. An internal medicinal chemistry effort identified several potent and highly selective compounds with favorable drug-like properties. Here, we characterize the pharmacological properties of cis-2,6-dimethyl-4-(6-(5-(1-methylcyclopropoxy)-1H-indazol-3-yl)pyrimidin-4-yl)mo rpholine (MLi-2), a structurally novel, highly potent, and selective LRRK2 kinase inhibitor with central nervous system activity. MLi-2 exhibits exceptional potency in a purified LRRK2 kinase assay in vitro (IC50 = 0.76 nM), a cellular assay monitoring dephosphorylation of LRRK2 pSer935 LRRK2 (IC50 = 1.4 nM), and a radioligand competition binding assay (IC50 = 3.4 nM). MLi-2 has greater than 295-fold selectivity for over 300 kinases in addition to a diverse panel of receptors and ion channels. Acute oral and subchronic dosing in MLi-2 mice resulted in dose-dependent central and peripheral target inhibition over a 24-hour period as measured by dephosphorylation of pSer935 LRRK2. Treatment of MitoPark mice with MLi-2 was well tolerated over a 15-week period at brain and plasma exposures >100x the in vivo plasma IC50 for LRRK2 kinase inhibition as measured by pSer935 dephosphorylation. Morphologic changes in the lung, consistent with enlarged type II pneumocytes, were observed in MLi-2-treated MitoPark mice. These data demonstrate the suitability of MLi-2 as a compound to explore LRRK2 biology in cellular and animal models. |
