Design and Evaluation of Potent EGFR Inhibitors through the Incorporation of Macrocyclic Polyamine Moieties into the 4-Anilinoquinazoline Scaffold

Abstract

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-competitive inhibitors of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) have provided a significant improvement in the disease outcome of nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Unfortunately, some marketed drugs affect a transient beneficial response in EGFR mutant NSCLC patients. We reported a series of potential EGFR inhibitors through incorporation of macrocyclic polyamine into 4-anilinoquinazoline scaffold. It is expected that anilinoquinazoline part effectively bind to EGFR domain, while ATP molecules are captured by a macrocyclic polyamine moiety. In vitro experiments exhibited that most of tested compounds suppressed tumor cell proliferation more strongly than Gefitinib and Lapatinib (dual inhibitor of EGFR/HER2) as controls. In kinase assays, the compound 1f showed excellent dual inhibition activity toward EGFR^WT (IC₅₀ = 1.4 nM) and HER2 (IC₅₀ = 2.1 nM). In vivo pharmacology evaluation of 1f showed significant antitumor activity (TGI = 44.2%) in A549 xenografts mice. The current work provided a feasible solution to optimize anilinoquinazoline-based inhibitors.