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Apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) plays important roles in the pathogenesis of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, autoimmune disorders, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases suggesting that small compounds inhibiting ASK1 could be used for the treatment of these pathologies. We have identified novel chemical class of ASK1 inhibitors, namely benzothiazol-2-yl-3-hydroxy-5-phenyl-1,5-dihydro-pyrrol-2-one, using molecular modeling techniques. It was found that the most active compound 1-(6-fluoro-benzothiazol-2-yl)-3-hydroxy-5-[3-(3-methyl-butoxy)-phenyl]-4-(2-methyl-2,3-dihydro-benzofuran-5-carbonyl)-1,5-dihydro-pyrrol-2-one (BPyO-34) inhibits ASK1 with IC 50 of 0.52 μM in vitro in kinase assay. The structure–activity relationships of 34 derivatives of benzothiazol-2-yl-3-hydroxy-5-phenyl-1,5-dihydro-pyrrol-2-one have been studied and binding mode of this chemical class has been proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Increased activity of apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) is associated with a number of human disorders and the inhibitors of ASK1 may become important compounds for pharmaceutical application. Here we report novel ASK1 inhibitor scaffold, namely 5-(5-Phenyl-furan-2-ylmethylene)-2-thioxo-thiazolidin-4-one, that has been identified using virtual screening and biochemical tests. A series of derivatives has been synthesized and evaluated in vitro towards human protein kinase ASK1. It was revealed that the most active compounds 4-((5Z)-5-{[5-(4-bromophenyl)-2-furyl]methylene}-4-oxo-2-thioxo-1,3-thiazolidin-3-yl)butanoic acid and 6-((5Z)-5-{[5-(4-bromophenyl)-2-furyl]methylene}-4-oxo-2-thioxo-1,3-thiazolidin-3-yl)hexanoic acid inhibit ASK1 with IC50 of 0.2 μM. Structure–activity relationships of 33 derivatives of 5-(5-Phenyl-furan-2-ylmethylene)-2-thioxo-thiazolidin-4-one have been studied and binding mode of this chemical class has been predicted. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]