ML390

IC50: 0.56 μM

ML390 is a human DHODH inhibitor.

Homeobox (Hox) transcription factors are reported to be involved in the hematopoietic differentiation. Recently studies have showed that the inhibitors of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) can induce the differentiation in multiple AML models in vitro and in vivo. More importantly, DHODH inhibitors have been found to be effective at prolonging survival in animal models of leukemia.

In vitro: In the screening study, ML390 was identified as the most potent compound against the engineered ERHOX-GFP cell line. Moreover, the addition of uridine to the cell culture media could abrogate the differentiation effects of ML390, demonstrating further evidences that ML390’ effects were due to their inhibition of DHODH-catalyzed pyrimidine synthesis. In addition, ML390 was found to be not able to inhibit DHODH in the P. falciparum parasite, which is the causative agent of malaria. Furthermore, the X-ray structure indicated that the binding of ML390 to the enzyme might be increased by modifying ML390 with a ring in its central portion to lock the molecule into its binding conformation with the amide substituents [1].

In vivo: So far, there is no animal in vivo data reported.

Clinical trial: Up to now, ML390 is still in the preclinical development stage.

Reference:
[1] Timothy A Lewis et al.  Development of ML390: A Human DHODH Inhibitor That Induces Differentiation in Acute Myeloid Leukemia. ACS Med Chem Lett 2016 Dec 28;7(12):1112-1117. Epub 2016 Sep 28.