Recent Development of Small Molecule Glutaminase Inhibitors

Title:Recent Development of Small Molecule Glutaminase Inhibitors

Volume: 18 Issue: 6

Author(s): Minsoo Song*, Soong-Hyun Kim, Chun Young Im and Hee-Jong Hwang

Affiliation:

• New Drug Development Center (NDDC), Daegu-Gyeongbuk Medical Innovation Foundation (DGMIF), 80 Cheombokro, Dong-gu, Daegu 41061,Korea

Keywords: Glutaminase, glutaminase inhibitors, cancer target, BPTES, CB-839, allosteric inhibitors.

Abstract: Glutaminase (GLS), which is responsible for the conversion of glutamine to glutamate, plays a vital role in up-regulating cell metabolism for tumor cell growth and is considered to be a valuable therapeutic target for cancer treatment. Based on this important function of glutaminase in cancer, several GLS inhibitors have been developed in both academia and industry. Most importantly, Calithera Biosciences Inc. is actively developing the glutaminase inhibitor CB-839 for the treatment of various cancers, and it is currently being evaluated in phase 1 and 2 clinical trials. In this review, recent efforts to develop small molecule glutaminase inhibitors that target glutamine metabolism in both preclinical and clinical studies are discussed. In particular, more emphasis is placed on CB-839 because it is the only small molecule GLS inhibitor being studied in a clinical setting. The inhibition mechanism is also discussed based on X-ray structure studies of thiadiazole derivatives present in glutaminase inhibitor BPTES. Finally, recent medicinal chemistry efforts to develop a new class of GLS inhibitors are described in the hopes of providing useful information for the next generation of GLS inhibitors.

Cite this article as:

Song Minsoo *, Kim Soong-Hyun , Im Young Chun and Hwang Hee-Jong , Recent Development of Small Molecule Glutaminase Inhibitors, Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry 2018; 18 (6) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1568026618666180525100830