Deferasirox Derivatives as Inhibitors of Kallikrein‐Related Peptidases Associated to Neurodegenerative Diseases

Kallikrein-related peptidases are a family of serine proteases whose loss of activity regulation has been particularly linked to neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, iron overload is also a key process in some of these leading pathological conditions, particularly Alzheimer's disease. It is identified for the first time Deferasirox, a well-known FDA-approved iron chelator (DFX) as an initial hit for kallikrein's (KLK) inhibition and proposed here the design and synthesis of a small library of molecules using DFX as chemical scaffold. Resulting subseries of compounds are evaluated against lead central nervous system KLK's, namely, KLK1, KLK6, and KLK8 using targeted pharmacomodulations on DFX. Beyond DFX, several reversible micromolar inhibitors of these KLKs have been identified as hits and are shown to be devoid of any noticeable cytotoxicity toward neural cell lines commonly used in the field of neurodegenerative diseases. Their ability to chelate iron is also assessed in comparison to DFX and preformed iron-compound complexes displayed slightly improved inhibition potency for some derivatives with a KLK-dependent manner. Hence, several DFX derivatives are identified as promising starting points for the development of dual therapeutic agents in the context of neurodegenerative diseases where both deregulated KLK's proteolysis and iron dysregulation are involved.