Discovery of pyrimidine-based small activators of insulin degrading enzyme
Insulin-Degrading Enzyme IDE, a zinc metalloprotease that has been associated with Alzheimer 's disease, metabolic diseases and cancer, is an attractive target. Its complex structure, substrate preferences, non-catalytic activities require the development of modulators of this enzyme. While several potent inhibitors are now available, we still lack activators for both in vitro and in vivo explorations of IDE functions and potential application in Alzheimer 's disease. Here we describe the discovery of an original pyrimidine-based series of IDE activators by screening and its structure-activity relationships. Docking studies suggest that compounds may bind the IDE dimer interface, and sterically increase IDE catalytic activity. In vitro and in vivo activities of best activator are consistent with an increase in insulin hydrolysis by IDE in the presence of the activator BDM71230. This compound can serve as a pharmacological tool to explore this intriguing enzyme.
Authors
- Bart Staels (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3784-1503)
- Nathalie HENNUYER
- Valérie Landry (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7650-8965)
- Jamal El Bakali (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1470-0521)
- Julie Dumont (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6009-0111)
- Cyril Ronco (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9023-5940)
- Konstantinos D. Papavasileiou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2322-7422)
- Sandrine Warenghem (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9113-6058)
- Michail Papadourakis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9969-5871)
- Damien Bosc (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6076-2934)
- Catherine Piveteau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3835-4619)
- Julie Charton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6895-276X)
- Benoit P. Deprez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2777-4538)
- Antreas Afantitis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0977-8180)
- Rebecca Deprez-Poulain
- Florence Leroux
Institutions
- Inserm (FR)
- Université de Lille (FR)
- Institut Pasteur de Lille (FR)
- NovaMechanics (Cyprus) (CY)
- European Genomic Institute for Diabetes (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry
- Published
- 2026-03-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmech.2026.118740
- Primary Topic
- Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00