4-Arylindolines Bearing a Pyrido[3,2- <i>d</i> ]pyrimidine Scaffold as Dual Inhibitors of the PD-1/PD-L1 Interaction and NAMPT for Targeting Tumor Immunoevasion and Metabolism
Targeting both the PD-1/PD-L1 axis and NAMPT represents a promising therapeutic strategy to overcome resistance to the immune checkpoint blockade. Herein, we developed a novel series of 4-arylindolines bearing a pyrido[3,2- d ]pyrimidine scaffold as dual-targeting inhibitors. Among these, compound B14 emerged as the most promising inhibitor, exhibiting IC 50 values of 7.5 and 18.8 nM against the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction and NAMPT, respectively, along with favorable metabolic stability. In vitro investigations revealed that B14 significantly enhanced T cell-mediated tumor cell killing, elevated T cell proliferation and CD8 + T cell proportion, and interfered with intracellular NAD + biosynthesis. In a mouse LLC tumor model overexpressing NAMPT and PD-L1, B14 significantly suppressed tumor progression through dual mechanisms involving tumor metabolism disruption and tumor immune microenvironment activation. These findings highlight B14 as a promising lead compound for the development of next-generation antitumor agents that simultaneously target tumor immunoevasion and metabolism.
Authors
- Yingjia Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8885-2317)
- Xiaoyao Zhao
- Mingze Qin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4634-535X)
- Kun Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8530-370X)
- Xinyu Niu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8026-701X)
- Xiaojie Song (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1174-6767)
- Xuejian Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-0561-8032)
- Lihui Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6538-0855)
- Fengjie Guo
- Yanqi Jin
- Xuanchi Zhu
- Yuan Yang
- Yangyang Meng
- Zhiyong Wu
Institutions
- Shenyang Pharmaceutical University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Medicinal Chemistry
- Published
- 2026-06-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.5c03761
- Primary Topic
- Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00