1. Academic Validation
  2. ONC201-Derived Tetrahydropyridopyrimidindiones as Powerful ClpP Protease Activators to Tackle Diffuse Midline Glioma

ONC201-Derived Tetrahydropyridopyrimidindiones as Powerful ClpP Protease Activators to Tackle Diffuse Midline Glioma

  • J Med Chem. 2025 Mar 13;68(5):5190-5210. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c01723.
Morena Miciaccia 1 Olga Maria Baldelli 1 Cosimo G Fortuna 2 Gianfranco Cavallaro 2 Domenico Armenise 1 Anselma Liturri 1 Savina Ferorelli 1 Denise P Muñoz 3 Alessandro Bonifazi 4 Francesca Rizzo 5 Antonella Cormio 6 Silvana Filieri 7 Giuseppe Micalizzi 8 Paola Dugo 8 9 Luigi Mondello 8 9 Anna Maria Sardanelli 7 Francesco Bruni 5 Paola Loguercio Polosa 5 Maria Grazia Perrone 1 Antonio Scilimati 1
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Research Laboratory for Woman and Child Health, Department of Pharmacy─Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70125 Bari, Italy.
  • 2 Laboratory of Molecular Modelling and Heterocyclic Compounds ModHet, Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Catania, 95125 Catania, Italy.
  • 3 Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94115, United States.
  • 4 Medicinal Chemistry Section, Molecular Targets and Medications Discovery Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, 333 Cassell Dr., Baltimore, Maryland 21224, United States.
  • 5 Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Environment, University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70125 Bari, Italy.
  • 6 Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area, University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70124 Bari, Italy.
  • 7 Department of Translational Biomedicine and Neuroscience, University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70124 Bari, Italy.
  • 8 Messina Institute of Technology c/o Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, former Veterinary School, University of Messina, Messina 98168, Italy.
  • 9 Chromaleont s.r.l., c/o Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, former Veterinary School, University of Messina, Messina 98168, Italy.
Abstract

Pediatric diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), classified under diffuse midline glioma, is a deadly tumor, with no effective treatments. The human mitochondrial protease hClpP is a potential DIPG therapeutic target, and this study describes the synthesis of two new series of tetrahydropyridopyrimidindiones (THPPDs) as hClpP activators. Among the tested compounds, we have identified 36 (THX6) that shows a strong hClpP activation (EC50 = 1.18 μM) and good cytotoxicity in ONC201-resistant cells (IC50 = 0.13 μM). Studying the oxidation mechanisms on cell membranes, the treatment of DIPG cells with 36 (THX6) causes a change in levels of fatty acids (PUFAs, MUFAs, and SFAs) compared to untreated cells and dysregulates the level of proteins involved in Oxidative Phosphorylation, biogenesis, and Mitophagy that lead to a global collapse of mitochondrial integrity and function suggesting this as the mechanism through which 36 (THX6) accomplishes its antitumor activity in DIPG cell lines.

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