Abstract 1817: Characterisation of CCT251455, a novel, selective and highly potent Mps1 kinase inhibitor

Abstract

Abstract Monopolar spindle 1 (Mps1, also known as TTK) is a dual-specificity, cell cycle-regulated kinase required for the establishment and maintenance of the spindle assembly checkpoint during mitosis. Aneuploid tumour cells possess a weak spindle checkpoint to allow onset of anaphase and cell division. Our hypothesis is that a complete inhibition of an already weakened mitotic checkpoint of cancer cells will cause gross chromosomal abnormalities leading to aneuploid cell death. We have shown that depletion of Mps1 by siRNA induces cell death selectively in aneuploid and PTEN-deficient cancer cell lines. We have demonstrated that Mps1 depletion inhibits MAD2 localisation to the kinetochores. We have developed biochemical and cellular assays for Mps1 activity and a high throughput screening of our Institute's compound library delivered multiple hit series. Medicinal chemistry in combination with X-ray crystallography led to the development of CCT251455, a small molecule inhibitor of Mps1 kinase activity. CCT251455 selectively inhibits Mps1 kinase with an IC50 of 0.003 μM, inhibits growth of a panel of human tumour cell lines with GI50 between 0.06 - 1 μM and is particularly potent in PTEN-deficient cell lines. Cells treated with CCT251455 abrogate nocodazole-induced mitotic arrest and reduce the time spent in mitosis. Mps1-inhibited cells contain aberrant numbers of chromosomes and the majority of cells divide their chromosomes without proper alignment. CCT251455 is orally bioavailable (F = 82%) and shows modulation of biomarkers in vivo. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1817. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-1817