Synthesis of pyrazolo[4,3-a]phenanthridines, a new scaffold for Pim kinase inhibition

Abstract

A new series of nitro or amino substituted pyrazolo[4,3-a]phenanthridines was synthesized in 6 steps from 5-bromo-6-nitroindazole. The evaluation of their inhibitory potency toward Pim kinases demonstrated that the nitro series could be considered as an interesting starting point for the development of new Pim kinase inhibitors, especially Pim-3. A preferential binding mode was suggested by molecular modeling experiments for nitro series and Pim-1/Pim-3 ATP-binding sites. Moreover, the most active compounds exhibited antiproliferative activities toward PC3 cells in the micromolar range.