Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase beta (PI3Kβ) is an important therapeutic target in arterial thrombosis and special types of cancer. In this study, a new series of aminopyridine-based PI3Kβ selective inhibitors have been developed by the structure-based design strategy. When incorporated with the phenyl ring on sulfonamide moiety, aminopyrimidine analogs showed good potency on PI3Kβ and selectivity over PI3Kα. Intriguingly, replacement of phenyl group on sulfonamide with naphthyl group enhanced selectivity over PI3Kα while retaining submicromolar PI3Kβ potency. Molecular modeling suggests that increased PI3Kβ specificity is caused by the interaction with salt bridge (Lys782-Asp923) and Asp862 that creat a unique pocket in PI3Kβ. These results clearly provide useful insight in the design of new PI3Kβ inhibitors with high potency and selectivity.
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