Discovery of Novel 3-Piperidinyl Pyridine Derivatives as Highly Potent and Selective Cholesterol 24-Hydroxylase (CH24H) Inhibitors

Cholesterol 24-hydroxylase (CH24H or CYP46A1) is a brain-specific cytochrome P450 enzyme that metabolizes cholesterol into 24 -hydroxycholesterol (24HC) for regulating brain cholesterol homeostasis. For the development of a novel and potent CH24H inhibitor, we designed and synthesized 3,4-disubstituted pyridine derivatives using a structure-based drug design approach starting from compounds (soticlestat) and (thioperamide). Optimization of this series by focusing on ligand-lipophilicity efficiency value resulted in the discovery of 4-(4-methyl-1-pyrazolyl)pyridine derivative (IC = 8.5 nM) as a potent and highly selective CH24H inhibitor. The X-ray crystal structure of CH24H in complex with compound revealed a unique binding mode. Both blood-brain barrier penetration and reduction of 24HC levels (26% reduction) in the mouse brain were confirmed by oral administration of at 30 mg/kg, indicating that is a promising tool for the novel and selective inhibition of CH24H.