Pharmacophore and 3D-QSAR Characterization of 6‑Arylquinazolin-4-amines as Cdc2-like Kinase 4 (Clk4) and Dual Specificity Tyrosine-phosphorylation-regulated Kinase 1A (Dyrk1A) Inhibitors

Cdc2-like kinase 4 (Clk4) and dual specificity tyrosine-phosphorylation-regulated kinase 1A (Dyrk1A) are protein kinases that are promising targets for treatment of diseases caused by abnormal gene splicing. 6-Arylquinazolin-4-amines have been recently identified as potent Clk4 and Dyrk1A inhibitors. In order to understand the structure–activity correlation of these analogs, we have applied ligand-based pharmacophore and 3D-QSAR modeling combined with structure-based homology modeling and docking. The high R 2 and Q 2 (0.88 and 0.79 for Clk4, 0.85 and 0.82 for Dyrk1A, respectively) based on validation with training and test set compounds suggested that the generated 3D-QSAR models are reliable in predicting novel ligand activities against Clk4 and Dyrk1A. The binding mode identified through docking ligands to the ATP binding domain of Clk4 was consistent with the structural properties and energy field contour maps characterized by pharmacophore and 3D-QSAR models and gave valuable insights into the structure–activity profile of 6-arylquinazolin-4-amine analogs. The obtained 3D-QSAR and pharmacophore models in combination with the binding mode between inhibitor and residues of Clk4 will be helpful for future lead compound identification and optimization to design potent and selective Clk4 and Dyrk1A inhibitors.