Discovery of Potent, Highly Selective, and Orally Bioavailable Pyridine Carboxamide c-Jun NH₂-Terminal Kinase Inhibitors

Abstract

C-Jun NH2 terminal kinases (JNKs) are important cell signaling enzymes. JNK1 plays a central role in linking obesity and insulin resistance. JNK2 and JNK3 may be involved in inflammatory and neurological disorders, respectively. Small-molecule JNK inhibitors could be valuable tools to study the therapeutic benefits of inhibiting these enzymes and as leads for potential drugs targeting JNKs. In this report, we disclose a series of potent and highly selective JNK inhibitors with good pharmacokinetic profiles.