Hologram and Receptor-Guided 3D QSAR Analysis of Anilinobipyridine JNK3 Inhibitors

Hologram and three dimensional quantitative structure activity relationship (3D QSAR) studies for a series of anilinobipyridine JNK3 inhibitors were performed using various alignment-based comparative molecular field analysis (COMFA) and comparative molecular similarity indices analysis (CoMSIA). The in vitro JNK3 inhibitory activity exhibited a strong correlation with steric and electrostatic factors of the molecules. Using four different types of alignments, the best model was selected based on the statistical significance of CoMFA ($q_2\;=\;0.728,\;r_2\;=\;0.865$), CoMSIA ($q_2\;=\;0.706,\;r_2\;=\;0.960$) and Hologram QSAR (HQSAR: $q_2\;=\;0.838,\;r_2\;=\;0.935$). The graphical analysis of produced CoMFA and CoMSIA contour maps in the active site indicated that steric and electrostatic interactions with key residues are crucial for potency and selectivity of JNK3 inhibitors. The HQSAR analysis showed a similar qualitative conclusion. We believe these findings could be utilized for further development of more potent and selective JNK3 inhibitors.