Discovery of quinazolines as a novel structural class of potent inhibitors of NF-κB activation

We disclose here a new structural class of low-molecular-weight inhibitors of NF-kappa B activation that were designed and synthesized by starting from quinazoline derivative 6a. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies based on 6a elucidated the structural requirements essential for the inhibitory activity toward NF-kappa B transcriptional activation, and led to the identification of the 6-amino-4-phenethylaminoquinazoline skeleton as the basic framework. In this series of compounds, 11q, containing the 4-phenoxyphenethyl moiety at the C(4)-position, showed strong inhibitory effects on both NF-kappa B transcriptional activation and TNF-alpha production. Furthermore, 11q exhibited an anti-inflammatory effect on carrageenin-induced paw edema in rats.