Discovery and optimization of olanzapine derivatives as new ferroptosis inhibitors

Ferroptosis is a new type of cell death associated with many human diseases. It is a new strategy to discover ferroptosis inhibitors for the treatment of ferroptosis-related diseases. Here the FDA-approved drug library containing 1160 molecules was screened for ferroptosis inhibitors in RSL3-induced HT22 mouse hippocampal neuronal cells. As a result, olanzapine showed potent ferroptosis inhibitory activity (EC50 = 1.18 1M). Structural optimization and the structure-activity relationships (SARs) analysis led to the synthesis of 41 new derivatives (4-44) and one known compound 45. Comparing with olanzapine, its derivative 36 showed nearly sixteen-folds improved ferroptosis inhibition and low cytotoxicity (EC50 = 0.074 1M, CC50 = 18.8 1M). Further mechanistic studies revealed that compound 36 specifically inhibited ferroptosis by its antioxidative ability. This work demonstrates that olanzapine protected RSL3-induced ferroptosis in HT22 cell, and its derivative 36 having nanomolar ferroptosis inhibitory activity merit to be developed for drugs against ferroptosis-related neurological diseases.

Automated summary

Ferroptosis is a new type of cell death correlated with various human diseases, and discovering ferroptosis inhibitors has become a novel strategy for the treatment of related diseases. Through screening the FDA-approved drug library, olanzapine was found to have potent ferroptosis inhibitory activity. Structural optimization and SARs analysis resulted in the synthesis of 41 new derivatives and one known compound. Derivative 36 showed significantly improved ferroptosis inhibition compared to olanzapine and low cytotoxicity. Mechanistic studies revealed its specific inhibition of ferroptosis through antioxidative ability. Olanzapine and its derivative 36 hold promise for drugs targeting ferroptosis-related neurological diseases.