Development of Second-Generation CDK2 Inhibitors for the Prevention of Cisplatin-Induced Hearing Loss

There
are currently no FDA-approved therapies to prevent the hearing
loss associated with the usage of cisplatin in chemotherapeutic regimens.
We recently demonstrated that the pharmacologic inhibition with kenpaullone
or genetic deletion of CDK2 preserved hearing function in animal models
treated with cisplatin, which suggests that CDK2 is a promising therapeutic
target to prevent cisplatin-induced ototoxicity. In this study, we
identified two lead compounds, AT7519 and AZD5438, from a focused
library screen of 187 CDK2 inhibitors, performed in an immortalized
cell line derived from neonatal mouse cochleae treated with cisplatin.
Moreover, we screened 36 analogues of AT7519 and identified analogue 7, which exhibited an improved therapeutic index. When delivered
locally, analogue 7 and AZD5438 both provided significant
protection against cisplatin-induced ototoxicity in mice. Thus, we
have identified two additional compounds that prevent cisplatin-induced
ototoxicity in vivo and provided further evidence that CDK2 is a druggable
target for treating cisplatin-induced ototoxicity.