To bypass the resistance to conventional chemotherapy, attention is paid to the inhibition of alternative targets such as members of the DNA damage response pathway. In the present study, we performed a three-step virtual screening of potential ATR inhibitors followed by evaluation of antiproliferative and chemosensitizing properties of selected compounds in vitro on a panel of cancer cell lines.
According to pharmacophore resemblance to standard ATR inhibitor VX-970, a total of 17 compounds were purchased and tested. Among those 17 compounds, two proved antiproliferative efficacy in monotherapy, whereas ten compounds were effective in cisplatin co-treatment on the panel of ten different human cell lines.