Novel leucine ureido derivatives as aminopeptidase N inhibitors. Design, synthesis and activity evaluation.

Aminopeptidase N (APN/CD13) over-expressed on tumor cells and tumor microenvironment, plays critical roles in tumor invasion, metastasis and angiogenesis. Here we described the design, synthesis and preliminary activity studies of novel leucine ureido derivatives as aminopeptidase N (APN/CD13) inhibitors. The results showed that compound 7a had the most potent inhibitory activity against APN with the IC50 value of 20 nM, which could be used for further anticancer agent research.