MITOFUSIN ACTIVATORS AND USES THEREOF

1 . A method of treating a disease or disorder in a subject, wherein the disease or disorder is selected from the group consisting of a neurological disease or disorder, a cardiovascular disorder, a metabolic disorder, a cancer, renal, hepatic and/or bowel ischemia; liver and/or kidney disease or failure, fatty liver, muscle wasting, acroosteolysis, oxidative stress, anoxia, mitochondrial or DNA damage, and an autoimmune disease, the method comprising administering to the subject one or more compounds of formula (I), (II) or (III) in an amount effective to treat a neurological disease or disorder, a cardiovascular disorder, a metabolic disorder, a cancer, renal, hepatic and/or bowel ischemia; liver and/or kidney disease or failure, fatty liver, muscle wasting, acroosteolysis, oxidative stress, anoxia, mitochondrial or DNA damage, or an autoimmune disease,

wherein formula (I) is

formula (II) is

and

formula (III) is

wherein

R1 is aryl, benzyl, heteroaryl, aralkyl, heteroaralkyl, cycloalkyl, heterocycloalkyl, or an optionally substituted aryl, aralkyl, heteroaryl, or heteroaralkyl, wherein the optional substituent is one or more of F, Cl, Br, I, OH, CN, CH 3 , NO 2 , SH, COOH, CF 3 , —CHO,

—COOH, amino, C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 1 -C 6 haloalkyl, or C 1 -C 6 haloalkoxy;

R2 is H, F, Cl, Br, I, OH, CF 3 , C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl or C 1 -C 4 haloalkoxy;

R3, R4 and R5 are independently H, alkenyl, alkynyl, cycloalkyl, CH 2 CH 3 N(CH 3 ) 2 ,heterocycloalkyl, benzyl, aryl, heteroaryl, aralkyl, heteroaralkyl, or optionally substituted aryl, aralkyl, heteroaryl, or heteroaralkyl, wherein the optional substituent is one or more of F, Cl, Br, I, OH, CH 3 , CN, NO 2 , SH, COOH or CF 3 ;

R6 is H, CN, CONH 2 , COOH, COOR9, F, Cl, Br, I, OH, CH 3 , NO 2 , CF 3 , C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 1 -C 6 haloalkyl or C 1 -C 6 haloalkoxy;

R7 is CH 2 , CH 2 CH 2 , CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 or CH 2 CH 2 CH 3 ;

R8 is CN, CONH 2 , COOH or COOR9;

R9 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl or C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl;

X and Y are independently N or CH;

Z is S, O, NH, CH 2 , C═O, SO 2 , NR or CHR10;

R10 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl or C 1 -C 4 haloalkoxy;

or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, ester or prodrug thereof.

2 . A method of treating a disease or disorder in a subject, wherein the disease or disorder is selected from the group consisting of a neurological disease or disorder, a cardiovascular disorder, a metabolic disorder, a cancer, renal, hepatic and/or bowel ischemia; liver and/or kidney disease or failure, fatty liver, muscle wasting, acroosteolysis, oxidative stress, anoxia, mitochondrial or DNA damage, and an autoimmune disease, the method comprising administering to the subject one or more of the following compounds in an amount effective to treat a neurological disease or disorder, a cardiovascular disorder, a metabolic disorder, a cancer, renal, hepatic and/or bowel ischemia; liver and/or kidney disease or failure, fatty liver, muscle wasting, acroosteolysis, oxidative stress, anoxia, mitochondrial or DNA damage, or an autoimmune disease:

or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, ester or prodrug thereof.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the compound activates a mitofusin.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the compound activates mitofusin 2 (Mfn2).

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the neurological disease or disorder is Charcot Marie Tooth disease Type 2A or Type 3.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the neurological disease or disorder is Alzheimer's Disease, dementia, frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson's Disease, Huntington's Disease, cognitive impairment, prion diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ataxia, a peripheral nervous system disorder, axonal neuropathy, a demyelinating disease, or atrophy of an optic nerve or disc.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the neurological disease or disorder is a neurodegenerative disorder.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the cardiovascular disorder is myocardial infarction, heart failure, cardiomyopathy, coronary heart disease, a cerebrovascular accident, hypertensive vascular disease, arteriosclerosis, reperfusion injury, or stroke.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the metabolic disorder is diabetes, insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, obesity or a metabolic disorder.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the cancer is a leukemia or a solid tumor.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the cancer is acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the cancer is breast cancer, prostate cancer, lymphoma, skin cancer, pancreatic cancer, colon cancer, melanoma, malignant melanoma, ovarian cancer, brain or spinal cord cancer, primary brain carcinoma, medulloblastoma, neuroblastoma, glioma, head-neck cancer, glioma, glioblastoma, liver cancer, bladder cancer, stomach cancer, kidney cancer, placental cancer, cancer of the gastrointestinal tract, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), head or neck carcinoma, breast carcinoma, endocrine cancer, eye cancer, genitourinary cancer, cancer of the vulva, ovary, uterus or cervix, hematopoietic cancer, myeloma, leukemia, lymphoma, ovarian carcinoma, lung carcinoma, small-cell lung carcinoma, Wilms' tumor, cervical carcinoma, testicular carcinoma, bladder carcinoma, pancreatic carcinoma, stomach carcinoma, colon carcinoma, prostatic carcinoma, genitourinary carcinoma, thyroid carcinoma, esophageal carcinoma, myeloma, multiple myeloma, adrenal carcinoma, renal cell carcinoma, endometrial carcinoma, adrenal cortex carcinoma, malignant pancreatic insulinoma, malignant carcinoid carcinoma, choriocarcinoma, mycosis fungoides, malignant hypercalcemia, cervical hyperplasia, leukemia, acute lymphocytic leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, chronic granulocytic leukemia, acute granulocytic leukemia, acute myelogenous leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia, hairy cell leukemia, neuroblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, polycythemia vera, essential thrombocytosis, Hodgkin's disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, soft tissue cancer, soft-tissue sarcoma, osteogenic sarcoma, sarcoma, primary macroglobulinemia, central nervous system cancer, retinoblastoma, or metastatic cancer.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the muscle wasting is a myopathy or amyotrophy.

14 . A pharmaceutical composition comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and one or more compounds of formula (I), (II) or (III),

wherein formula (I) is

formula (II) is

and

formula (III) is

wherein

R1 is aryl, benzyl, heteroaryl, aralkyl, heteroaralkyl, cycloalkyl, heterocycloalkyl, or an optionally substituted aryl, aralkyl, heteroaryl, or heteroaralkyl, wherein the optional substituent is one or more of F, Cl, Br, I, OH, CN, CH 3 , NO 2 , SH, COOH, CF 3 , —CHO,

—COOH, amino, C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 1 -C 6 haloalkyl, or C 1 -C 6 haloalkoxy;

R2 is H, F, Cl, Br, I, OH, CF 3 , C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl or C 1 -C 4 haloalkoxy;

R3, R4 and R5 are independently H, alkenyl, alkynyl, cycloalkyl, CH 2 CH 3 N(CH 3 ) 2 ,heterocycloalkyl, benzyl, aryl, heteroaryl, aralkyl, heteroaralkyl, or optionally substituted aryl, aralkyl, heteroaryl, or heteroaralkyl, wherein the optional substituent is one or more of F, Cl, Br, I, OH, CH 3 , CN, NO 2 , SH, COOH or CF 3 ;

R6 is H, CN, CONH 2 , COOH, COOR9, F, Cl, Br, I, OH, CH 3 , NO 2 , CF 3 , C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 1 -C 6 haloalkyl or C 1 -C 6 haloalkoxy;

R7 is CH 2 , CH 2 CH 2 , CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 or CH 2 CH 2 CH 3 ;

R8 is CN, CONH 2 , COOH or COOR9;

R9 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl or C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl;

X and Y are independently N or CH;

Z is S, O, NH, CH 2 , C═O, SO 2 , NR or CHR10;

R10 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl or C 1 -C 4 haloalkoxy;

or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, ester or prodrug thereof.

15 . A pharmaceutical composition comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of:

or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, ester or prodrug thereof.

16 . The pharmaceutical composition of claim 14 , wherein the compound is present in the composition in an amount effective to activate a mitofusin.

17 . The pharmaceutical composition of claim 14 , wherein the compound is present in the composition in an amount effective to activate mitofusin 2 (Mfn2).

18 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the compound or salt is administered orally, topically, intraveneously, intramuscularly, intrathecally, subcutaneously, parenterally, by spray inhalation, sublingually, transdermally, buccally, rectally, as a topical ophthalmic solution, or as an intravitreal injection.