Novel tacrine-based acetylcholinesterase inhibitors as potential agents for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease: Quinolotacrine hybrids

A new series of quinolotacrine hybrids including cyclopenta- and cyclohexa-quinolotacrine derivatives were designed, synthesized, and assessed as anti-cholinesterase (ChE) agents. The designed derivatives indicated higher inhibitory effect on the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) with IC₅₀ values of 0.285–100 µM compared to butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) with IC₅₀ values of?>?100 µM. Of these compounds, cyclohexa-quinolotacrine hybrids displayed a little better anti-AChE activity than cyclopenta-quinolotacrine hybrids. Compound 8-amino-7-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-5,7,9,10,11,12-hexahydro-6H-pyrano[2,3-b:5,6-c'] diquinolin-6-one (6m) including 3-hydroxyphenyl and cyclohexane ring moieties exhibited the best AChE inhibitory activity with IC₅₀ value of 0.285 µM. The kinetic and molecular docking studies indicated that compound 6m occupied both the catalytic anionic site (CAS) and peripheral anionic site (PAS) of AChE as a mixed inhibitor. Using neuroprotective assay against H₂O₂-induced cell death in PC12 cells, the compound 6h illustrated significant protection among the assessed compounds. In silico ADME studies estimated good drug-likeness for the designed compounds. As a result, these quinolotacrine hybrids can be very encouraging AChE inhibitors to treat Alzheimer’s disease.

Graphic abstract

A novel series of quinolotacrine hybrids were designed, synthesized, and evaluated against AChE and BChE enzymes as potential agents for the treatment of AD. The hybrids showed good to significant inhibitory activity against AChE (0.285–100 μM) compared to butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) with IC₅₀ values of?>?100 μM. Among them, compound 8-amino-7-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-5,7,9,10,11,12-hexahydro-6H-pyrano[2,3-b:5,6-c′] diquinolin-6-one (6 m) bearing 3-hydroxyphenyl moiety and cyclohexane ring exhibited the highest anti-AChE activity with IC₅₀ value of 0.285 μM. The kinetic and molecular docking studies illustrated that compound 6 m is a mixed inhibitor and binds to both the catalytic anionic site (CAS) and peripheral anionic site (PAS) of AChE.

     

Syntheses of [1,2,3]selenadiazolo[4,5‐e]benzofuran or benzothiophene, [1,2,3]thiadiazolo[4,5‐e]benzofuran or benzothiophene,and 2‐benzofuranyl‐1,3,4‐oxodiazole derivatives

Dehydrogenation of ethyl 3‐methyl‐4‐oxo‐4,5,6,7‐tetrahydrobenzofuran‐2‐carboxylate 1 with 2,2′‐azobi‐sisobutyronitrile and N‐bromosuccinimide gave ethyl 4‐hydroxy‐3‐methylbenzofuran‐2‐carboxylate 3 . Reaction of compounds 3–4 with hydrazine hydrate afforded the corresponding hydrazides 5a‐b . The reaction of 5a‐b with aldehydes yielded substituted hydrazones 6a‐l . Compounds 7a‐d were prepared from compounds 6a‐d and bromine in acetic acid. Lead tetraacetate oxidation of compounds 6e‐l afforded substituted oxadiazoles 8e‐l . Selenium dioxide oxidation of 4‐oxo‐4,5,6,7‐tetrahydrobenzofuran semicarbazones 9, 14a and 4‐oxo‐4,5,6,7‐tetrahydrobenzothiophene 14b gave the tricyclic 1,2,3‐selenadiazoles 10, 15a and 15b respectively. Reaction of semicarbazones 9, 14a and 14b with thionyl chloride afforded the corresponding 1,2,3‐thiadiazoles 12, 16a and 16b respectively.     

Synthesis and calcium channel antagonist activities of new derivatives of dialkyl 1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethyl-4-(5-phenylisoxazol-3-yl)pyridine-3,5-dicarboxylates

The new analogues of nifedipine, in which 2-nitrophenyl group at position 4 is replaced by phenylisoxazolyl substituent, were synthesized. The symmetrical dialkyl 1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethyl-4-(5-phenylisoxazol-3-yl)pyridine-3,5-dicarboxylates were prepared by classical Hantzsch condensation, and the asymmetrical analogues were synthesized using a procedure reported by Dagnino that involved the condensation of alkyl acetoacetate with alkyl 3-aminocrotonate and 5-phenylisoxazole-3-carboxaldehyde. The structure of all compounds was confirmed by IR, ¹H NMR and Mass spectra. In vitro calcium channel antagonist activities were evaluated as calcium channel antagonists using the high K⁺ concentration of guinea-pig ileum longitudinal smooth muscle (GPILSM) assay. These compounds exhibited moderate calcium antagonist activity (IC₅₀ = 10^?7 to 10^{? 5} M range) relative to the reference drug nifedipine (IC₅₀ = 1.10 ± 0.40 × 10^?8 M).     

A New Reaction of Isatin,Cyclic 1,3‐Diketone,and 2‐Cyanoacetamide: A Four‐Component Synthesis of Spirooxindoles

A novel reaction of isatins, 2‐cyanoacetamide, and cyclic 1,3‐diketones in ethanol was reported. The reaction gave the unexpected spirooxindole ethyl carboxylates in excellent yields and the spirooxindole carboxamide was not observed.     

Three-component solvent-free synthesis of 5-substituted-1H-tetrazoles catalyzed by unmodified nanomagnetite with microwave irradiation or conventional heating

Research on Chemical Intermediates - A convenient, rapid, and highly efficient procedure for synthesis of 5-substituted-1H-tetrazoles was developed via multicomponent domino Knoevenagel...     

Atom-economical isocyanide-based multicomponent synthesis of 2,5-dioxopyrrolidines,spirobenzothiazinechromans and 1,5-benzothiazepines

An efficient synthesis of new pharmaceutically relevant dioxopyrrolidines, spirobenzo thiazine-2,3′-chromans, and benzothiazepines via isocyanide-based multicomponent condensation reactions at room temperature is reported. This synthesis serves as a nice addition to group-assistant-purification (GAP) chemistry in which purification via chromatography and recrystallization can be avoided, and the pure products are obtained simply by washing the crude products with 95% ethanol.     

Characterization and High Level Expression of Acidic Endoglucanase in Pichia pastoris

Bioconversion of cellulosic material into glucose needs cellulase enzymes. One of the most important organisms that produces cellulases is Trichoderma reesei, whose cellulose enzymes are probably the most widely used in the industry. However, these enzymes are not stable enough at high pH and temperatures. The optimized synthetic endoglucanase II gene with Pichia pastoris codon preferences was secretary expressed in P. pastoris. Recombinant enzyme characterization showed maximum activity at pH 4.8 and temperature 75 °C, and it demonstrated increasing thermal stability in high temperature. The enzyme maintained its activity in a wide pH range from 3.5 to 6.5. The optimization of fermentation medium was carried out in shaking flasks. Recombinant protein expression at optimum conditions (pH 7, temperature 25 °C, and 1 % methanol induction) for 72 h demonstrated 2,358.8 U/ml endoglucanase activity units. To our knowledge, this is the highest acidic thermophilic endoglucanase activity that is reported in crude intracellular medium in P. pastoris. We conclude that P. pastoris is an appropriate host for high-level expression of optimized endoglucanase gene with improved thermal stability.     

TEAD–YAP Interaction Inhibitors and MDM2 Binders from DNA-Encoded Indole-Focused Ugi Peptidomimetics

DNA-encoded combinatorial synthesis provides efficient and dense coverage of chemical space around privileged molecular structures. The indole side chain of tryptophan plays a prominent role in key, or “hot spot”, regions of protein–protein interactions. A DNA-encoded combinatorial peptoid library was designed based on the Ugi four-component reaction by employing tryptophan-mimetic indole side chains to probe the surface of target proteins. Several peptoids were synthesized on a chemically stable hexathymidine adapter oligonucleotide “hexT”, encoded by DNA sequences, and substituted by azide-alkyne cycloaddition to yield a library of 8112 molecules. Selection experiments for the tumor-relevant proteins MDM2 and TEAD4 yielded MDM2 binders and a novel class of TEAD-YAP interaction inhibitors that perturbed the expression of a gene under the control of these Hippo pathway effectors.     

Magnetic carbon nanotube as a highly stable and retrievable support for the heterogenization of sulfonic acid and its application in the synthesis of 2-(1H-tetrazole-5-yl) acrylonitrile derivatives

In the present study, a novel magnetic carbon nanotube functionalized by chlorosulfonicacid (Fe₃O₄-CNT-SO₃H) with nanotube morphology decorated by the spherical nanoparticles was prepared, characterized and introduced as a retrievable magnetic heterogeneous nanocatalyst for green synthesis a variety of 2-(1H-tetrazole-5-yl) acrylonitrile via multicomponent domino Knoevenagel condensation/ 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction between aromatic aldehydes, malononitrile, and sodium azide under solvent free conditions. The catalyst was magnetically separated from the reaction system by an outer magnetic force and recycled up to five runs without a remarkable loss in its efficiency. The as-preparedacidic magnetic nanocomposite was characterized by different techniques inclusive Fourier transform infrared, thermogravimetric analysis, energy dispersive X-ray, field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, vibrating sample magnetometry, CHNS elemental analysis, and acid-base titration. Easy workup, affordability, elimination of volatile and toxic solvents, and high yield of products are some merits of this protocol.