Structure-activity relationships of estrogen derivatives as aromatase inhibitors. Effects of heterocyclic substituents

Aromatase, which is responsible for the conversion of androgens to estrogens, is a potential therapeutic target for the selective lowering estrogen level in patients with estrogen-dependent breast cancer. We prepared and tested series of the pyridine- and other heterocyclic ring-containing derivatives of 2- and 4-aminoestrones, estrone, and estradiol, compounds 5, 10, 12 and 15. The isonicotinyl derivatives of 2- and 4-aminoestrone, compounds 5c and 10c, were fairly potent competitive inhibitors of aromatase (K(i), 2.1+/-0.14 and 1.53+/-0.08 microM for 5c and 10c, respectively) and other compounds did not show, to a significant extent, the aromatase inhibitory activity. This result suggests that the isonicotinyl-substituted derivatives 5c and 10c would be accessible to the active site of aromatase.     

Structure-activity relationships of new N-acylanthranilic acid derivatives as plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 inhibitors

Novel anthranilic acid derivatives having substituted N-acyl side chains were designed and synthesized for evaluation as plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) inhibitors. Compounds with a 4-diphenylmethyl-1-piperazinyl moiety on the acyl side chains in general exhibited potent in vitro PAI-1 inhibitory activity and good pharmacokinetic profiles after oral administration in rats. Compound 16f (TM5275) was identified as a promising candidate for further pharmacological evaluation.     

Structure-activity relationships of dopamine- and norepinephrine-uptake inhibitors

Quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) analysis of 3-phenyl-1-indanamines, 1-amino-4-aryltetralins, and 6-phenylpyrrolo[2,1-a] isoquinolines has been performed for catecholamine-uptake inhibition activities. Similar equations were obtained for these series of congeners indicating a common tendency that the increase in hydrophobicity of the substituents on the primary phenyl ring (ring C) enhances the activity, and the important aromatic ring which interacts with the receptor is this ring C. It was also indicated that the effect of the introduction of the second N-methyl group differs depending on the series of congeners. These results were used to characterize a binding model for a pharmacophore, which comprised a phenyl ring and a basic nitrogen. This model defined the necessary three-dimensional features leading to the uptake inhibition, and degree of fitness with this model predicted the strength of the activity. Furthermore, it appeared likely that a substituent existing in a specific region of the inhibitor molecule causes a steric hindrance with the receptor site and reduces the activity.     

Structure-activity relationships of 2-aminothiazole derivatives as inducible nitric oxide synthase inhibitor

Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) has been divided into two major sub-enzymes, i.e. inducible NOS (iNOS) and constitutive NOS (cNOS). Although nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role as host defense mediator, excessive production of NO by iNOS has been involved in the pathology of many inflammatory diseases. Recently, we reported that the 2-imino-1,3-oxazolidine (1a) weakly inhibits iNOS and that introduction of an alkyl moiety on the oxazolidine ring of 1a enhances the inhibitory activity and selectivity for iNOS. In our search for better iNOS inhibitors, we focused our efforts on the 2-aminothiazole scaffold 3 as it possesses a ring similar to that of 1a. In this study, we evaluated the inhibitory activity of a series of 2-aminothiazole derivatives against both iNOS and neuronal NOS (nNOS). Our results show that introduction of appropriately-sized substituents at the 4- and 5-position of the 2-aminothiazole ring improves the inhibitory activity and selectivity for iNOS. We also found that the selectivity of 5a [5-(1-methyl)ethyl-4-methylthiazol-2-ylamine] and 5b [5-(1,1-dimethyl)ethyl-4-methylthiazol-2-ylamine] for iNOS was similar to that of oxazolidine derivative 1b (4-methyl-5-propyl-2-imino-1,3-oxazolidine) and much higher than that of L-NAME. However, we could not enhance the inhibitory activity against iNOS by introducing an alkyl substituent into the 2-aminothiazole ring as we could in the case of oxazolidine one. On the other hand, introduction of bulky or hydrophilic substituent at any position of the 2-aminothiazole ring remarkably decreased or even abolished the inhibitory activity against NOS.     

Structure-activity relationships of123I labeled o-iodobenzamide derivatives

o-Iodobenzamide is a stable compound which is labeled quantitatively by heating with no-carrier-added¹²³I-NaI in ethanol. The¹²³I product is relatively inert biologically, being resistant toin vivo deiodination or hydrolysis, in rats and dogs, for several hours. Furthermore, it appears to be freely diffusible, distributing itself in the body according to the extravascular fluid space, with some localization in the liver, and little tendency for excretion into the urine or bile. The brain uptake and brain-blood ratio is higher than that of iodoantipyrine, and allows imaging the brain in dogs. The product is also taken up by induced myocardial infarcts and transplanted tumors in rats. Substitution of the amide function with single alkyl groups does not greatly alter thein vivo characteristics except at long-chain length where hepatobiliary excretion predominates. Substitution of both amide hydrogens, however, results in a different pattern, with high blood binding and increased excretion. Conversion to more polar functionalities, such as the hydrazide or hydroxamic acid, also leads to hepatobiliary excretion.     

环氧酮肽蛋白酶体抑制剂的构效关系及基于分子相似性的分子设计

针对56个环氧酮肽衍生物,分别采用比较分子场分析(comparative molecular field analysis,CoMFA)、比较分子相似性形状指数分析(comparative molecular similarity indices analysis,CoMSIA)、Topomer CoMFA、Holo-gram QSAR(HQSAR)以及基于一维和二维描述符的支持向量机(support vector machine,SVM)方法进行了细致的构效关系研究。研究显示:通过引入一维和二维描述符的SVM建模方法,避免了柔性分子在三维构效关系研究中的构象选择和叠合难题,亦可有效避免过拟合现象的发生。所建最优SVM模型的决定系数R2、均方根误差(RMS)、交互验证系数Q2和外部预测R2pred分别为0.681,0.436,0.572和0.641。分析结果显示:电性、拓扑特征、疏水性和分子体积是影响环氧酮肽蛋白酶体抑制活性的主要因素。在此基础上,以活性最高样本分子(CID:42638286的)为模板,基于相似性评价方法对其侧链进行设计,结合Lipinski"5规则"类药性筛选,共得到12个新颖目标分子,且预测活性均达到纳摩尔水平。     

High-throughput catch-and-release synthesis of oxazoline hydroxamates. Structure-activity relationships in novel inhibitors of Escherichia coli LpxC: in vitro enzyme inhibition and antibacterial properties

LpxC is a zinc amidase that catalyses the second step of lipid A biosynthesis in Gram-negative bacteria. Oxazolines incorporating a hydroxamic acid, which is believed to coordinate to the single essential zinc ion, at the 4-position are known inhibitors of this enzyme. Some of these enzyme inhibitors exhibit antibacterial activity through their inhibition of LpxC. We recently developed a method for the synthesis of oxazolines using resin capture and ring-forming release that eliminates traditional purification steps and can be used in high-throughput synthesis. Using our method, oxazoline hydroxamates with diverse 2-substituents were prepared in library form as candidate inhibitors for LpxC. Two conventional methods for oxazoline synthesis were also applied to generate more than 70 compounds. The groups at the 2-position included a wide variety of substituted aromatic rings and a limited selection of alkyl groups. These compounds were screened against wild-type and LpxC inhibitor-sensitive strains of Escherichia coli, as well as wild-type Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Inhibition of the E. coli LpxC enzyme was also investigated. A broad correlation between enzyme inhibitory and antibacterial activity was observed, and novel compounds were discovered that exhibit antibacterial activity but fall outside earlier-known structural classes.     

Structure-activity studies on triazolothienodiazepine derivatives as platelet-activating factor antagonists.

A series of triazolodiazepines was synthesized and evaluated for anti-platelet activating factor (PAF) activities. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies on this series revealed that the introduction of a methyl group into the 8-position of the thienodiazepine nucleus can lead to a lengthening of the duration of action. Introduction of a methyl group produced an asymmetric center and the enantiomers so formed were separated with an optical resolving column. In the in vitro assay system, the (+)-isomers displayed 50-200 times more potent anti-PAF activity than the (-)-isomers. After comparison of toxicology and pharmacokinetics, (+)-6-(2-chlorophenyl)-3- cyclopropanecarbonyl-8,11-dimethyl-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-8H-pyrido[4' ,3':4,5]thieno[3,2-f][1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-a][1,4]diazepine (35(+)-isomer, E6123) was selected from among the compounds synthesized as a candidate for clinical study.     

Large-scale synthesis of globotriose derivatives through recombinant E. coli

The carbohydrate chains decorating cell membranes and secreted proteins participate in a range of important biological processes. However, their ultimate significance and possible therapeutic potential have not been fully explored due to the lack of economical methods for their production. This study is an example of the use of a genetically engineered bacterial strain in the preparation of diverse oligosaccharides. Based on an ex vivo biosynthetic pathway, an artificial gene cluster was constructed by linking the genes of five associated enzymes on a plasmid vector. This plasmid was inserted into the E. coli NM522 strain to form globotriose-producing cells ('superbug' pLDR20-CKTUF). The specific strain was conveniently applied to the synthesis of globotriose trisaccharide and its derivatives, as potential neutralizers for Shiga toxin. This work demonstrates a novel and economical method for generating ligand diversity for carbohydrate drug development.     

Structure-activity relationships of N-(3,5-dimethoxy-4-n-octyloxycinnamoyl)-N'-(3,4-dimethylphenyl)piperazine and analogues as inhibitors of acyl-CoA: cholesterol O-acyltransferase.

A novel series of acyl-CoA: cholesterol O-acyltransferase (ACAT) inhibitors were synthesized from a lead compound, 1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-7-phenylhept-1-en-3-one (1, Yakuchinone B) through a modification of three regions (A, B, C) in the molecule. In this study, the compounds prepared were tested for in vitro inhibitory activity on microsomal ACAT from the liver of rats and for in vivo hypocholesterolemic activity in rats given a high cholesterol diet. N-(3,5-Dimethoxy-4-n-octyloxycinnamoyl)-N'-(3,4-dimethylphenyl)piperazine (45), which belongs to the amide compounds, has finally been discovered. Compound 45 inhibited rat hepatic ACAT in a more striking manner than CI-976, an amide compound ACAT inhibitor, and it exhibited a high level of hypocholesterolemic activity in vivo. Since 45 strongly inhibited both microsomal ACAT prepared from HepG2 (a cell line derived from human hepatocarcinoma) and Caco2 (a cell line derived from human colon adenocarcinoma), there is speculation that 45 might have the ability to inhibit ACAT in both the human intestine and liver independent of the difference in the distribution of ACAT isozymes. On the other hand, 45 did not induce adrenotoxicity in subacute toxicity studies in rats. These results suggest that it has promise for development as a new therapeutic agent for hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis.     

Structure-activity relationships for a collection of structurally diverse inhibitors of purine nucleoside phosphorylase

Values of inhibition constants, Ki, and concentrations required for 50% inhibition, IC50, for a collection of structurally diverse competitive inhibitors of calf spleen purine nucleoside phosphorylase have been determined employing inosine as substrate. These values have been employed to create predictive quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) which link structure to values of Ki and IC50. These QSAR models have substantial power to predict values and the associated uncertainties for Ki and IC50 for unknown, structurally diverse inhibitors of purine nucleoside phosphorylase.     

Identification of polyoxometalates as nanomolar noncompetitive inhibitors of protein kinase CK2

Protein kinase CK2 is a multifunctional kinase of medical importance that is dysregulated in many cancers. In this study, polyoxometalates were identified as original CK2 inhibitors. [P2Mo18O62](6-) has the most potent activity. It inhibits the kinase in the nanomolar range by targeting key structural elements located outside the ATP- and peptide substrate-binding sites. Several polyoxometalate derivatives exhibit strong inhibitory efficiency, with IC50 values < or = 10 nM. Furthermore, these inorganic compounds show a striking specificity for CK2 when tested in a panel of 29 kinases. Therefore, polyoxometalates are effective CK2 inhibitors in terms of both efficiency and selectivity and represent nonclassical kinase inhibitors that interact with CK2 in a unique way. This binding mode may provide an exploitable mechanism for developing potent drugs with desirable properties, such as enhanced selectivity relative to ATP-mimetic inhibitors.     

l-Isofucoselenofagomine and derivatives: dual activities as antioxidants and as glycosidase inhibitors

The synthesis of a series of l-fuco-configured selenosugars, isosters of the potent glycosidase inhibitor isofucofagomine has been accomplished by a double nucleophilic displacement of a dimesylated derivative with selenide anion generated in situ. Se-Alkylation and oxidation of the corresponding selenane afforded a selenonium and a selenoxide, respectively. The biological activities of such compounds have been evaluated, finding a dual activity caused by the presence of the selenium atom: the selenane exerted a good glutathione peroxidase mimicry by efficiently scavenging H₂O₂ in the presence of thiols, whereas the stable selenoxide derivative was found to be the first example of a selenosugar acting as a good α-l-fucosidase inhibitor.     

Synthetic studies on selective type 4 phosphodiesterase (PDE 4) inhibitors. 1. Structure-activity relationships and pharmacological evaluation of 1,8-naphthyridin-2(1H)-one derivatives

In order to develop novel and orally active phosphodiesterase (PDE) 4 inhibitors, random screening was performed using our chemical library to find YM-10335 possessing the 1,8-naphthyridin-2(1H)-one skeleton which is a completely different structure from rolipram. In this report, the syntheses and structure-activity relationships of the YM-10335 derivatives were described. Some compounds showed selective inhibitory activities for PDE 4 derived from human peripheral blood cells and no effect on the other PDE types (1, 2, 3, 5). The inhibition of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) release in vitro and the carrageenan-induced pleurisy in rats were also described.