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In the present study, identification of chiral 1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-ones as potent and selective FAAH inhibitors has been described. The separated enantiomers showed clear differences in the potency and selectivity toward both FAAH and MAGL. Additionally, the importance of the chirality on the inhibitory activity and selectivity was proven by the simplification approach by removing a methyl group at the 3-position of the 1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-one ring. The most potent compound of the series, the S-enantiomer of 3-(1-(4-isobutylphenyl)ethyl)-5-methoxy-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2(3H)-one (JZP-327A, 51), inhibited human recombinant FAAH (hrFAAH) in the low nanomolar range (IC50 = 11 nM), whereas its corresponding R-enantiomer 52 showed only moderate inhibition toward hrFAAH (IC50 = 0.24 μM). In contrast to hrFAAH, R-enantiomer 52 was more potent in inhibiting the activity of hrMAGL compared to S-enantiomer 51 (IC50 = 4.0 μM and 16% inhibition at 10 μM, respectively). The FAAH selectivity of the compound 51 over the supposed main off-targets, MAGL and COX, was found to be >900-fold. In addition, activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) indicated high selectivity over other serine hydrolases. Finally, the selected S-enantiomers 51, 53, and 55 were shown to be tight binding, slowly reversible inhibitors of the hrFAAH.

The lack of substrate-bound crystal structures of SIRT1 and SIRT2 complicates the drug design for these targets. In this work, we aim to study whether SIRT3 could serve as a target structure in the design of substrate based pseudopeptidic inhibitors of SIRT1 and SIRT2. We created a binding hypothesis for pseudopeptidic inhibitors, synthesized a series of inhibitors, and studied how well the fulfillment of the binding criteria proposed by the hypothesis correlated with the in vitro inhibitory activities. The chosen approach was further validated by studying docking results between 12 different SIRT3, Sir2Tm, SIRT1 and SIRT2 X-ray structures and homology models in different conformational forms. It was concluded that the created binding hypothesis can be used in the design of the substrate based inhibitors of SIRT1 and SIRT2 although there are some reservations, and it is better to use the substrate-bound structure of SIRT3 instead of the available apo-SIRT2 as the target structure.

Metformin is a potent antidiabetic agent and currently used as a first-line treatment for patients with type 2 diabetes. Unfortunately, the moderate absorption and uncomfortable gastrointestinal adverse effects associated with metformin therapy impair its use. In this study, two novel prodrugs of a biguanidine functionality containing antidiabetic agent, metformin, were designed, synthesized, and evaluated in vitro and in vivo to accomplish improved lipophilicity and, consequently, enhanced oral absorption of this highly water-soluble drug. These results represent that the more lipophilic prodrug 2a biotransformed quantitatively to metformin mainly after absorption. The enhanced oral absorption consequently promoted the bioavailability of metformin from 43% to 65% in rats. Thus, this novel prodrug may offer a solution to reduce the required daily doses of metformin, which may decrease the uncomfortable adverse effects associated with metformin therapy.

The brain uptake of solutes is efficiently governed by the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The BBB expresses a number of carrier-mediated transport mechanisms, and new knowledge of these BBB transporters can be used in the rational targeted delivery of drug molecules for active transport. One attractive approach is to conjugate an endogenous transporter substrate to the active drug molecule to utilize the prodrug approach. In the present study, ketoprofen and indomethacin were conjugated with glucose and the brain uptake mechanism of the prodrugs was determined with the in situ rat brain perfusion technique. Two of the prodrugs were able to significantly inhibit the uptake of glucose transporter (GluT1)-mediated uptake of glucose, thereby demonstrating affinity to the transporter. Furthermore, the prodrugs were able to cross the BBB in a temperature-dependent manner, suggesting that the brain uptake of the prodrugs is carrier-mediated.

N()-Thioacetyl-lysine-containing tri-, tetra-, and pentapeptides, based on the alpha-tubulin and p53 protein sequences, were studied as SIRT1 and SIRT2 inhibitors. The potency of the pentapeptides depended on the selection of the side chains. The removal of N- and C-terminal residues of the pentapeptides yielded tripeptides with retained SIRT1 inhibitory activity but decreased SIRT2 inhibitory activity. The most potent SIRT1 inhibitors were equipotent with the reference compound (6-chloro-2,3,4,9-tetrahydro-1H-carbazole-1-carboxamide) with the IC(50) values of 180-330 nM.

A series of commercial phenyl-, heteroaryl-, alkyl-, and alkenylboronic acids were evaluated for their FAAH and MGL inhibitory activities. The compounds were generally selective for FAAH, with IC50 in the nanomolar or low-micromolar range. Eight of these compounds inhibited MGL with IC50 in the micromolar range. The most potent compound, phenylboronic acid with para-nonyl substituent (13), inhibited FAAH and MGL with IC50 of 0.0091 and 7.9 microM, respectively.

A new inhibitor for human sirtuin type proteins 1 and 2 (SIRT1 and SIRT2) was discovered through virtual database screening in search of new scaffolds. A series of compounds was synthesized based on the hit compound (3-[[3-(4-tert-butylphenyl)1,2,4-oxadiazole-5-carbonyl]amino]-1-[3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]thiourea). The most potent compound in the series was nearly as potent as the reference compound (6-chloro-2,3,4,9-tetrahydro-1H-carbazole-1-carboxamide).

The blood-brain barrier efficiently controls the entry of drug molecules into the brain. We describe a feasible means to achieve carrier-mediated drug transport into the rat brain via the specific, large neutral amino acid transporter (LAT1) by conjugating a model compound to L-tyrosine. A hydrophilic drug, ketoprofen, that is not a substrate for LAT1 was chosen as a model compound. The mechanism and the kinetics of the brain uptake of the prodrug were determined with an in situ rat brain perfusion technique. The brain uptake of the prodrug was found to be concentration-dependent. In addition, a specific LAT1 inhibitor significantly decreased the brain uptake of the prodrug. Therefore, our results reveal for the first time that a drug-substrate conjugate is able to transport drugs into the brain via LAT1.

A series of N,N'-bisbenzylidenebenzene-1,4-diamine and N,N'-bisbenzylidenenaphthalene-1,4-diamine derivatives were synthesized as inhibitors for human sirtuin type 2 (SIRT2). The design of the new compounds was based on two earlier reported hits from molecular modeling and virtual screening. The most potent compound was N,N'-bis(2-hydroxybenzylidene)benzene-1,4-diamine, which was equipotent with the most potent hit compound and well-known SIRT2 inhibitor sirtinol.

A successful virtual screening experiment of novel SIRT2 inhibitors is described. Four out of 11 experimentally tested compounds showed in vitro inhibitory activity toward SIRT2 in a micromolar level, resulting in an experimental hit ratio of 36%. Two of these compounds inhibited SIRT2 with IC50 (microM) values of 51 and 91; moreover, one of the new inhibitors was comprised of an entirely new SIRT2-inhibiting structural scaffold.

Type 2 human sirtuin (SIRT2) is a NAD(+)-dependent cytoplasmic protein that is colocalized with HDAC6 on microtubules. SIRT2 has been shown to deacetylate alpha-tubulin and to control mitotic exit in the cell cycle. To date, some small molecular inhibitors of SIRT2 have been identified; however, more inhibitors are still needed to improve the understanding of SIRT2 biological function and to discover its possible therapeutic indications. In this paper, an in silico identification procedure is described for discovering novel SIRT2 inhibitors. Molecular modeling and virtual screening were utilized to find potential compounds, which were then subjected to experimental tests for their SIRT2 inhibitory activity. Five of the 15 compounds tested in vitro showed inhibitory activity toward SIRT2, yielding a hit ratio of 33% in a micromolar level and thus demonstrating the usefulness of this procedure in finding new bioactive compounds. Two of the five compounds yielded in vitro IC(50) values of 56.7 and 74.3 microM, and these can be considered as novel inhibitors of SIRT2. On the basis of our results, a phenol moiety on the active compound is suggested to be important for SIRT2 inhibitory activity. This phenol group, together with a hydrophobic moiety and hydrogen-bonding features, is suggested to form an active SIRT2 pharmacophore.

A novel codrug, in which L-Dopa and entacapone are linked via a biodegradable carbamate spacer to form a single chemical entity, was synthesized and studied kinetically. This carbamate codrug provides adequate stability [t(1/2) = 12.1 h (pH 1.2); 1.4 h (pH 5.0); 1.1 h (pH 7.4)] against chemical hydrolysis but rapidly hydrolyzes to L-Dopa and entacapone in liver homogenate (t(1/2) = 7 min; pH 7.4) at 37 degrees C. The therapeutical potential of this novel codrug is discussed.