Search

The nuclear receptor Nurr1 can be activated by RXR via heterodimerization (RXR-Nurr1) and is a promising target for treating neurodegenerative diseases. We herein report the enantioselective synthesis and SAR of sterically constricted benzofurans at RXR. The established SAR, using whole cell functional assays, lead to the full agonist 9a at RXR (pEC50 of 8.2) and RXR-Nurr1. The X-ray structure shows enantiomeric discrimination where 9a optimally addresses the ligand binding pocket of RXR.

To circumvent antiandrogen resistance in prostate cancer, antiandrogens effective for both the androgen receptor (AR) and AR mutants are required. The AR antagonists in this study originate from previous findings, which showed that subtle differences in substitution pattern lead to a conformational change that alters the ligand activity, rendering an agonist to an antagonist. We have identified small yet potent tropanol-based ligands possessing significant antiandrogenic activity with both wild-type AR and the two most common AR ligand binding domain (LBD) mutants.

The binding pocket of both NPFF receptors was investigated, focusing on subtype-selective behavior. By use of four nonpeptidic compounds and the peptide mimetics RF9 and BIBP3226, agonistic and antagonistic properties were characterized. A set of Ala receptor mutants was generated. The binding pocket was narrowed down to the upper part of transmembrane helices V, VI, VII and the extracellular loop 2. Positions 5.27 and 6.59 have been shown to have a strong impact on receptor activation and were suggested to form an acidic, negatively charged binding pocket in both NPFF receptor subtypes. Additionally, position 7.35 was identified to play an important role in functional selectivity. According to docking experiments, the aryl group of AC-216 interacts with position 7.35 in the NPFF(1) but not in the NPFF(2) receptor. These results provide distinct insights into the receptor specific binding pockets, which is necessary for the development of drugs to address the NPFF system.

Herein we describe the discovery of ACP-105 (1), a novel and potent nonsteroidal selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) with partial agonist activity relative to the natural androgen testosterone. Compound 1 was developed from a series of compounds found in a HTS screen using the receptor selection and amplification technology (R-SAT). In vivo, 1 improved anabolic parameters in a 2-week chronic study in castrated male rats. In addition to compound 1, a number of potent antiandrogens were discovered from the same series of compounds whereof one compound, 13, had antagonist activity at the AR T877A mutant involved in prostate cancer.

We report the discovery and initial characterization of a novel class of selective NPFF2 agonists. HTS screening using R-SAT, a whole cell based functional assay, identified a class of aryliminoguanidines as NPFF1 and NPFF2 ligands. Subsequent optimization led to molecules exhibiting selective NPFF2 agonistic activity. Systemic administration showed that selective NPFF2 agonists (1 and 3) are active in various pain models in vivo, whereas administration of a nonselective NPFF1 and NPFF2 agonist (9) increases sensitivity to noxious and non-noxious stimuli.

A novel class of CB1 inverse agonists was discovered. To efficiently establish structure-activity relationships (SARs), new synthetic methodologies amenable for parallel synthesis were developed. The compounds were evaluated in a mammalian cell-based functional assay and in radioligand binding assays expressing recombinant human cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2). In general, all of the compounds exhibited high binding selectivity at CB1 vs CB2 and the general SAR revealed a lead compound 11-(4-chlorophenyl)dibenzo[b,f][1,4]thiazepine-8-carboxylic acid butylamide (12e) which showed excellent in vivo activity in pharmacodynamic models related to CB1 receptor activity. The low solubility that hampered the development of 12e was solved leading to a potential preclinical candidate 11-(3-chloro-4-fluorophenyl)dibenzo[b,f][1,4]thiazepine-8-carboxylic acid butylamide (12h).

We recently discovered the isoform selective RAR beta 2 ligand 4'-octyl-4-biphenylcarboxylic acid (3, AC-55649). Although 3 is highly potent at RAR beta 2 and displays excellent selectivity, solubility issues make it unsuitable for drug development. Herein we describe the exploration of the SAR in a biphenyl and a phenylthiazole series of analogues of 3. This ultimately led to the design of 28, a novel, orally available ligand with excellent isoform selectivity for the RAR beta 2.

Proteinase activated receptor-2 plays a crucial role in a wide variety of conditions with a strong inflammatory component. We present the discovery and characterization of two structurally different, potent, selective, and metabolically stable small-molecule PAR-2 agonists. These ligands may be useful as pharmacological tools for elucidating the complex physiological role of the PAR-2 receptors as well as for the development of PAR-2 antagonists.

Six different series of nonpeptidic urotensin II receptor agonists have been synthesized and evaluated for their agonistic activity in a cell-based assay (R-SAT). The compounds are ring-opened analogues of the isochromanone-based agonist AC-7954 with different functionalities constituting the linker between the two aromatic ring moieties. Several of the compounds are highly potent and efficacious, with N-[1-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-(dimethylamino)-propyl]-4-phenylbenzamide oxalate (5d) being the most potent. The pure enantiomers of 5d were obtained from the corresponding diastereomeric amides. It was shown by a combination of X-ray crystallography and chemical correlation that the activity resides in the S-enantiomer of 5d (pEC(50) 7.49).

4'-Octyl-4-biphenylcarboxylic acid (1g, AC-55649) was identified as a highly isoform-selective agonist at the human RARbeta2 receptor in a functional intact cell-based screening assay. The subsequent hit to lead optimization transformed the lipophilic, poorly soluble hit into a more potent and orally available compound (2, AC-261066) with retained beta2 selectivity and greatly improved physiochemical properties. Being an isoform-selective RARbeta2 receptor agonist that discriminates between nuclear receptor isoforms having identical ligand binding domains, 2 will be useful as a pharmacological research tool but also a valuable starting point for drug development.

This report describes the synthesis of 29 xanthines containing a chemoreactive chloroaryl, beta-chloroethylamino, alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl, bromoacetyl, 3-(fluorosulfonyl)benzoyl, or 4-(fluorosulfonyl)benzoyl group as part of an exocyclic 1-, 3-, or 8-substituent. The xanthines inhibited the binding of [3H]-8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine ([3H]CPX) to the A1 adenosine receptor (A1AR) of DDT1 MF2 cells at IC50s in the low-nanomolar to low-micromolar range. Seven of the 29 analogues irreversibly inhibited the binding of [3H]CPX without changing the KD of that ligand; five were 1,3-dipropylxanthines having the following reactive groups as 8-substituents: (bromoacetamido)methyl (24), (bromoacetamido)ethyl (25), (bromoacetamido)propyl (26), [4-(fluorosulfonyl)benzamido]methyl (33) or 3-[[4-(fluorosulfonyl)benzoyl]oxy]cyclopentyl (42). Both 8-cyclopentyl-3-[3-[[4- (fluorosulfonyl)benzoyl]oxy]propyl]-1-propylxanthine (53) and 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-bis[3-[[4- (fluorosulfonyl)benzoyl]oxy]propyl]xanthine (55) inhibited [3H]CPX binding irreversibly. Five of the ligands, including 26, 33 (IC50 = 49 microM), and 53 (IC50 = 9 microM), antagonized the binding of [3H]NECA to the A2aAR of PC12 cells, but unlike binding to the A1AR, binding to the A2aAR was completely reversible. The potency of 33 (IC50 = 2 microM, 72% loss of CPX binding at 1 microM) and 53 (IC50 = 0.01 microM, 74% loss of CPX binding at 0.05 microM) and their selectivity for the A1AR suggest that those two ligands may be useful in studies of the structure and function of that receptor.

The reaction of aliphatic aldehydes and ketones with 2-hydrazinoadenosine under relatively mild conditions (at room temperature or in refluxing methanol) formed 2-(N'-alkylidenehydrazino)-adenosines, 5-22, in good yields. Two kinds of adenosine receptors regulate cardiac and coronary physiology. In supraventricular tissues an A1AR coupled to muscarinic K channels mediates the negative chronotropic, dromotropic, and inotropic actions of adenosine, and an inhibitory A1AR coupled to adenylate cyclase mediates the "antiadrenergic" action of adenosine. One or more kinds of A2 receptors mediate coronary vasodilation. Bioassays employing a guinea pig heart Langendorff preparation showed that 5-22 weakly retard impulse conduction through the AV node (negative dromotropic effect), but several analogues were very active coronary vasodilators. The coronary vasoactivity of the (n-alkylidene- and of the (isoalkylidenehydrazino)adenosines paralleled the length of the alkyl chain, the EC50s of the of the most active n-pentylidene (8) and isopentylidene (18) congeners being 1 nM. The EC50s of the cyclohexylmethylene (9), cyclohexylethylidene (10), and cyclohex-3-enylmethylene (12), analogues were likewise < 1 nM, but the cyclohex-1-enylmethylene congener 12 was 10 times less active than 9. The unselective adenosine receptor antagonist 8-(p-sulfophenyl)theophylline (0.1 mM) raised the EC50s of the negative dromotropic effects of 8, 9, and 18 by 5-28-fold and the EC50s of coronary vasodilation of 22-90-fold. Catalytic reduction of 9 increased the hydrophobicity and changed the UV spectrum, suggesting reduction of the --CH = N-- bond. The product darkened on exposure to air and so was not characterized further. A new method for preparing 2',3',5'-tri-O-acetyl-2,6-dichloropurine riboside, a precursor in the synthesis of 2-hydrazinoadenosine, consists of the addition of tert-butyl nitrite to a mixture of 2',3',5'-tri-O-acetyl-6-chloroguanosine and CuCl in CHCl3 saturated with Cl2.

Radioligand binding studies of N6-substituted adenosines at the A1 and A2 adenosine receptors of rat brain cortex and rat brain striatum, respectively, show that a 2-chloro substituent does not consistently change the affinity or the selectivity of these analogues for the A1 receptor. A 2-chloro substituent lowers the characteristic stereoselectivity of the A1 receptor toward the R diastereomer of N6-(1-phenyl-2-propyl)adenosine. A 2-chloro substituent consistently increases potency of N6-substituted adenosines as agonists at an adenosine A2 receptor stimulatory to adenylate cyclase in PC12 cell membranes.

N6-Substituted 9-methyladenines are potent antagonists of the activation of A1 adenosine receptors. The present study assessed the effect of N6 and N-9 substituents on the binding of adenines to the A1 and A2 receptors, respectively, of rat brain cortex and striatum and also on the antagonism of the A2 receptor mediated stimulation of the adenylate cyclase of PC12 cells by N-ethyladenosine-5'-uronamide. The potency ranking of 9-substituted adenines varied directly with the hydrophobicity of the substituent: cyclopentyl greater than phenyl greater than tetrahydrofuryl greater than ethyl greater than methyl greater than 2-hydroxyethyl. The 9-substituted adenines showed little selectivity for either receptor and the R enantiomer of N6-(1-phenyl-2-propyl)-9-methyladenine was only 4-fold more potent than the S enantiomer at the A1 receptor. An N6-cyclopentyl substituent increased potency at the A1 receptor and decreased potency at the A2 receptor, resulting in selectivity for the A1 receptor of up to 39-fold. The N6-cyclopentyl group completely overshadowed the effect of the hydrophobicity of the 9-substituent. A 2-chloro substituent did not alter the potency of an N6-substituted 9-methyladenine.

A Langendorff guinea pig heart preparation served for the assay of agonist activity of a series of 24 2-alkoxyadenosines at the A1 and A2 adenosine receptors of, respectively, the atrioventricular node (conduction block) and coronary arteries (vasodilation). Activities are low at the A1 receptor and do not show a clear relationship to the size or hydrophobicity of the C-2 substituent. All the analogues are more potent at the A2 receptor, activity varying directly with the size and hydrophobicity of the alkyl group. The most potent analogue in this series, 2-(2-cyclohexylethoxy)adenosine has an EC50 of 1 nM for coronary vasodilation and is 8700-fold selective for the A2 receptor.

The moderately potent and stereoselective coronary vasoactivity of N6-[1-phenyl-2(R)-propyl]adenosine (1) is the basis for the present study that maps the N6 region of the coronary artery adenosine receptor by means of the structure-coronary vasoactivity relationships of 81 analogues of 1 in the open-thorax dog. Stereoselectivity is a general property of N6-substituted adenosines that have a chiral center adjacent to N6. The activity ratio of 1 to its S diastereomer is 10, the result of the positive interaction with the receptor of the propyl C-3 group of the R diastereomer in combination with the steric hindrance exerted by this group of the S diastereomer. Replacing the benzyl moiety of 1 by an ethyl, phenyl, phenethyl, or naphthyl group lowers potency of the R diastereomer and, accordingly, the R/S ratio. Propyl C-1 of 1 interacts with a receptor region large enough to accommodate three methylene residues and the propyl C-3 residue with a separate region large enough to accommodate two. The receptor subregion that interacts with the propyl C-1 of 1 is more tolerant of bulk and of polar substituents than the subregion that interacts with propyl C-3. Evidence bearing on the possible contribution of N6 to activity, e.g. through hydrogen bonding, is ambiguous. These results support a provisional model of the N6-alkyl subregion.

A two-step synthesis of 8-amino-3-beta-D-ribofuranosyl-1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-a]pyrazine (3), which is an isomer of formycin that resembles 3-deazaadenosine, is reported. Compound 3 is also described as as being a very poor substrate for adenosine deaminase and to be both a competitive and an irreversible inhibitor of S-adenosylhomocysteinase in the synthesis direction. L1210 cell growth in culture was inhibited by 3. Compound 3 was not converted to the nucleotide level in erythrocytes but was found to inhibit both the cellular uptake of nucleic acid precursors and their incorporation into the nucleic acids of L1210 cells. Finally, 3 was found to be a weak antiviral agent and coronary vasodilator.