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(-)-cis-1-Methyl-7-[[4-(2,6-dichlorophenyl)piperidin-1-yl]methyl]-6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-5H-benzocyclohepten-5-ol (SB-612111) is a novel human opiate receptor-like orphan receptor (ORL-1) antagonist that has high affinity for the clonal human ORL-1 receptor (hORL-1 K(i) = 0.33 nM), selectivity versus mu-(174-fold), delta-(6391-fold), and kappa (486-fold)-opioid receptors and is able to inhibit nociceptin signaling via hORL-1 in a whole cell gene reporter assay. SB-612111 has no measurable antinociceptive effects in vivo in the mouse hot-plate test after intravenous administration but is able to antagonize the antimorphine action of nociceptin [ED(50) = 0.69 mg/kg, 95% confidence limit (CL) = 0.34-1.21]. SB-62111 administration can also reverse tolerance to morphine in this model, established via repeated morphine administration. In addition, intravenous SB-612111 can antagonize nociceptin-induced thermal hyperalgesia in a dose-dependent manner (ED(50) = 0.62 mg/kg i.v., 95% CL = 0.22-1.89) and is effective per se at reversing thermal hyperalgesia in the rat carrageenan inflammatory pain model. These data show that an ORL-1 receptor antagonist may be a useful adjunct to chronic pain therapy with opioids and can be used to treat conditions in which thermal hyperalgesia is a significant component of the pain response.

An efficient approach to 1-[(3R,4R)-1-cyclooctylmethyl-3-hydroxymethyl-4-piperidyl]-3-ethyl-1,3-dihydro-benzimidazol-2-one (J-113397) 1, the first non-peptide ORL-1 receptor antagonist described in literature, is outlined. After construction of the piperidine framework through Dieckmann cyclization of the Michael adduct 8 of cyclooctylmethylamine to methyl acrylate, condensation with o-phenylendiamine produced the beta-enamino ester 2, which has been conveniently used to construct the benzimidazolone substituent at C-4. Catalytic hydrogenation of intermediate 11 followed by base-promoted cis--trans isomerization of the key compound 12 led to the formation of ester 13, which was converted to the racemic title compound by LiAlH(4) reduction. The pure enantiomers were obtained by chiral preparative HPLC separation using a derivatized cellulose-based stationary phase.

A stepwise chemical modification from human neurokinin-3 receptor (hNK-3R)-selective antagonists to potent and combined hNK-3R and hNK-2R antagonists using the same 2-phenylquinoline template is described. Docking studies with 3-D models of the hNK-3 and hNK-2 receptors were used to drive the chemical design and speed up the identification of potent and combined antagonsits at both receptors. (S)-(+)-N-(1-Cyclohexylethyl)-3-[(4-morpholin-4-yl)piperidin-1-yl]methyl-2-phenylquinoline-4-carboxamide (compound 25, SB-400238: hNK-3R binding affinity, K(i) = 0.8 nM; hNK-2R binding affinity, K(i) = 0.8 nM) emerged as the best example in this approach. Further studies led to the identification of (S)-(+)-N-(1,2,2-trimethylpropyl)-3-[(4-piperidin-1-yl)piperidin-1-yl]methyl-2-phenylquinoline-4-carboxamide (compound 28, SB-414240: hNK-3R binding affinity, K(i) = 193 nM; hNK-2R binding affinity, K(i) = 1.0 nM) as the first hNK-2R-selective antagonist belonging to the 2-phenylquinoline chemical class. Since some members of this chemical series showed a significant binding affinity for the human mu-opioid receptor (hMOR), docking studies were also conducted on a 3-D model of the hMOR, resulting in the identification of a viable chemical strategy to avoid any significant micro-opioid component. Compounds 25 and 28 are therefore suitable pharmacological tools in the tachykinin area to elucidate further the pathophysiological role of NK-3 and NK-2 receptors and the therapeutic potential of selective NK-2 (28) or combined NK-3 and NK-2 (25) receptor antagonists.

The in vitro and in vivo pharmacological profile of SB 223412 [(S)-(-)-N-(alpha-ethylbenzyl)-3-hydroxy-2-phenylquinoline-4-carbo xamide], a novel human NK-3 (hNK-3) receptor antagonist, is described. SB 223412 demonstrated enantioselective affinity for inhibition of [125I][MePhe7]neurokinin B (NKB) binding to membranes of CHO cells expressing the hNK-3 receptor (CHO hNK-3). SB 223412, the (S)-isomer, (Ki = 1.0 nM), has similar affinity as the natural ligand, NKB (Ki = 0.8 nM) and another nonpeptide NK-3 receptor antagonist, SR 142801 (Ki = 1.2 nM). SB 223412 was selective for hNK-3 receptors compared with hNK-1 (>10,000-fold selective) and hNK-2 receptors (>140-fold selective), and selectivity was further demonstrated by its lack of effect, in concentrations up to 1 or 10 microM, in >60 receptor, enzyme and ion channel assays. SB 223412 enantioselectively inhibited the NKB-induced Ca++ mobilization in HEK 293 cells stably expressing the hNK-3 receptor. SB 223412 (10-1,000 nM) produced concentration-dependent rightward shifts in NKB-induced Ca++ mobilization concentration-response curves with a Kb value of 3 nM. In addition, SB 223412 antagonized senktide-induced contraction in the isolated rabbit iris sphincter muscle (Kb = 1.6 nM). In mice, oral administration of SB 223412 produced dose-dependent inhibition of behavioral responses induced by the NK-3 receptor-selective agonist, senktide (ED50 = 12.2 mg/kg). Pharmacokinetic evaluation of SB 223412 in rat and dog indicated low plasma clearance, oral bioavailability and high and sustained plasma concentrations after 4 to 8 mg/kg oral dosages. The preclinical profile of SB 223412 (high affinity, selectivity, reversibility and oral activity) suggests that it will be a useful tool compound to define the physiological and pathophysiological roles of NK-3 receptors.