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The consumption of alcohol is associated with well-known health harms and many governments worldwide are actively engaged in devising approaches to reduce them. To this end, a common proposed strategy aims at reducing alcohol consumption. This approach has led to the development of non-alcoholic drinks, which have been especially welcome by younger, wealthier, health-conscious consumers, who have been turning away from alcohol to look toward alternatives. However, a drawback of non-alcoholic drinks is that they do not facilitate social interaction in the way alcohol does, which is the main reason behind social drinking. Therefore, an alternative approach is to develop functional drinks that do not use alcohol yet mimic the positive, pro-social effects of alcohol without the associated harms. This article will discuss (1) current knowledge of how alcohol mediates its effects in the brain, both the desirable, e.g., antistress to facilitate social interactions, and the harmful ones, with a specific focus on the pivotal role played by the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurotransmitter system and (2) how this knowledge can be exploited to develop functional safe alternatives to alcohol using either molecules already existing in nature or synthetic ones. This discussion will be complemented by an analysis of the regulatory challenges associated with the novel endeavour of bringing safe, functional alternatives to alcohol from the bench to bars.

Retinoic acid receptors (RARs) α, β, and γ are members of the nuclear receptor superfamily. Compounds which bind to and activate the RARs are termed retinoids which regulate a wide variety of biological processes such as vertebrate embryonic morphogenesis and organogenesis, cell growth arrest, differentiation, and apoptosis, as well as their disorders. Although many synthetic selective RARα, RARβ, and RARγ agonists have been designed and prepared, these have generally been lipophilic acids without good drug-like properties and with low oral bioavailability. Recently this has been changing and drug design approaches to highly potent and selective RARα and RARβ agonists with low lipophilicity that are orally bioavailable and less toxic have been developed, that have a range of potential therapeutic uses. This review covers these new advances., (Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Oxadiazole replacement of an amide linkage in an RARα agonist template 1, followed by lead optimisation, has produced a highly potent and selective RARβ agonist 4-(5-(4,7-dimethylbenzofuran-2-yl)-1,2,4-oxadiazol-3-yl)benzoic acid (10) with good oral bioavailability in the rat and dog. This molecule increases neurite outgrowth in vitro and induces sensory axon regrowth in vivo in a rodent model of avulsion and crush injury, and thus has the potential for the treatment of nerve injury., (Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

A ligand-based virtual screening exercise examining likely bioactive conformations of AM 580 (2) and AGN 193836 (3) was used to identify the novel, less lipophilic RARα agonist 4-(3,5-dichloro-4-ethoxybenzamido)benzoic acid 5, which has good selectivity over the RARβ, and RARγ receptors. Analysis of the medicinal chemistry parameters of the 3,5-substituents of derivatives of template 5 enabled us to design a class of drug-like molecules with lower intrinsic clearance and higher oral bioavailability which led to the novel RARα agonist 4-(3-chloro-4-ethoxy-5-isopropoxybenzamido)-2-methylbenzoic acid 56 that has high RARα potency and excellent selectivity versus RARβ (2 orders of magnitude) and RARγ (4 orders of magnitude) at both the human and mouse RAR receptors with improved drug-like properties. This RARα specific agonist 56 has high oral bioavailability (>80%) in both mice and dogs with a good PK profile and was shown to be inactive in cytotoxicity and genotoxicity screens., (Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

2,5-Diketopiperazines (2,5-DKPs) have been found to occur in a wide range of food and beverages, and display an array of chemesthetic effects (bitter, astringent, metallic, and umami) that can contribute to the taste of a variety of foods. These smallest cyclic peptides also occur as natural products and have been found to display a variety of bioactivities from antibacterial, antifungal, to anthroprotective effects and have the potential to be used in the development of new functional foods. An overview of the synthesis of these small chiral molecules and their molecular properties is presented. The occurrence, taste, and bioactivity of all simple naturally occurring 2,5-DKPs to date have been reviewed and those found in food from yeasts, fungi, and bacteria that have been used in food preparation or contamination, as well as metabolites of sweeteners and antibiotics added to food are also reviewed.

Background: The design, medicinal chemistry, pharmacokinetics and development of the highly selective α2-adrenoceptor antagonist fluparoxan are reviewed., Method: The drug's activity and selectivity in vitro, its efficacy in animals and its excellent oral pharmacokinetics and central α2-adrenoceptor antagonist activity in man, are evaluated as well as its ability to increase extracellular levels of noradrenaline, dopamine and acetylcholine in vivo., Conclusion: Furthermore, its potential for the treatment of central neurodegenerative diseases is highlighted, in particular its improvement of cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia and in models of Alzheimer's disease., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.)

A six-stage stereoselective synthesis of indanyl-7-(3'-pyridyl)-(3R,6R,7R)-2,5-diketopiperazines oxytocin antagonists from indene is described. SAR studies involving mono- and disubstitution in the 3'-pyridyl ring and variation of the 3-isobutyl group gave potent compounds (pK(i) > 9.0) with good aqueous solubility. Evaluation of the pharmacokinetic profile in the rat, dog, and cynomolgus monkey of those derivatives with low cynomolgus monkey and human intrinsic clearance gave 2',6'-dimethyl-3'-pyridyl R-sec-butyl morpholine amide Epelsiban (69), a highly potent oxytocin antagonist (pK(i) = 9.9) with >31000-fold selectivity over all three human vasopressin receptors hV1aR, hV2R, and hV1bR, with no significant P450 inhibition. Epelsiban has low levels of intrinsic clearance against the microsomes of four species, good bioavailability (55%) and comparable potency to atosiban in the rat, but is 100-fold more potent than the latter in vitro and was negative in the genotoxicity screens with a satisfactory oral safety profile in female rats.

A short, efficient and highly stereoselective synthesis has been developed for a series of 6-indanyl-3-alkyl-7-aryl/heterocyclic-(3R, 6R, 7R)-2, 5-diketopiperazine amides that are potent and selective oxytocin (OT) antagonists. Property-based design using an estimate of human oral absorption enabled focus to be directed to those templates with the greatest chance of delivering high bioavailability in humans. This led to the 2', 4'-difluorophenyl dimethylamide 40, a highly potent (pK(i) =9.2) and selective OT antagonist (>1,000-fold selectivity vs. the human vasopressin receptors V1a, V2, and V1b) with good oral bioavailability (>50%) in the rat and dog. Increased solubility and an improved Cyp450 profile was achieved with a range of 2'-substituted 7-(1',3'-oxazol-4'-yl)-(3R,6R,7R)-2,5-diketopiperazine amides and branching at the α-carbon of the 3-butyl group led to a superior rat pharmacokinetic profile that resulted in the discovery of the 2'-methyl-1',3'-oxazol-4'-yl morpholine amide derivative 74 GSK221149A (Retosiban), which had the best oral exposure and bioavailability in the rat. Retosiban has sub-nanomolar affinity (K(i) =0.65 nM) for the oxytocin receptor with >1400-fold selectivity over the closely related vasopressin receptors. It has good solubility, low protein binding and has a good Cyp450 profile with no significant inhibition IC(50) >100 µM. Retosiban is >15-fold more potent at the human oxytocin receptor than atosiban (a marketed i.v, peptide OT antagonist) and it has been shown to be an effective tocolytic by i.v. and by oral administration in rats, and was selected for progression as a potential clinical candidate for preterm labor., (© 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Structure and property based drug design was exploited in the synthesis of sulfonamidopyrrolidin-2-one-based factor Xa inhibitors, incorporating neutral and basic monoaryl P4 groups, ultimately producing potent inhibitors with effective levels of anticoagulant activity and extended oral pharmacokinetic profiles. However, time dependant inhibition of Cytochrome P450 3A4 was a particular issue with this series., (Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Structure and property based drug design was exploited in the synthesis of sulfonamidopyrrolidin-2-one-based factor Xa (fXa) inhibitors, incorporating biaryl P4 groups, producing highly potent inhibitors with encouraging oral pharmacokinetic profiles and significant but sub-optimal anticoagulant activities.

Optimisation of a series of oxazole diketopiperazines has led to the discovery of a very potent and selective oxytocin antagonist GSK221149A. GSK221149A has been shown to inhibit oxytocin-induced uterine contractions in the anaesthetised rat.

Structure and property based drug design was exploited in the synthesis of sulfonamidopyrrolidin-2-one-based factor Xa (fXa) inhibitors, incorporating basic biaryl P4 groups, producing highly potent inhibitors with significant anticoagulant activities and encouraging oral pharmacokinetic profiles.

Spontaneous and induced uterine contractions in the rat were found to be inhibited by a novel and selective oxytocin receptor antagonist GSK221149A (3R,6R)-3-Indan-2-yl-1-[(1R)-1-(2-methyl-1,3-oxazol-4-yl)-2-morpholin-4-yl-2-oxoethyl]-6-[(1S)-1-methylpropyl]-2,5-piperazinedione. GSK221149A displayed nanomolar affinity (K(i) = 0.65 nM) for human recombinant oxytocin receptors with >1,400-fold selectivity over human V1a, V1b, and V2 receptors. GSK221149A had similar affinity (K(i) = 4.1 nM) and selectivity for native oxytocin receptors from rat and produced a functional, competitive block of oxytocin-induced contractions in isolated rat myometrial strips with a pA(2) value of 8.18. Intravenous administration of GSK221149A produced a dose-dependent decrease in oxytocin-induced uterine contractions in anesthetized rats with an ID(50) = 0.27 +/- 0.60 mg/kg (corresponding plasma concentrations were 88 ng/ml). Oral administration of GSK221149A (5 mg/kg) was effective in inhibiting oxytocin-induced uterine contractions after single and multiple (4-day) dosing. Spontaneous uterine contractions in late-term pregnant rats (19-21 days gestation) were significantly reduced by intravenous administration of 0.3 mg/kg of GSK221149A. These results provide further evidence that selective oxytocin receptor antagonism may offer an effective treatment for preterm labor.

Factor Xa inhibitory activities for a series of N-{(3S)-1-[(1S)-1-methyl-2-morpholin-4-yl-2-oxoethyl]-2-oxopyrrolidin-3-yl}sulfonamides with different P1 groups are described. These data provide insight into binding interactions within the S1 primary specificity pocket; rationales are presented for the derived SAR on the basis of electronic interactions through crystal structures of fXa-ligand complexes and molecular modeling studies. A good correlation between in vitro anticoagulant activities with lipophilicity and the extent of human serum albumin binding is observed within this series of potent fXa inhibitors. Pharmacokinetic profiles in rat and dog, together with selectivity over other trypsin-like serine proteases, identified 1f as a candidate for further evaluation.

Structure-based drug design was exploited in the synthesis of 3-(6-chloronaphth-2-ylsulfonyl)aminopyrrolidin-2-one-based factor Xa (fXa) inhibitors, incorporating an alanylamide P4 group with acyclic tertiary amide termini. Optimized hydrophobic contacts of one amide substituent in P4 were complemented by hydrophobicity-modulating features in the second, producing potent fXa inhibitors including examples with excellent anticoagulant properties.

A short, efficient, and highly stereoselective synthesis of a series of (3R,6R,7R)-2,5-diketopiperazine oxytocin antagonists and their pharmacokinetics in rat and dog is described. Prediction of the estimated human oral absorption (EHOA) using measured lipophilicity (CHI log D) and calculated size (cMR) has allowed us to rank various 2,5-diketopiperazine templates and enabled us to focus effort on those templates with the greatest chance of high bioavailability in humans. This rapidly led to the 2',4'-difluorophenyl-dimethylamide 25 and the benzofuran 4 with high levels of potency (pK(i)) and good bioavailability in the rat and dog. Dimethylamide 25 is more potent (>20-fold) than 4 in vivo and has a high degree of selectivity toward the vasopressin receptors, >10,000 for hV1a/hV1b and approximately 500 for hV2. It has a good Cyp450 profile with no time dependent inhibition and was negative in the genotoxicity screens with a satisfactory oral safety profile in rats.

A short stereoselective synthesis of a series of chiral 7-aryl-2,5-diketopiperazines oxytocin antagonists is described. Varying the functionality and substitution pattern of substituents in the 7-aryl ring and varying the chirality of this exocyclic ring have produced potent oxytocin antagonists (pK(i) > 8.5). SAR and pharmacokinetic profiling of this series of (3R,6R,7R)-2,5-diketopiperazines together with the introduction of an ortho F group in the 7-aryl ring to improve rat pK has culminated in the 2',4'-difluorophenyldiketopiperazine derivative 37, a highly potent oxytocin antagonist against the human oxytocin receptor (pK(i) = 8.9) that has >1000-fold selectivity over all three vasopressin receptors V1a, V2, and V1b. It has good bioavailability (46%) in the rat and moderate bioavailability (13-31%) in the dog and is more active in vivo in the rat than atosiban (rat DR(10) = 0.44 mg/kg iv).

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is an important pathogen for which there is a significant unmet medical need. New HCMV antivirals, active against novel molecular targets, are undoubtedly needed as the currently available drugs ganciclovir, cidofovir, and foscarnet, which are all viral DNA inhibitors, suffer from limited effectiveness, mainly due to the development of drug resistance, poor bioavailability, and toxicity. One of the newer molecular targets that has been exploited in the search for better drug candidates is HCMV protease. Our deltaAla HCMV protease (wild type variant with the internal cleavage site deleted) was cloned and expressed in E. coli. This viral enzyme was used to develop HCMV protease assays to evaluate potential inhibitors. The chirally pure (SRS)-alpha-methyl pyrrolidine-5,5-trans-lactam template was synthesized, which together with the natural substrate requirements of HCMV protease and detailed SAR, was used to design potent and selective mechanism based inhibitors of HCMV protease. The mechanism of action of these inhibitors of HCMV protease was investigated by ESI/MS, and the X-ray crystal structure of the HCMV protease was used to refine our selective viral enzyme inhibitors to obtain plasma stable antivirals. A novel ELISA antiviral assay was developed which, together with a cytotoxicity assay, enabled us to discover anti-HCMV drug candidates equivalent in potency to ganciclovir that had good pharmacokinetics in the dog and good brain and ocular penetration in the guinea pig., (Copyright 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Med Res Rev.)

This paper covers efforts to discover orally active potent and selective oxytocin antagonists. Screening pooled libraries identified a novel series of 2,5-diketopiperazine derivatives with antagonist activity at the human oxytocin receptor. We report the initial structure-activity relationship investigations and the determination of the stereochemistry of the most potent compounds.

A series of chiral, (S)-proline-alpha-methylpyrrolidine-5,5-trans-lactam serine protease inhibitors has been developed as antivirals of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). The SAR of the functionality on the proline nitrogen has shown that derivatives of para-substituted phenyl ureas > para-substituted phenyl sulfonamides > para-substituted phenyl carboxamide for activity against HCMV deltaAla protease, producing para-substituted phenyl ureas with single figure nM potency (K(i)) against the viral enzyme. The SAR of the functionality on the lactam nitrogen has defined the steric and electronic requirements for high human plasma stability while retaining good activity against HCMV protease. The combination of high potency against HCMV deltaAla protease and high human plasma stability has produced compounds with significant in vitro antiviral activity against human cytomegalovirus with the 6-hydroxymethyl benzothiazole derivative 72 being equivalent in potency to ganciclovir. The parent benzothiazole 56 had good pharmacokinetics in dogs with 29% bioavailability and good brain and ocular penetration in guinea pigs.

Mechanism-based inhibitors of HCMV protease, which are stable to human plasma (> or = 20 h) and have single-figure potency in the microM range against HCMV protease, have been developed based on the dansylproline alpha-methyl pyrrolidine-5,5-trans-lactam nucleus.

The stereospecific synthesis of a series of alpha-methylpyrrolidine-5,5-trans-lactam inhibitors of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) protease is described. Examination of the SAR in this series has defined the size and chirality of the alpha-substituent, optimized the acyl substituent on the lactam nitrogen, and defined the steric constraint of this functionality. The SAR of the functionality on the pyrrolidine nitrogen of the trans-lactam has been investigated, and this has led to the discovery of potent serine protease inhibitors that are highly selective for the viral enzyme over the mammalian enzymes elastase, thrombin, and acetylcholine esterase. The mechanism of action of our lead compounds has been established by mass spectrometry, and enzymatic degradation of HCMV deltaAla protease acylated with these inhibitors showed that Ser 132 is the active site nucleophile. The crystal structure of HCMV protease was obtained and used to model the conformationally restricted, chiral (S)-proline-alpha-methyl-5,5-trans-lactams into the active site groove of the enzyme, enabling us to direct and rationalize the SAR in this series. The activity against HCMV deltaAla protease is the greatest with inhibitors based on the dansyl-(S)-proline alpha-methyl-5,5-trans-lactam template, which have low nanomolar activity against the viral enzyme.

Mechanism-based inhibitors of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) protease have been designed based on the pyrrolidine-5,5-trans-lactam ring system. New routes to the beta-methyl-, desmethyl-, and alpha-methyl-pyrrolidine-5,5-trans-lactam templates have been developed from 2,4-diaminobutyric acid. ESI/MS studies have shown that these inhibitors can bind covalently and reversibly to the viral enzyme in a time-dependent manner by a mechanism which is consistent with acylation of HCMV deltaAla protease at the active site nucleophile Ser 132. SAR in this series of pyrrolidine-5, 5-trans-lactams has defined the relative stereochemisty of the methyl substituent adjacent to the lactam carbonyl, the functionality on the lactam nitrogen, and the mechanism of action of this novel series of serine protease inhibitors against the HCMV deltaAla protease. Activity decreases on moving from the alpha-methyl to the desmethyl to the beta-methyl series. This selectivity is the opposite of that observed for these templates against the elastase and thrombin enzymes. The activity against HCMV deltaAla protease is the greatest with inhibitors based on the Cbz-protected alpha-methyl-5,5-trans-lactam template which have low micromolar activity against the viral enzyme.

An investigation into the interaction between human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) protease and several beta-lactams, with characterization of the resulting acylenzymes using mass spectrometry, is reported. The time dependence of the inhibitors is highlighted by making comparisons of values obtained for inhibition and acylation. Analysis of inactivated HCMV protease revealed a beta-lactam: protease stoichiometry of 1. Subsequent enzymatic digestion with trypsin, peptide mapping using liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and sequencing by nanoelectrospray tandem mass spectrometry (NanoES-MS/MS) allowed the identification of the site of covalent modification and confirmed Ser 132 as the active site hydroxyl nucleophile. Further, treatment of the protease with a peptide chloromethylketone and sequence analysis using NanoES-MS/MS of the alkylated enzyme confirmed His 63 as the active site imidazole nucleophile.

Mechanism based inhibitors of HCMV protease have been designed based on the monocyclic beta-lactam nucleus, which have been shown to acylate the viral enzyme in a time dependent manner. SAR in a series of monocyclic beta-lactam N-ureas, has defined the size and relative stereochemistry of the C-3 substituent producing a low micromolar inhibitor 17b with good aqueous stability and selectivity over the mammalian serine proteases.

A novel series of tetrahydrobenzodioxinopyrroles has been identified as potent and selective alpha 2-adrenoceptor antagonists. Convergent syntheses have been developed that allowed the preparation of analogues and their enantiomers. A compound of particular interest is the 5-fluoro substituted analogue (fluparoxan).

A series of four isomeric 2'- and 6'-fluorocarbocyclic guanosine analogues have been prepared and evaluated as potential anti-herpes agents. The racemic 2' beta-fluoro isomer 2-amino-1,9-dihydro- 9-[(1 alpha, 2 alpha, 3 beta, 4 alpha)-2-fluoro-3-hydroxy-4- (hydroxymethyl)cyclopentyl]-6H-purin-6-one (11a, C-AFG) and its 2' alpha-fluoro epimer 11b plus the chiral 6' beta-fluoro isomer 2-amino-1,9-dihydro-9-[[1S-(1 alpha, 2 alpha, 3 alpha, 4 beta)]- 2-fluoro-4-hydroxy-3-(hydroxymethyl)cyclopentyl]-6H-purine-6-one (11c) and its 6' alpha-fluoro epimer 11d were prepared from their respective fluoro amino diol hydrochlorides (6a,d). For comparison, the furanosyl compound 9-(2'-deoxy-2'-fluoro-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl)guanine (17, AFG) was prepared by coupling 2-amino-6-chloropurine with 2-deoxy-2-fluoro-3,5-di-O-benzoyl-alpha- D-arabinofuranosyl bromide followed by base hydrolysis. The 6' alpha-fluoro derivative 11d exhibited comparable activity to that of acyclovir (ACV) against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) in vitro but was greater than 30-fold more active than ACV against HSV-1 and HSV-2 in vivo in the mouse systemic model. The 2' beta-fluoro derivative (11a, C-AFG) was extremely potent in vitro against HSV-1 and HSV-2 (ID50 0.006 and 0.05 micrograms/mL) and in vivo it was greater than 2 orders of magnitude more potent than ACV against HSV-1 and 70-fold more potent against HSV-2. The 2' alpha-fluoro 11b and 6' beta-fluoro 11c isomers were much less active.

The racemic carbocyclic 2'-fluoroarabinosyl pyrimidine nucleosides 8, 9 (C-FIAU), 12, and 13 (C-FMAU) and the 2'-fluororibosyl pyrimidine nucleosides 17, 20, and 21 were prepared from their respective protected 2'-fluoro amino diols 5 and 14. The carbocyclic 2'-2'-difluorothymidine analogue 27 was obtained from the protected difluoro amino diol 24 which was prepared from the ketone 23 and (diethylamino)sulfur trifluoride (DAST). The chiral carbocyclic 2'-deoxy-6'-fluorouridines 33, 34, 38, and 39 were synthesized from the protected 6'-fluoro amino diols 30 and 36, which were prepared by reduction of the azides 28 and 35. C-FMAU (13) and C-FIAU (9) were active in vitro against HSV-1 with ID50 values of 4.4 and 11 micrograms/mL, respectively, but they were inactive against HSV-2. The cytidine analogues 12 and 20 displayed modest activity in vitro against HSV-1 and HSV-2 but were inactive against human influenza A virus.