Search

We report the discovery and optimization of substituted 2-piperazinecarboxamides as potent and selective agonists of the melanocortin subtype-4 receptor. The 5- and 6-alkylated piperazine compounds exhibit low bioactivation potential as measured by covalent binding in microsome preparations.

We report the discovery and optimization of substituted 2-piperazinecarboxamides as potent and selective agonists of the melanocortin subtype-4 receptor. Further in vivo development of lead agonist, MB243, is disclosed.

Glucuronides of piperazine hydroxylamines are rarely reported in the literature, and even more rarely are their structures unambiguously identified. One major metabolite was detected by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry-radioactivity in urine from monkeys treated with the aryl piperazine oral hypoglycemic agent 9-[(1S,2R)-2-fluoro-1-methylpropyl]-2-methoxy-6-(1-piperazinyl) purine hydrochloride (1). The mass spectrum of this metabolite indicated that it was both monooxygenated and glucuronidated on the piperazine ring. Possible structures included the N- or O-glucuronic acid conjugates of a carbinolamine, hydroxylamine, or N-oxide. Treatment with beta-glucuronidase gave a monooxygenated derivative of the parent compound. 1H NMR analysis of either the glucuronic acid conjugate or the monooxygenated product provided insufficient evidence to unambiguously determine their structures. Incubation of 1 with pig liver microsomes resulted in formation of the same monooxygenated derivative derived from beta-glucuronidase treatment of the glucuronide metabolite. This in vitro system was used to generate sufficient material for analysis by 13C NMR, and the metabolite was identified as a hydroxylamine derivative 2. Incubation of the hydroxylamine with monkey liver microsomes and uridine diphospho-5'-glucuronic acid gave the same glucuronic acid conjugate as that observed in monkey urine. 13C NMR analysis of this biosynthetic product led to its unequivocal structure assignment as the O-glucuronic acid conjugate of the hydroxylamine 3.

(R)-N-[4-[2-[[2-Hydroxy-2-(pyridin-3-yl)ethyl]amino]ethyl]phenyl]- 4-[4-(4-trifluoro-methylphenyl)thiazol-2-yl]benzenesulfonamide (1) is a potent and selective agonist of the human beta3-adrenergic receptor. We report herein the data from studies of the metabolism and excretion of 1 in rats. Five metabolites were identified in the bile of male Sprague-Dawley rats administered 3H-labeled 1 by either oral gavage (10 mg/kg) or intravenous injection (3 mg/kg). These included a pyridine N-oxide derivative (M2), a primary amine resulting from N-dealkylation and loss of the pyridinyl-2-hydroxyethyl group (M4), a carboxylic acid derived from N-dealkylation and loss of the pyridyl-2-hydroxyethyl amine (M5), and the corresponding taurine and isethionic acid conjugates (M1 and M3). Metabolites M1 and M3 also were identified in rats treated with M5 and were generated in incubations of M5 with rat liver subcellular fractions in the presence of ATP and coenzyme A with supplementary taurine or isethionic acid. These results suggest that M5 is the precursor of M1 and M3 and that the formation of these conjugated metabolites follows similar mechanisms of amino acid conjugation. On the other hand, M2, M4, and M5 were produced from 1 in an NADPH-dependent manner in incubations with liver microsomes from rats, dogs, monkeys, and humans. In human liver preparations, these routes of biotransformation were shown to be catalyzed by cytochrome P450 3A4. In a bidirectional transport assay, transport of 1 across a monolayer of cells expressing P-glycoprotein (Pgp) was observed to be similar to that of vinblastine, which is an established substrate of the transporter protein. This finding, together with the observation that the parent compound was excreted in the feces of bile duct-cannulated animals following intravenous dosing, suggests that 1 is subject to Pgp-mediated excretion from intestine of rats.

L-770,644 (9c) is a potent and selective agonist of the human β3 adrenergic receptor (EC50 = 13 nM). It shows good oral bioavailability in both dogs and rats (%F = 27), and is a full agonist for glycerolemia in the rhesus monkey (ED50 = 0.21 mg/kg). Based on its desirable in vitro and in vivo properties, L-770,644 was chosen for further preclinical evaluation.

Human beta3 adrenergic receptor agonists containing 5-membered ring ureas were shown to be potent partial agonists with excellent selectivity over beta1 and beta2 binding. L-760,087 (4a) and L-764,646 (5a) (beta3 EC50 = 18 and 14 nM, respectively) stimulate lipolysis in rhesus monkeys (ED50 = 0.2 and 0.1 mg/kg, respectively) with minimal effects on heart rate. Oral absorption in dogs is improved over other urea analogs.

A series of conformationally restricted acetanilides were synthesized and evaluated as β3-adrenergic receptor agonists (β3-AR) for the treatment of overactive bladder (OAB). Optimization studies identified a five-membered ring as the preferred conformational lock of the acetanilide. Further optimization of both the aromatic and thiazole regions led to compounds such as 19 and 29, which have a good balance of potency and selectivity. These compounds have significantly reduced intrinsic clearance compared to our initial series of pyridylethanolamine β3-AR agonists and thus have improved unbound drug exposures. Both analogues demonstrated dose dependent β3-AR mediated responses in a rat bladder hyperactivity model.

Two genetically engineered mutant strains of Streptomyces sp. MA6548 produced two FK506 analogs, 9-deoxo-31-O-demethylFK506 and 31-O-demethylFK506. The structures were determined by a combination of NMR and mass spectrometry. These compounds exhibited immunosuppressive and antifungal activities, albeit reduced, compared to FK506. Both compounds contain a free hydroxyl group at C-31 for the synthesis of novel FK506 derivatives.

FK506 and FK520 are 23-membered macrocyclic polyketides with potent immunosuppressive and antifungal activities. The gene encoding 31-O-demethyl-FK506 methyltransferase, fkbM, was isolated from Streptomyces sp. strains MA6858 and MA6548, two FK506 producers, and Streptomyces hygroscopicus subsp. ascomyceticus, an FK520 producer. The nucleotide sequence of the fkbM gene revealed an open reading frame encoding a polypeptide of 260 amino acids. Disruption of fkbM in Streptomyces sp. strain MA6548 yielded a mutant that produced 31-O-demethyl-FK506, confirming the involvement of the isolated genes in the biosynthesis of FK506 and FK520. Heterologous expression of fkbM in Streptomyces lividans established that fkbM encodes an O-methyltransferase catalyzing the methylation of the C-31 hydroxyl group of 31-O-demethyl-FK506 and FK520. A second open reading frame, fkbD, was found upstream of fkbM in all three aforementioned species and was predicted to encode a protein of 388 residues that showed a strong resemblance to cytochrome P-450 hydroxylases. Disruption of fkbD had a polar effect on the synthesis of the downstream fkbM gene product and resulted in the formation of 9-deoxo-31-O-demethyl-FK506. This established the product of fkbD as the cytochrome P-450 9-deoxo-FK506 hydroxylase, which is responsible for hydroxylation at position C-9 of the FK506 and FK520 macrolactone ring.

Finasteride is employed in treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia in man, where its target enzyme is steroid 5α-reductase. It is a novel, potent mechanism-based inhibitor of the human prostate (type 2) isozyme. Although it is accepted as an alternate substrate and is ultimately reduced to dihydrofinasteride, this proceeds through an enzyme-bound NADP−dihydrofinasteride adduct. Finasteride is processed with a second-order rate constant, ki/Ki = 1 × 106 M-1 s-1, that approaches kcat/Km for reduction of testosterone, 3 × 106 M-1 s-1, and essentially every catalytic event is lethal (partition ratio ≤ 1.07). The membrane-bound enzyme−inhibitor complex formed from [3H]finasteride appears to release [3H]dihydrofinasteride with a half-life of 1 month at 37 °C (k = (2.57 ± 0.03) × 10-7 s-1), as identified by mass spectroscopy. The intermediate NADP−dihydrofinasteride adduct can be recovered intact by denaturation of the enzyme−inhibitor complex and has been purified. Free in solution, it likewise decomposes to ...

A unique decomposition reaction of the novel squalene synthase inhibitors called zaragozic acids has been studied. Under very mild conditions, e.g. by merely exposing their solutions to air and visible light at ambient temperature, these compounds, characterized by the 2,8-dioxabicyclo[3.2.1]octane-4,6,7-trihydroxy-3,4,5-tricarboxylic acid core, rapidly decompose. As relatively stable intermediates in the cascade of decomposition, the biologically active 2,8-dioxabicyclo[3.2.1]octane-6,7-dihydroxy-4-keto-5-caroxylic acid (or 3,4-decarboxy-4-dehydro) derivatives of these compounds have been isolated in ca. 20% yield. Derivatization on the highly reactive 4-carbonyl group yields stable derivatives, several of which are potent inhibitors of squalene synthase. Further decomposition results in the elimination of C3 and C4 atoms and the carboxylic acid on C5, the oxidation of C5 to carboxylic acid and the liberation of the oxo group on C1. Specific results obtained with zaragozic acid A, a key representative of the family of these potent cholesterol-lowering agents, are presented in this study.

5-n-Pentyl oxadiazole substituted benzenesulfonamide 8 is a potent and selective beta3 adrenergic receptor agonist (beta3 EC50 = 23 nM, beta1 IC50 = 3000 nM, beta2 IC50 = 3000 nM). The compound has high oral bioavailability in dogs (62%) and rats (36%) and is among the most orally bioavailable beta3 adrenergic receptor agonists reported to date.

Pyridyloxypropanolamines L-749,372 ( 8 , β 3 EC 50 = 3.6 nM) and L-750,355 ( 29 , β 3 EC 50 = 13 nM) are selective partial agonists of the human receptor, with 33% and 49% activation, respectively. Both stimulate lipolysis in rhesus monkeys (ED 50 = 2 and 0.8 mg/kg, respectively), with minimal effects on heart rate. Oral bioavailability in dogs, 41% for L-749,372 and 47% for L-750,355, is improved relative to phenol analogs.

Despite their descent from a common ancestral gene and the requirement for coordinated, tissue-specific regulation, the alpha- and beta-globin genes in many mammals are regulated in distinctly different ways. Unlike the beta-globin gene, the rabbit alpha-globin gene is transiently expressed at a high level without an added enhancer in transfected erythroid and non-erythroid cells. By examining a series of alpha/beta fusion genes, we show that internal sequences of the rabbit alpha-globin gene (within the first two exons and introns) are required along with the 5' flank for this enhancer-independent expression. Furthermore, deletion of the introns of the alpha-globin gene, or replacement by introns of the beta-globin gene, results in severely decreased expression of the transfecting genes. Hybrid constructs between segments of the alpha-globin gene and a luciferase gene confirm that internal alpha-globin sequences are needed for high level production of RNA in transfected cells. The flanking and internal sequences implicated in regulation of the rabbit alpha-globin gene coincide with a prominent CpG-rich island and may comprise an extended promoter (including both flanking and intragenic sequences) that is active in transfected cells without an enhancer.

The whole plant of Corydalis solida , of Turkish origin, furnished (−)-corpaine as well as the new spirobenzylisoquinoline (±)-corysolidine.