Discovery of BMS-986339, a Pharmacologically Differentiated Farnesoid X Receptor Agonist for the Treatment of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis.

While several farnesoid X receptor (FXR) agonists under clinical investigation for the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) have shown beneficial effects, adverse effects such as pruritus and elevation of plasma lipids have limited their clinical efficacy and approvability. Herein, we report the discovery and preclinical evaluation of compound 32 (BMS-986339), a nonbile acid FXR agonist with a pharmacologically distinct profile relative to our previously reported agonist BMS-986318. Compound 32 exhibited potent in vitro and in vivo activation of FXR, albeit with a context-dependent profile that resulted in tissue-selective effects in vivo. To our knowledge, this is the first report that demonstrates differential induction of Fgf15 in the liver and ileum by FXR agonists in vivo. Compound 32 demonstrated robust antifibrotic efficacy despite reduced activation of certain genes in the liver, suggesting that the additional pharmacology of BMS-986318 does not further benefit efficacy, possibly presenting an opportunity for reduced adverse effects. Further evaluation in humans is warranted to validate this hypothesis.

Discovery of indoximod prodrugs and characterization of clinical candidate NLG802.

A series of different prodrugs of indoximod, including estesrs and peptide amides were synthesized with the aim of improving its oral bioavailability in humans. The pharmacokinetics of prodrugs that were stable in buffers, plasma and simulated gastric and intestinal fluids was first assessed in rats after oral dosing in solution or in capsule formulation. Two prodrugs that produced the highest exposure to indoximod in rats were further tested in Cynomolgus monkeys, a species in which indoximod has oral bioavailability of 6-10% and an equivalent dose-dependent exposure profile as humans. NLG802 was selected as the clinical development candidate after increasing oral bioavailability (>5-fold), Cmax (6.1-3.6 fold) and AUC (2.9-5.2 fold) in monkeys, compared to equivalent molar oral doses of indoximod. NLG802 is extensively absorbed and rapidly metabolized to indoximod in all species tested and shows a safe toxicological profile at the anticipated therapeutic doses. NLG802 markedly enhanced the anti-tumor responses of tumor-specific pmel-1 T cells in a melanoma tumor model. In conclusion, NLG802 is a prodrug of indoximod expected to increase clinical drug exposure to indoximod above the current achievable levels, thus increasing the possibility of therapeutic effects in a larger fraction of the target patient population.

Implementation of the CYP Index for the Design of Selective Tryptophan-2,3-dioxygenase Inhibitors.

A class of imidazoisoindole (III) heme-binding indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase (IDO1) inhibitors were optimized via structure-based drug design into a series of tryptophan-2,3-dioxygenase (TDO)-selective inhibitors. Kynurenine pathway modulation was demonstrated in vivo, which enabled evaluation of TDO as a potential cancer immunotherapy target. As means of mitigating the risk of drug-drug interactions arising from cytochrome P450 inhibition, a novel property-based drug design parameter, herein referred to as the CYP Index, was implemented for the design of inhibitors with appreciable selectivity for TDO over CYP3A4. We anticipate the CYP Index will be a valuable design parameter for optimizing CYP inhibition of any small molecule inhibitor containing a Lewis basic motif capable of binding heme.

Discovery of Clinical Candidate (1R,4r)-4-((R)-2-((S)-6-Fluoro-5H-imidazo[5,1-a]isoindol-5-yl)-1-hydroxyethyl)cyclohexan-1-ol (Navoximod), a Potent and Selective Inhibitor of Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase 1.

A novel class of 5-substituted 5H-imidazo[5,1-a]isoindoles are described as potent inhibitors of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1). A structure-based drug design approach was used to elaborate the 5H-imidazo[5,1-a]isoindole core and to improve potency and pharmacological properties. Suitably placed hydrophobic and polar functional groups in the lead molecule allowed improvement of IDO1 inhibitory activity while minimizing off-target liabilities. Structure-activity relationship studies focused on optimizing IDO1 inhibition potency and a pharmacokinetic profile amenable to oral dosing while controlling CYP450 and hERG inhibitory properties.

Synthesis of 6,6'-binaphthopyran-2-one natural products: pigmentosin A, talaroderxines A and B.

Efficient and stereoselective syntheses of pigmentosin A, talaroderxine A, and its diastereomer talaroderxine B are reported. The binaphthyl ring system is assembled by vanadium-catalyzed phenolic coupling of tricyclic precursors. These key intermediates were prepared by Michael-Dieckmann annulation of a protected orsellinate ester, with the requisite pyranones accessed by a new variant of Ghosez's sulfone-epoxide annulation. Preliminary biological experiments are reported for pigmentosin.

Toward solution-phase automated iterative synthesis: fluorous-tag assisted solution-phase synthesis of linear and branched mannose oligomers.

We report herein the first synthesis of linear and branched mannose oligosaccharides using fluorous-tag assistance with reagents and FSPE protocols that are amenable to automation. The particular fluorous linker proved to maintain solubility of the growing oligosaccharide chain such that identical reaction solvent conditions and purification protocols could be used between glycosylation and deprotection reactions, thereby rendering the procedures amenable to automation.

Identification of the molecular target of small molecule inhibitors of HDL receptor SR-BI activity.

Scavenger receptor, class B, type I (SR-BI), controls high-density lipoprotein (HDL) metabolism by mediating cellular selective uptake of lipids from HDL without the concomitant degradation of the lipoprotein particle. We previously identified in a high-throughput chemical screen of intact cells five compounds (BLT-1-5) that inhibit SR-BI-dependent lipid transport from HDL, but do not block HDL binding to SR-BI on the cell surface. Although these BLTs are widely used to examine the diverse functions of SR-BI, their direct target(s), SR-BI itself or some other component of the SR-BI pathway, has not been identified. Here we show that SR-BI in the context of a membrane lipid environment is the target of BLT-1, -3, -4, and -5. The analysis using intact cells and an in vitro system of purified SR-BI reconstituted into liposomes was aided by information derived from structure-activity relationship (SAR) analysis of the most potent of these BLTs, the thiosemicarbazone BLT-1. We found that the sulfur atom of BLT-1 was crucially important for its inhibitory activity, because changing it to an oxygen atom resulted in the isostructural, but essentially inactive, semicarbazone derivative BLT-1sc. SAR analysis also established the importance of BLT-1's hydrophobic tail. BLTs and their corresponding inactive compounds can be used to explore the mechanism and function of SR-BI-mediated selective lipid uptake in diverse mammalian experimental models. Consequently, BLTs may help determine the therapeutic potential of SR-BI-targeted pharmaceutical drugs.

Influence of HDL-cholesterol-elevating drugs on the in vitro activity of the HDL receptor SR-BI.

Treatment of atherosclerotic disease often focuses on reducing plasma LDL-cholesterol or increasing plasma HDL-cholesterol. We examined in vitro the effects on HDL receptor [scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI)] activity of three classes of clinical and experimental plasma HDL-cholesterol-elevating compounds: niacin, fibrates, and HDL376. Fenofibrate (FF) and HDL376 were potent (IC(50) approximately 1 microM), direct inhibitors of SR-BI-mediated lipid transport in cells and in liposomes reconstituted with purified SR-BI. FF, a prodrug, was a more potent inhibitor of SR-BI than an activator of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha, a target of its active fenofibric acid (FFA) derivative. Nevertheless, FFA, four other fibrates (clofibrate, gemfibrozil, ciprofibrate, and bezafibrate), and niacin had little, if any, effect on SR-BI, suggesting that they do not directly target SR-BI in vivo. However, similarities of HDL376 treatment and SR-BI gene knockout on HDL metabolism in vivo (increased HDL-cholesterol and HDL particle sizes) and structure-activity relationship analysis suggest that SR-BI may be a target of HDL376 in vivo. HDL376 and other inhibitors may help elucidate SR-BI function in diverse mammalian models and determine the therapeutic potential of SR-BI-directed pharmaceuticals.

Fluorous-based carbohydrate microarrays.

The success of microarrays, such as DNA chips, for biosample screening with minimal sample usage has led to a variety of technologies for assays on glass slides. Unfortunately, for small molecules, such as carbohydrates, these methods usually rely on covalent bond formation, which requires unique functional handles and multiple chemical steps. A new simpler concept in microarray formation is based on noncovalent fluorous-based interactions. A fluorous tail is designed not only to aid in saccharide purification but also to allow direct formation of carbohydrate microarrays on fluorous-derivatized glass slides for biological screening with lectins, such as concanavalin A. The noncovalent interactions in the fluorous-based array are even strong enough to withstand the detergents used in assays with the Erythrina crystagalli lectin. Additionally, the utility of benzyl carbonate protecting groups on fucose building blocks for the formation of alpha-linkages is demonstrated.

One-step synthesis of labeled sugar nucleotides for protein O-GlcNAc modification studies by chemical function analysis of an archaeal protein.

Herein we present the chemical function analysis of a recombinant sugar nucleotidyltransferase from the hyperthermophile Pyrococcus furiosus and its use in the one-pot synthesis of chloroacetyl- and alkyne-tagged analogues of uridinediphospho-N-acetylglucosamine (UDP-GlcNAc). The gene was originally annotated as a glucose-1-phosphate deoxythymidylyltransferase; however, kinetic analysis of a panel of sugar-1-phosphates with the protein shows that it is better described as a bifunctional protein that synthesizes UDP-GlcNAc from glucosamine-1-phosphate and acetyl coenzyme A (CoA). A new mass-spectrometry-based assay for the rapid analysis of the acyltransferase activity demonstrates that the enzyme can also accept cheaper truncated N-acetylcysteamine thioester substrates in place of the natural acetyl CoA. The enzyme can tolerate alkyne or chloride substitutions in the acyl moiety, thereby allowing the facile synthesis of tagged sugar nucleotides for future use in protein O-GlcNAc modification studies.