Discovery of Potent and Selective A2A Antagonists with Efficacy in Animal Models of Parkinson's Disease and Depression.

Adenosine A2A receptor (A2AAdoR) antagonism is a nondopaminergic approach to Parkinson's disease treatment that is under development. Earlier we had reported the therapeutic potential of 7-methoxy-4-morpholino-benzothiazole derivatives as A2AAdoR antagonists. We herein described a novel series of [1,2,4]triazolo[5,1-f]purin-2-one derivatives that displays functional antagonism of the A2A receptor with a high degree of selectivity over A1, A2B, and A3 receptors. Compounds from this new scaffold resulted in the discovery of highly potent, selective, stable, and moderate brain penetrating compound 33. Compound 33 endowed with satisfactory in vitro and in vivo pharmacokinetics properties. Compound 33 demonstrated robust oral efficacies in two commonly used models of Parkinson's disease (haloperidol-induced catalepsy and 6-OHDA lesioned rat models) and depression (TST and FST mice models).

Design and synthesis of novel xanthine derivatives as potent and selective A2B adenosine receptor antagonists for the treatment of chronic inflammatory airway diseases.

Adenosine induces bronchial hyperresponsiveness and inflammation in asthmatics through activation of A2B adenosine receptor (A2BAdoR). Selective antagonists have been shown to attenuate airway reactivity and improve inflammatory conditions in pre-clinical studies. Hence, the identification of novel, potent and selective A2BAdoR antagonist may be beneficial for the potential treatment of asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Towards this effort, we explored several prop-2-ynylated C8-aryl or heteroaryl substitutions on xanthine chemotype and found that 1-prop-2-ynyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl moiety was better tolerated at the C8 position. Compound 59, exhibited binding affinity (Ki) of 62 nM but was non-selective for A2BAdoR over other AdoRs. Incorporation of substituted phenyl on the terminal acetylene increased the binding affinity (Ki) significantly to <10 nM. Various substitutions on terminal phenyl group and different alkyl substitutions on N-1 and N-3 were explored to improve the potency, selectivity for A2BAdoR and the solubility. In general, compounds with meta-substituted phenyl provided better selectivity for A2BAdoR compared to that of para-substituted analogs. Substitutions such as basic amines like pyrrolidine, piperidine, piperazine or cycloalkyls with polar group were tried on terminal acetylene, keeping in mind the poor solubility of xanthine analogs in general. However, these substitutions led to a decrease in affinity compared to compound 59. Subsequent SAR optimization resulted in identification of compound 46 with high human A2BAdoR affinity (Ki = 13 nM), selectivity against other AdoR subtypes and with good pharmacokinetic properties. It was found to be a potent functional A2BAdoR antagonist with a Ki of 8 nM in cAMP assay in hA2B-HEK293 cells and an IC50 of 107 nM in IL6 assay in NIH-3T3 cells. Docking study was performed to rationalize the observed affinity data. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies also led to identification of compound 36 as a potent A2BAdoR antagonist with Ki of 1.8 nM in cAMP assay and good aqueous solubility of 529 µM at neutral pH. Compound 46 was further tested for in vivo efficacy and found to be efficacious in ovalbumin-induced allergic asthma model in mice.

Design, Synthesis of Novel, Potent, Selective, Orally Bioavailable Adenosine A2A Receptor Antagonists and Their Biological Evaluation.

Our initial structure-activity relationship studies on 7-methoxy-4-morpholino-benzothiazole derivatives featured by aryloxy-2-methylpropanamide moieties at the 2-position led to identification of compound 25 as a potent and selective A2A adenosine receptor (A2AAdoR) antagonist with reasonable ADME and pharmacokinetic properties. However, poor intrinsic solubility and low to moderate oral bioavailability made this series unsuitable for further development. Further optimization using structure-based drug design approach resulted in discovery of potent and selective adenosine A2A receptor antagonists bearing substituted 1-methylcyclohexyl-carboxamide groups at position 2 of the benzothiazole scaffold and endowed with better solubility and oral bioavailability. Compounds 41 and 49 demonstrated a number of positive attributes with respect to in vitro ADME properties. Both compounds displayed good pharmacokinetic properties with 63% and 61% oral bioavailability, respectively, in rat. Further, compound 49 displayed oral efficacy in 6-OHDA lesioned rat model of Parkinson diseases.

A2B adenosine receptor antagonists: Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of novel xanthine derivatives.

A2BAdoR is a low affinity adenosine receptor that functions by Gs mediated elevation of cAMP and subsequent downstream signaling. The receptor has been implicated in lung inflammatory disorders like COPD and asthma. Several potent and selective A2BAdoR antagonists have been reported in literature, however most of the compounds suffer from poor pharmacokinetic profile. Therefore, with the aim to identify novel, potent and selective A2BAdoR antagonists with improved pharmacokinetic properties, we first explored more constrained form of MRS-1754 (4). To improve the metabolic stability, several linker modifications were attempted as replacement of amide linker along with different phenyl or other heteroaryls between C8 position of xanthine head group and terminal phenyl ring. SAR optimization resulted in identification of two novel A2BAdoR antagonists, 8-{1-[5-Oxo-1-(4-trifluoromethyl-phenyl)-pyrrolidin-3-ylmethyl]-1H-pyrazol-4-yl}-1,3-dipropyl-xanthine (31) and 8-(1-{2-Oxo-2-[4-(3-trifluoromethyl-phenyl)-piperazin-1-yl]-ethyl}-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)-1,3-dipropyl-xanthine (65), with high binding affinity (Ki = 1 and 1.5 nM, respectively) and selectivity for A2BAdoR with very good functional potency of 0.9 nM and 4 nM, respectively. Compound 31 and 65 also displayed good pharmacokinetic properties in mice with 27% and 65% oral bioavailability respectively. When evaluated in in vivo mice model of asthma, compound 65 also inhibited airway inflammation and airway reactivity in ovalbumin induced allergic asthma at 3 mpk dose.

Independent activation of Akt and NF-kappaB pathways and their role in resistance to TNF-alpha mediated cytotoxicity in gliomas.

Tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) constitute a substantial mass in gliomas. The activated macrophages secrete various cytokines that affect diverse functions of tumors. The aim of this study was to elucidate the role of Akt and NF-kappaB pathways in resistance to TNF-alpha mediated cell death in human gliomas using monolayers and multicellular spheroids (MCS) as in vitro models. Akt and NF-kappaB are constitutively expressed and intimately involved in progression of gliomas. The activation of these pathways also renders the tumors resistant to conventional treatments including chemotherapy. While PI3K/Akt is shown to regulate the NF-kappaB activation in diverse systems, other studies place NF-kappaB upstream of Akt activation. Using a stable IkappaBalpha mutant LN-18 cell line and pharmacological inhibitors to PI3K/Akt (LY294002) and Akt (Akt2), we provide evidence that Akt and NF-kappaB are activated independently on stimulation with TNF-alpha and both the pathways contribute towards resistance to TNF-alpha mediated cell death. TNF-alpha-induced NF-kappaB activation independent of PI3K/Akt pathway was also confirmed in human glioma cell lines-LN-229 and U373MG. We also show that NF-kappaB and Akt are activated during spheroidogenesis and their expression is further enhanced on stimulation with TNF-alpha implicating their involvement in resistance to cell death. The findings thus underscore the relevance of spheroids as appropriate in vitro models for studying the signaling pathways in drug induced resistance.

Differential expression and role of p21cip/waf1 and p27kip1 in TNF-alpha-induced inhibition of proliferation in human glioma cells.

BACKGROUND: The role of TNF-alpha in affecting the fate of tumors is controversial, while some studies have reported apoptotic or necrotic effects of TNF-alpha, others provide evidence that endogenous TNF-alpha promotes growth and development of tumors. Understanding the mechanism(s) of TNF-alpha mediated growth arrest will be important in unraveling the contribution of tissue associated macrophages in tumor resistance. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of Cyclin Dependent Kinase Inhibitors (CDKI)--21cip/waf1 and p27kip1 in TNF-alpha mediated responses in context with p53 and activation of NF-kappaB and Akt pathways. The study was done with human glioma cell lines -LN-18 and LN-229 cells, using monolayer cultures and Multicellular Spheroids (MCS) as in vitro models. RESULTS: TNF-alpha induced inhibition of proliferation and enhanced the expression of p21cip/waf1 and p27kip1 in LN-18 cells. p21 was induced on exposure to TNF-alpha, localized exclusively in the nucleus and functioned as an inhibitor of cell cycle but not as an antiapoptotic protein. In contrast, p27 was constitutively expressed, localized predominantly in the cytoplasm and was not involved in arrest of proliferation. Our data using IkappaBalpha mutant LN-18 cells and PI3K/Akt inhibitor-LY294002 revealed that the expression of p21 is regulated by NF-kappaB. Loss of IkappaBalpha function in LN-229 cells (p53 positive) did not influence TNF-alpha induced accumulation of pp53 (Ser-20 p53) suggesting that p53 was not down stream of NF-kappaB. Spheroidogenesis enhanced p27 expression and p21 induced by TNF-alpha was significantly increased in the MCS compared to monolayers. CONCLUSION: This study demarcates the functional roles for CDKIs-p21cip/waf1 and p27kip1 during TNF-alpha stimulated responses in LN-18 glioma cells. Our findings provide evidence that TNF-alpha-induced p21 might be regulated by NF-kappaB or p53 independently. p21 functions as an inhibitor of cell proliferation and does not have a direct role in rendering the cells resistant to TNF-alpha mediated cytotoxicity.

ROS-triggered caspase 2 activation and feedback amplification loop in beta-carotene-induced apoptosis.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and caspases 8, 9, and 3 are reported to be crucial players in apoptosis induced by various stimuli. Recently, caspase 2 has been implicated in stress-induced apoptosis but the exact mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we report that ROS generation led to activation of caspase 2 during beta-carotene-induced apoptosis in the human leukemic T cell line Molt 4. The apoptosis progressed by simultaneous activation of caspases 8 and 9, and a cross talk between these initiator caspases was mediated by the proapoptotic protein Bid. Inhibition of caspases 2, 8, 9, and 3 independently suppressed the caspase cascade. The kinetics and function of caspase 2 were similar to those of caspase 3, suggesting its role as an effector caspase. Interestingly, beta-carotene-induced apoptosis was caspase 2 dependent but caspase 3 independent. The study also revealed cleavage of the antiapoptotic protein BclXL as an important event during apoptosis, which was regulated by ROS. The mechanistic studies identify a functional link between ROS and the caspase cascade involving caspase 2 and cleavage of BclXL. The interdependence of caspases 8, 9, 2, and 3 in the cascade provides evidence for the presence of an extensive feedback amplification loop in beta-carotene-induced apoptosis in Molt 4 cells.

Upregulation of survivin in G2/M cells and inhibition of caspase 9 activity enhances resistance in staurosporine-induced apoptosis.

Survivin, a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) gene family, plays an important role in both the regulation of cell cycle and the inhibition of apoptosis, and is frequently overexpressed in many tumor types. In neuroblastomas, the expression of survivin correlates with a more aggressive and histologically unfavorable disease. Survivin is predominantly a cytoplasmic protein that is expressed in a cell cycle-dependent manner, increasing in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle followed by a rapid decline in the G1 phase. Recently, the role of survivin in resistance to chemotherapy has become an area of intensive investigation. In this study, we demonstrate a phase-specific resistance due to survivin in staurosporine (STS)-induced apoptosis in the human neuroblastoma cell line SK-N-MC. G2/M-arrested cultures show an upregulation of survivin expression and are more resistant, whereas G1-phase cells that show decreased levels of survivin are more sensitive to apoptosis. Localization studies revealed differences in the distribution of survivin in two synchronized populations, with G1 cells having weakly positive staining confined to the nucleus, in contrast to G2/M cells that depicted a more uniform and intense expression of survivin throughout the cell. In our experimental system, STS induced apoptosis through the mitochondrial-caspase 9-mediated pathway. Retention of survivin in G1 cells by inhibition of the ubiquitin-proteosome pathway or inhibition of caspase 9 protected the cells against apoptosis. Our data suggest that survivin exerts its antiapoptotic effect by inhibiting caspase 9 activity, an important event in STS-mediated apoptosis. In context with cell cycle-dependent responses to chemotherapy, the data from this study suggest the possibility of exploiting the survivin pathway for inducing apoptosis in tumor cells.