Discovery of BR102375, a new class of non-TZD PPARγ full agonist for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

As a potential treatment of type 2 diabetes, a novel PPARγ non-TZD full agonist, compound 18 (BR102375) was identified from the original lead BR101549 by the SAR efforts of the labile metabolite control through bioisosteres approach. In vitro assessments of BR102375 demonstrated its activating potential of PPARγ comparable to Pioglitazone as well as the induction of related gene expressions. Further in vivo evaluation of BR102375 in diabetic rodent models successfully proved its glucose lowering effect as a potential antidiabetic agent, but the anticipated suppression of weight gain was not evident. The X-ray co-crystal analysis of BR102375-PPARγ LBD unexpectedly revealed binding modes totally different from those of BR101549, which was found, instead, closely resembled to those of TZD full agonists.

Identification of BR101549 as a lead candidate of non-TZD PPARγ agonist for the treatment of type 2 diabetes: Proof-of-concept evaluation and SAR.

The new class of PPARgamma non-TZD agonist originally derived from the backbone of anti-hypertensive Fimasartan, BR101549, was identified as a potential lead for anti-diabetic drug development. The X-ray crystallography of BR101549 with PPARgamma ligand binding domain (LBD) revealed unique binding characteristics versus traditional TZD full agonists. The lead candidate, BR101549, has been found activating PPARgamma to the level of Pioglitazone in vitro and indeed has demonstrated its effects on blood glucose control in mouse proof-of-concept evaluation. The attempts to improve its metabolic stability profile through follow-up SAR including deuterium incorporation have been also described.

Discovery of the bifunctional modulator of angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R) and PPARγ derived from the AT1R antagonist, Fimasartan.

Inspired by the well-known PPARγ partial agonism of angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R) antagonists exemplified by an antihypertensive drug, Telmisartan, efforts to identify compounds with the dual activities have been pursued in order to control the two major metabolic disorders, hypertension and hyperglycemia simultaneously. Lead compound 18 derived from the AT1R antagonist, Fimasartan, has successfully presented the possibility to control the medical conditions by a single molecule.

Simultaneous quantification of caffeine and its three primary metabolites in rat plasma by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

A rapid, sensitive, simple and accurate LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous quantitation of caffeine, and its three primary metabolites, theobromine, paraxanthine, and theophylline, in rat plasma was developed and validated. Chromatographic separation was performed on an Agilent Poroshell 120 EC-C18 column using 1 µg/mL acetaminophen as an internal standard. Each sample was run at 0.5 mL/min for a total run time of 7 min/sample. Detection and quantification were performed using a mass spectrometer in selected reaction-monitoring mode with positive electrospray ionization. The lower limit of quantification was 5 ng/mL for all analytes with linear ranges up to 5000 ng/mL for caffeine and 1000 ng/mL for its metabolites. The coefficient of variation for assay precision was less than 12.6%, with an accuracy of 93.5-114%. The assay was successfully applied to determine plasma concentrations of caffeine, theobromine, paraxanthine, and theophylline in rat administered various energy drinks containing the same caffeine content. Various energy drinks exhibited considerable variability in the pharmacokinetic profiles of caffeine and its three primary metabolites, even containing the same caffeine. Different additives of energy drinks might contribute to these results.

Direct measurement of active thiol metabolite levels of clopidogrel in human plasma using tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine as a reducing agent by LC-MS/MS.

A simple, robust, and rapid LC-MS/MS method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous quantitation of clopidogrel and its active metabolite (AM) in human plasma. Tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine (TCEP) was used as a reducing agent to detect the AM as a disulfide-bonded complex with plasma proteins. Mixtures of TCEP and human plasma were deproteinized with acetonitrile containing 10 ng/mL of clopidogrel-d4 as an internal standard (IS). The mixtures were separated on a C18 RP column with an isocratic mobile phase consisting of 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile and water (90:10, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. Detection and quantification were performed using ESI-MS. The detector was operated in selected reaction-monitoring mode at m/z 322.0→211.9 for clopidogrel, m/z 356.1→155.2 for the AM, and m/z 326.0→216.0 for the IS. The linear dynamic range for clopidogrel and its AM were 0.05-20 and 0.5-200 ng/mL, respectively, with correlation coefficients (r) greater than 0.9976. Precision, both intra- and interday, was less than 8.26% with an accuracy of 87.6-106%. The validated method was successfully applied to simultaneously analyze clinical samples for clopidogrel and its AM.

Determination of a dipeptidyl peptidase IV agonist, ß-aminoacyl containing thiazolidine derivatives (KR-66223) in rat plasma by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

A sensitive liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed for a novel dipeptidyl peptidase IV agonist (DDP-IV) agonist, KR-66223, in rat plasma. It involves liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) followed by HPLC separation and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. KR-66223 and imipramine (IS) was separated on Gemini-NX C18 column with mixture of acetonitrile-ammonium formate (10mM) (90:10, v/v) as mobile phase. The ion transitions monitored were m/z 553.2→206.2 for KR-66223, m/z 281.3→86.1 for imipramine in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The linear ranges of the assay were 0.003-10µg/ml with a correlation coefficient (R(2)) greater than 0.99 and the lower limit of quantification was 3ng/ml. The average recovery was 78.9% and 87.1% from rat plasma for KR-66223 and imipramine, respectively. The coefficients of variation of intra- and inter-assay were 3.9-14.4% and the relative error was 0.8-11.5%. The method was validated and successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of KR-66223 in rat.

Prominent bone loss mediated by RANKL and IL-17 produced by CD4+ T cells in TallyHo/JngJ mice.

Increasing evidence that decreased bone density and increased rates of bone fracture are associated with abnormal metabolic states such as hyperglycemia and insulin resistance indicates that diabetes is a risk factor for osteoporosis. In this study, we observed that TallyHo/JngJ (TH) mice, a polygenic model of type II diabetes, spontaneously developed bone deformities with osteoporotic features. Female and male TH mice significantly gained more body weight than control C57BL/6 mice upon aging. Interestingly, bone density was considerably decreased in male TH mice, which displayed hyperglycemia. The osteoblast-specific bone forming markers osteocalcin and osteoprotegerin were decreased in TH mice, whereas osteoclast-driven bone resorption markers such as IL-6 and RANKL were significantly elevated in the bone marrow and blood of TH mice. In addition, RANKL expression was prominently increased in CD4+ T cells of TH mice upon T cell receptor stimulation, which was in accordance with enhanced IL-17 production. IL-17 production in CD4+ T cells was directly promoted by treatment with leptin while IFN-γ production was not. Moreover, blockade of IFN-γ further increased RANKL expression and IL-17 production in TH-CD4+ T cells. In addition, the osteoporotic phenotype of TH mice was improved by treatment with alendronate. These results strongly indicate that increased leptin in TH mice may act in conjunction with IL-6 to preferentially stimulate IL-17 production in CD4+ T cells and induce RANKL-mediated osteoclastogenesis. Accordingly, we propose that TH mice could constitute a beneficial model for osteoporosis.