Discovery process and pharmacological characterization of a novel dual orexin 1 and orexin 2 receptor antagonist useful for treatment of sleep disorders.

The hypothalamic peptides orexin-A and orexin-B are potent agonists of two G-protein coupled receptors, namely the OX(1) and the OX(2) receptor. These receptors are widely distributed, though differentially, in the rat brain. In particular, the OX(1) receptor is highly expressed throughout the hypothalamus, whilst the OX(2) receptor is mainly located in the ventral posterior nucleus. A large body of compelling evidence, both pre-clinical and clinical, suggests that the orexin system is profoundly implicated in sleep disorders. In particular, modulation of the orexin receptors activation by appropriate antagonists was proven to be an efficacious strategy for the treatment of insomnia in man. A novel, drug-like bis-amido piperidine derivative was identified as potent dual OX(1) and OX(2) receptor antagonists, highly effective in a pre-clinical model of sleep.

5-{2-[4-(2-methyl-5-quinolinyl)-1-piperazinyl]ethyl}-2(1H)-quinolinones and 3,4-dihydro-2(1H)-quinolinones: dual-acting 5-HT1 receptor antagonists and serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Part 3.

5-{2-[4-(2-Methyl-5-quinolinyl)-1-piperazinyl]ethyl}-2(1H)-quinolinones and 3,4-dihydro-2(1H)-quinolinones have been identified with different combinations of 5-HT(1) autoreceptor antagonist and hSerT potencies and excellent rat PK profiles. The availability of tool compounds with a range of profiles at targets known to play a key role in the control of synaptic 5-HT levels will allow exploration of different pharmacological profiles in a range of animal behavioral and disease models.

8-[2-(4-Aryl-1-piperazinyl)ethyl]-2H-1,4-benzoxazin-3(4H)-ones: dual-acting 5-HT1 receptor antagonists and serotonin reuptake inhibitors--part II.

8-[2-(4-Aryl-1-piperazinyl)ethyl]-2H-1,4-benzoxazin-3(4H)-ones have been identified as highly potent 5-HT(1A/B/D) receptor antagonists with and without additional SerT activity and a high degree of selectivity over hERG potassium channels. Modulation of the different target activities gave compounds with a range of profiles suitable for further in vivo characterization.

6-[2-(4-Aryl-1-piperazinyl)ethyl]-2H-1,4-benzoxazin-3(4H)-ones: dual-acting 5-HT1 receptor antagonists and serotonin reuptake inhibitors.

Investigation of a series 6-[2-(4-aryl-1-piperazinyl)ethyl]-2H-1,4-benzoxazin-3(4H)-ones has led to the discovery of potent 5-HT(1A/1B/1D) receptor antagonists with and without additional SerT affinity. Modulation of the different target activities gave compounds with a range of profiles suitable for further in vivo characterization.

SB-699551-A (3-cyclopentyl-N-[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]-N-[(4'-{[(2-phenylethyl)amino]methyl}-4-biphenylyl)methyl]propanamide dihydrochloride), a novel 5-ht5A receptor-selective antagonist, enhances 5-HT neuronal function: Evidence for an autoreceptor role for the 5-ht5A receptor in guinea pig brain.

This study utilised the selective 5-ht(5A) receptor antagonist, SB-699551-A (3-cyclopentyl-N-[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]-N-[(4'-{[(2-phenylethyl)amino]methyl}-4-biphenylyl)methyl]propanamide dihydrochloride), to investigate 5-ht5A receptor function in guinea pig brain. SB-699551-A competitively antagonised 5-HT-stimulated [35S]GTPgammaS binding to membranes from human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells transiently expressing the guinea pig 5-ht5A receptor (pA2 8.1+/-0.1) and displayed 100-fold selectivity versus the serotonin transporter and those 5-HT receptor subtypes (5-HT(1A/B/D), 5-HT2A/C and 5-HT7) reported to modulate central 5-HT neurotransmission in the guinea pig. In guinea pig dorsal raphe slices, SB-699551-A (1 microM) did not alter neuronal firing per se but attenuated the 5-CT-induced depression in serotonergic neuronal firing in a subpopulation of cells insensitive to the 5-HT1A receptor-selective antagonist WAY-100635 (100 nM). In contrast, SB-699551-A (100 or 300 nM) failed to affect both electrically-evoked 5-HT release and 5-CT-induced inhibition of evoked release measured using fast cyclic voltammetry in vitro. SB-699551-A (0.3, 1 and 3 mg/kg s.c.) did not modulate extracellular levels of 5-HT in the guinea pig frontal cortex in vivo. However, when administered in combination with WAY-100635 (0.3 mg/kg s.c.), SB-699551-A (0.3, 1 or 3 mg/kg s.c.) produced a significant increase in extracellular 5-HT levels. These studies provide evidence for an autoreceptor role for the 5-ht5A receptor in guinea pig brain.

SB-649915, a novel, potent 5-HT1A and 5-HT1B autoreceptor antagonist and 5-HT re-uptake inhibitor in native tissue.

An increase in brain 5-HT levels is thought to be the key mechanism of action which results in an antidepressant response. It has been proven that selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors are effective antidepressants but the delay to therapeutic onset of these agents is thought to be due to the time required for 5-HT1A, and possibly 5-HT1B, autoreceptor desensitisation. Therefore an agent incorporating 5-HT re-uptake inhibition coupled with 5-HT1A and/or 5-HT1B autoreceptor antagonism may provide a fast acting clinical agent. The current studies describe the in vitro profile of SB-649915 (6-[(1-{2-[(2-methylquinolin-5-yl)oxy]ethyl}piperidin-4-yl)methyl]-2H-1,4-benzoxazin-3(4H)-one), a novel compound which has high affinity for human recombinant 5-HT1A, 5-HT1B and 5-HT1D receptors (pKi values of 8.6, 8.0, 8.8, respectively) and the human recombinant 5-HT transporter (pKi value of 9.3). SB-649915 also displays high affinity for rat, guinea pig, mouse and marmoset native tissue 5-HT1A, 5-HT1B and 5-HT1D receptors and rat native tissue 5-HT transporters (pKi values>or=7.5). In functional [35S]GTPgammaS binding studies, SB-649915 (up to 1 microM) does not display intrinsic activity in HEK293 cells expressing human recombinant 5-HT1A receptors but acts as a partial agonist at human recombinant 5-HT1B and 5-HT1D receptors with intrinsic activity values of 0.3 and 0.7, respectively, as compared to the full agonist 5-HT. From Schild analysis, SB-649915 caused a concentration-dependent, rightward shift of 5-HT-induced stimulation of basal [35S]GTPgammaS binding in cells expressing human recombinant 5-HT1A or 5-HT1B receptors to yield pA2 values of 9.0 and 7.9, respectively. In electrophysiological studies in rat dorsal raphe nucleus, SB-649915 did not affect the cell firing rate up to 1 microM but attenuated (+)8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino) tetralin-induced inhibition of cell firing with an apparent pKb value of 9.5. SB-649915 (1 microM) significantly attenuated exogenous 5-HT-induced inhibition of electrically-stimulated [3H]5-HT release from guinea pig cortex. In studies designed to enhance endogenous 5-HT levels, and therefore increase tone at 5-HT1B autoreceptors, SB-649915 significantly potentiated [3H]5-HT release at 100 and 1000 nM. In LLCPK cells expressing human recombinant 5-HT transporters and in rat cortical synaptosomes, SB-649915 inhibited [3H]5-HT re-uptake with pIC50 values of 7.9 and 9.7, respectively. In summary, SB-649915 is a novel, potent 5-HT1A/1B autoreceptor antagonist and 5-HT re-uptake inhibitor in native tissue systems and represents a novel mechanism that could offer fast acting antidepressant action.

Stereoselective synthesis and preliminary evaluation of (+)- and (-)-3-methyl-5-carboxy-thien-2-yl-glycine (3-MATIDA): identification of (+)-3-MATIDA as a novel mGluR1 competitive antagonist.

The synthesis of the (+)- and (-)-isomers of 3-methyl-5-carboxy-thyen-2-yl-glycine (3-MATIDA), heterocyle isosters of carboxyphenylglycines (CPGs), a known class of competitive metabotropic glutamate receptors, was accomplished by a stereoselective Ugi condensation. The two isomers were tested as potential rat mGluR1 ligand and the (+) isomer was found to be a moderately potent antagonist, while the (-) one was inactive.

2,4-Dicarboxy-pyrroles as selective non-competitive mGluR1 antagonists: an exploration of the role of the pyrrolic scaffold.

Following the disclosure of 3-(1,2,2-trimethylpropyl) 4-[3,5-dimethyl-2-propyloxycarbonyl]pyrrolecarboxylate as a potent and selective mGluR1 non-competitive antagonist, the role and the importance of the pyrrole template were investigated. Different aromatic moieties were investigated as possible bio-isosteric replacement of the original scaffold and some of them were shown to be partially able to mimic the properties of the original pyrrole ring.

Functional and binding kinetic studies make a distinction between OX1 and OX2 orexin receptor antagonists.

In this work the pharmacology and the receptor kinetics of the following orexin receptor antagonists SB-649868, ACT-078573, JNJ-10397049, MK-6096 and Roche-Cp were evaluated at human OX(1) and OX(2) orexin receptors by using functional and receptor binding assays. Kinetic analysis of the unlabeled ligands was carried out by indirect measurement according to the Motulski and Mahan's method as opposed to the direct measure by using labeled test compounds. All compounds antagonized orexin-A-induced inositol 1 phosphate (IP1) accumulation with the following pK(B) values: SB-649868 (OX(1)=9.67; OX(2)=9.64), ACT-078573 (OX(1)=8.44; OX(2)=9.02), JNJ-10397049 (OX(1)=5.97; OX(2)=8.35), MK-6096 (OX(1)=9.13; OX(2)=9.79) and Roche-Cp (OX(1)=7.18; OX(2)=8.83). They displaced the [(3)H]ACT-078573 receptor binding with the following pK(i) values: SB-649868 (OX(1)=9.27; OX(2)=8.91), ACT-078573 (OX(1)=7.80; OX(2)=9.12), JNJ-10397049 (OX(1)=5.18; OX(2)=8.10), MK-6096 (OX(1)=8.39; OX(2)=8.90) and Roche-Cp (OX(1)=6.65; OX(2)=8.54). From dissociation kinetic studies using [(3)H]ACT-078573, the calculated long half-life, (t(½)) supported the non-surmountability profile of SB-649868 (t(½)=35.91min) at OX(1) orexin receptor. Similarly, the long or moderately long t(½) values for ACT-078573 at OX(2) orexin receptor (t(½)=69.71min), MK-6096 (t(½)=17.70min), SB-649868 (t(½)=8.09min) and Roche-Cp (t(½)=5.79min) sustained their non-surmountable profile. JNJ-10397049 showed short t(½) values at both receptor subtypes (OX(1)t(½)=0.19min; OX(2)t(½)=0.60min) with surmountable antagonism.

From pyrroles to pyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazinones: a new class of mGluR1 antagonists.

Exploiting the SAR of the known pyrrole derivatives, a new class of mGluR1 antagonists was developed through a cyclization of the C-2 position on the pyrrole N-1 nitrogen. The resulting pyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazinones are potent and noncompetitive antagonists.

Evidence that the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 antagonist MPEP may act as an inhibitor of the norepinephrine transporter in vitro and in vivo.

The mechanisms through which blockade of metabotropic glutamate receptors 5 (mGluR5) results in anxiolytic and antidepressant effects are currently unknown. In the present study, we therefore hypothesized that the anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like profile of the noncompetitive mGluR5 receptor antagonist 2-ethyl-6-(phenylethynyl)-pyridine (MPEP) may be mediated by inhibition of the norepinephrine transporter (NET). Accordingly, we first examined the potency of MPEP to bind to or inhibit uptake at the NET as well as the dopamine and serotonin transporters (DAT and SERT, respectively). We also examined the simultaneous in vivo effects of MPEP and desipramine (DMI) on both NE-like oxidation current in the amygdala (AMY) and cell firing in the locus coeruleus (LC) by means of differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) coupled with electrophysiology. MPEP completely displaced the binding of [3H]-nisoxetine on human NET with a pKi of 6.63 +/- 0.02. In addition, MPEP was able to inhibit [3H]-NE uptake in LLCPK cells expressing human NET, with a pIC50 of 5.55 +/- 0.09. In vivo DPV data revealed that both MPEP (30 mg/kg i.p.) and DMI (10 mg/kg i.p.) significantly increased NE-like voltammetric responses levels in the AMY, whereas both compounds also significantly decreased cell firing monitored concomitantly from the second microelectrode in the LC. Collectively, the results of the present study provide potential new mechanisms through which MPEP exerts its anxiolytic and antidepressant effects.

2,4-Dicarboxy-pyrroles as selective non-competitive mGluR1 antagonists: further characterization of 3,5-dimethyl pyrrole-2,4-dicarboxylic acid 2-propyl ester 4-(1,2,2-trimethyl-propyl) ester and structure-activity relationships.

Following the disclosure of 3,5-dimethyl pyrrole-2,4-dicarboxylic acid 2-propyl ester 4-(1,2,2-trimethyl-propyl) ester [3,5-dimethyl PPP] as a potent and selective mGluR1 non-competitive antagonist, we report here further in vivo characterization of this important tool and disclose the investigation of the C-5 position, which led to very potent compounds.