Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of AT1 angiotensin II receptor antagonists based on the pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridine and related heteroaromatic bicyclic systems.

Novel AT 1 receptor antagonists bearing the pyrazolo[3,4- b]pyridine bicyclic heteroaromatic system (or structurally related moieties) were designed and synthesized as the final step of a large program devoted to the development of new antihypertensive agents and to the understanding of the molecular basis of their pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties. The preliminary pharmacological characterization revealed nanomolar AT 1 receptor affinity for several compounds of the series and a potent antagonistic activity in isolated rabbit aortic strip functional assay for 7c and 8a. These results stimulated the study of the biopharmaceutical properties of some selected compounds, which were found to be characterized by a permeability from medium to high. Remarkably, the least permeable 7c showed both permeability and oral bioavailability (80%) higher than losartan, but its terminal half-life was shorter. These results suggest that the permeability is not a limiting factor in the pharmacokinetics of these AT 1 receptor antagonists.

Enantioselective recognition of 2,3-benzodiazepin-4-one derivatives with anticonvulsant activity on several polysaccharide chiral stationary phases.

The retention behaviour of racemic 1-(4-aminophenyl)-1,2,3,5-tetrahydro-7,8-methylendioxy-4H-2,3-benzodiazepin-4-one derivatives with anticonvulsant activity on several chiral stationary phases was investigated. The selective performances of six polysaccharide phases, namely, Chiralcel OA, OD, OF, OG, OJ and Chiralpak AD were studied and normal phase HPLC methods were optimized to separate the enantiomeric forms of this class of compounds. The chiral recognition mechanism between the analytes and the chiral selectors was discussed. A molecular modeling study was carried out with the aim to explore the enantioselective molecular recognition process with the Chiralcel OG stationary phase.

Further studies on the interaction of the 5-hydroxytryptamine3 (5-HT3) receptor with arylpiperazine ligands. development of a new 5-HT3 receptor ligand showing potent acetylcholinesterase inhibitory properties.

Novel arylpiperazine derivatives bearing lipophilic probes were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their potential ability to interact with the 5-hydroxytryptamine(3) (5-HT(3)) receptor. Most of the new compounds show subnanomolar 5-HT(3) receptor affinity. Ester 6bc showing a picomolar K(i) value is one of the most potent 5-HT(3) receptor ligands so far synthesized. The structure-affinity relationship study suggests the existence of a certain degree of conformational freedom of the amino acid residues interacting with the substituents in positions 3 and 4 of the quipazine quinoline nucleus. Thus, the tacrine-related heterobivalent ligand 6o was designed in an attempt to capitalize on the evidence of such a steric tolerance. Compound 6o shows a nanomolar potency for both the 5-HT(3) receptor and the human AChE and represents the first example of a rationally designed high-affinity 5-HT(3) receptor ligand showing nanomolar AChE inhibitory activity. Finally, the computational analysis performed on compound 6o allowed the rationalization of the structure-energy determinants for AChE versus BuChE selectivity and revealed the existence of a subsite at the boundary of the 5-HT(3) receptor extracellular domain, which could represent a "peripheral" site similar to that evidenced in the AChE gorge.

A non-peptide NK1 receptor agonist showing subpicomolar affinity.

3-Quinolinecarboxamides have been synthesized and evaluated for their binding to the human NK(1) receptor. Several secondary amide derivatives show NK(1) receptor affinity in the picomolar range. The most active compound, hydroxymethylcarboxamide 3h showing an IC(50) value in the subpicomolar range, behaved as an agonist of NK(1) receptor in endothelial cell proliferation, inositol phosphate turnover, and NO-mediated cyclic GMP accumulation, thus proving it to be the first non-peptide NK(1) receptor agonist showing very high potency.

Synthesis, biological evaluation, and receptor docking simulations of 2-[(acylamino)ethyl]-1,4-benzodiazepines as kappa-opioid receptor agonists endowed with antinociceptive and antiamnesic activity.

The synthesis and biological evaluation of a series of new derivatives of 2-substituted 5-phenyl-1,4-benzodiazepines, structurally related to tifluadom (5), are reported. Chemical and pharmacological studies on compounds 6 have been pursued with the aim of expanding the SAR data and validating the previously proposed model of interaction of this class of compounds with the kappa-opioid receptor. The synthesis of the previously described compounds 6 has been reinvestigated in order to obtain a more direct synthetic procedure. To study the relationship between the stereochemistry and the receptor binding affinity, compounds 6e and 6k were selected on the basis of their evident structural resemblance to tifluadom. Since a different specificity of action could be expected for the enantiomers of 6e and 6k, owing to the results shown by (S)- and (R)-tifluadom, their racemic mixtures have been resolved by means of liquid chromatography with chiral stationary phases (CSP), and the absolute configuration of the enantiomers has been studied by circular dichroism (CD) and (1)H NMR techniques. Moreover, some new 2-[(acylamino)ethyl]-1,4-benzodiazepine derivatives, 6a-d,f,g,j, have been synthesized, while the whole series (6a-o) has been tested for its potential affinity toward human cloned kappa-opioid receptor. The most impressive result obtained from the binding studies lies in the fact that this series of 2-[2-(acylamino)ethyl]-1,4-benzodiazepine derivatives binds the human cloned kappa-opioid receptor subtype very tightly. Indeed, almost all the ligands within this class show subnanomolar K(i) values, and the least potent compound 6o shows, in any case, an affinity in the nanomolar range. A comparison of the affinities obtained in human cloned kappa-receptor with the correspondent one obtained in native guinea pig kappa-receptor suggests that the human cloned kappa-receptor is less effective in discriminating the substitution pattern than the native guinea pig kappa-receptor. Furthermore, the results obtained are discussed with respect to the interaction with the homology model of the human kappa-opioid receptor, built on the recently solved crystal structure of rhodopsin. Finally, the potential antinociceptive and antiamnesic properties of compounds 6e and 6i have been investigated by means of the hot-plate and passive avoidance test in mice, respectively.

Structure-activity relationships in carboxamide derivatives based on the targeted delivery of radionuclides and boron atoms by means of peripheral benzodiazepine receptor ligands.

The structure-activity relationship studies on 2-quinolinecarboxamide peripheral benzodiazepine receptor (PBR) ligands have been refined with the aim of using these ligands as carriers of radionuclides and boron atoms. Some new ligands show enhanced affinity and steroidogenic activity with respect to reference compound 1 and are interesting candidates for radiolabeling and PET studies. Moreover, carborane derivative 3q, representing the first example of PBR ligand bearing a carborane cage, can be useful to explore an alternative mechanism in BNCT.

Design, synthesis, structural studies, biological evaluation, and computational simulations of novel potent AT(1) angiotensin II receptor antagonists based on the 4-phenylquinoline structure.

Novel AT(1) receptor antagonists bearing substituted 4-phenylquinoline moieties instead of the classical biphenyl fragment were designed and synthesized as the first step of an investigation devoted to the development of new antihypertensive agents and to the understanding of the molecular basis of their pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties. The newly synthesized compounds were tested for their potential ability to displace [(125)I]Sar(1),Ile(8)-Ang II specifically bound to AT(1) receptor in rat hepatic membranes. These AT(1) receptor binding studies revealed nanomolar affinity in several of the compounds under study. The most potent ligands 4b,t were found to be equipotent with losartan and possessed either a 3-tetrazolylquinoline or a 2-amino-3-quinolinecarboxylic moiety, respectively. Moreover, some selected compounds were evaluated for antagonism of Ang II-induced contraction in rabbit aortic strips, and the most potent compounds in the binding test 4b,t were slightly more potent than losartan in inhibiting Ang II-induced contraction. Finally, the most relevant structure-affinity relationship data were rationalized by means of computational studies performed on the isolated ligands as well as by computational simulations on the ligands complexed with a theoretical AT(1) receptor model.

Conformational search of antisense nucleotides. Part 2.

In this study is presented the phosphorotioate nucleotide compound (1) possessing an unusual moiety with a chiral P and a Se atoms double bonded. It required a force field parameterization for carrying out standard molecular mechanics calculations. A new set of MMFF parameters was developed and applied for the complete conformational search of the diastereoisomers, using both Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics, with the purpose to validate them by the comparison between calculated structural properties and NMR measurements.

Bivalent Ligands for the Serotonin 5-HT3 Receptor.

The serotonin 5-HT3 receptor is a ligand-gated ion channel, which by virtue of its pentameric architecture, can be considered to be an intriguing example of intrinsically multivalent biological receptors. This paper describes a general design approach to the study of multivalency in this multimeric ion channel. Bivalent ligands for 5-HT3 receptor have been designed by linking an arylpiperazine moiety to probes showing different functional features. Both homobivalent and heterobivalent ligands have shown 5-HT3 receptor affinity in the nanomolar range, providing evidence for the viability of our design approach. Moreover, the high affinity shown by homobivalent ligands suggests that bivalency is a promising approach in 5-HT3 receptor modulation and provides the rational basis for applying the concepts of multivalency to the study of 5-HT3 receptor function.

Enantioselective chromatography and absolute configuration of N,N-dimethyl-3-(naphthalen-2-yl)-butan-1-amines: potential sigma1 ligands.

We describe the preparation of racemic N,N-dimethyl-3-(naphthalen-2-yl)-butan-1-amines, potential sigma1 ligands, and their resolution via chiral HPLC. In order to obtain enantiopure compounds, direct chromatographic methods of separation using chiral stationary phases were investigated. Different methods suitable for both analytical and semipreparative purposes are proposed. The best resolutions were achieved using cellulose tris (3,5-dimethylphenyl carbamate) (Chiralcel OD and OD-H) and amylose tris (3,5-dimethylphenyl carbamate) (Chiralpak AD). On the basis of the preliminary chromatographic results, the resolution of compound 1 was transferred onto a Chiralcel OD semipreparative column. The enantiomers were obtained in high enantiomeric excess. The configurational assignment was performed by circular dichroism. Computational analysis was used to explore the enantioselective recognition process of compound 1 with the Chiralcel OD stationary phase.

Chiral arylpyrrolidinols: preparation and biological profile.

The preparation and biological evaluation of a new class of arylpyrrolidinols is reported. The antinociceptive activity was evaluated in vivo with the hot plate test (HPT) and formalin test (FT), excluding any involvement on motor coordination with the rota-rod test (RRT). The nociceptive behavior in the late phase of FT (representative of chronic pain) suggests an involvement of the antiinflammatory process and it is clearly influenced by the stereochemical features, being the eutomer of phenylpyrrolidinols, the (2R,3S) enantiomer. Despite this, a specific mechanism of action is not yet clarified.

Structure-affinity relationship studies on arylpiperazine derivatives related to quipazine as serotonin transporter ligands. Molecular basis of the selectivity SERT/5HT3 receptor.

A series of quipazine derivatives, previously synthesized to probe the 5-HT(3) receptor, was evaluated for its potential interaction with serotonin transporter (SERT). Some of them show nanomolar affinity for the rodent SERT comparable to or slightly higher than quipazine or N-methylquipazine. Subsequently a candidate was selected on the basis of its SERT affinity and submitted to a molecular manipulation of the basic moiety. The structure-affinity relationships obtained provided information on the role of the fused benzene ring of quipazine in the interaction with the SERT binding site and on the stereoelectronic requirements for the interaction of both the heteroaromatic component and the basic moiety. Moreover, the comparison of the structure-affinity relationships obtained in the present work with those concerning the interaction of these heteroarylpiperazine derivatives with 5-HT3 receptor suggested some molecular determinants of the selectivity SERT/5HT3 receptor.

Novel potent 5-HT(3) receptor ligands based on the pyrrolidone structure. Effects of the quaternization of the basic nitrogen on the interaction with 5-HT(3) receptor.

The results of a comprehensive structure-affinity relationship study on the effect of the quaternization (i.e., N-methylation) of structurally different ligands in the classes of tropane and quinuclidine derivatives are described. This study shows that the effects of the quaternization of the basic nitrogen of these 5-HT(3) receptor ligands appear to be strictly structure-dependent suggesting that different binding modes are operative at 5-HT(3) receptor binding site. The different effect of the quaternization of the basic nitrogen of structurally different ligands were rationalized in terms of the interaction with the receptor by means of the combined use of experimental techniques (X-ray diffraction and NMR studies) and computational simulation studies.