Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) inhibitor, Z-590 suppresses cartilage destruction in adjuvant-induced arthritis via inhibition of macrophage inflammatory activation.

BACKGROUND: Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a pleiotropic pro-inflammatory mediator that is involved in the progression of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Previously, we demonstrated a small molecule compound 3-[(biphenyl-4-ylcarbonyl) carbamothioyl] amino benzoic acid (Z-590) could inhibit MIF activity with docking-based virtual screening and experimental evaluation. METHODS: The LPS activated RAW264.7 macrophage cells were used to determine the anti-inflammatory effects of Z-590 in vitro. A rat adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) model was used to determine the anti-arthritic effects of Z-590 in vivo. RESULTS: MIF inhibitor Z-590 significantly inhibited the production of NO, TNF-α and IL-6 in LPS-activated RAW 264.7 macrophage cells and markedly inhibited LPS-induced expression of TNF-α, IL-6, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). Z-590 also significantly reduced paw edema, serum level of TNF-α, IL-6 and spleen index in the adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) rat model. Furthermore, Z-590 markedly ameliorated joint inflammation and articular cartilage damage in AIA rat model. CONCLUSION: MIF inhibitor Z-590 possesses potent anti-arthritic activity through suppression of macrophage activation, and could be a potential therapeutic treatment for RA.

Discovery of Novel and Selective Adenosine A2A Receptor Antagonists for Treating Parkinson's Disease through Comparative Structure-Based Virtual Screening.

Among non-dopaminergic strategies for combating Parkinson's disease (PD), antagonism of the A2A adenosine receptor (AR) has emerged to show great potential. In this study, on the basis of two crystal structures of the A2A AR with the best capability to distinguish known antagonists from decoys, docking-based virtual screening (VS) was conducted to identify novel A2A AR antagonists. A total of 63 structurally diverse compounds identified by VS were submitted to experimental testing, and 11 of them exhibited substantial activity against the A2A AR (Ki < 10 µM), including two compounds with Ki below 1 µM (compound 43, 0.42 µM; compound 51, 0.27 µM) and good A2A/A1 selectivity (fold < 0.1). Compounds 43 and 51 demonstrated antagonistic activity according to the results of cAMP measurements (cAMP IC50 = 1.67 and 1.80 µM, respectively) and showed good efficacy in the haloperidol-induced catalepsy (HIC) rat model for PD at doses of up to 30 mg/kg. Further lead optimization based on a substructure searching strategy led to the discovery of compound 84 as an excellent A2A AR antagonist (A2A Ki = 54 nM, A2A/A1 fold < 0.1, cAMP IC50 = 0.3 µM) that exhibited significant improvement in anti-PD efficacy in the HIC rat model.

Allosteric modulation of sigma-1 receptors by SKF83959 inhibits microglia-mediated inflammation.

Recent studies have shown that sigma-1 receptor orthodox agonists can inhibit neuroinflammation. SKF83959 (3-methyl-6-chloro-7,8-hydroxy-1-[3-methylphenyl]-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-3-benzazepine), an atypical dopamine receptor-1 agonist, has been recently identified as a potent allosteric modulator of sigma-1 receptor. Here, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of SKF83959 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BV2 microglia. Our results indicated that SKF83959 significantly suppressed the expression/release of the pro-inflammatory mediators, such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and inhibited the generation of reactive oxygen species. All of these responses were blocked by selective sigma-1 receptor antagonists (BD1047 or BD1063) and by ketoconazole (an inhibitor of enzyme cytochrome c17 to inhibit the synthesis of endogenous dehydroepiandrosterone, DHEA). Additionally, we found that SKF83959 promoted the binding activity of DHEA with sigma-1 receptors, and enhanced the inhibitory effects of DHEA on LPS-induced microglia activation in a synergic manner. Furthermore, in a microglia-conditioned media system, SKF83959 inhibited the cytotoxicity of conditioned medium generated by LPS-activated microglia toward HT-22 neuroblastoma cells. Taken together, our study provides the first evidence that allosteric modulation of sigma-1 receptors by SKF83959 inhibits microglia-mediated inflammation. SKF83959 is a potent allosteric modulator of sigma-1 receptor. Our results indicated that SKF83959 enhanced the activity of endogenous dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in a synergic manner, and inhibited the activation of BV2 microglia and the expression/release of the pro-inflammatory mediators, such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS).

Higher-Affinity Agonists of 5-HT1AR Discovered through Tuning the Binding-Site Flexibility.

Discovery of high-affinity and high-selectivity agonists of 5-HT1AR has become very attractive due to their potential therapeutic effects on multiple 5-HT1AR-related psychological and neurological problems. On the basis of our previously designed lead compound FW01 (Ki = 51.9 nM, denoted as 9a in the present study), we performed large-scale molecular dynamics simulations and molecular docking operations on 5-HT1AR-9a binding. We found the flip-packing events for the headgroup of 9a, and we also found that its tail group could bind flexibly at the agonist-binding site of 5-HT1AR. By finely tuning the flip-packing phenomenon of the 9a headgroup and tuning the binding flexibility of 9a tail group, we virtually designed a series of new 9a derivatives through molecular docking operations and first-principles calculations and predicted that these newly designed 9a derivatives should be higher-affinity agonists of 5-HT1AR. The computational predictions on the new 9a derivatives have been confirmed by our wet-experimental studies as chemical synthesis, binding affinity assays, and agonistic-function assays. The consistency between our computational design and wet-experimental measurements has led to our discovery of higher-affinity agonists of 5-HT1AR, with ∼50-fold increase in receptor-binding affinity and ∼25-fold improvements in agonistic function. In addition, our newly designed 5-HT1AR agonists showed very high selectivity of 5-HT1AR over subtype 5-HT2AR and also over three subtypes of dopamine receptors (D1, D2, and D3).

Identification of a New Series of Potent Adenosine A2A Receptor Antagonists Based on 4-Amino-5-carbonitrile Pyrimidine Template for the Treatment of Parkinson's Disease.

Adenosine receptor A2A antagonists have emerged as potential treatment for Parkinson's disease in the past decade. We have recently reported a series of adenosine receptor antagonists using heterocycles as bioisosteres for a potentially unstable acetamide. These compounds, while showing excellent potency and ligand efficiency, suffered from moderate cytochrome P450 inhibition and high clearance. Here we report a new series of adenosine receptor A2A antagonists based on a 4-amino-5-carbonitrile pyrimidine template. Compounds from this new template exhibit excellent potency and ligand efficiency with low cytochrome P450 inhibition. Although the clearance remains moderate to high, the leading compound, when dosed orally as low as 3 mg/kg, demonstrated excellent efficacy in the haloperidol induced catalepsy rat model for Parkinson's disease.

Optimization of 6-heterocyclic-2-(1H-pyrazol-1-yl)-N-(pyridin-2-yl)pyrimidin-4-amine as potent adenosine A2A receptor antagonists for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the motor symptoms of bradykinesia, tremor, and rigidity. Current therapies are based mainly on dopaminergic replacement strategies by administration of either dopamine agonists or dopamine precursor levodopa (L-Dopa). These treatments provide symptomatic relief without slowing or stopping the disease progression, and long-term usage of these drugs is associated with diminished efficacy, motor fluctuation, and dyskinisia. Unfortunately, there had been few novel treatments developed in the past decades. Among nondopaminergic strategies for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, antagonism of the adenosine A2A receptor has emerged to show great potential. Here we report the optimization of a new chemical scaffold, which achieved exceptional receptor binding affinity and ligand efficiency against adenosine A2A receptor. The leading compounds demonstrated excellent efficacy in the haloperidol induced catalepsy model for Parkinson's disease.