New potent alpha-glucohydrolase inhibitor MDL 73945 with long duration of action in rats.

Inhibition of intestinal alpha-glucohydrolase activity is one approach for reducing the glycemic response from dietary carbohydrate and may prove useful for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. In this article, we describe the pharmacological properties of a time-dependent intestinal alpha-glucohydrolase inhibitor, MDL 73945. When preincubated 2 h with a rat intestinal mucosa preparation before substrate addition, MDL 73945 was a potent inhibitor of sucrase, maltase, glucoamylase, and isomaltase activities (MDL 73945 concentrations required to cause a 50% decrease in enzyme activity, 2 x 10(-7), 1 x 10(-6), 5 x 10(-6), and 8 x 10(-6) M, respectively); without preincubation, it was 10- to 500-fold less potent. In rats, a single oral dose of MDL 73945 administered simultaneously with 2 g/kg body wt sucrose resulted in a dose-dependent reduction in the area under the 0- to 3-h glycemic response curve, which was significant at 1 (45% reduction) and 3 (65% reduction) mg/kg. When administered 1 h before sucrose, the compound was more potent, with 0.3 mg/kg MDL 73945 significantly reducing the glycemic response to sucrose by 62%. A reduction in the glycemic response to sucrose was accompanied by reduced insulin secretion. MDL 73945 was slightly less effective against a starch load, with 3 and 10 mg/kg MDL 73945 administered 0.5 h before starch reducing the glycemic response by 39 and 52%, respectively. MDL 73945 was more effective against a sucrose load in streptozocin-administered rats than in control rats and was as effective after 16 daily doses as after a single dose.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

2-(4-Amino-4-carboxybutyl)aziridine-2-carboxylic acid. A potent irreversible inhibitor of diaminopimelic acid epimerase. Spontaneous formation from alpha-(halomethyl)diaminopimelic acids.

2-(4-Amino-4-carboxybutyl)aziridine-2-carboxylic acid (3) (aziridino-DAP) was identified as the product of spontaneous hydrolysis of alpha-(halomethyl)diaminopimelic acids (alpha-halomethyl-DAPs) 2a-c. Under physiological conditions, 3 is an extremely potent irreversible inhibitor of the bacterial enzyme diaminopimelic acid epimerase (DAP-epimerase; EC 5.1.1.7). This unusual mode of action of an alpha-halomethyl amino acid with a non-pyridoxal enzyme is investigated. Synthesis and characterization of 2a-c and 3, kinetics of spontaneous formation of 3 from alpha-halomethyl-DAPs, and kinetics of enzyme inhibition by both 3 and by alpha-halomethyl-DAPs are reported.

Monoaryl- and bisaryldihydroxytropolones as potent inhibitors of inositol monophosphatase.

The first successful preparation of mono- and disubstituted 3,7-dihydroxytropolone involves a four-step synthetic scheme. Thus, bromination of 3,7-dihydroxytropolone (8) followed by permethylation of the resultant products furnished gram quantities of intermediates 13-18. Single or double Suzuki coupling reactions between these permethylated monobromo- and dibromodihydroxytropolone derivatives and a variety of boronic acids delivered the expected products whose deprotection yielded the desired compounds 1a-u and 26a-n, usually in fair to good yields. Tropolones 1 and 26 were found to be potent inhibitors of inositol monophosphatase with IC50 values in the low-micromolar range. The results are discussed in the context of the recently described novel mode of inhibition of the enzyme by 3,7-dihydroxytropolones.

Synthesis of 5- and 6-fluoro derivatives of 5,8,14-eicosatrienoic and 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraenoic acids. Effects of fluorinated arachidonic acids on leukotriene C4 production by macrophages.

The total syntheses of the 5- and 6-fluoro derivatives of 5,8,14-eicosatrienoic (ETA) and arachidonic (AA) acids are described. The fluorinated double bond was introduced using (E)-1,4-dihydroxy-2-fluoro-2-butene obtained through diisobutylaluminium hydride reduction of dimethylfluoromaleate. Recently, 5-fluoro and 6-fluoro arachidonic acids (5-F-AA and 6-F-AA) were found to be effective inhibitors of 5-lipoxygenase in vitro (Nave, J. F.; Jacobi, D.; Gaget, C.; Dulery, B.; Ducep, J. B., Biochem. J. 1991, 278, 549). The effect of these compounds on leukotriene C4 (LTC4) production by intact cells was investigated. Mouse peritoneal macrophages were cultured in the presence of 5-F-AA or 6-F-AA under conditions where AA was found to be efficiently incorporated into cellular phospholipids. Following stimulation with zymosan, macrophages treated with 20 microM 6-F-AA released 30 to 35% less LTC4 than control cells. In contrast, macrophages treated with 20 microM 5-F-AA released 1.5 to 1.8 times more LTC4 than control cells. In competition experiments with [14C]-AA, 5-F-AA modified the distribution profile of [14C]-AA within the various classes of lipids in a way similar to AA. 6-F-AA had a distinct behaviour, producing a more important incorporation of [14C]-AA into the neutral lipid fraction at the expense of the phospholipid fraction than AA and 5-F-AA. 6-F-AA is expected to be an important tool in further studies of the arachidonic acid pathway in vivo.

Purification and properties of myo-inositol-1-phosphatase from bovine brain.

myo-Inositol-1-phosphatase from bovine brain was purified over 2000-fold. The native enzyme has a Mr of 59,000, and on SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis the subunit Mr was 31,000. Thus the native enzyme is a dimer of two apparently identical subunits. The enzyme, purified to a specific activity of more than 300 units/mg of protein (1 unit of enzyme activity corresponds to the release of 1 mumol of Pi/h at 37 degrees C), catalysed the hydrolysis of a variety of phosphorylated compounds, the best one, in terms of V/Km, being D-myo-inositol 1-phosphate. Kinetic constants of compounds tested, including both isomers of glycerophosphate and two deoxy forms of beta-glycerophosphate, were measured. They show the importance of the two hydroxyl groups which are adjacent to the phosphate in myo-inositol 1-phosphate. With a wide variety of substrates Li+ was found to be an uncompetitive inhibitor whose Ki varied with substrate structure.

Evaluation of 5- and 6-fluoro derivatives of arachidonic acid and 5,8,14-eicosatrienoic acid as substrates and inhibitors of 5-lipoxygenase.

The 5- and 6-fluoro derivatives of arachidonic acid (5F-ETE and 6F-ETE) were evaluated as substrates of rat basophilic leukaemia cell (RBL-1) 5-lipoxygenase. 5F-ETE was found to be a poor substrate and was converted into a single product, 5-oxoeicosa-6,8,11,14-tetraenoic acid (5-oxo-ETE). 6F-ETE was a good substrate and was mainly converted into 5-hydroperoxy-6-fluoroeicosa-6,8,11,14-tetraenoic acid (5-OOH-6F-ETE) with concomitant formation of a small amount of 5-oxo-6-fluoroeicosa-6,8,11,14-tetraenoic acid (5-oxo-6F-ETE). However the formation of 5,12-dihydroxy-6-fluoroeicosa-6,8,10,14-tetraenoic acids, epimeric at C-12, was not observed. Eicosa-5(Z),8(Z),14(Z)-trienoic acid (ET), previously described as a good substrate of 5-lipoxygenase, is oxidized mainly to 5-hydroperoxyeicosa-6,8,14-trienoic acid (5-OOH-ET), which does not serve as a substrate for the leukotriene A4 (LTA4) synthase activity of 5-lipoxygenase [Navé, Dulery, Gaget & Ducep (1988) Prostaglandins 36, 385-398]. To allow a better estimation of the effect of fluorine substitution on the rate of oxidation of the 5,8-cis,cis-diene moiety by 5-lipoxygenase, the 5- and 6-fluoro derivatives of ET were studied as substrates. Qualitatively, the metabolism of 5F-ET and 6F-ET was found to be similar to that observed for 5F-ETE and 6F-ETE. Quantitatively, 6F-ET proved to be a somewhat better substrate than ET, whereas 5F-ET was poorly metabolized. The relative ability of arachidonic acid, ET and the corresponding 5- and 6-fluoro derivatives to inhibit the 5-lipoxygenase-catalysed oxidation of eicosa-5(Z),8(Z)-dienoic acid (ED) was also investigated. 6F-ETE and 5F-ETE were found to be effective and about equipotent inhibitors of 5-lipoxygenase in the micromolar range. In view of their close structural similarity to arachidonic acid, these two inhibitors are expected to be important tools in the study of the 5-lipoxygenase pathway in vivo.

Mechanism of the inhibition of cholesterol biosynthesis by 6-fluoromevalonate.

6-Fluoromevalonate blocks the incorporation of mevalonic acid, but not that of isopentenyl pyrophosphate, into non-saponifiable lipids in a rat liver multienzyme system. With 3H-labelled 6-fluoromevalonate, it was found that 6-fluoromevalonate is converted to its phospho and pyrophospho derivatives in this system. The kinetics of the two kinases were studied. 6-Fluoromevalonate 5-pyrophosphate is a potent competitive inhibitor of pyrophosphomevalonate decarboxylase (Ki 37 nM). In the multienzyme assay for cholesterol biosynthesis, there is accumulation of mevalonate 5-phosphate and mevalonate 5-pyrophosphate in the presence of 5 microM-6-fluoromevalonate, and 6-fluoromevalonate 5-pyrophosphate is more effective than 6-fluoromevalonate in inhibiting cholesterol biosynthesis. We suggest therefore that 6-fluoromevalonate blocks cholesterol biosynthesis at the level of pyrophosphomevalonate decarboxylase after being pyrophosphorylated.

[Preparation and experimental antitumor activity of a new semi-synthetic antibiotic: 14-diethoxyacetoxy daunorubicin (R.P. 33 921)]. / Préparation et activité antitumorale expérimentale d'un nouvel antibiotique semi-synthétique : la diéthoxyacétoxy-14 daunorubicine (33 921 R.P,).

14-diethoxyacetoxy daunorubicin (R.P. 33 921) was chosen among a series of new daunorubicin analogues. Its preparation from daunorubicin and its biological activities are described. It displays an antitumoral activity in mice with a better chemotherapeutic index than daunorubicin and doxorubicin.

Use of simplified substrates for the study of 5-lipoxygenase from RBL-1 cells.

5,8,14-eicosatrienoic (5,8,14-ETA) and 5,8-eicosadienoic (5,8-EDA) acids are converted by the 5-lipoxygenase from RBL-1 cells into 5-hydroperoxy-6,8,14-eicosatrienoic (5-OOH-ETA) and 5-hydroperoxy-6,8-eicosadienoic (5-OOH-EDA) acids, respectively. These hydroperoxy fatty acids, unlike 5-hydroperoxy-6,8,11,14-eicosatetraenoic acid (5-HPETE), are not further processed into leukotrienes by the leukotriene A4 synthase activity of 5-lipoxygenase. 5,8,14-ETA was used to establish the saturation kinetics of 5-lipoxygenase in the 100,000g supernatant from RBL-1 cells. The study was performed by measuring the rate of product formation at optimal concentrations of the cofactors, calcium and ATP. Kinetics performed at various concentrations of supernatant did not follow the Michaelis-Menten equation. This aspect is discussed in relation to the presence of hydroperoxide-reducing system(s) in the supernatant. 5,8,14-ETA and 5,8-EDA turnover rates were also compared.