Disrupting VEGF-VEGFR1 Interaction: De Novo Designed Linear Helical Peptides to Mimic the VEGF13-25 Fragment.

The interaction between vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors (VEGFR) has important implications in angiogenesis and cancer, which moved us to search for peptide derivatives able to block this protein-protein interaction. In a previous work we had described a collection of linear 13-mer peptides specially designed to adopt helical conformations (Ac-SSEEX5ARNX8AAX12N-NH2), as well as the evaluation of seven library components for the inhibition of the interaction of VEGF with its Receptor 1 (VEGFR1). This study led to the discovery of some new, quite potent inhibitors of this protein-protein system. The results we found prompted us to extend the study to other peptides of the library. We describe here the evaluation of a new selection of peptides from the initial library that allow us to identify new VEGF-VEGFR1 inhibitors. Among them, the peptide sequence containing F, W, and I residues at the 5, 9, and 12 positions, show a very significant nanomolar IC50 value, competing with VEGF for its receptor 1, VEGFR1 (Flt-1), which could represent a new tool within the therapeutic arsenal for cancer detection and therapy.

Amino acid and peptide prodrugs of diphenylpropanones positive allosteric modulators of α7 nicotinic receptors with analgesic activity.

α7 Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are ion channels implicated in a number of CNS pathological processes, including pain and psychiatric, cognitive and inflammatory diseases. Comparing with orthosteric agonism, positive allosteric modulation of these channels constitutes an interesting approach to achieve selectivity versus other nicotinic receptors. We have recently described new chalcones and 1,3-diphenylpropanones as positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) of α7 nAChRs, which proved to have good analgesic activities but poor pharmacokinetic properties. Here we report the preparation of amino acid and peptide derivatives as prodrugs of these modulators with the aim of improving their in vivo biological activity. While the valine derivative showed very short half life in aqueous solutions to be considered a prodrug, Val-Val and Val-Pro-Val are suitable precursors of the parent 1,3-diphenylpropanones, via chemical and enzymatic transformation, respectively. Compounds 19 (Val-Val) and 21 (Val-Pro-Val), prodrugs of the 2',5',4-trihydroxy-1,3-diphenylpropan-1-one 3, showed significant antinociceptive activity in in vivo assays. The best compound, 21, displayed a better profile in the analgesia test than its parent compound 3, exhibiting about the same potency but long-lasting effects.

Synthesis, high-throughput screening and pharmacological characterization of ß-lactam derivatives as TRPM8 antagonists.

The mammalian transient receptor potential melastatin channel 8 (TRPM8), highly expressed in trigeminal and dorsal root ganglia, mediates the cooling sensation and plays an important role in the cold hypersensitivity characteristic of some types of neuropathic pain, as well as in cancer. Consequently, the identification of selective and potent ligands for TRPM8 is of great interest. Here, a series of compounds, having a ß-lactam central scaffold, were prepared to explore the pharmacophore requirements for TRPM8 modulation. Structure-activity studies indicate that the minimal requirements for potent ß-lactam-based TRPM8 blockers are hydrophobic groups (benzyl preferentially or t Bu) on R1, R2, R3 and R5 and a short N-alkyl chain (≤3 carbons). The best compounds in the focused library (41 and 45) showed IC50 values of 46 nM and 83 nM, respectively, in electrophysiology assays. These compounds selectively blocked all modalities of TRPM8 activation, i.e. menthol, voltage, and temperature. Molecular modelling studies using a homology model of TRPM8 identified two putative binding sites, involving networks of hydrophobic interactions, and suggesting a negative allosteric modulation through the stabilization of the closed state. Thus, these ß-lactams provide a novel pharmacophore scaffold to evolve TRPM8 allosteric modulators to treat TRPM8 channel dysfunction.

1,3-diphenylpropan-1-ones as allosteric modulators of α7 nACh receptors with analgesic and antioxidant properties.

UNLABELLED: Nicotine acethylcholine receptors (nAChRs) play critical roles in cognitive processes, neuroprotection and inflammation. RESULTS: According to their substituents, 1,3-diphenylpropan-1-one derivatives act as α7 nAChRs negative allosteric modulators (NAM, OMe) or Type I positive allosteric modulators (PAMs, OH). Compounds 7 and 31 were the most effective (989 and 666% enhancement of ACh-induced currents) and potent (EC50: 12.9 and 6.85 µM) PAMs. They exhibited strong radical scavenging values. Compound 31, selective over other neuronal nAChR subtypes and with acceptable pharmacokinetic profile, showed antinociceptive effects in a model of inflammatory pain. CONCLUSION: Compound 31 is a novel, potent and selective α7 nAChR PAM, displaying antioxidant and analgesic activities. The 1,3-diphenylpropan-1-one scaffold could be the base toward more advanced type I PAMs for the treatment of nAChR-mediated diseases.

Chalcones as positive allosteric modulators of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors: a new target for a privileged structure.

The α7 acetylcholine nicotine receptor is a ligand-gated ion channel that is involved in cognition disorders, schizophrenia, pain and inflammation among other diseases. Therefore, the development of new agents that target this receptor has great significance. Positive allosteric modulators might be advantageous, since they facilitate receptor responses without directly interacting with the agonist binding site. Here we report the search for and further design of new positive allosteric modulators having the relatively simple chalcone structure. From the natural product isoliquiritigenin as starting point, chalcones substituted with hydroxyl groups at defined locations were identified as optimal and specific promoters of α7 nicotinic function. The most potent compound (2,4,2',5'-tetrahydroxychalcone, 111) was further characterized showing its potential as neuroprotective, analgesic and cognitive enhancer, opening the way for future developments around the chalcone structure.

De novo designed library of linear helical peptides: an exploratory tool in the discovery of protein-protein interaction modulators.

Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) have emerged as important targets for pharmaceutical intervention because of their essential role in numerous physiological and pathological processes, but screening efforts using small-molecules have led to very low hit rates. Linear peptides could represent a quick and effective approach to discover initial PPI hits, particularly if they have inherent ability to adopt specific peptide secondary structures. Here, we address this hypothesis through a linear helical peptide library, composed of four sublibraries, which was designed by theoretical predictions of helicity (Agadir software). The 13-mer peptides of this collection fixes either a combination of three aromatic or two aromatic and one aliphatic residues on one face of the helix (Ac-SSEEX(5)ARNX(9)AAX(12)N-NH2), since these are structural features quite common at PPIs interfaces. The 81 designed peptides were conveniently synthesized by parallel solid-phase methodologies, and the tendency of some representative library components to adopt the intended secondary structure was corroborated through CD and NMR experiments. As proof of concept in the search for PPI modulators, the usefulness of this library was verified on the widely studied p53-MDM2 interaction and on the communication between VEGF and its receptor Flt-1, two PPIs for which a hydrophobic α-helix is essential for the interaction. We have demonstrated here that, in both cases, selected peptides from the library, containing the right hydrophobic sequence of the hot-spot in one of the protein partners, are able to interact with the complementary protein. Moreover, we have discover some new, quite potent inhibitors of the VEGF-Flt-1 interaction, just by replacing one of the aromatic residues of the initial F(5)Y(9)Y(12) peptide by W, in agreement with previous results on related antiangiogenic peptides. Finally, the HTS evaluation of the full collection on thermoTRPs has led to a few antagonists of TRPV1 and TRPA1 channels, which open new avenues on the way to innovative modulators of these channels.