Synthesis and biological evaluation of tricyclic anilinopyrimidines as IKKbeta inhibitors.

A series of tricyclic anilinopyrimidines were synthesized and evaluated as IKKbeta inhibitors. Several analogues, including tricyclic phenyl (10, 18a, 18c, 18d, and 18j) and thienyl (26 and 28) derivatives were shown to have good in vitro enzyme potency and excellent cellular activity. Pharmaceutical profiling of a select group of tricyclic compounds compared to the non-tricyclic analogues suggested that in some cases, the improved cellular activity may be due to increased clog P and permeability.

Indole cytosolic phospholipase A2 alpha inhibitors: discovery and in vitro and in vivo characterization of 4-{3-[5-chloro-2-(2-{[(3,4-dichlorobenzyl)sulfonyl]amino}ethyl)-1-(diphenylmethyl)-1H-indol-3-yl]propyl}benzoic acid, efipladib.

The optimization of a class of indole cPLA 2 alpha inhibitors is described herein. The importance of the substituent at C3 and the substitution pattern of the phenylmethane sulfonamide region are highlighted. Optimization of these regions led to the discovery of 111 (efipladib) and 121 (WAY-196025), which are shown to be potent, selective inhibitors of cPLA 2 alpha in a variety of isolated enzyme assays, cell based assays, and rat and human whole blood assays. The binding of these compounds has been further examined using isothermal titration calorimetry. Finally, these compounds have shown efficacy when dosed orally in multiple acute and chronic prostaglandin and leukotriene dependent in vivo models.

Inhibition of cytosolic phospholipase A2alpha: hit to lead optimization.

Compound 1 was previously reported to be a potent inhibitor of cPLA(2)alpha in both artificial monomeric substrate and cell-based assays. However, 1 was inactive in whole blood assays previously used to characterize cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase inhibitors. The IC(50) of 1 increased dramatically with cell number or lipid/detergent concentration. In an attempt to insert an electrophilic ketone between the indole and benzoic acid moieties, we discovered that increasing the distance between the two moieties gave a compound with activity in the GLU (7-hydroxycoumarinyl-gamma-linolenate) micelle assay, which contains lipid and detergent. Extensive structure-activity relationship work around this lead identified a potent pharmacophore for cPLA(2)alpha inhibition. The IC(50)s between the GLU micelle and rat whole blood assays correlated highly. No correlation was found for other parameters, including lipophilicity or acidity of the required acid functionality. Compounds 25, 39, and 94 emerged as potent, selective inhibitors of cPLA(2)alpha and represent well-validated starting points for further optimization.

Structure-activity relationship of 6-methylidene penems bearing 6,5 bicyclic heterocycles as broad-spectrum beta-lactamase inhibitors: evidence for 1,4-thiazepine intermediates with C7 R stereochemistry by computational methods.

The design and synthesis of a series of 6-methylidene penems containing [6,5]-fused bicycles (thiophene, imidazole, or pyrazle-fused system) as novel class A, B, and C beta-lactamase inhibitors is described. These penems proved to be potent inhibitors of the TEM-1 (class A) and AmpC (class C) beta-lactamases and less so against the class B metallo-beta-lactamase CcrA. Their in vitro and in vivo activities in combination with piperacillin are discussed. On the basis of the crystallographic structures of a serine-bound reaction intermediate of 2 with SHV-1 (class A) and GC1 (class C) enzymes, compounds 14a-l were designed and synthesized. Penems are proposed to form a seven-membered 1,4 thiazepine ring in both class A and C beta-lactamases. The interaction energy calculation for the enzyme-bound intermediates favor the formation of the C7 R enantiomer over the S enantiomer of the 1,4-thiazepine in both beta-lactamases, which is consistent with those obtained from the crystal structure of 2 with SHV-1 and GC1.

IkappaBalpha kinase inhibitor IKI-1 conferred tumor necrosis factor alpha sensitivity to pancreatic cancer cells and a xenograft tumor model.

Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) has been used to treat patients with certain tumor types. However, its antitumor activity has been undermined by the activation of IkappaBalpha kinase (IKK), which in turn activates nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) to help cancer cells survive. Therefore, inhibition of TNFalpha-induced IKK activity with specific IKK inhibitor represents an attractive strategy to treat cancer patients. This study reveals IKI-1 as a potent small molecule inhibitor of IKKalpha and IKKbeta, which effectively blocked TNFalpha-mediated IKK activation and subsequent NF-kappaB activity. Using gene profiling analysis, we show that IKI-1 blocked most of the TNFalpha-mediated mRNA expression, including many genes that play important roles in cell survival. We further show that in vitro and in vivo combination of TNFalpha with IKI-1 had superior potency than either agent alone. This increased potency was due primarily to the increased apoptosis in the presence of both TNFalpha and IKI-1. Additionally, IKKbeta small interfering RNA transfected cells were more sensitive to the treatment of TNFalpha. The study suggests that the limited efficacy of TNFalpha in cancer treatment was due in part to the activation of NF-kappaB, allowing tumor cells to escape apoptosis. Therefore, the combination of IKI-1 with TNFalpha may improve the efficacy of TNFalpha for certain tumor types.

Cyclic amine sulfonamides as linkers in the design and synthesis of novel human beta(3) adrenergic receptor agonists.

Piperidine, pyrrolidine, and azetidine sulfonamides were examined as linkers in designing novel human beta(3) adrenergic receptor (beta(3)-AR) agonists. The azetidine derivative 37, and piperidine derivatives 7, 8, and 13 were found to be potent beta(3)-AR agonists and have good selectivity against beta(1)- and beta(2)-AR.

Structure-activity study of novel tricyclic benzazepine arginine vasopressin antagonists.

Novel tricyclic benzazepine derivatives were synthesized as arginine vasopressin (AVP) antagonists. Several tricyclic compounds showed potent antagonistic activity in rat AVP receptors V(1a) and V(2). Derivatives containing pyrrolo-tricyclic amines, 13i-k, 30, and 31 also showed selectivity for the V(2) receptor.