Design, Synthesis, Anticonvulsant Activity, Preclinical Study and Pharmacokinetic Performance of N-{[3-(4-chlorophenyl)-4-oxo-3, 4-dihydroquinazolin- 2-yl] methyl}, 2-[(2-isopropyl-5-methyl) 1-cyclo Hexylidene] Hydrazinecarboxamide.

BACKGROUND: N-{[3-(4-chlorophenyl)-4-oxo-3, 4-dihydroquinazolin-2-yl] methyl}, 2-[(2- isopropyl-5-methyl) 1-cyclohexylidene] hydrazinecarboxamide QS11 was designed by computational study. It possessed essential pharmacophoric features for anticonvulsant activity and showed good docking with iGluRs (Kainate) glutamate receptor. METHODS: QSAR and ADMET screening results suggested that QS11 would possess good potency for anticonvulsant activity. QS11 was synthesised and evaluated for its anticonvulsant activity and neurotoxicity. QS11 showed protection in strychnine, thiosemicarbazide, 4-aminopyridine and scPTZ induced seizure models and MES seizure model. QS11 showed higher ED50, TD50 and PI values as compared to the standard drugs in both MES and scPTZ screen. A high safety profile (HD50/ED50 values) was noted and hypnosis, analgesia, and anaesthesia were only observed at higher doses. No considerable increase or decrease in the concentration of liver enzymes was observed. Optimized QS11 was subjected to preclinical (in-vivo) studies and the pharmacokinetic performance of the sample was investigated. The result revealed that the pharmacokinetic performance of QS11 achieved maximum plasma concentrations (Cmax) of 0.315 ± 0.011 µg/mL at Tmax of 2.0 ± 0.13 h, area under the curve (AUC0-∞) value 4.591 ± 0.163 µg/ml x h, elimination half-life (T1/2) 6.28 ± 0.71 h and elimination rate constant was found 0.110 ± 0.013 h-1 . RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Above evidences indicate that QS11 could serve as a lead for development of new antiepileptic drugs.

Discovery of novel purine nucleoside derivatives as phosphodiesterase 2 (PDE2) inhibitors: Structure-based virtual screening, optimization and biological evaluation.

Phosphodiesterase 2 (PDE2) has received much attention for the potential treatment of the central nervous system (CNS) disorders and pulmonary hypertension. Herein, we identified that clofarabine (4), an FDA-approved drug, displayed potential PDE2 inhibitory activity (IC50 = 3.12 ±â€¯0.67 µM) by structure-based virtual screening and bioassay. Considering the potential therapeutic benefit of PDE2, a series of purine nucleoside derivatives based on the structure and binding mode of 4 were designed, synthesized and evaluated, which led to the discovery of the best compound 14e with a significant improvement of inhibitory potency (IC50 = 0.32 ±â€¯0.04 µM). Further molecular docking and molecular dynamic (MD) simulations studies revealed that 5'-benzyl group of 14e could interact with the unique hydrophobic pocket of PDE2 by forming extra van der Waals interactions with hydrophobic residues such as Leu770, Thr768, Thr805 and Leu809, which might contribute to its enhancement of PDE2 inhibition. These potential compounds reported in this article and the valuable structure-activity relationships (SARs) might bring significant instruction for further development of potent PDE2 inhibitors.

Discovery of N-(3-((7H-purin-6-yl)thio)-4-hydroxynaphthalen-1-yl)-sulfonamide derivatives as novel protein kinase and angiogenesis inhibitors for the treatment of cancer: Synthesis and biological evaluation. Part III.

A novel series of N-(3-((7H-purin-6-yl)thio)-4-hydroxynaphthalen-1-yl)-sulfonamides were designed and synthesized. Biological characterization revealed that several compounds exerted enhanced anti-proliferative activity against human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and several cancer cell lines and high specific protein kinase and angiogenesis inhibitory activities. Compared with our previously synthesized compounds, the substitution of sulfonamide structure for amide fragment played an essential role for the advance of inhibitory activities. In addition, the replacement of 1H-1,2,4-triazole ring by 7H-purine did not result in obvious decrease of inhibition efficacy, indicating that the sulfonamide structure contributes even more to the inhibition efficacy than the 1H-1,2,4-triazole ring. Among these compounds, compound 9n demonstrated comparable in vitro antiangiogenic activities to pazopanib in both HUVEC tube formation assay and the rat thoracic aorta rings (TARs) test. Meanwhile, compound 9n was identified to inhibit Akt1 (IC50=1.73 µM) and Abl tyrosine kinase (IC50=1.53 µM) effectively.

Discovery of a highly potent series of TLR7 agonists.

The discovery of a series of highly potent and novel TLR7 agonist interferon inducers is described. Structure-activity relationships are presented, along with pharmacokinetic studies of a lead molecule from this series of N9-pyridylmethyl-8-oxo-3-deazapurine analogues. A rationale for the very high potency observed is offered. An investigation of the clearance mechanism of this class of compounds in rat was carried out, resulting in aldehyde oxidase mediated oxidation being identified as a key component of the high clearance observed. A possible solution to this problem is discussed.

Discovery of novel purine derivatives with potent and selective inhibitory activity against c-Src tyrosine kinase.

We report here the discovery of novel purine derivatives with potent and selective inhibitory activity against c-Src tyrosine kinase by adopting a strategy integrating focused combinatorial library design, virtual screening, chemical synthesis, and bioassay. Thirty two compounds were selected and synthesized. All compounds showed potent inhibitory activity against c-Src kinase with IC50 values ranging from 3.14 µM to 0.02 µM. Compound 5i was identified as one of the most potent agent with an IC50 120 times lower than those of the hits. The high hit rate (100%) and the potency of the new Src kinase inhibitors demonstrated the efficiency of the strategy for the focused library design and virtual screening. The novel active chemical entities reported here should be good leads for further development of purine-based anticancer drugs targeting Src tyrosine kinase.

Synthesis of some novel substituted purine derivatives as potential anticancer, anti-HIV-1 and antimicrobial agents.

In search of novel purine antimetabolites, a series of 8-substituted methylxanthine derivatives was prepared in order to explore their in vitro anticancer, anti-HIV-1 and antimicrobial activities. The target compounds include: 8-[(3-substituted-4-oxo-thiazolidin-2-ylidene)hydrazino]-1,3-dimethyl (or 1,3,7-trimethyl)-3,7-dihydropurine-2,6-diones 5a-e, 8-[(3,4-disubstituted 2,3-dihydrothiazol-2-ylidene)hydrazino]-1,3,7-trimethyl-3,7-dihydropurine-2,6-diones 6a-d and 8-(5-amino-3-arylpyrazol-1-yl)-1,3-dimethyl- (or 1,3,7-trimethyl)-3,7-dihydropurine-2,6-diones 7a-g. The in vitro anticancer results revealed that compound 5d exhibited a super sensitivity profile towards leukemia K-562 with a GI(50) value of <0.01 microM. Compound 7c showed significant activity against colon cancer HCT-15 and renal cancer CAKI-1 (GI(50) values of 0.47 and 0.78 microM, respectively). Compound 7a displayed high activity against colon cancer HCT-15 (GI(50 )= 0.8 microM). The anti-HIV-1 results indicated that compound 6b displayed a good reduction of viral cytopathic effect (56.69%). The antimicrobial results showed that compound 5a was four times more active than ampicillin against P. aerugenosa (MIC =or< 25 microg/mL), compound 5b had twice the activity of ampicillin, while compounds 5d, 7c and 7f were equipotent to ampicillin. On the other hand, compound 7a was equipotent to ampicillin against P. vulgaris (MIC = 50 microg/mL).

The screening and characterization of 6-aminopurine-based xanthine oxidase inhibitors.

Xanthine oxidase (XO) is a key enzyme which can catalyze xanthine to uric acid causing hyperuricemia in humans. By using the fractionation technique and inhibitory activity assay, an active compound that prevents XO from reacting with xanthine was isolated from wheat leaf. It was identified by the Mass and NMR as 6-aminopurine (adenine). A structure-activity study based on 6-aminopurine was conducted. The inhibition of XO activity by 6-aminopurine (IC(50)=10.89+/-0.13 microM) and its analogues was compared with that by allopurinol (IC(50)=7.82+/-0.12 microM). Among these analogues, 2-chloro-6(methylamino)purine (IC(50)=10.19+/-0.10 microM) and 4-aminopyrazolo[3,4-d] pyrimidine (IC(50)=30.26+/-0.23 microM) were found to be potent inhibitors of XO. Kinetics study showed that 2-chloro-6(methylamino)purine is non-competitive, while 4-aminopyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine is competitive against XO.

Synthesis, biological and modeling studies of 1,3-di-n-propyl-2,4-dioxo-6-methyl-8-(substituted) 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro [1,2,4]-triazolo [3,4-f]-purines as adenosine receptor antagonists.

A new series of potential adenosine receptor antagonists with a [1,2,4]-triazolo-[3,4-f]-purine structure bearing at the 1 and 3 position n-propyl groups have been synthesized, and their affinities at the four human adenosine receptor subtypes (A(1), A(2A), A(2B) and A(3)) have been evaluated. In this case the presence of n-propyl groups seems to induce potency at the A(2A) and A(3) adenosine receptor subtypes as opposed to our previously reported series bearing methyl substituents at the 1 and 3 positions. In particular the non-acylated derivative 17 showed affinity at these two receptor subtypes in the micromolar range. Indeed, preliminary molecular modeling investigations according to the experimental binding data indicate a modest steric and electrostatic antagonist-receptor complementarity.

Preparation of a fully substituted purine library.

A library of tetra-substituted purine analogues was readily prepared via parallel synthesis. This strategy relies on a key cyclization of a 4,5-diaminopyrimidine with either a carboxylic acid or its derivative to construct the 2,8,9-trisubstituted 6-chloropurine core. Further elaborations of this core allow the introduction of other diversity points. This methodology is demonstrated through the preparation of a 135-membered library of tetra-substituted purines in good yields and high purity.

Synthesis and antiviral properties of arabino and ribonucleosides of 1,3-dideazaadenine, 4-nitro-1,3-dideazapurine and diketopiperazine.

Different arabinosides and ribosides, viz. Ara-DDA or 9(1-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl) 1,3-dideazaadenine (6), Ara-NDDP or 9(1-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl) 4-nitro-1,3-dideazapurine (7), Ara-DKP or 1(1-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl) diketopiperazine (8), Ribo-DDA or 9(1-beta-D-ribofuranosyl) 1,3-dideazaadenine (9) and Ribo-NDDP or 9(1-beta-D-ribofuranosyl) 4-nitro-1,3-dideazapurine (10) have been synthesized as probable antiviral agents. The arabinosides have been synthesized using the catalyst TDA-1 that causes stereospecific formation of beta-nucleosides while a one-pot synthesis procedure was adopted for the synthesis of the ribonucleosides where beta-anomers were obtained in higher yields. All the five nucleoside analogs have been screened for antiviral property against HIV-1 (IIIB), HSV-1 and 2, parainfluenza-3, reovirus-1 and many others. It was observed that arabinosides had greater inhibitory action than ribosides. The compound 7 or Ara-NDDP has shown maximum inhibition of HIV-1 replication than the rest of the molecules with an IC50 of 79.4 microg/mL.

Synthesis and in vitro evaluation of novel 2,6,9-trisubstituted purines acting as cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors.

Novel C-2, C-6, N-9 trisubstituted purines derived from the olomoucine/roscovitine lead structure were synthesized and evaluated for their ability to inhibit starfish oocyte CDK1/cyclin B, neuronal CDK5/p35 and erk1 kinases in purified extracts. Structure activity relationship studies showed that increased steric bulk at N-9 reduces the inhibitory potential whereas substitution of the aminoethanol C-2 side chain by various groups of different size (methyl, propyl, butyl, phenyl, benzyl) only slightly decreases the activity when compared to (R)-roscovitine. Optimal inhibitory activity against CDK5, CDK1 and CDK2, with IC50 values of 0.16, 0.45 and 0.65 microM, respectively, was obtained with compound 21 containing a (2R)-pyrrolidin-2-yl-methanol substituent at the C-2 and a 3-iodobenzylamino group at the C-6 of the purine. Compound 21 proved cytotoxic against human tumor HeLa cells (LD50-6.7 microM versus 42.7 microM for olomoucine, 24-h contact). Furthermore, unlike olomoucine, compound 21 was effective upon short exposure (LD50= 25.3 microM, 2-h contact). The available data suggest that the affinity for CDKs and the cytotoxic potential of the drugs are inter-related. However, no straightforward cell cycle phase specificity of the cytotoxic response to 21 was observed in synchronized HeLa cells. With the noticeable exception of pronounced lengthening of the S-phase transit by 21 applied during early-S in synchronized HeLa cells, and in striking contrast with earlier reports on studies using plant or echinoderm cells. olomoucilnc and compound 21 were unable to reversibly arrest cell cycle progression in asynchronous growing HeLa cells. Some irreversible hlock in GI and G2 phase occurred at high olomoucine concentration, correlated with induced cell death. Moreover, chmronic exposure to lethal doses of compound 21 resulted in massive nuclear fragmentation, evocative of mitotic catastrophe with minour amounts of apoptosis only. It was also found that olomoucine and compound 21 reversibly block the intracellular uptake of nuicleosides with high efficiency.

Synthesis and evaluation of potent and selective c-GMP phosphodiesterase inhibitors.

Syntheses and structure-activity relationships (SAR) of cGMP selective phosphodiesterase inhibitors are discussed. Potent and selective inhibitors are produced when the C-2 position of tetracyclic guanine 1 is substituted with alkyl chains containing six carbon atoms.

Exploiting chemical libraries, structure, and genomics in the search for kinase inhibitors.

Selective protein kinase inhibitors were developed on the basis of the unexpected binding mode of 2,6,9-trisubstituted purines to the adenosine triphosphate-binding site of the human cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2). By iterating chemical library synthesis and biological screening, potent inhibitors of the human CDK2-cyclin A kinase complex and of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Cdc28p were identified. The structural basis for the binding affinity and selectivity was determined by analysis of a three-dimensional crystal structure of a CDK2-inhibitor complex. The cellular effects of these compounds were characterized in mammalian cells and yeast. In the latter case the effects were characterized on a genome-wide scale by monitoring changes in messenger RNA levels in treated cells with high-density oligonucleotide probe arrays. Purine libraries could provide useful tools for analyzing a variety of signaling and regulatory pathways and may lead to the development of new therapeutics.

Synthesis and activity of 6-substituted purine linker amino acid immunostimulants.

A series of 6-substituted purinyl alkoxycarbonyl amino acids were synthesized and evaluated for their ability to stimulate cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and the mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR). A few of these compounds, in particular [[5-[6-(N,N-dimethylamino)purin-9-yl]pentoxy]-carbonyl]D-arginine (BCH-1393, 4a), displayed an in vitro stimulation of CTLs comparable to interleukin 2 (IL 2). BCH-1393 increased the CTL response between 10(-9) M and 10(-5) M. Further, this potent in vitro activity was reflected as a significant increase in CTL cell number in vivo. However, immunophenotyping of some of the other equipotent compounds did not reveal a parallel relative increase in CTLs in vivo. It was difficult to formulate a rigorous structure-activity relationship based on in vitro CTL activity. Nevertheless, the activity was dependent upon the nature of the 6-substituent on the purine, the type and stereochemistry of the amino acid, and the distance and spatial freedom between the purine and amino acid as defined by the length and rigidity of the linker. These compounds were generally nontoxic, as exemplified by BCH-1393. BCH-1393 is a promising immunostimulant which may be targeted for those disease states which require an increased CTL or TH1 type response.

Synthesis and preliminary pharmacological assessment of novel 9-alkylamino substituted pyrimidino-[2,1-f]-purines.

Two series of N9-alkylaminomethyl-, alkylpiperazino-, alkylpiperidino-substituted 1,3-dimethyl-(hexahydropyrimidino)- and (tetrahydropyrimidono)-[2,1-f]-purines were prepared and their physicochemical and pharmacological properties were described. The most active in central nervous system tests were the compounds with phenylpiperazinealkyl substituent i.e. 1,3-dimethyl-2,4-dioxo-9-[N1N4-(phenyl)-piperazinopropyl]-1, 3,6,7,8,9- hexahydropyrimidino-[2,1-f] purine 6a and its butyl and isobutyl homologs 9 and 12. The compounds depressed statistically significantly spontaneous locomotor and amphetamine activity and showed sedative, analgetic and hypothermizing properties.

Synthesis, cell growth inhibition, and antitumor screening of 2-(p-n-butylanilino)purines and their nucleoside analogues.

Derivatives of N2-(p-n-butylphenyl)guanine (BuPG) and 2-(p-n-butylanilino)adenine (BuAA) were synthesized and tested as inhibitors of mammalian DNA polymerase alpha, cell growth, and macromolecule synthesis. 2-(p-n-Butylanilino)-6-chloropurine (BuACl) served as a useful intermediate to prepare a series of 6-substituted analogues. BuACl, as its sodium salt, reacted with 2-deoxy-3,5-di-p-toluoyl-beta-D-ribofuranosyl chloride in acetonitrile to give 64% of the corresponding 9-beta nucleoside (blocked BuAdCl) and only 14% of the 7-beta isomer. Deblocking and substitution of chlorine in BuAdCl generated a series of 2-(p-n-butylanilino)-9-(2-deoxy-beta-D-ribofuranosyl)purine derivatives. Reaction of the sodium salt of BuACl with (2-acetoxyethoxy)methyl bromide also afforded, after deblocking and substitution of the 6-chloro group, a series of 2-(p-n-butylanilino)-9-[(2-hydroxyethoxy)methyl]purines. The bases synthesized were inhibitors of DNA polymerase alpha isolated from Chinese hamster ovary cells, the most potent compounds being 6-methoxy and 6-methylthio derivatives of 2-(p-n-butylanilino)purine. When tested for their ability to inhibit [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA in HeLa cell cultures and the growth of exponentially growing HeLa cells, 9-(2-deoxy-beta-D-ribofuranosyl) derivatives had greater potency than their base counterparts, but "adenine" analogues, such as 2-(p-n-butylanilino)-2'-deoxyadenosine (BuAdA, IC50 = 1 microM), were considerably more potent than N2-(p-n-butylphenyl)-2'-deoxyguanosine (BuPdG, IC50 = 25 microM). Derivatives bearing the 9-[(2-hydroxyethoxy)methyl] group were nearly as potent inhibitors of [3H]thymidine incorporation in these experiments as the corresponding deoxyribonucleosides. Base and deoxynucleoside derivatives also inhibited cellular RNA synthesis, and several compounds, at high concentrations, inhibited protein synthesis. BuPG, BuAA, and four deoxyribonucleoside derivatives of 2-(p-n-butylanilino)purines were tested against P-388 lymphocytic leukemia in mice. None of the compounds increased the survival time of test animals, but two of them, BuAdA and its 6-desamino derivative BuAdP, were lethal at the highest concentration used (400 mg/kg).

8-Phosphorus substituted isosteres of purine and deazapurines.

Synthesis of 8-phosphorus substituted isosteres of purine [pyrimidino (4,5-d)-1,3,2-diazaphosphole], 1-deazapurine [pyridino (2,3-d)-1,3,2-diazaphosphole] and 3-deazapurine [pyridino (4,5-d)-1,3,2-diazaphosphole] has been achieved by the reaction of equimolar amounts of triphenylphosphite and 4,5-diaminopyrimidine, 2,3-diaminopyridine and 3,4-diaminopyridine, respectively. These compounds hydrolyzed (cleavage of the phosphorus-nitrogen bounds) in aqueous solutions to provide the corresponding diaminopyrimidine or diaminopyridines. These three new basic ring systems constitute the first reported synthesis of purines in which ring carbon atom is substituted with a phosphorus atom. 8-Phosphorus substituted purine at a concentration of 4 X 10(-4)M caused a 50% inhibition in the growth of leukemia L1210 cells in culture. The biochemical rationale for the synthesis of these compounds is discussed.