Achiral, selective CCK2 receptor antagonists based on a 1,3,5-benzotriazepine-2,4-dione template.

Novel, achiral 1H-1,3,5-benzotriazepine-2,4(3H,5H)-diones have been prepared and structurally characterized. These compounds are potent CCK(2) receptor antagonists that display a high degree of selectivity over CCK(1) receptors.

Optimization of 1,3,4-benzotriazepine-based CCK(2) antagonists to obtain potent, orally active inhibitors of gastrin-mediated gastric acid secretion.

Starting from a novel, achiral 1,3,4-benzotriazepine-based CCK2 receptor antagonist, a process of optimization has afforded further compounds of this type that maintain the nanomolar affinity for recombinant, human CCK2 receptors and high selectivity over CCK1 receptors observed in the initial lead but display more potent inhibition of pentagastrin-stimulated gastric acid secretion in vivo. Moreover, this has largely been achieved without altering their potency at wild-type canine and rat receptors, as judged by their displacement of [125I]-BH-CCK-8S in a radioligand binding assay and by their activity in an isolated, perfused rat stomach bioassay, respectively. 2-(5-Cyclohexyl-1-(2-cyclopentyl-2-oxo-ethyl)-2-oxo-1,2-dihydro-3H-1,3,4-benzotriazepin-3-yl)-N-(3-(5-oxo-2,5-dihydro- [1,2,4]oxadiazol-3-yl)-phenyl)-acetamide (47) was identified as the most effective compound stemming from this approach, proving to be a potent inhibitor of pentagastrin-stimulated gastric acid secretion in rats and dogs by intravenous bolus as well as by enteral administration.

Discovery and characterization of novel, potent, non-peptide parathyroid hormone-1 receptor antagonists.

A 1,3,4-benzotriazepine was identified as a suitable lead in our effort toward obtaining a non-peptide parathyroid hormone-1 receptor (PTH1R) antagonist. A process of optimization afforded derivatives displaying nanomolar PTH1R affinity, a representative example of which behaved as a PTH1R antagonist in cell-based cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) assays, with selectivity over PTH2 receptors.

Optimization of the in vitro and in vivo properties of a novel series of 2,4,5-trisubstituted imidazoles as potent cholecystokinin-2 (CCK2) antagonists.

The systematic optimization of the structure of a novel 2,4,5-trisubstituted imidazole-based cholecystokinin-2 (CCK(2)) receptor antagonist afforded analogues with nanomolar receptor affinity. These compounds were now comparable in their potency to the bicyclic heteroaromatic-based compounds 5 (JB93182) and 6 (JB95008), from which the initial examples were designed using a field-point based molecular modeling approach. They were also orally active as judged by their inhibition of pentagastrin stimulated acid secretion in conscious dogs, in contrast to the bicyclic heteroaromatic-based compounds, which were ineffective because of biliary elimination. Increasing the hydrophilicity through replacement of a particular methylene group with an ether oxygen, as in 3-{[5-(adamantan-1-yloxymethyl)-2-cyclohexyl-1H-imidazole-4-carbonyl]amino}benzoic acid (53), had little effect on the receptor affinity but significantly increased the oral potency. Comparison of the plasma pharmacokinetics and the inhibition of pentagastrin-stimulated acid output following bolus intraduodenal administration of both 53 and 6 indicated that 53 was well absorbed, had a longer half-life, and was not subject to the elimination pathways of the earlier series.

Host genetics and environmental factors regulate ecological succession of the mouse colon tissue-associated microbiota.

BACKGROUND: The integration of host genetics, environmental triggers and the microbiota is a recognised factor in the pathogenesis of barrier function diseases such as IBD. In order to determine how these factors interact to regulate the host immune response and ecological succession of the colon tissue-associated microbiota, we investigated the temporal interaction between the microbiota and the host following disruption of the colonic epithelial barrier. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Oral administration of DSS was applied as a mechanistic model of environmental damage of the colon and the resulting inflammation characterized for various parameters over time in WT and Nod2 KO mice. RESULTS: In WT mice, DSS damage exposed the host to the commensal flora and led to a migration of the tissue-associated bacteria from the epithelium to mucosal and submucosal layers correlating with changes in proinflammatory cytokine profiles and a progressive transition from acute to chronic inflammation of the colon. Tissue-associated bacteria levels peaked at day 21 post-DSS and declined thereafter, correlating with recruitment of innate immune cells and development of the adaptive immune response. Histological parameters, immune cell infiltration and cytokine biomarkers of inflammation were indistinguishable between Nod2 and WT littermates following DSS, however, Nod2 KO mice demonstrated significantly higher tissue-associated bacterial levels in the colon. DSS damage and Nod2 genotype independently regulated the community structure of the colon microbiota. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The results of these experiments demonstrate the integration of environmental and genetic factors in the ecological succession of the commensal flora in mammalian tissue. The association of Nod2 genotype (and other host polymorphisms) and environmental factors likely combine to influence the ecological succession of the tissue-associated microflora accounting in part for their association with the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases.