Investigation of the terminal P4 domain in a series of D-phenylglycinamide-based factor Xa inhibitors.

Several P4 domain derivatives of the general d-phenylglycinamide-based scaffold (2) were synthesized and evaluated for their ability to bind to the serine protease factor Xa. Some of the more potent compounds were evaluated for their anticoagulant effects in vitro. A select subset containing various P1 indole constructs was further evaluated for their pharmacokinetic properties after oral administration to rats.

The minimum significant ratio: a statistical parameter to characterize the reproducibility of potency estimates from concentration-response assays and estimation by replicate-experiment studies.

The authors show by illustration that procedures used to validate the reliability of single-concentration high-throughput screens such as the signal window and Z' factor do not ensure sufficient reliability in potency estimates from concentration response assays. They develop the minimum significant ratio as a statistical parameter to characterize the fold change between 2 compounds run in the same experiment that can be considered a real difference and use this parameter to characterize the reliability of the assay. They adapt methods described by Bland and Altman to develop a simple set of 2 experiments to estimate the minimum significant ratio and show that this protocol can identify assays that lack reproducibility. The methods are then extended to validate the equivalency of the same assay run by multiple laboratories.

Novel Phenotypic Outcomes Identified for a Public Collection of Approved Drugs from a Publicly Accessible Panel of Assays.

Phenotypic assays have a proven track record for generating leads that become first-in-class therapies. Whole cell assays that inform on a phenotype or mechanism also possess great potential in drug repositioning studies by illuminating new activities for the existing pharmacopeia. The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) pharmaceutical collection (NPC) is the largest reported collection of approved small molecule therapeutics that is available for screening in a high-throughput setting. Via a wide-ranging collaborative effort, this library was analyzed in the Open Innovation Drug Discovery (OIDD) phenotypic assay modules publicly offered by Lilly. The results of these tests are publically available online at www.ncats.nih.gov/expertise/preclinical/pd2 and via the PubChem Database (https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) (AID 1117321). Phenotypic outcomes for numerous drugs were confirmed, including sulfonylureas as insulin secretagogues and the anti-angiogenesis actions of multikinase inhibitors sorafenib, axitinib and pazopanib. Several novel outcomes were also noted including the Wnt potentiating activities of rotenone and the antifolate class of drugs, and the anti-angiogenic activity of cetaben.

D-phenylglycinol-derived non-covalent factor Xa inhibitors: effect of non-peptidic S4 linkage elements on affinity and anticoagulant activity.

Analogs to a series of D-phenylglycinamide-derived factor Xa inhibitors were discovered. It was found that the S4 amide linkage can be replaced with an ether linkage to reduce the peptide character of the molecules and that this substitution leads to an increase in binding affinity that is not predicted based on modeling. Inhibitors which incorporate ether, amino, or alkyl S4 linkage motifs exhibit similar levels of binding affinity and also demonstrate potent in vitro functional activity, however, binding affinity in this series is strongly dependent on the nature of the S1 binding element.

Complete inhibition of anisomycin and UV radiation but not cytokine induced JNK and p38 activation by an aryl-substituted dihydropyrrolopyrazole quinoline and mixed lineage kinase 7 small interfering RNA.

Mixed lineage kinase 7 (MLK7) is a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase (MAPKKK) that activates the pro-apoptotic signaling pathways p38 and JNK. A library of potential kinase inhibitors was screened, and a series of dihydropyrrolopyrazole quinolines was identified as highly potent inhibitors of MLK7 in vitro catalytic activity. Of this series, an aryl-substituted dihydropyrrolopyrazole quinoline (DHP-2) demonstrated an IC50 of 70 nM for inhibition of pJNK formation in COS-7 cell MLK7/JNK co-transfection assays. In stimulated cells, DHP-2 at 200 nM or MLK7 small interfering RNA completely blocked anisomycin and UV induced but had no effect on interleukin-1beta or tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced p38 and JNK activation. Additionally, the compound blocked anisomycin and UV-induced apoptosis in COS-7 cells. Heart tissue homogenates from MLK7 transgenic mice treated with DHP-2 at 30 mg/kg had reduced JNK and p38 activation with no apparent effect on ERK activation, demonstrating that this compound can be used to block MLK7-driven MAPK pathway activation in vivo. Taken together, these data demonstrate that MLK7 is the MAPKKK required for modulation of the stress-activated MAPKs downstream of anisomycin and UV stimulation and that DHP-2 can be used to block MLK7 pathway activation in cells as well as in vivo.

Investigation of factor Xa inhibitors containing non-amidine S1 elements.

Several non-amidino S1 derivatives of the 1,2-diaminobenzene-based scaffold (4) were synthesized and evaluated for their ability to bind to the active site and inhibit the human protease factor Xa. A subset of these compounds were also evaluated for their anticoagulant effects in human plasma as measured by prothrombin time (PT).

A four component coupling strategy for the synthesis of D-phenylglycinamide-derived non-covalent factor Xa inhibitors.

A novel isonitrile derivative was synthesized and used in an Ugi four component coupling reaction to explore aryl group substitution effects on inhibition of the coagulation cascade serine protease factor Xa.