Synthesis and biological evaluation of omega-(N,N,N-trialkylammonium)alkyl esters and thioesters of carboxylic acid nonsteroidal antiinflammatory agents.

A series of novel omega-(N,N,N-trialkylammonium)alkyl ester and thioester derivatives [RCOM(CH2)nNR3+ X-, M = O or S. n = 2-6, X = I or Cl] of 11 nonsteroidal antiinflammatory carboxylic acid agents (naproxen, ketorolac, indomethacin, ibuprofen, sulindac, ketoprofen, flufenamic acid, mefenamic acid, zomepirac, etodolac, and tifurac) was prepared and evaluated for their antiinflammatory, analgesic, and gastrointestinal erosive properties. In general, each prodrug retained the antiinflammatory activity characteristic of the corresponding parent drug but exhibited moderately to greatly reduced gastrointestinal erosive properties and significantly reduced analgetic potencies. This profile is likely due to a combination of factors including the rate of hydrolysis of the esters in the stomach, gut, and plasma, changes in the locus of absorption of the prodrug or nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID), and altered metabolic disposition patterns resulting from these changes. The results obtained from the compounds of this series indicate that esters of this general class may offer a means to modulate both the aqueous/lipid solubility and the hydrolytic/enzymatic cleavage indices of NSAID prodrugs which potentially possess a more favorable therapeutic ratio of antiinflammatory to gastrointestinal erosive activities.

Topical nonsteroidal antipsoriatic agents. 2. 2,3-(Alkylidenedioxy)naphthalene analogues of lonapalene.

A series of 2,3-(alkylidenedioxy)naphthalene (5a-p) analogues of lonapalene (RS-43179, 1), a 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor currently under clinical investigation for the treatment of psoriasis, has been prepared and evaluated for topical inhibitory activity against arachidonic acid induced mouse ear edema. The results of these studies demonstrate that introduction of the fused 2,3-alkylidenedioxy ring, in place of the acyclic 2,3-dialkoxy substituent pattern characteristic of the previous series, caused a modest dimunition in overall potency within the series. These results suggest a potential steric intolerance for these extended planar analogues, in comparison with their 2,3-dialkoxy predecessors.

Inhibitors of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase. 3. Synthesis and biological evaluation of pyrido and imidazolyl analogues of 1,2,3,5-tetrahydro-2-oxoimidazo[2,1-b]quinazoline.

Hybridization of structural elements of 1,2,3,5-tetrahydro-2-oxoimidazo[2,1-b]quinazoline ring system common to the cyclic AMP (cAMP) phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors lixazinone (RS-82856, 1) and anagrelide (3) with complementary features of other PDE inhibitor cardiotonic agents prompted the design and synthesis of the title compounds 7a-d, 11, 12, and 13a,b. The necessary features of these compounds were determined within the framework of the proposed active-site models for the high affinity form of cAMP PDE inhibited by cGMP (type IV). Evaluation of these targets, both in vitro as inhibitors of platelet or cardiac type IV PDE or in vivo as inotropic agents in the pentobarbital-anesthetized dog model of congestive heart failure, showed that these structure possessed negligibly enhanced activities over the parent heterocyclic system, and remained significantly inferior to 1 in all respects. This difference is ascribed to the absence of the N-cyclohexyl-N-methylbutyramidyl-4-oxy side chain of 1. The proposal that the acidic lactam-type functionality, common to the type IV PDE inhibitor inotropic agents such as 4-6 and 8-10, mimics the polarizable cyclic phosphate moiety of cAMP suggested that the side chain of 1 may function as an effective surrogate for selected characteristics of the adenine portion of cAMP. However, the results of this study show that incorporation of adenine-like hydrogen-bonding functionalities common to other type IV PDE inhibitors into the 1,2,3,5-tetrahydro-2-oxoimidazo[2,1-b]quinazoline system did not enhance activity to the levels observed for 1 and analogues. These observations, coupled with the kinetic pattern of inhibition of type IV PDE observed for 1 and analogues, suggest that access to a secondary, lipophilic-tolerant binding site, possibly coincident with the adenine binding domain, and adjacent to the catalytic ribose-phosphate binding site of platelet and cardiac type IV PDE, is responsible for the increased potency of these compounds.

Inhibitors of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase. 4. Synthesis and evaluation of potential prodrugs of lixazinone (N-cyclohexyl-N-methyl-4-[(1,2,3,5-tetrahydro-2- oxoimidazo[2,1-b]quinazolin-7-yl)-oxy]butyramide, RS-82856).

The cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase (cAMP PDE) inhibitor and cardiotonic agent lixazinone (N-cyclohexyl-N-methyl-4-[(1,2,3,5-tetrahydro-2- oxoimidazo[2,1-b]quinazolin-7-yl)oxy]butyramide, RS-82856, 1) and its acid and base addition salts were found to be insufficiently soluble in formulations suitable for intravenous administration. These results prompted an investigation into potential prodrugs with enhanced aqueous solubility designed to deliver 1 by three distinct mechanisms: (1) decarboxylation of alpha-carboxamides; (2) hydrolytic loss of a solubilizing N-1-(acyloxy)methyl or (N,N-dialkylamino)methyl moiety; or (3) intramolecular closure of a guanidino ester or amide. The target compounds were evaluated as delivery systems for 1 by three criteria: (1) chemical conversion rate to 1 under physiological conditions; (2) inhibition of type IV cAMP PDE at a fixed time point; and (3) in vivo inotropic activity in anesthetized dogs by both intravenous and oral administration. Release of 1 from 4a (series 1) was found to be too slow to be of value as a prodrug of 1, since decarboxylation could be induced only by strong acid, conditions under which hydrolytic ring opening was found to severely compete. Conversely, 1 was released too readily on exposure of (N,N-dialkylamino)methyl derivatives such as 8d (series 2) to physiological conditions, although no large increase in aqueous solubility was realized. Finally, both the physicochemical and in vitro studies indicated that ring closure of the guanidinium esters and amides 17a-k (series 3) to 1 was quantitative and pH- and time-dependent, suggesting the possibility of delivery of the open, water-soluble prodrug form, followed by closure to 1 in plasma. Detailed examination of these agents in vivo, however, demonstrated that only those compounds that rapidly cyclized to 1, as measured by plasma levels of 1, exhibited inotropic activity, indicating that the open prodrug form was not efficiently absorbed upon oral administration.

Electrochemical evaluation of the interaction between ascorbic acid and the cardiotonic drug RS-82856.

The solution phase interaction between ascorbic acid and the cardiotonic drug N-cyclohexyl-N-methyl-4(7-oxy 1,2,3,5-tetrahydroimidazol[2,1-b] quinazolin-2-one butyramide (RS-82856) was evaluated using a differential pulse voltammetric technique. Shifts in the peak potential of ascorbic acid to higher energy as well as decreases in peak current values were monitored as a function of RS-82856 concentration. The electrochemical data were obtained under conditions where both the drug and the ascorbic acid concentrations exhibited linear relationships with peak current values. The methodology was extended to the study of two other structurally related phosphodiesterase inhibitors cilostamide and anagrelide. The complexation of these drugs with ascorbic acid were also characterized by decreases in the diffusion currents of ascorbic acid as well as by anodic shifts in the peak potential. The significance of these observations may be related to the inhibition of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase activity by both the drugs tested and the ascorbic acid.

Inhibitors of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase. 1. Analogues of cilostamide and anagrelide.

Evaluation of a series of lactam heterocyclic analogues of cilostamide (2) as inhibitors of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase derived from both human platelets and rat heart in comparison with their corresponding methoxy-substituted heterocycles has revealed that the N-cyclohexyl-N-methyl-4-oxybutyramide side chain of 2 is an important lipophilic and/or steric pharmacophore. Attachment of this side chain to the parent heterocycle of the potent cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase inhibitor anagrelide (3) afforded the hybrid structure RS-82856 (1), shown to be more potent than either of its progenitors as an inhibitor of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase or of ADP-induced platelet aggregation. The available in vitro data suggest that 1 possesses potentially useful antithrombotic and cardiotonic properties.

Inhibitors of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase. 2. Structural variations of N-cyclohexyl-N-methyl-4-[(1,2,3,5-tetrahydro- 2-oxoimidazo[2,1-b]quinazolin-7-yl)-oxy]butyramide (RS-82856).

A series of analogues of the cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitor N-cyclohexyl-N-methyl-4-[(1,2,3,5-tetrahydro- 2-oxoimidazo[2,1-b]quinazolin-7-yl)oxy]butyramide (RS-82856, 1) was prepared by systematic variation of the side-chain substituent, length, position, connecting atom, and the parent heterocycle itself. The compounds were evaluated as inhibitors of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase from both human platelets and rat or dog heart tissue and as inhibitors of ADP-induced platelet aggregation. Structure-activity correlations for the analogue series revealed significant limitations on the steric bulk of substituents on the 1,2,3,5-tetrahydroimidazo[2,1-b]quinazolin-2-one heterocycle and the position and length of the side chain. As inhibitors of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase (PDE), potency steadily increased with increasingly lipophilic side chains. In platelet aggregation inhibition studies, however, a maximum in activity was reached with 1, while more lipophilic compounds were significantly less active. Major changes in the heterocycle itself, represented by isomeric and other carbonyl variations, also decreased activity. The molecular features defined by this series of analogues of 1 correlate to a high degree with current understanding of the chemical and topographical requirements of the active site of the FIII (type IV) form of cyclic AMP PDE. Selective inhibition of this enzyme has been proposed as the principal component of the positive inotropic action of a number of cardiotonic agents.

Topical nonsteroidal antipsoriatic agents. 1. 1,2,3,4-Tetraoxygenated naphthalene derivatives.

On the basis of previous observations that both 2,3-dihydro-2,2,3,3-tetrahydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (oxoline, 1) and 6-chloroisonaphthazarin (2) had demonstrated antipsoriatic activity in vivo, a series of structural derivatives of 2 were prepared and examined in the Scholtz-Dumas topical psoriasis bioassay. Of these six (5, 6, 9a, 10, 11a, 11b), the most effective compound was found to be 6-chloro-1,4-diacetoxy-2,3-dimethoxynaphthalene (RS-43179, lonapalene, 11a). An extensive series of 1,2,3,4-tetraoxygenated naphthalenes (16-74) incorporating variations of the ester, ether, and aryl substituents were prepared as analogues of 11a to examine the structural requirements for activity and were screened in vivo as inhibitors of arachidonic acid induced mouse ear edema, a topical bioassay capable of detecting 5-lipoxygenase inhibitors. Net lipophilicity, hydrolytic stability, and ring substitution play significant roles in determining the observed in vivo activity. Lonapalene (11a) is currently in clinical development as a topically applied nonsteroidal antipsoriatic agent.

A potent and selective inhibitor of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase with potential cardiotonic and antithrombotic properties.

Some biochemical and pharmacological properties of a novel, potent inhibitor of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase, N-cyclohexyl-N-methyl-4-(7-oxy-1,2,3,5-tetrahydroimidazo[2,1-b] quinazolin-2-one) butyramide (RS-82856), were investigated. RS-82856 selectively inhibits the high affinity form of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase (type IV) isolated from human platelets (Ki = 0.5 nM) with only weak effects on both the nonspecific and cyclic GMP-sensitive phosphodiesterases. The inhibitor reduces both maximum velocity and substrate affinity of the type IV enzyme. This mixed pattern of partial competitive and noncompetitive inhibition was also obtained with one of the two high affinity forms of phosphodiesterase found in dog heart (Ki = 0.75 nM). Of several human and dog tissues examined, RS-82856 exhibits marked selectively for the platelet high affinity enzyme. It also has significant inhibitory effects on cardiac membrane-bound phosphodiesterase. RS-82856 inhibits the aggregation of human platelets in response to adenosine 5'-diphosphate (IC50 = 0.11 microM) in vitro and is active ex vivo for at least 2 hr following oral administration (10 mg/kg) to rhesus monkeys. Administration of RS-82856 to instrumented, anesthetized dogs by either intravenous or intraduodenal routes increases cardiac contractile force and reduces afterload. These data suggest that RS-82856 may be useful as an agent to increase cardiac output in the treatment of congestive heart failure.