Synthesis of hydrophobic N'-mono and N',N"-double alkylated eremomycins inhibiting the transglycosylation stage of bacterial cell wall biosynthesis.

A series of hydrophobic N'-mono and N',N"-double alkylated derivatives of the glycopeptide antibiotic eremomycin were synthesized by reductive alkylation after preliminary protection of the N-terminal amino group of the peptide backbone. The investigation of the antibacterial activity in vitro showed that N'-C10H21- and N'-p-(p-chlorophenyl)benzyl derivatives of eremomycin are the most active against vancomycin-resistant enterococci among the compounds obtained though they are less effective than the corresponding lipophilic derivatives of vancomycin. The introduction of two hydrophobic substituents led to a decrease in activity against both susceptible and resistant bacteria. The biochemical evaluation of the mode of action revealed that in addition to binding to D-Ala-D-Ala these compounds also have an alternative mechanism of action that does not require substrate binding.

Differential antibacterial activity of moenomycin analogues on gram-positive bacteria.

The moenomycin trisaccharide degradation product and synthetic disaccharide analogues based on the disaccharide core were bactericidal to gram-positive bacteria, inhibited lipid II polymerization, and inhibited cell wall synthesis in Enterococcus faecalis. Truncating moenomycin to the trisaccharide, and building upon the core disaccharide have both led to molecules possessing properties not shared with their respective parent structures.

Assay for identification of inhibitors for bacterial MraY translocase or MurG transferase.

Bacterial peptidoglycan synthesis is a well-characterized system for targeting new antimicrobial drugs. Formation of the peptidoglycan precursors Lipid I and Lipid II is catalyzed by the gene products of mraY and murG, which are involved in the first and second steps of the lipid cycle reactions, respectively. Here we describe the development of an assay specific for identifying inhibitors of MraY or MurG, based on the detection of radiolabeled [(14)C]GlcNAc incorporated into Lipid II. Assay specificity is achieved with the biotin tagging of the Lipid I precursor UDP-MurNAc-pentapeptide. This allows for the separation and identification of lipid products produced by the enzymatic activity of the MraY and MurG proteins, and thus identification of specific inhibitors.

Chlorobiphenyl-desleucyl-vancomycin inhibits the transglycosylation process required for peptidoglycan synthesis in bacteria in the absence of dipeptide binding.

Novel glycopeptide analogs are known that have activity on vancomycin resistant enterococci despite the fact that the primary site for drug interaction, D-ala-D-ala, is replaced with D-ala-D-lactate. The mechanism of action of these compounds may involve dimerization and/or membrane binding, thus enhancing interaction with D-ala-D-lactate, or a direct interaction with the transglycosylase enzymes involved in peptidoglycan polymerization. We evaluated the ability of vancomycin (V), desleucyl-vancomycin (desleucyl-V), chlorobiphenyl-vancomycin (CBP-V), and chlorobiphenyl-desleucyl-vancomycin (CBP-desleucyl-V) to inhibit (a) peptidoglycan synthesis in vitro using UDP-muramyl-pentapeptide and UDP-muramyl-tetrapeptide substrates and (b) growth and peptidoglycan synthesis in vancomycin resistant enterococci. Compared to V or CBP-V, CBP-desleucyl-V retained equivalent potency in these assays, whereas desleucyl-V was inactive. In addition, CBP-desleucyl-V caused accumulation of N-acetylglucosamine-beta-1, 4-MurNAc-pentapeptide-pyrophosphoryl-undecaprenol (lipid II). These data show that CBP-desleucyl-V inhibits peptidoglycan synthesis at the transglycosylation stage in the absence of binding to dipeptide.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of analogues of bacterial lipid I.

Bacterial Lipid I analogues containing different anomeric groups at the muramic acid moiety were synthesized and screened in MurG enzyme assays run in the presence and absence of cell wall membranes. The results obtained in this study help elucidate the role of the lipid diphosphate in the recognition of Lipid I by MurG.

WIN 17317-3: novel nonpeptide antagonist of voltage-activated K+ channels in human T lymphocytes.

We report the in vitro biological characterization of WIN 17317-3 (1-benzyl-7-chloro-4-n-propylimino-1,4-dihydroquinoline hydrochloride), a novel inhibitor of voltage-activated (n-type) K+ channels in human T lymphocytes. WIN 17317-3 inhibits 125I-charybdotoxin binding to n-type K+ channels with an IC50 value of 83 +/- 4 nM. WIN 17317-3 demonstrates competitive inhibition of 125I-charybdotoxin binding by increasing its dissociation constant without changing the total number of channels bound and by having no effect on its dissociation rate constant. WIN 17317-3 inhibits whole-cell, n-type K+ currents with characteristics indicative of open channel block and has an IC50 value of 335 nM. The compound is 150-fold selective for n-type K+ channels, compared with Ca(2+)-activated, charybdotoxin-sensitive K+ channels in smooth muscle. In purified CD4+ T lymphocytes activated with either anti-CD3 plus phorbol ester or anti-CD3 plus anti-CD28, WIN 17317-3 decreases interleukin-2 production with EC50 values of 0.8 microM and 1 microM, respectively. WIN 17317-3 is a novel, potent, and selective nonpeptide n-type K+ channel antagonist that inhibits interleukin-2 production in human T lymphocytes.

The nonpeptide WIN 64338 is a bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist.

We report the synthesis and in vitro biological activity of the nonpeptide bradykinin receptor antagonist WIN 64338, [[4-[[2-[[bis(cyclohexylamino)methylene]amino]-3-(2- naphthyl)-1-oxopropyl]amino]phenyl]methyl]tributylphosphonium chloride monohydrochloride. WIN 64338 inhibits [3H]-bradykinin binding to the bradykinin B2 receptor on human IMR-90 cells with a binding inhibition constant (Ki) of 64 +/- 8 nM and demonstrates competitive inhibition of bradykinin-stimulated 45Ca2+ efflux from IMR-90 cells (pA2 = 7.1). The antagonist inhibits bradykinin-mediated guinea pig ileum contractility (pA2 = 8.2) and has significantly weaker activity against acetylcholine-induced contractility in the same preparation. WIN 64338 is not active in a rabbit aorta bradykinin B1 receptor assay, demonstrating that it is a selective bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist. The compound inhibits [3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate binding to the rat brain muscarinic receptor (Ki = 350 nM) but is 25- to 100-fold more selective for the bradykinin receptor compared with other receptors against which it has been tested. Synthesis of WIN 64338 has provided a nonpeptide competitive bradykinin B2 antagonist active in both bradykinin radioligand binding and functional assays.

4,5-Dihydro-1-phenyl-1H-2,4-benzodiazepines: novel antiarrhythmic agents.

A series of 4,5-dihydro-1-phenyl-1H-2,4-benzodiazepines has been identified as potential antiarrhythmic agents that interact with sodium and potassium channels and prolong the ventricular effective refractory period (ERP) in anesthetized guinea pigs. Concomitant displacement of radiolabeled bactrachotoxin from site II in Na+ channels and of radiolabeled dofetilide from delayed rectifier K+ channels was evident with all members of this chemical series at a concentration of 10 microM. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies using a paced guinea pig model to assess prolongation of the ERP indicated that methyl or ethyl at the 1-position had little effect on activity, while larger groups caused a diminution of activity. Compounds with substituents at either the 3- or 4-position that increased lipophilicity generally were more potent; however, too many lipophilic substituents simultaneously at positions 1, 3, and 4 resulted in less active compounds. Substituents on either aromatic ring had little influence on activity, and phenyl at the 5-position resulted in a significant reduction in antiarrhythmic activity. When two sets of enantiomerically pure compounds were tested in the guinea pig, chirality was shown to be important for activity of 8, where the (R)-enantiomer was the more active, but not in the case of 15, where the enantiomers were equiactive. Several compounds in this series increased the threshold for ventricular fibrillation and refractoriness in myocardially-infarcted anesthetized cata and delayed the onset of aconitine-induced arrhythmias in anesthetized guinea pigs following intravenous dosing. Moreover, these compounds possessed oral antiarrhythmic activity in conscious myocardially-infarcted dogs. Compound R-15 has been advanced for further biological and toxicological evaluations.

Conformationally restrained analogues of pravadoline: nanomolar potent, enantioselective, (aminoalkyl)indole agonists of the cannabinoid receptor.

Pravadoline (1) is an (aminoalkyl)indole analgesic agent which is an inhibitor of cyclooxygenase and, in contrast to other NSAIDs, inhibits neuronally stimulated contractions in mouse vas deferens (MVD) preparations (IC50 = 0.45 microM). A number of conformationally restrained heterocyclic analogues of pravadoline were synthesized in which the morpholinoethyl side chain was tethered to the indole nucleus. Restraining the morpholine diminished the ability of these pravadoline analogues to inhibit prostaglandin synthesis in vitro. In contrast, mouse vas deferens inhibitory activity was enhanced in [2,3-dihydro-5-methyl-3-[(4-morpholinyl)methyl] pyrrolo[1,2,3-de]-1,4-benzoxazin-6-yl]-(4-methoxyphenyl)methano ne (20). Only the R enantiomer of 20 was active (IC50 = 0.044 microM). An optimal orientation of the morpholine nitrogen for MVD inhibitory activity within the analogues studied was in the lower right quadrant, below the plane defined by the indole ring. A subseries of analogues of 20 and a radioligand of the most potent analogue, (R)-(+)-[2,3-dihydro-5-methyl-3-[(4-morpholinyl)methyl]pyrrolo [1,2,3-de]-1,4-benzoxazin-6-yl](1-naphthalenyl)methanone (21) were prepared. Inhibition of radioligand binding in rat cerebellar membranes was observed to correlate with functional activity in mouse vas deferens preparations. Binding studies with this ligand (Win 55212-2) have helped demonstrate that the (aminoalkyl)indole binding site is functionally equivalent with the CP-55,940 cannabinoid binding site. These compounds represent a new class of cannabinoid receptor agonists.

Pharmacology of pravadoline: a new analgesic agent.

Pravadoline is a new chemical entity with analgesic activity in humans. This report describes the pharmacology of pravadoline and compares the activity of pravadoline with that of two major classes of analgesics, the opioids and the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Like the NSAIDs, pravadoline inhibited the synthesis of prostaglandins (PGs) in mouse brain both in vitro (IC50, 4.9 microM) and ex vivo (ED50, 20 mg/kg p.o.) and displayed antinociceptive activity in rodents subjected to a variety of chemical, thermal and mechanical nociceptive stimuli. Administration of pravadoline prevented the writhing response induced by i.p. administration of acetylcholine (ED50, 41 mg/kg p.o.) or PGE2 (ED50, 24 mg/kg p.o.) and prolonged the response latency induced by tail immersion in hot water at a temperature of 55 degrees C (minimum effective dose, 100 mg/kg s.c.). In the rat, treatment with pravadoline prevented acetic acid-induced writhing (ED50, 15 mg/kg p.o.), brewer's yeast-induced hyperalgesia (Randall-Selitto test) (minimum effective dose, 1 mg/kg p.o.), the nociceptive response induced by paw flexion in the adjuvant-arthritic rat (ED50, 41 mg/kg p.o.) and bradykinin-induced head and forepaw flexion (ED50, 78 mg/kg, p.o.). The antinociceptive activity of pravadoline cannot be explained by an opioid mechanism, because pravadoline-induced antinociception was not antagonized by naloxone (1 mg/kg s.c.) and pravadoline did not bind to opioid receptors at concentrations up to 10 microM. However, like the opioid analgesics, pravadoline diminished the electrically induced twitch response of mouse vas deferens preparations, but, in contrast to opioids, this action of pravadoline was not attenuated by naloxone. The possibility is discussed that this effect of pravadoline upon isolated tissues may contribute to its antinociceptive activity. In contrast to NSAIDs, pravadoline was more potent ex vivo as an inhibitor of the formation of PGs in brain vs. stomach. In addition, pravadoline failed to produce gastrointestinal lesions when administered p.o. to rats or mice, and did not possess significant anti-inflammatory activity at antinociceptive doses. Also unlike NSAIDs, pravadoline inhibited rat gastrointestinal transit when administered at doses similar to those which were antinociceptive. The overall pharmacologic profile of pravadoline suggests that the compound may be capable of managing more diverse or more severe pain than is achieved by anti-inflammatory analgesics, without producing side effects commonly associated with either the opioid or the nonopioid analgesics.

Pharmacologic profile of fezolamine fumarate: a nontricyclic antidepressant in animal models.

Fezolamine [N,N-dimethyl-3,4-diphenyl-1H-pyrazole-1-propanamine-(E)-2- butenedioate] is a new, nontricyclic agent under investigation as a potential antidepressant. In vitro, it was 3 to 4 times more selective in blocking synaptosomal uptake of [3H]norepinephrine than uptake of [3H]serotonin or [3H]dopamine. In classical behavioral tests using monoamine-depleted animals, it prevented the depressant effects of reserpine and tetrabenzine. In addition, it was active in the "behavioral despair" procedure. Its potency in three of these models was similar to that of standard tricyclics (e.g., imipramine, amitriptyline) or newer nontricyclic antidepressants (e.g., bupropion). In the mouse mydriasis and oxotremorine antagonism models, anticholinergic properties of fezolamine were weak or absent compared with imipramine and amitriptyline. Locomotor activity in mice was not increased by fezolamine at doses 2 to 16 times greater than effective antidepressant doses, suggesting the absence of central nervous system stimulant properties. Fezolamine did not inhibit monoamine oxidase activity in ex vivo studies and, unlike pargyline, did not produce locomotor hyperactivity in mice pretreated with L-tryptophan. In vitro studies using canine Purkinje tissue suggest that fezolamine has significantly less ability to depress myocardial conduction parameters than similar concentrations of imipramine. In a myocardially infarcted cat model, plasma levels of fezolamine 19 to 28 times greater than those achieved with imipramine were required before inducing significant depression of cardiac function and mean arterial pressure. Fezolamine, unlike imipramine, did not increase sinus rate. Fezolamine may thus show antidepressant efficacy in man with minimal anticholinergic or cardiovascular side effects common to tricyclic antidepressants.

3,4-Diphenyl-1H-pyrazole-1-propanamine antidepressants.

A small series of compounds is described in which a narrow SAR has identified N,N-dimethyl-3,4-diphenyl-1H-pyrazole-1-propanamine, 3, as a potential antidepressant with reduced side effects. The isomeric N,N-dimethyl-4,5-diphenyl-1H-pyrazole-1-propanamine was completely inactive in the primary antidepressant screens. Compounds were synthesized by Michael addition of acrylonitrile to diphenylpyrazole followed by reductive alkylation of the resultant diphenylpyrazolepropionitriles. Compound 3 was equipotent with imipramine in standard antidepressant assays in animals but showed no significant anticholinergic action and did not antagonize the antihypertensive effects of clonidine and guanethidine.

Experimental alterations of endorphin levels in rat pituitary.

Endorphin (END) levels in rat pituitary were assessed with the opiate receptor binding assay. Procedures reported to alter hormone secretion from END-rich intermediate or anterior lobes were examined for their effect on END content. Lesions of the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) had no significant effect on END content. Ingestion of 2% NaCl reduced END levels in a significant majority of the animals. Suckling, a natural physiological stimulus, significantly elevated neurointermediate lobe END. Footshock and immobilization each evoked 40--50% reductions in anterior lobe END content. Pituitary ENDs are thus affected by many of the same stimuli that also promote release of a number of peptide hormones derived from the same biosynthetic precursor. However, separate mechanisms likely exist for control of secretion of these peptides from anterior and neurointermediate lobe.

Mechanism of methacholine-induced rise in intraocular pressure in the dog.

The mechanism of the methacholine-induced rise in intraocular pressure in the dog was studied to determine the basis of the relationship, if any, between lens thickness and intraocular pressure. The results rule out a vasodilator component in methacholine intraocular pressure elevation, and the tonometric recording of the elevation makes unlikely the involvement of methacholine stimulation of the rectus muscles of the eye. Thus, indirect evidence points to methacholine stimulation of ciliary muscle contraction with consequent thickening of the lens as responsible for its intraocular pressure-elevating effect and, hence, the ability of the response under investigation to specify the cycloplegic liability of a neurotropic antispasmodic agent.