High-affinity inhibitors of Zymomonas mobilis tRNA-guanine transglycosylase through convergent optimization.

The tRNA-modifying enzyme tRNA-guanine transglycosylase (TGT) has been recognized as a drug target for the treatment of the foodborne illness shigellosis. The active site of TGT consists of three pockets: the central guanine/preQ1 recognition site and the ribose-33 and ribose-34 pockets. In previous work, lin-benzoguanines and lin-benzohypoxanthines, which differ by the presence of an exocyclic NH2 group in the former and its absence in the latter, were used as central scaffolds that bind to the guanine/preQ1 recognition site and allow suitable functionalization along exit vectors targeting the two ribose pockets. The substituents for both of these two pockets have been optimized individually. Here, a series of bifunctionalized inhibitors that occupy both ribose pockets are reported for the first time. Dissociation constants Kd down to the picomolar range were measured for the bifunctionalized lin-benzoguanine-based ligands and Kd values in the nanomolar range were measured for the corresponding lin-benzohypoxanthine-based ligands. The binding mode of all inhibitors was elucidated by X-ray crystal structure analysis. A remarkable influence of the crystallization protocol on the solvation pattern in the solid state and the residual mobility of the bound ligands was observed.

Synthesis and configuration determination of all enantiopure stereoisomers of the melatonin receptor ligand 4-phenyl-2-propionamidotetralin using an expedient optical resolution of 4-phenyl-2-tetralone.

An efficient and practical approach for the synthesis of all four stereoisomers of the MT(2) melatonin receptor ligand 4-phenyl-2-propionamidotetralin (4-P-PDOT), each in enantiomerically pure form (ee > 99.9%), was developed. The strategy involved an optical resolution procedure of the key precursor (±)-4-phenyl-2-tetralone with the unusual resolving agent (S)-mandelamide, through the formation of four dihydronaphtalene-spiro-oxazolidin-4-one diastereomers. Interestingly, NMR experimental observations in combination with geometric calculations, provided unambiguous configuration assignments of all stereocenters of the key spiro stereoisomers. Cleavage of each single spiro diastereomer under acidic conditions gave enantiopure (R)- or (S)-4-phenyl-2-tetralone, which were then converted to each 4-P-PDOT single enantiomer by using stereoselective reactions.

Bivalent ligand approach on N-{2-[(3-methoxyphenyl)methylamino]ethyl}acetamide: synthesis, binding affinity and intrinsic activity for MT(1) and MT(2) melatonin receptors.

We report the synthesis, binding properties and intrinsic activity at MT(1) and MT(2) melatonin receptors of new dimeric melatonin receptor ligands in which two units of the monomeric agonist N-{2-[(3-methoxyphenyl)methylamino]ethyl}acetamide (1) are linked together through different anchor points. Dimerization of compound 1 through the methoxy substituent leads to a substantial improvement in selectivity for the MT(1) receptor, and to a partial agonist behavior. Compound 3a, with a trimethylene linker, was the most selective for the MT(1) subtype (112-fold selectivity) and compound 3d, characterized by a hexamethylene spacer, had the highest MT(1) binding affinity (pK(iMT1)=8.47) and 54-fold MT(1)-selectivity. Dimerization through the aniline nitrogen of 1 abolished MT(1) selectivity, leading to compounds with either a full agonist or an antagonist behavior depending on the nature of the linker.

N-(Anilinoethyl)amides: design and synthesis of metabolically stable, selective melatonin receptor ligands.

The class of N-(anilinoethyl)amides includes melatonin receptor ligands with varied subtype selectivity and intrinsic activity. One of these ligands, the MT(2)-selective partial agonist UCM765 (N-{2-[(3-methoxyphenyl)phenylamino]ethyl}acetamide), had evidenced hypnotic effects in rodents at doses > or =40 mg kg(-1) (s.c.), in spite of its sub-nanomolar affinity for human melatonin receptors. Supposing that its low in vivo potency could be due, at least in part, to metabolic liability in rat liver, UCM765 was incubated with rat liver S9 fraction and rat, mouse, or human microsomes, and the major metabolites were identified by LC-MS, synthesized, and in vitro tested for their affinity toward MT(1) and MT(2) receptors. The obtained information was exploited to design novel analogues of UCM765 that are more resistant to in vitro oxidative degradation, while maintaining a similar binding profile. The analogue UCM924 (N-{2-[(3-bromophenyl)-(4-fluorophenyl)amino]ethyl}acetamide) displayed a binding profile similar to that of UCM765 on cloned human receptors (MT(2)-selective partial agonist) and a significantly longer half-life in the presence of rat liver S9 fraction.