Modifications on the Amino-3,5-dicyanopyridine Core To Obtain Multifaceted Adenosine Receptor Ligands with Antineuropathic Activity.

A new series of amino-3,5-dicyanopyridines (1-31) was synthesized and biologically evaluated in order to further investigate the potential of this scaffold to obtain adenosine receptor (AR) ligands. In general, the modifications performed have led to compounds having high to good human (h) A1AR affinity and an inverse agonist profile. While most of the compounds are hA1AR-selective, some derivatives behave as mixed hA1AR inverse agonists/A2A and A2B AR antagonists. The latter compounds (9-12) showed that they reduce oxaliplatin-induced neuropathic pain by a mechanism involving the alpha7 subtype of nAchRs, similar to the nonselective AR antagonist caffeine, taken as the reference compound. Along with the pharmacological evaluation, chemical stability of methyl 3-(((6-amino-3,5-dicyano-4-(furan-2-yl)pyridin-2-yl)sulfanyl)methyl)benzoate 10 was assessed in plasma matrices (rat and human), and molecular modeling studies were carried out to better rationalize the available structure-activity relationships.

A New Class of Fluorinated A2A Adenosine Receptor Agonist with Application to Last-Step Enzymatic [18 F]Fluorination for PET Imaging.

The A2A adenosine receptor belongs to a family of G-coupled protein receptors that have been subjected to extensive investigation over the last few decades. Due to their prominent role in the biological functions of the heart, lungs, CNS and brain, they have become a target for the treatment of illnesses ranging from cancer immunotherapy to Parkinson's disease. The imaging of such receptors by using positron emission tomography (PET) has also been of interest, potentially providing a valuable tool for analysing and diagnosing various myocardial and neurodegenerative disorders, as well as offering support to drug discovery trials. Reported herein are the design, synthesis and evaluation of two new 5'-fluorodeoxy-adenosine (FDA)-based receptor agonists (FDA-PP1 and FDA-PP2), each substituted at the C-2 position with a terminally functionalised ethynyl unit. The structures enable a synthesis of 18 F-labelled analogues by direct, last-step radiosynthesis from chlorinated precursors using the fluorinase enzyme (5'-fluoro-5'-deoxyadenosine synthase), which catalyses a transhalogenation reaction. This delivers a new class of A2A adenosine receptor agonist that can be directly radiolabelled for exploration in PET studies.

Discovery of Novel Adenosine Receptor Agonists That Exhibit Subtype Selectivity.

A series of N(6)-bicyclic and N(6)-(2-hydroxy)cyclopentyl derivatives of adenosine were synthesized as novel A1R agonists and their A1R/A2R selectivity assessed using a simple yeast screening platform. We observed that the most selective, high potency ligands were achieved through N(6)-adamantyl substitution in combination with 5'-N-ethylcarboxamido or 5'-hydroxymethyl groups. In addition, we determined that 5'-(2-fluoro)thiophenyl derivatives all failed to generate a signaling response despite showing an interaction with the A1R. Some selected compounds were also tested on A1R and A3R in mammalian cells revealing that four of them are entirely A1R-selective agonists. By using in silico homology modeling and ligand docking, we provide insight into their mechanisms of recognition and activation of the A1R. We believe that given the broad tissue distribution, but contrasting signaling profiles, of adenosine receptor subtypes, these compounds might have therapeutic potential.

Modulation of G protein-coupled adenosine receptors by strategically functionalized agonists and antagonists immobilized on gold nanoparticles.

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) allow the tuning of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties by active or passive targeting of drugs for cancer and other diseases. We have functionalized gold nanoparticles by tethering specific ligands, agonists and antagonists, of adenosine receptors (ARs) to the gold surface as models for cell surface interactions with G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The AuNP conjugates with chain-extended AR ligands alone (PEGylated nucleosides and nonnucleosides, anchored to the Au via thioctic acid) were found to be insoluble in water due to hydrophobic entities in the ligand. Therefore, we added a second, biologically inactive pendant moiety to increase the water solubility, consisting of a PEGylated chain terminating in a carboxylic or phosphate group. The purity and stability of the immobilized biologically active ligand were examined by ultrafiltration and HPLC. Pharmacological receptor binding studies on these GPCR ligand-derivatized AuNPs (2-5 nm in diameter), performed using membranes of mammalian cells stably expressing human A1, A2A, and A3ARs, showed that the desired selectivity was retained with K(i) values (nanomolar) of A3AR agonist 21b and A2AAR antagonists 24 and 26a of 14 (A3), 34 (A2A), and 69 (A2A), respectively. The corresponding monomers displayed K i values of 37, 61, and 1,420 nM, respectively. In conclusion, we have synthesized stable, water-soluble AuNP derivatives of tethered A3 and A2AAR ligands that retain the biological properties of their monomeric ligands and are intended for therapeutic and imaging applications. This is the first prototypical application to gold carriers of small molecule (nonpeptide) GPCR ligands, which are under investigation for treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases.

Optimization of adenosine 5'-carboxamide derivatives as adenosine receptor agonists using structure-based ligand design and fragment screening.

Structures of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) have a proven utility in the discovery of new antagonists and inverse agonists modulating signaling of this important family of clinical targets. Applicability of active-state GPCR structures to virtual screening and rational optimization of agonists, however, remains to be assessed. In this study of adenosine 5' derivatives, we evaluated the performance of an agonist-bound A(2A) adenosine receptor (AR) structure in retrieval of known agonists and then employed the structure to screen for new fragments optimally fitting the corresponding subpocket. Biochemical and functional assays demonstrate high affinity of new derivatives that include polar heterocycles. The binding models also explain modest selectivity gain for some substituents toward the closely related A(1)AR subtype and the modified agonist efficacy of some of these ligands. The study suggests further applicability of in silico fragment screening to rational lead optimization in GPCRs.

Benzothiazinones: a novel class of adenosine receptor antagonists structurally unrelated to xanthine and adenine derivatives.

2-(Acyl)amino-4H-3,1-benzothiazin-4-ones and related thienothiazinones were identified as structurally novel antagonists at adenosine receptors (ARs). 6-Methyl-2-benzoylamino-4H-3,1-benzothiazin-4-one (10d) was found to be a balanced AR antagonist with affinity for all human (h) subtypes (K(i) hA(1) 65.6 nM; hA(2A) 120 nM; hA(2B) 360 nM; hA(3) 30.4 nM), while in rat (r), 10d was a highly potent A(1)-selective antagonist (rA(1) 7.7 nM; rA(2A) 546 nM; rA(2B) 679 nM, rA(3) >10000 nM). 2-(4-Methylbenzoylamino)-4H-3,1-benzothiazin-4-one (10g) was found to be a potent antagonist at human A(2A) (68.8 nM) and A(3) ARs (23.0 nM) with high selectivity versus the other human AR subtypes. In contrast to A(1) and A(3) ARs, A(2A) and A(2B) ARs tolerated bulky 2-acyl substituents. tert-Butyl (4-oxo-4H-3,1-benzothiazin-2-ylcarbamoyl)benzylcarbamate (15g, K(i) hA(2B) 186 nM; hA(2A) 603 nM) and 4-(4-benzylpiperazine-1-carbonyl)-N-(4-oxo-4H-3,1-benzothiazin-2-yl)benzamide (15k, hA(2A) 69.5 nM; hA(2B) 178 nM) were highly selective versus the other AR subtypes. 2-Acylamino-3,1-benzothiazin-4-ones represent novel scaffolds suitable for the development of potent and selective AR antagonists for each of the four receptor subtypes.

Expeditious synthesis and biological evaluation of new C-6 1,2,3-triazole adenosine derivatives A1 receptor antagonists or agonists.

The synthesis of new C-6 1,2,3-triazole adenosine derivatives via microwave assisted 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition as key step is described. The binding on membranes of cells that over express A(1) adenosine receptors (A(1)AR) was also evaluated. Among them, four compounds increased cAMP production, in a dose-dependent manner acting as antagonists of the A(1)AR, while two compounds act as agonists.

PEGylated dendritic unimolecular micelles as versatile carriers for ligands of G protein-coupled receptors.

Despite its widespread application in nanomedicine, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) is seldom used for covalent modification of ligands for G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) due to potential steric complications. In order to study the influence of PEG chains on the biological activity of GPCR ligands bound to a common macromolecular carrier, we prepared a series of G3 polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers derivatized with Alexa Fluor 488, varying numbers of PEG(550)/PEG(750)/PEG(2000), and nucleoside moieties derived from the A(2A) adenosine receptor (AR) agonist CGS21680 (2-[4-(2-carboxylethyl)phenylethylamino]-5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine). These dendrimer conjugates were purified by size exclusion chromatography and characterized by (1)H NMR and MALDI MS. In radioligand binding assays, some PAMAM-PEG conjugates showed enhanced subtype-selectivity at the human A(2A) AR compared to monomeric ligands of comparable affinity. The functional potency was measured in the A(2A) AR-mediated activation of adenylate cyclase and inhibition of ADP-induced platelet aggregation. Interestingly, the dendrimer conjugate 10c bearing 11 PEG(750) chains (out of theoretical 32 amino end groups) and 14 nucleoside moieties was 5-fold more potent in A(2A) AR-mediated stimulation of cyclic AMP formation than 10d with 4 PEG(2000) chains and 21 nucleosides, although the binding affinities of these 2 compounds were similar. Thus, a relatively small (≤10 nm) multivalent ligand 10c modified for water solubility maintained high potency and displayed increased A(2A) AR binding selectivity over the monomeric nucleosides. The current study demonstrates the feasibility of using short PEG chains in the design of carriers that target ligand-receptor interactions.