Repurposing antipsychotics of the diphenylbutylpiperidine class for cancer therapy.

The recent development of high throughput compound screening has allowed drug repurposing to emerge as an effective avenue for discovering novel treatments for cancer. FDA-approved antipsychotic drugs fluspirilene, penfluridol, and pimozide are clinically used for the treatment of psychotic disorders, primarily schizophrenia. These compounds, belong to diphenylbutylpiperidine class of antipsychotic drugs, are the potent inhibitors of dopamine D2 receptor and calcium channel. A correlation has been found that patients treated for schizophrenia have lower incidences of certain types of cancer, such as respiratory, prostate, and bladder cancers. These compounds have also been shown to inhibit cancer proliferation in a variety of cancer cells, including melanoma, lung carcinoma, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, glioma, and prostate cancer, among others. Antipsychotic drugs induce apoptosis and suppress metastasis in in vitro and in vivo models through mechanisms involving p53, STAT3, STAT5, protein phosphatase 2A, cholesterol homeostasis, integrins, autophagy, USP1, wnt/ß-catenin signaling, and DNA repair. Additionally, pre-clinical evidence suggests that penfluridol and pimozide act synergistically with existing chemotherapeutic agents, such as dasatinib, temozolomide, and cisplatin. Some studies have also reported that the cytotoxic activity of the antipsychotics is selective for dividing cells. Based on this growing body of evidence and the availability and previous FDA-approval of the drugs, the compounds appear to be promising anti-cancer agents.

Molecular determinant of substrate binding and specificity of cytochrome P450 2J2.

Cytochrome P450 2J2 (CYP2J2) is responsible for the epoxidation of endogenous arachidonic acid, and is involved in the metabolism of exogenous drugs. To date, no crystal structure of CYP2J2 is available, and the proposed structural basis for the substrate recognition and specificity in CYP2J2 varies with the structural models developed using different computational protocols. In this study, we developed a new structural model of CYP2J2, and explored its sensitivity to substrate binding by molecular dynamics simulations of the interactions with chemically similar fluorescent probes. Our results showed that the induced-fit binding of these probes led to the preferred active poses ready for the catalysis by CYP2J2. Divergent conformational dynamics of CYP2J2 due to the binding of each probe were observed. However, a stable hydrophobic clamp composed of residues I127, F310, A311, V380, and I487 was identified to restrict any substrate access to the active site of CYP2J2. Molecular docking of a series of compounds including amiodarone, astemizole, danazol, ebastine, ketoconazole, terfenadine, terfenadone, and arachidonic acid to CYP2J2 confirmed the role of those residues in determining substrate binding and specificity of CYP2J2. In addition to the flexibility of CYP2J2, the present work also identified other factors such as electrostatic potential in the vicinity of the active site, and substrate strain energy and property that have implications for the interpretation of CYP2J2 metabolism.

Metabolism of N-ethylhexedrone and buphedrone: An in vivo study in mice using HPLC-MS/MS.

N-ethylhexedrone (NEH) and buphedrone (BUPH) are synthetic drugs structurally related to natural cathinone. These synthetic cathinones (SC) are members of the heterogenous family of new psychoactive substances (NPS), which have caused major concern in scientific and forensic communities over the past years, due to their widespread consume. Thus, there is a constant need for monitoring the use of these new substances and gather knowledge on their metabolism and excretion profiles, in order to try to identify markers of NPS consumption. This study aimed at the identification and quantification of NEH, BUPH and selected phase I metabolites using HPLC-MS/MS. NEH, BUPH and some related metabolites were synthesized in-house and quantified in 24 h mice urine, following single dose administration of each drug (64 mg kg-1, i.p.). NEH and BUPH were quantified in mice urine at 58.3 ± 14.4 and 146.2 ± 14.9 µg mL-1, respectively. Similar metabolic pathways were observed for both drugs. Among the metabolites studied, the most excreted ones derived from N-dealkylation of either NEH or BUPH (at around 80 µg mL-1 of urine). Other metabolites resulting from ketone reduction and ketone reduction combined with N-dealkylation or 4-aryl hydroxylation (detected for the first time in non-ring substituted SC) were also identified and quantified. Urine samples were screened using liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry and various phase II metabolites, including N-acetylated, glucuronides and dicarboxylic acid conjugates were tentatively identified, some of them for the first time. This work is a contribution to the identification of metabolites from SC that can become potential markers to estimate drug consumption.

Analysis of available surface area can predict the long-term dissolution profile of tablets using short-term stability studies.

Generally, since at least 6 months are usually needed for accelerated testing of tablet at 40 °C/75% relative humidity (RH), it would be crucial important to predict the dissolution profiles during long-term storage period by using samples stored with shorter periods such as 3 months. In this study, we developed a new method for predicting changes in dissolution from tablets during long-term storage-based changes in the available surface area [S (t)]. In addition, we discussed the dissolution behavior and mechanisms using S (t). The results revealed drastic delays in dissolution in samples stored at 40 °C/75% RH for 7 weeks. Considering changes of S (t) patterns, this delay was derived from changes of the tablet surface. New parameters, namely T22.1 and T63.2, calculated from the S (t) profile tended to increase with an increased duration of testing. Concerning the long-term prediction model using short-term data, a nonlinear model was deemed appropriate because good agreement was observed between the value predicted using the model and the measured value for samples stored at 40 °C/75% RH for 6 months. Therefore, using the new evaluation method based on S (t), we can predict changes in dissolution during long-term storage using short-term methods.

Phloroglucinol Derivatives from Dryopteris crassirhizoma as Potent Xanthine Oxidase Inhibitors.

Dryopteris crassirhizoma rhizomes are used as a traditional medicine in Asia. The EtOAc extract of these roots has shown potent xanthine oxidase (XO) inhibitory activity. However, the main phloroglucinols in D. crassirhizoma rhizomes have not been analyzed. Thus, we investigated the major constituents responsible for this effect. Bioassay-guided purification isolated four compounds: flavaspidic acid AP (1), flavaspidic acid AB (2), flavaspidic acid PB (3), and flavaspidic acid BB (4). Among these, 1 showed the most potent inhibitory activity with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of 6.3 µM, similar to that of allopurinol (IC50 = 5.7 µM) and better than that of oxypurinol (IC50 = 43.1 µM), which are XO inhibitors. A comparative activity screen indicated that the acetyl group at C3 and C3' is crucial for XO inhibition. For example, 1 showed nearly 4-fold higher efficacy than 4 (IC50 = 20.9 µM). Representative inhibitors (1-4) in the rhizomes of D. crassirhizoma showed reversible and noncompetitive inhibition toward XO. Furthermore, the potent inhibitors were shown to be present in high quantities in the rhizomes by a UPLC-QTOF-MS analysis. Therefore, the rhizomes of D. crassirhizoma could be used to develop nutraceuticals and medicines for the treatment of gout.

Improvement of solubility and dissolution of ebastine by fabricating phosphatidylcholine/ bile salt bilosomes.

Although ebastine (EBT) can impede histamine-induced skin allergic reaction and persuade long acting selective H1 receptor antagonistic effects but its poor water solubility circumscribed its clinical application. The main objective of this research work was to improve the aqueous solubility and oral bioavailability of EBT by preparing EBT-loaded bilosomes (EBT-PC-SDC-BS). A thin film hydration method was used to prepare ebastine loaded bilosomes. The prepared-formulations were optimized considering size, morphology and entrapment efficiency. The SEM images revealed regular and spherical shape of bilosomes. Average size of the prepared EBT-PC-SDC-BS was 665.8 nm and zeta potential was around-32.9 mV with 89.05 % average entrapment efficiency (EE).Importantly, the solubility of EBT in water was amplified up to 17.9 µg/ml compared to pure drug (2 µg/mL) reflecting a highest solubility increase of 751 %. In vitro drug release results of prepared EBT-PC-SDC-BS exhibited improved release behavior. Finally, it is established from the results that the EBT-PC-SDC-BS could function as a favorable nano-carrier system to improve the solubility as well as dissolution of EBT.

Unexpected identification and characterization of a cathinone precursor in the new psychoactive substance market: 3',4'-methylenedioxy-2,2-dibromobutyrophenone.

3',4'-methylenedioxy-2,2-dibromobutyrophenone has been identified and fully characterized in a sample obtained from an anonymous consumer acquired as ketamine through the Internet market. The substance has been deeply characterized by using standard and high performance analytical techniques such as: attenuated total reflectance-infrared spectroscopy, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, high-resolution mass spectrometry, elemental analysis, and nuclear magnetic resonance, including 1H, 13C, distortionless enhancement by polarization transfer, two dimensional homonuclear 1H-1H correlation spectroscopy, and 1H-13C heteronuclear single-quantum correlation spectra. 3',4'-methylenedioxy-2,2-dibromobutyrophenone is a precursor or intermediate in the synthesis of several synthetic cathinone derivatives, such as pentylone and methylenedioxy pyrovalerone. It is expected that 3',4'-methylenedioxy-2,2-dibromobutyrophenone does not act as psychoactive substance through disruption nor dysregulation of central and peripheral nervous systems, due to the absence of the characteristic amine group of cathinone derivatives. Although it cannot be considered a trend in new psychoactive substances consumption, the presence in the market and the unknown toxicity of this substance makes it a relevant fact.

Role of Arginine 117 in Substrate Recognition by Human Cytochrome P450 2J2.

The influence of Arginine 117 of human cytochrome P450 2J2 in the recognition of ebastine and a series of terfenadone derivatives was studied by site-directed mutagenesis. R117K, R117E, and R117L mutants were produced, and the behavior of these mutants in the hydroxylation of ebastine and terfenadone derivatives was compared to that of wild-type CYP2J2. The data clearly showed the importance of the formation of a hydrogen bond between R117 and the keto group of these substrates. The data were interpreted on the basis of 3D homology models of the mutants and of dynamic docking of the substrates in their active site. These modeling studies also suggested the existence of a R117-E222 salt bridge between helices B' and F that would be important for maintaining the overall folding of CYP2J2.

Separation of six compounds including two n-butyrophenone isomers and two stibene isomers from Rheum tanguticum Maxim by recycling high speed counter-current chromatography and preparative high-performance liquid chromatography.

Six compounds including two n-butyrophenone isomers and two stibene isomers were obtained from Rheum tanguticum Maxim. Two n-butyrophenone isomers with a separation factor of 1.14 were successfully separated by recycling high-speed counter-current chromatography after ten cycles. Two stibene isomers were successfully separated by preparative high-performance liquid chromatography. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis showed that the purities of the compounds were all over 98%. These compounds were identified as lindleyin, isolindleyin, resveratrol-4'-O-(2″-O-galloyl)-glucopyranoside, resveratrol-4'-O-(6''-O-galloyl)-glucopyranoside, emodin 1-O-ß-d-glucoside, and 3,5-dihydroxy-4'-methoxystilbene-3-O-ß-d-glucopyranoside. The results indicated that recycling high-speed counter-current chromatography and preparative high-performance liquid chromatography could be effective combination for the preparation of bioactive compounds from Rheum tanguticum Maxim.

Hyperjaponol H, A New Bioactive Filicinic Acid-Based Meroterpenoid from Hypericum japonicum Thunb. ex Murray.

Hyperjaponol H (1), a new filicinic acid-based meroterpenoid, with a 6/6/10 ring system trans-fused by hetero-Diels-Alder cycloaddition between a germacrane sesquiterpenoid and a filicinic acid moiety, was isolated from aerial parts of Hypericum japonicum. The elucidation of its structure and absolute configuration were accomplished by the analyses of extensive spectroscopic data and the comparison of Cotton effects of electron circular dichroism (ECD) with previously reported ones. The bioactivity assay showed that hyperjaponol H exhibited a moderate inhibitory efficacy on lytic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA replication in B95-8 cells.

Natural products as sources of new fungicides (IV): Synthesis and biological evaluation of isobutyrophenone analogs as potential inhibitors of class-II fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase.

Several recently identified antifungal compounds share the backbone structure of acetophenones. The aim of the present study was to develop new isobutyrophenone analogs as new antifungal agents. A series of new 2,4-dihydroxy-5-methyl isobutyrophenone derivatives were prepared and characterized by 1H, 13C NMR and MS spectroscopic data. These products were evaluated for in vitro antifungal activities against seven plant fungal pathogens by the mycelial growth inhibitory rate assay. Compounds 3, 4a, 5a, 5b, 5e, 5f and 5g showed a broad-spectrum high antifungal activity. On the other hand, for the first time, these compounds were also assayed as potential inhibitors against Class II fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase (Fba) from the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe grisea. Compounds 5e and 5g were found to exhibit the inhibition constants (Ki) for 15.12 and 14.27 µM, respectively, as the strongest competitive inhibitors against Fba activity. The possible binding-modes of compounds 5e and 5g were further analyzed by molecular docking algorithms. The results strongly suggested that compound 5g could be a promising lead for the discovery of new fungicides via targeting Class II Fba.

New psychoactive substances: Studies on the metabolism of XLR-11, AB-PINACA, FUB-PB-22, 4-methoxy-α-PVP, 25-I-NBOMe, and meclonazepam using human liver preparations in comparison to primary human hepatocytes, and human urine.

New psychoactive substances (NPS) are an increasing problem in clinical and forensic toxicology. The knowledge of their metabolism is important for toxicological risk assessment and for developing toxicological urine screenings. Considering the huge numbers of NPS annually appearing on the market, metabolism studies should be realized in a fast, simple, cost efficient, and reliable way. Primary human hepatocytes (PHH) were recommended to be the gold standard for in vitro metabolism studies as they are expected to contain natural enzyme clusters, co-substrates, and drug transporters. In addition, they were already successfully used for metabolism studies of NPS. However, they also have disadvantages such as high costs and limited applicability without special equipment. The aims of the present study were therefore first to investigate exemplarily the phase I and phase II metabolism of six NPS (XLR-11, AB-PINACA, FUB-PB-22, 4-methoxy-α-PVP, 25-I-NBOMe, and meclonazepam) from different drug classes using pooled human S9 fraction (pS9) or pooled human liver microsomes combined with cytosol (pHLM/pHLC) after addition of the co-substrates for the main metabolic phase I and II reactions. Second to compare results to published data generated using primary human hepatocytes and human urine samples. Results of the incubations with pS9 or pHLM/pHLC were comparable in number and abundance of metabolites. Formation of metabolites, particularly after multi-step reactions needed a longer incubation time. However, incubations using human liver preparations resulted in a lower number of total detected metabolites compared to PHH, but they were still able to allow the identification of the main human urinary excretion products. Human liver preparations and particularly the pooled S9 fraction could be shown to be a sufficient and more cost-efficient alternative in context of metabolism studies also for developing toxicological urine screenings. It might be recommended to use the slightly cheaper pS9 fraction instead of a pHLM/pHLC combination. As formation of some metabolites needed a long incubation time, two sampling points at 60 and 360min should be recommended.

Peak deconvolution to correctly assess the band broadening of chromatographic columns.

The present study provides experimental evidence for the fact that the peak deconvolution method can be applied to accurately measure the column-only dispersion of the current generation of high speed and high efficiency columns. Unlike the conventional variance difference method, it furthermore preserves any prevailing asymmetry of the column-only peak. This has been demonstrated by testing the same column on three different system configurations, with different extra-column volumes, and showing that, after deconvolution, the resulting column-only peaks coincide very well and produce very similar column-only plate height values (typical relative standard deviation comprising all runs on three different system configurations is 2-2.5%). Extensively studying a large set of theoretically produced peaks (with exactly known variance and asymmetry), it could be shown that the main criterion for the validity of the deconvolution method is that the variance of the system-only peak is minimum 1.5 times smaller than the variance of the column+system peak. The need to add a radial mixer unit to accurately assess the system-only contributions has been demonstrated as well. To illustrate its use and merits, the deconvolution method has been used to establish so-called multiple van Deemter curves, wherein plate height curves relating to different peak width definitions are shown in the same plot. These plots can give new insights in the intrinsic asymmetry of the column-only dispersion.

4F-PBP (4'-fluoro-α-pyrrolidinobutyrophenone), a new substance of abuse: Structural characterization and purity NMR profiling.

The rapidly growing problem of new psychoactive substances (NPS) makes the time management for international control a real challenge, with the traditional detection methods becoming increasingly inadequate. NPS screening technologies, such as NMR, which allows multiple substances to be detected, characterized and quantified simultaneously from a single sample, offers a rapid solution to this problem. This study describes the application of NMR to the simultaneous detection, characterization and quantification of samples of white powders seized by the Portuguese Police. 4F-PBP (4'-fluoro-α-pyrolidinobutyrophenone) a new synthetic psychoactive cathinone cut with myo-inositol was found in two seized products. The structural characterization of 4F-PBP was elucidated in the mixture, and confirmed after isolation from the matrix by (1)H, (13)C, (19)F NMR and MS. Myo-inositol was found for the first time as a cutting agent of cathinones. Furthermore another seized product was characterized as being MDPBP, with a high degree of purity, and its spectroscopic elucidation enabled the correction of (13)C NMR literature assignments.

A novel UV degradation product of Ebastine: isolation and characterization using Q-TOF, NMR, IR and computational chemistry.

Forced degradation of Ebastine (1-(4-(1,1-dimethylethyl)phenyl)-4-(4-(diphenylmethoxy) piperidin-1-yl)butan-1-one) drug substance in ultraviolet light condition resulted into an unknown significant degradation product. This degradation product was analyzed using a newly developed reverse-phase HPLC, where it was eluted at 2.73 relative retention time to Ebastine peak. UV degradation product was isolated from reaction mass using preparative HPLC and its structure was elucidated using high resolution MS, multidimensional NMR and FTIR spectroscopic techniques. UV degradation product has been characterized as 2-(4-(benzhydryloxy)piperidin-1-yl)-1-(4-(tert-butyl)phenyl)-2-methylcyclopropanol. (1)H and (13)C NMR chemical shift values were generated using computational chemistry for possible two diastereomers (7R10S and 7R10R) and later 7R10R was confirmed (and its enantiomer) as final structure given it showed close agreement with experimental NMR data. Formation of UV degradation product as a recemic mixture was further verified by computational chemistry evaluation, chiral HPLC and polarimetery. To best of our knowledge, this is a novel degradation product which is not discussed at any form of publication yet.

Organocatalytic enantioselective direct vinylogous Michael addition of α,ß-unsaturated γ-butyrolactam to ß-acyl acrylates and 1,2-diacylethylenes.

A highly efficient Michael addition of α,ß-unsaturated γ-butyrolactam to various ß-acyl acrylates and ene-diones to provide synthetically useful compounds was developed. The products were obtained with high diastereo- and enantioselectivities (up to >25:1 dr and 99% ee) containing adjacent tertiary stereocenters.

Stereoselective synthesis of γ-hydroxynorvaline through combination of organo- and biocatalysis.

An efficient route for the synthesis of all four diastereomers of PMP-protected α-amino-γ-butyrolacton to access γ-hydroxynorvaline was established. The asymmetric key steps comprise an organocatalytic Mannich reaction and an enzymatic ketone reduction. Three reaction steps could be integrated in a one-pot process, using 2-PrOH both as solvent and as reducing agent. The sequential construction of stereogenic centres gave access to each of the four stereoisomers in high yield and with excellent stereocontrol.

Orthogonal projection to latent structures combined with artificial neural networks in non-destructive analysis of ebastine powder.

A new method orthogonal projection to latent structures (O-PLS) combined with artificial neural networks is investigated for non-destructive determination of ebastine powder via near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. The modern NIR spectroscopy is efficient, simple and non-destructive technique, which has been used in chemical analysis in diverse fields. Being a preprocessing method, O-PLS provides a way to remove systematic variation from an input data set X not correlated to the response set Y, and does not disturb the correlation between X and Y. In this paper, O-PLS pretreated spectral data was applied to establish the ANN model of ebastine powder, in this model, the concentration of ebastine as the active component was determined. The degree of approximation was employed as the selective criterion of the optimum network parameters. In order to compare the OPLS-ANN model, the calibration models that use first-derivative and second-derivative preprocessing spectra were also designed. Experimental results showed that the OPLS-ANN model was the best.

Essential structural features of novel antischizophrenic drugs: a review.

Due to the wide range of chemical structures and variety of mechanisms of action of antischizophrenic agents, it is difficult to identify and confirm a common pharmacophore. The present review summarizes various pharmacophore models for antischizophrenic activity including those based on the new targets, the kynurenine aminotransferase (KATs), which may facilitate the development of novel drugs. Some models illustrate the structural differences of compounds with mechanisms of action considered similar, and yet others demonstrate pharmacophore models for similar chemical classes of compounds for which the mechanism of antischizophrenic action is still not clear. In this study, we discuss the pharmacophore models for antipsychotics including phenothiazine, butyrophenone, thioxanthene, and atypical agents along with the novel antischizophrenic agents which are inhibitors of KATs isozymes.