Ketononestrol aziridine, an agonistic estrogen receptor affinity label: study of its bioactivity and estrogen receptor covalent labeling.

Ketononestrol aziridine [(6R,TS)1-(N-aziridinyl)6,7-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)5-nonamone (KNA)], an aziridine derivative of hexestrol, is an estrogenic affinity label for the estrogen receptor (ER). It has an apparent relative binding affinity 8% that of estradiol and shows time-dependent irreversible binding to the ER in uterine cytosol preparations and intact human breast cancer cells (MCF-7). The agonistic activity of KNA is evident in MCF-7 cells in culture, where it increases the cell growth rate and elevates the level of progesterone receptor. KNA was prepared in high specific activity tritium-labeled form by iodination of a methanesulfonate precursor, followed by catalytic tritium-iodine exchange and aziridinylation; the material prepared has high radiochemical purity and a specific activity of 67 Ci/mmol. The covalent attachment of [3H]KNA to the ER can be followed directly by a solvent precipitation assay. In cytosol preparations of uterine ER, labeling with [3H]KNA proceeds in a time-, concentration-, and temperature-dependent manner; labeling is efficient and selective and, by competition studies, was shown to be estrogen specific. ER in intact MCF-7 cells can also be covalently labeled by treatment with [3H]KNA. Receptor covalently labeled with [3H]KNA sediments as a 4S species on high salt sucrose gradients, and its sedimentation position is shifted by treatment with monoclonal antireceptor antibodies. On sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels, the principal labeled species migrates with a mol wt of 66,000. KNA should prove to be a useful probe for studies on receptor structure, function, and chromatin interactions, particularly when the behavior of a receptor-agonist complex is being investigated.

Preparation, receptor binding, and fluorescence properties of hexestrol-fluorophore conjugates: evaluation of site of attachment, fluorophore structure, and fluorophore-ligand spacing.

We have undertaken a staged development of certain estrogen-fluorophore conjugates, in order to prepare a fluorescent estrogen suitable for determination of the estrogen receptor content of individual cells. Since non-steroidal estrogens with bulky substituents are often more readily bound by receptor than their steroidal counterparts, we have investigated fluorophore conjugates with derivatives of the non-steroidal estrogen hexestrol [3R*, 4S*)-3,4-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)hexane). On the basis of the receptor-binding affinity of model compounds, we prepared a prototypical set of three ring- and side-chain-substituted fluorescent hexestrol derivatives, whose binding and fluorescence properties ultimately led to the preparation of a series of side-chain-substituted nitrobenzoxadiazole derivatives. The compounds prepared have binding affinities for the estrogen receptors that range from ca. 1% to 5% that of estradiol, and they have very favorable fluorescence characteristics, similar to those of fluorescein.

Estrogenic affinity labels: synthesis, irreversible receptor binding, and bioactivity of aziridine-substituted hexestrol derivatives.

To develop an affinity label for the estrogen receptor that would be an estrogen agonist, rather than antagonist, we prepared several aziridine derivatives of the potent nonsteroidal estrogen hexestrol [3R,4S)-3,4-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)hexane) bearing an aziridine function on the side chain. Three functional groups link the hexestrol ligand and the aziridine: a carbonyl group (ketone or ester), a thioether, or a methylene chain. The apparent competitive binding affinity of these derivatives for the estrogen receptor ranges from 1.8% to 25% that of estradiol, and most of them bind in a time-dependent, irreversible manner with the receptor, although the rate and efficiency of this binding vary widely, often with relatively small changes in structure. This is consistent with the irreversible attachment requiring a precise alignment of activating and reacting residues in the binding site of the receptor. The estrogenic and antiestrogenic activity of these aziridine derivatives was investigated in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. Most of the compounds are agonists, with one being an antagonist. The derivative (6R,7S)-1-N-aziridinyl-6,7-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)-5-nonanone (keto-nonestrol aziridine 3) appears to have the most ideal behavior of the estrogenic affinity labeling agents prepared: It is an agonist, and it binds to receptor irreversibly, efficiently, and quite rapidly.

Potent in vitro and in vivo inhibitors of platelet aggregation based upon the Arg-Gly-Asp sequence of fibrinogen. (Aminobenzamidino)succinyl (ABAS) series of orally active fibrinogen receptor antagonists.

Our initial orally active fibrinogen receptor antagonist benzamidinopentanoyl (BAP) series which was discovered through truncation of our i.v. antiplatelet agent (SC-52012) demonstrated modest oral activity in canine studies (ethyl [5-(4-amindinophenyl)pentanoyl]-3-amino-3-(3-pyridyl)propionate, 1e). Introduction of an amide bond adjacent to the benzamidine led to a novel series with an (aminobenzamidino)succinyl (ABAS) Arg-Gly surrogate that had improved in vitro potency (5-17 times) relative to the BAP series. Four ester prodrug/acid active metabolite pairs (2a/2e, 60a/60e, 62a/62e, 63a/63e) from the ABAS series which varied in their 3-substituent on the beta-amino ester "aspartate mimetic" were prepared in enantiomerically enriched form (> 95:5), and they were evaluated in canine studies for their ability to block collagen-induced aggregation in platelet-rich plasma, the elimination profile (t1/2 beta-phase), repeated oral dosing studies, and oral systemic availability. Of the four ester prodrug/acid active metabolite pairs, 2e/2a (SC-54684A/SC-54701A) has the most favorable properties in the above studies with an IC50 = 67 +/- 5 nM (dog platelet-rich plasma, collagen), t1/2 beta = 1.6 h (ester) and 6.5 h (acid), no adverse effects upon repeated dosing, and a drug oral systemic availability of 62% (area under curve (AUC) of acid 2a (drug) following ig administration of ester 2e (prodrug, 2.5 mg/kg) divided by AUC of acid 2a (drug) following i.v. administration of ester 2e (prodrug, 2.5 mg/kg) as determined by HPLRC). In further pharmacokinetic studies using nonlabeled 2e/2a, the oral systemic availability (ester 2e ig/ester 2e i.v.) of 2e was measured to be in the range of 44.7-53.0%. The more biologically relevant oral systemic availability (ester 2e ig/acid 2a i.v.) of 2e was found to be in the range of 22.0-26.4%. A pharmacophore model based on inhibitors from several different benzamidine classes including 2a (ABAS class) was developed using a combination of molecular modeling (MM2) and pharmacophore identification (APOLLO) methods.

Potent in vitro and in vivo inhibitors of platelet aggregation based upon the Arg-Gly-Asp-Phe sequence of fibrinogen. A proposal on the nature of the binding interaction between the Arg-guanidine of RGDX mimetics and the platelet GP IIb-IIIa receptor.

Peptide mimetics of the RGDF sequence in which Arg-Gly has been replaced with 5-(4-amidinophenyl)pentanoyl mimetic has led to a 1000-fold increase in inhibitory potency over the natural RGDF ligand. The guanidine residue of the arginine may be involved in a reinforced ionic interaction with a carboxylate of the receptor which could explain the dramatic increase in potency upon replacement with benzamidine. This hypothesis is supported by the observation of low inhibitory potency of the corresponding benzylamine (18) and no activity with the corresponding imidazoline derivative (19); plus, ab initio calculations on the respective complexes suggest that the benzamidine-carboxylate is more favorable than the guanidine-carboxylate interaction. The ED50 for the inhibition of ex vivo collagen induced platelet aggregation in the dog for SC-52012 (1) was 0.32 microgram/kg/min by iv infusion with a pharmacodynamic half-life for recovery of approximately 40 min.

A partial agonist of the A(1)-adenosine receptor selectively slows AV conduction in guinea pig hearts.

The use of full agonists of the A(1)-adenosine receptor (A(1)-ADOR) as antiarrhythmic agents is limited by their actions to cause high-grade atrioventricular (AV) block, profound bradycardia, atrial fibrillation, and vasodilation. It may be possible to avoid these undesired actions by use of partial agonists. We determined the effects of CVT-2759, a potential partial agonist of A(1)-ADORs, on guinea pig hearts. CVT-2759 (0.1-100 microM) increased the S-H interval of the isolated heart from 45 +/- 1 to 60 +/- 3 ms (P < 0. 01) with a half-maximal effect at 3.1 microM. CVT-2759 did not cause second-degree AV block. CVT-2759 significantly attenuated the actions of the full agonists N(6)-cyclopentyladenosine and adenosine. CVT-2759 caused a moderate slowing of atrial rate by 10 microM. In contrast, CVT-2759 was a full agonist to decrease cAMP content of rat adipocytes and Fischer rat thyroid line 5 cells. Results of radioligand binding assays indicated that CVT-2759 stabilized a high-affinity, G protein-coupled state of the A(1)-ADOR in membranes prepared from rat adipocytes but not in membranes prepared from the guinea pig brain. The results suggest that a weak A(1)-ADOR agonist, such as CVT-2759, may be useful to slow AV nodal conduction and thereby ventricular rate without causing AV block, bradycardia, atrial arrhythmias, or vasodilation.

The amino-terminal one-third of alpha IIb defines the ligand recognition specificity of integrin alpha IIb beta 3.

The integrin alpha subunits play a major role in the regulation of ligand binding specificity. To gain further insight into the regions of the alpha subunits that regulate ligand specificity, we have utilized alpha v / alpha IIb chimeras to identify regions of alpha IIb that when substituted for the homologous regions of alpha v switched the ligand binding phenotype of alpha v beta 3 to that of alpha IIb beta 3. We report that the ligand recognition specificity of beta 3 integrins is regulated by the amino-terminal one-third of the alpha subunit. Substitution of the amino-terminal portion of alpha v with the corresponding 334 residues of alpha IIb reconstituted reactivity with both alpha IIb beta 3-specific activation-dependent (PAC1) and -independent (OPG2) ligand mimetic antibodies in addition to small highly specific activation-independent ligands. In contrast, substitution of the amino-terminal portion alone or the divalent cation repeats alone were not sufficient to change ligand binding specificity. These data in combination with previous studies demonstrate that integrin ligand recognition requires cooperation between elements in both the alpha and beta subunits and indicate that the ligand binding pocket is a structure assembled from elements of both the alpha and beta subunits.

Novel short-acting A2A adenosine receptor agonists for coronary vasodilation: inverse relationship between affinity and duration of action of A2A agonists.

Several potent and selective A2A adenosine receptor agonists are currently available. These compounds have a high affinity for the A2A receptor and a long duration of action. However, in situations where a short duration of action is desired, currently available A2A receptor agonists are less than ideal. From a series of recently synthesized A2A receptor agonists, two agonists (CVT-3146 and CVT-3033) with low affinity were selected for further characterization as selective and short-acting coronary vasodilators. Both compounds were selective for the A2A adenosine receptor (AdoR) versus the A1, A2B, and A3AdoR in binding and functional studies. CVT-3146 and CVT-3033 appeared to be weak partial agonists to cause cAMP accumulation in PC12 cells, but were full and potent agonists to cause coronary vasodilation, a response that has a very large A2A receptor reserve. However, the durations of action of CVT-3146 and CVT-3033 were remarkably shorter than those of the high-affinity agonists CGS21680 or WRC0470, presumably due to the relative lower affinity of CVT-3146 and CVT-3033 for the A2A receptor. Indeed, an inverse relationship was found between the affinity of the various agonists for the A2A receptor and the duration of their actions. These data indicate that low-affinity agonists can produce a response that is of equivalent magnitude but more rapid in termination than that caused by a high-affinity agonist. Hence, the low-affinity A2A agonists CVT-3146 and CVT-3033 may prove to be superior to currently available high-affinity agonists as coronary vasodilators during myocardial imaging with radionuclide agents.

Characterization of Binding of an RGD Mimetic, [(3)H]-SC-52012, to Platelet GPIIb/IIIa.

In order to compare binding of small peptide mimetics on activated vs resting platelets and with fibrinogen (fgn) on activated platelets, the binding of [(3)H]-SC-52012, a low molecular weight (483) mimetic of the RGDF sequence present in fgn, was evaluated. This compound is a potent inhibitor of fgn binding to activated platelets, IC, 9.0 ± 0.6 nM (mean ± SEM), and inhibits ADP induced human platelet aggregation (IC, 44 ± 5 nM). The dissociation constant (Kd) of [(3)H]-SC-52012 was 21.6 ± 4.7 nM (n = 13) in ADP-induced human washed platelets while the Kd for resting platelets was 156 ± 8.3 nM (n = 3). The maximum number of binding sites on ADP-activated and resting platelets were 60846 ± 7158 and 59464 ± 5898 molecules/platelet, respectively. By comparison, results with [(125)I]-fgn binding to activated platelets gave values of 363 ± 73 nM and 58046 ± 6386 molecules/platelet (n = 8) for the Kd and receptor number, respectively. These data suggest that the small molecule binds regardless of activation state of the platelet with only a change in affinity. [(3)H]-SC-52012 could be displaced by unlabelled SC-52012 with an IC(50) of 135 ± 20 nM.

SC-54684A: an orally active inhibitor of platelet aggregation.

BACKGROUND: Intravenous therapy has been shown to be beneficial in the prevention of acute platelet-associated thrombotic events. However, orally active agents would be advantageous for chronic therapy. Fibrinogen receptor antagonists block the fibrinogen/platelet interaction and thus inhibit a step required for thrombus formation. To date, no orally active fibrinogen binding inhibitors have been characterized. SC-54684A, now in clinical trial, is the orally active prodrug of a potent and specific fibrinogen binding antagonist. METHODS AND RESULTS: We measured inhibition of 125I-fibrinogen binding to activated platelets and inhibition of aggregation in platelet-rich plasma to selected agonists and showed IC50s of 1.0 x 10(-8) and 3 to 7 x 10(-8) mol/L, respectively. Specificity of the active moiety was determined by studying its effect on the binding of (1) neutrophils to interleukin (IL)-1 beta-stimulated endothelial cells, (2) endothelial cells to fibronectin, and (3) vitronectin to isolated vitronectin and fibrinogen receptors. No effect was observed on the binding neutrophils to IL-stimulated endothelial cells or endothelial cell binding to fibronectin. There was a fivefold separation between binding to isolated receptors of vitronectin and fibrinogen. Collagen-induced aggregation was inhibited by 80%, and bleeding time was increased approximately 2.5-fold when the active moiety was infused to steady state at 0.2 micrograms/kg per minute in dogs. When the ester prodrug was given orally and the active moiety was given intravenously, the oral systemic activity was approximately 20%. Pharmacokinetic analysis after intravenous infusion of the prodrug or active moiety showed that the prodrug was rapidly converted to the active moiety; the active moiety had a t1/2 of 6.5 hours. When the prodrug was administered both orally and intravenously, the systemic availability of the active moiety was 62%. CONCLUSIONS: SC-54684A, an orally active antiplatelet drug now in clinical trial, is shown to be a potent, specific fibrinogen binding inhibitor that blocks platelet aggregation to a wide variety of known stimuli and has good bioavailability in animals.

Design of orally active, non-peptide fibrinogen receptor antagonists. An evolutionary process from the RGD sequence to novel anti-platelet aggregation agents.

The evolutionary process from the Arg-Gly-Asp-Phe (RGDF) tetrapeptide to potent orally active anti-platelet agents is presented. The RGD sequence is an important component in the recognition of fibrinogen by its platelet receptor GP IIb-IIIa (integrin alpha IIb beta 3). This work concentrates on the replacement of the Arg-Gly dipeptidyl fragment by an acylated aminobenzamidine. The C-terminal fragment has been replaced by a variety of beta-amino acids, expanding on a previously reported paradigm. The lead compounds showed good potency in an in vitro platelet aggregation assay (dog PRP/ADP). The affinity for the fibrinogen receptor was confirmed in several cases by the ability to inhibit 125I fibrinogen binding to activated human platelets. The ethyl ester prodrug form was tested by oral administration to dogs and monitoring of the anti-platelet effect on ex vivo collagen induced platelet aggregation. From the structural studies reported, the 4-[[(aminoiminomethyl)phenyl]amino]-4-oxobutanoic acid (5) was the best surrogate for the Arg-Gly dipeptide. Several conformationally restricted analogues are also reported which are compatible with the hypothesis of RGD binding to the alpha IIb beta 3 in a turn-extended-turn conformation. The structure-activity relationships described also underline the importance of the beta-amino acid substitution for potency. In particular, the absolute configuration at the beta-carbon was crucial for high affinity. The best acid/ester pairs reported in this study had high potency (acid PRP/ADP IC50 approximately 50 nM) and showed good oral activity in dogs at 5 mg/kg per os (ethyl ester).

A novel series of orally active antiplatelet agents.

A novel series of orally active fibrinogen receptor antagonists has been discovered through structural modification of our lead intravenous (iv) antiplatelet agent, 5-(4-amidinophenyl)pentanoyl-Asp-Phe 1 (SC-52012). The Asp-Phe amide bond was removed through truncation to a 3-substituted beta-amino acid aspartate mimetic which resulted in a tripeptide mimetic inhibitor of lower molecular weight (from 482 to the 330-390 g mol-1). The zwitterionic nature of the inhibitor was masked through the preparation of an ethyl ester prodrug. A lead compound from this series, 5-(4-amidinophenyl)pentanoyl-3-(3-pyridyl)propanoic acid 19a, was found to be a potent inhibitor of canine platelet aggregation in vitro (collagen, platelet rich plasma, PRP, IC50 = 270 nM). In further canine studies, oral administration of different ester pro-drugs of 19a at 10 mg kg-1 resulted in the following oral systemic activities: pivaloyloxymethyl ester derivative 19p (5.1 +/- 1.5% OSA), cyclohexyl ester derivative 19c (9.2 +/- 1.9% OSA), and ethyl ester derivative 19e (9.9 +/- 2.3% OSA).