Modulation of the Pharmacokinetics of a Radioligand Targeting Carbonic Anhydrase-IX with Albumin-Binding Moieties.

The expression of carbonic anhydrase-IX (CA-IX) in tumors can lead to a poor prognosis; thus, CA-IX has attracted much attention as a target molecule for cancer diagnosis and treatment. An 111In-labeled imidazothiadiazole sulfonamide (IS) derivative, [111In]In-DO3A-IS1, exhibited marked tumor accumulation but also marked renal accumulation, raising concerns about it producing a low signal/background ratio and a high radiation burden on the kidneys. In this study, four 111In-labeled IS derivatives, IS-[111In]In-DO2A-ALB1-4, which contained four different kinds of albumin binder (ALB) moieties, were designed and synthesized with the aim of improving the pharmacokinetics of [111In]In-DO3A-IS1. Their utility for imaging tumors that strongly express CA-IX was evaluated in mice. An in vitro binding assay of cells that strongly expressed CA-IX (HT-29 cells) was performed using acetazolamide as a competitor against CA-IX, and IS-[111In]In-DO2A-ALB1-4 did not exhibit reduced binding to HT-29 cells compared with [111In]In-DO3A-IS1. In contrast, IS-[111In]In-DO2A-ALB1-4 showed a greater ability to bind to human serum albumin than [111In]In-DO3A-IS1 in vitro. In an in vivo biodistribution study, the introduction of an ALB moiety into the 111In-labeled IS derivative markedly decreased renal accumulation and increased HT-29 tumor accumulation and blood retention. The pharmacokinetics of the IS derivatives varied depending on the substituted group within the ALB moiety. Single-photon emission computed tomography imaging with IS-[111In]In-DO2A-ALB1, which showed the highest tumor/kidney ratio in the biodistribution study, facilitated clear HT-29 tumor imaging, and no strong signals were observed in the normal organs. These results indicate that IS-[111In]In-DO2A-ALB1 may be an effective CA-IX imaging probe and that the introduction of ALB moieties may improve the pharmacokinetics of CA-IX ligands.

Synthesis, Molecular Docking and Preliminary Antileukemic Activity of 4-Methoxybenzyl Derivatives Bearing Imidazo[2,1-b][1,3,4]thiadiazole.

In this study, we synthesized 22 compounds in a series with various substitution on imidazo[2,1-b][1,3,4]thiadiazole. The potential cytotoxic activity of these compounds investigated in leukemia cell lines by Differential Nuclear Staining (DNS). Our results identified two compounds, 2-(4-methoxybenzyl)-6-(2-oxo-2H-chromen-3-yl)imidazo[2,1-b][1,3,4]thiadiazol-5-yl thiocyanate and 6-(4-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-methoxybenzyl)imidazo[2,1-b][1,3,4]thiadiazole-5-carbaldehyde, exhibited the most cytotoxic effect against murine leukemia cells (L1210), human T-lymphocyte cells (CEM) and human cervix carcinoma cells (HeLa) with IC50 values ranging between 0.79 and 1.6 µM. The results indicate that 2-(4-methoxybenzyl)-6-(2-oxo-2H-chromen-3-yl)imidazo[2,1-b][1,3,4]thiadiazol-5-yl thiocyanate is inducing phosphatidylserine externalization and caspase-3 activation which are both a hallmark of apoptosis. Docking studies showed that 2-(4-methoxybenzyl)-6-(2-oxo-2H-chromen-3-yl)imidazo[2,1-b][1,3,4]thiadiazol-5-yl thiocyanate binds within the active sites of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-ß) type I receptor kinase domain by strong hydrogen binding and hydrophobic interactions.

Design and synthesis of benzenesulfonamide-linked imidazo[2,1-b][1,3,4]thiadiazole derivatives as carbonic anhydrase I and II inhibitors.

A novel series of imidazothiadiazole-linked benzenesulfonamide derivatives (5a-t) was synthesized and subjected for screening against the four physiologically and pharmacologically relevant human carbonic anhydrase (hCA) isoforms: hCA I, II, VA, and IX. The compounds selectively inhibited hCA I and II over hCA VA and IX. Furthermore, among the two cytosolic isoforms, hCA II was more effectively inhibited as compared with hCA I. The most active compounds were 5o with K i = 0.246 µM and 5p with K i = 0.376 µM against hCA II, whereas compound 5f showed good inhibition against both hCA I and II with K i = 0.493 and 0.4 µM, respectively. This class of underexplored sulfonamides may be used to design isoform-selective CA inhibitors targeting enzymes of medicinal chemistry interest.

Synthesis and evaluation of novel technetium-99m-hydroxamamide complex based on imidazothiadiazole sulfonamide targeting carbonic anhydrase-IX for tumor imaging.

Carbonic anhydrase-IX (CA-IX) is an attractive target for detecting tumors associated with a poor prognosis. We previously reported a [99mTc]hydroxamamide complex based on ureidosulfonamide as a CA-IX ligand ([99mTc]URB2A), which showed a favorable affinity for CA-IX high-expressing cells in vitro and tumors in vivo; however, radioactivity retention in the blood pool suggested a high background signal on imaging. To improve the pharmacokinetics of [99mTc]URB2A, in this study, we designed and synthesized [99mTc]ISB2 based on imidazothiadiazole sulfonamide, which exhibited greater CA-IX affinity and faster clearance from the blood pool than ureidosulfonamide in studies using corresponding 111In-labeled compounds, and evaluated its utility for CA-IX imaging. In an in vitro cell binding assay, [99mTc]ISB2 markedly bound to CA-IX high-expressing (HT-29) cells; moreover, its binding was greater than that of [99mTc]URB2A. In an in vivo biodistribution assay, [99mTc]ISB2 showed faster clearance from the blood pool than [99mTc]URB2A; however, lower HT-29 tumor accumulation was observed. Further structural modification of [99mTc]ISB2 to improve its stability may lead to the development of a useful [99mTc]hydroxamamide complex for CA-IX imaging.

Synthesis and evaluation of indium-111-labeled imidazothiadiazole sulfonamide derivative for single photon emission computed tomography imaging targeting carbonic anhydrase-IX.

Carbonic anhydrase-IX (CA-IX) is a zinc enzyme overexpressed in the hypoxic regions of many types of solid tumors; therefore, in vivo imaging of CA-IX may contribute to cancer diagnosis. In this study, we newly designed and synthesized an 111In-labeled CA-IX imaging agent based on an imidazothiadiazole sulfonamide (IS) scaffold conjugated with a chelating moiety, DO3A ([111In]DO3A-IS1), and evaluated its utility for imaging of CA-IX high-expressing tumors. [111In]DO3A-IS1 was successfully synthesized at a 76% radiochemical yield by reacting its precursor with 111InCl3 in acetate buffer. In in vitro assays, [111In]DO3A-IS1 showed marked stability in murine plasma and greater binding to CA-IX high-expressing (HT-29) cells (118 ± 21% initial dose/mg protein) than CA-IX low-expressing (MDA-MB-231) cells (1.4 ± 0.3% initial dose/mg protein). Moreover, in an in vivo biodistribution assay, [111In]DO3A-IS1 showed marked accumulation in the HT-29 tumor (8.71 ± 1.41% injected dose/g at 24 h postinjection). In addition, in a single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) study, [111In]DO3A-IS1 clearly and selectively visualized the HT-29 tumor as compared with the MDA-MB-231 tumor. These results indicate that [111In]DO3A-IS1 may serve as a useful SPECT imaging agent with the novel scaffold targeting CA-IX.

Quantitative structure-activity relationship of substituted imidazothiadiazoles for their binding against the ecdysone receptor of Sf-9 cells.

Imidazothiadiazoles (ITDs) are a class of potent nonsteroidal ecdysone agonists with larvicidal activity. Previously, we performed the Hansch-Fujita type of quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) analysis for ITD analogs (Yokoi et al., Pestic. Biochem. Physiol.2015, 120, 40-50). The activity was reasonably explained by hydrophobicity and electronegativity of substituents on the imidazothiadiazole ring system. However, the limited data points (n = 8) hampered the examination of other physicochemical parameters. In the present study, we expanded the library of ITD congeners and evaluated their receptor-binding affinity using intact Sf-9 cells. The QSAR analysis for the expanded set revealed the significance of the third physicochemical parameter, the negative steric effect for long substituents. We also evaluated the larvicidal activity of the synthesized compounds against Spodoptera litura; however, it was not correlated to the binding affinity. The results obtained here suggests that the pharmacokinetic properties must be improved to enhance the larvicidal activity of ITDs.

Structure-activity relationship of imidazothiadiazole analogs for the binding to the ecdysone receptor of insect cells.

Diacylhydrazines are the first non-steroidal ecdysone agonists, and five compounds are used as insecticides in agriculture. After the discovery of diacylhydrazine-type compounds, numerous non-steroidal structures were reported as ecdysone agonists. Among various ecdysone agonists, imidazothiadiazoles are reported to be very potent in vitro; however, the experimental detail for the structure identification and bioassays are not stated in the paper (Holmwood and Schindler, Bioorg. Med. Chem. 17, 4064-4070, 2009). In our present study, we synthesized 18 imidazothiadiazole-type compounds and confirmed the chemical structures by spectrometric analyses. The binding activity of the synthesized compounds to the ecdysone receptor was evaluated in terms of the concentration required for 50% inhibition of [(3)H]ponasterone A incorporation [IC50 (M)] into lepidopteran (Sf-9), coleopteran (BCRL-Lepd-SL1), and dipteran (NIAS-AeAl2) cells. 6-(2-Chlorophenyl)-2-(trifluoromethyl)imidazo[2,1-b] [1,3,4]-thiadiazol-5-yl)acrylamide analogs with CONHR (secondary amide) were very potent against Sf-9 cells, but further alkylation (tertiary amide: CONR2) decreased the activity dramatically. Additionally, a primary amide analog (CONH2) was inactive. The activity also decreased 150-fold by the saturation of olefin region of the acrylamide moiety. In addition, various substituents were introduced at the 2-position of the imidazothiadiazole ring to disclose the physicochemical properties of the substituents which are important for receptor binding. The activity increased by 7500-fold with the introduction of the CF2CF2CF3 group compared to the unsubstituted compound against Sf-9 cells. Quantitative structure-activity relationship analysis for these substituents indicated that hydrophobic and electron-withdrawing groups were favorable for binding. Some of the compounds with strong receptor binding activity showed good larvicidal activity against Spodoptera litura. In contrast, the binding affinity of imidazothiadiazole analogs was low or not observed against dipteran and coleopteran cells.

Therapeutic charisma of imidazo [2,1-b] [1,3,4]-thiadiazole analogues: a patent review.

Imidazothiadiazole was discovered around the 1950s era, containing an imidazole ring fused to a thiadiazole ring. Imidazothiadiazole exhibit versatile pharmacological properties including anticonvulsant, cardiotonic, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, antifungal, antibacterial and anticancer. Despite of the being discovered in 1950s, the imidazothiadiazole derivatives are unable to being processed to clinical trials because of lack of bioavailability, efficacy and cytotoxicity. The recent patent literature focused on structural modification of imidazothiadiazole core to overcome these problems. This review limelight a disease-centric perspective on patented imidazothiadiazole from 2015-2023 and to understand their mechanism of action in related diseases. The relevant granted patent applications were located using patent databases, Google Patents, USPTO, EPO, WIPO, Espacenet and Lens.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of imidazo[2,1-b][1,3,4]thiadiazole-linked oxindoles as potent tubulin polymerization inhibitors.

A series of imidazo[2,1-b][1,3,4]thiadiazole-linked oxindoles composed of an A, B, C and D ring system were synthesized and investigated for anti-proliferative activity in various human cancer cell lines; test compounds were variously substituted at rings C and D. Among them, compounds 7 ((E)-5-fluoro-3-((6-p-tolyl-2-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)-imidazo[2,1-b][1,3,4]thiadiazol-5-yl)methylene)indolin-2-one), 11 ((E)-3-((6-p-tolyl-2-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)imidazo[2,1-b][1,3,4]thiadiazol-5-yl)methylene)indolin-2-one), and 15 ((E)-6-chloro-3-((6-phenyl-2-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)imidazo[2,1-b][1,3,4]thiadiazol-5-yl)methylene)indolin-2-one) exhibited potent anti-proliferative activity. Treatment with these three compounds resulted in accumulation of cells in G2 /M phase, inhibition of tubulin assembly, and increased cyclin-B1 protein levels. Compound 7 displayed potent cytotoxicity, with an IC50 range of 1.1-1.6 µM, and inhibited tubulin polymerization with an IC50 value (0.15 µM) lower than that of combretastatin A-4 (1.16 µM). Docking studies reveal that compounds 7 and 11 bind with αAsn101, ßThr179, and ßCys241 in the colchicine binding site of tubulin.