Pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidines: discovery and preliminary SAR of a novel series of DYRK1B and DYRK1A inhibitors.

DYRK1B is a kinase over-expressed in certain cancer cells (including colon, ovarian, pancreatic, etc.). Recent publications have demonstrated inhibition of DYRK1B could be an attractive target for cancer therapy. From a data-mining effort, the team has discovered analogues of pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidines as potent enantio-selective inhibitors of DYRK1B. Cells treated with a tool compound from this series showed the same cellular effects as down regulation of DYRK1B with siRNA. Such effects are consistent with the proposed mechanism of action. Progress of the SAR study is presented.

Effects of LTB4 receptor antagonism on pulmonary inflammation in rodents and non-human primates.

Asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS) are characterized by neutrophilic inflammation and elevated levels of leukotriene B4 (LTB4). However, the exact role of LTB4 pathways in mediating pulmonary neutrophilia and the potential therapeutic application of LTB4 receptor antagonists in these diseases remains controversial. Here we show that a novel dual BLT1 and BLT2 receptor antagonist, RO5101576, potently inhibited LTB4-evoked calcium mobilization in HL-60 cells and chemotaxis of human neutrophils. RO5101576 significantly attenuated LTB4-evoked pulmonary eosinophilia in guinea pigs. In non-human primates, RO5101576 inhibited allergen and ozone-evoked pulmonary neutrophilia, with comparable efficacy to budesonide (allergic responses). RO5101576 had no effects on LPS-evoked neutrophilia in guinea pigs and cigarette smoke-evoked neutrophilia in mice and rats. In toxicology studies RO5101576 was well-tolerated. Theses studies show differential effects of LTB4 receptor antagonism on neutrophil responses in vivo and suggest RO5101576 may represent a potential new treatment for pulmonary neutrophilia in asthma.

Extended Alkenyl Glycosides by Ruthenium-Catalyzed Cross-Metathesis Reaction and Application toward Novel C-Linked Pseudodisaccharides.

Grubbs's ruthenium benzylidene catalyst (3) has been successfully applied toward the cross-metathesis reactions of allyl alpha-D-galactopyranoside derivative (4) with a number of olefins. Terminal alkenes possessing a wide range of protecting groups were used as cross-metathetic partners to allow syntheses of glycosides having extended spacers and functionality in the aglycon moieties. The reaction is quite general and the cross-metathesis products (14-21) were obtained in high yields. The strategy has also been applied toward the synthesis of some C-linked pseudodisaccharides from allyl alpha-C-galactoside derivatives (23, 26, and 28) in good yields. In almost all cases, trans-stereoselectivity was found to be good to excellent.

Discovery of novel and potent leukotriene B4 receptor antagonists. Part 1.

The inhibition of LTB(4) binding to and activation of G-protein-coupled receptors BLT1 and BLT2 is the premise of a treatment for several inflammatory diseases. In a lead optimization effort starting with the leukotriene B(4) (LTB(4)) receptor antagonist (2), members of a series of 3,5-diarylphenyl ethers were found to be highly potent inhibitors of LTB(4) binding to BLT1 and BLT2 receptors, with varying levels of selectivity depending on the substitution. In addition, compounds 33 and 38 from this series have good in vitro ADME properties, good oral bioavailability, and efficacy after oral delivery in guinea pig LTB(4) and nonhuman primate allergen challenge models. Further profiling in a rat non-GLP toxicity experiment provided the rationale for differentiation and selection of one compound (33) for clinical development.

Discovery of AICAR Tfase inhibitors that disrupt requisite enzyme dimerization.

The discovery of a new class of aminoimidazole carboxamide ribonucleotide transformylase (AICAR Tfase) inhibitors through screening peptidomimetic libraries (>40,000 compounds) that act by inhibiting requisite enzyme dimerization is disclosed. In addition to defining key structural features of the lead compounds responsible for the activity, kinetic analysis of the remarkably small inhibitors established that they act as noncompetitive, dissociative inhibitors of AICAR Tfase with the prototypical lead (A1B3, Cappsin 1) exhibiting a K(i) of 3.1 +/- 0.3 microM. Thus, the studies define a unique approach to selectively targeting AICAR Tfase over all other folate-dependent enzymes, and it represents only one of a few enzymes for which inhibition achieved by disrupting requisite enzyme dimerization has emerged from screening unbiased combinatorial libraries.