Search

The atypical chemokine receptor 3 (ACKR3), formerly known as CXC-chemokine receptor 7 (CXCR7), has been postulated to regulate platelet function and thrombus formation. Herein, we report the discovery and development of first-in-class ACKR3 agonists, which demonstrated superagonistic properties with

Salt-inducible kinases (SIKs) are key metabolic regulators. The imbalance in SIK function is associated with the development of diverse cancers, including breast, gastric, and ovarian cancers. Chemical tools to clarify the roles of SIK in different diseases are, however, sparse and are generally characterized by poor kinome-wide selectivity. Here, we have adapted the pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidin-7-one-based p21-activated kinase (PAK) inhibitor G-5555 for the targeting of SIK, by exploiting differences in the back-pocket region of these kinases. Optimization was supported by high-resolution crystal structures of G-5555 bound to the known off-targets, MST3 and MST4, leading to a chemical probe, MRIA9, with dual SIK/PAK activity and excellent selectivity over other kinases. Furthermore, we show that MRIA9 sensitizes ovarian cancer cells to treatment with the mitotic agent paclitaxel, confirming earlier data from genetic knockdown studies and suggesting a combination therapy with SIK inhibitors and paclitaxel for the treatment of paclitaxel-resistant ovarian cancer.

The main protease (M

We herein report the conventional and microscale parallel synthesis of selective inhibitors of human blood coagulation factor XIIa and thrombin exhibiting a 1,2,4-triazol-5-amine scaffold. Structural variations of this scaffold allowed identifying derivative 21i, a potent 29 nM inhibitor of FXIIa, with improved selectivity over other tested serine proteases and also finding compound 21m with 27 nM inhibitory activity toward thrombin. For the first time, acylated 1,2,4-triazol-5-amines were proved to have anticoagulant properties and the ability to affect thrombin- and cancer-cell-induced platelet aggregation. Performed mass spectrometric analysis and molecular modeling allowed us to discover previously unknown interactions between the synthesized inhibitors and the active site of FXIIa, which uncovered the mechanistic details of FXIIa inhibition. Synthesized compounds represent a promising starting point for the development of novel antithrombotic drugs or chemical tools for studying the role of FXIIa and thrombin in physiological and pathological processes.

WRD5 is a promising target for anticancer drug discovery. In addition, it plays a vital role in epigenetic regulation. Since biological inactivation of WRD5 is difficult to reach via classical approach, PROTACs (Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras) are offering a new option. In a study, published in this journal, new WRD5 targeting PROTACS are introduced. These new compounds, which are also active in cells, make it possible to evaluate the value of WRD5 as a drug target.

We herein report the conventional and microscale parallel synthesis of selective inhibitors of human blood coagulation factor XIIa and thrombin exhibiting a 1,2,4-triazol-5-amine scaffold. Structural variations of this scaffold allowed identifying derivative

Antibiotic resistance is posing a continuous threat to global public health and represents a huge burden for society as a whole. In the past decade, the interference with bacterial quorum sensing (QS) (i.e., cell cell communication) mechanisms has extensively been investigated as a valid therapeutic approach in the pursuit of a next generation of antimicrobials. (S)-4,5-Dihydroxy-2,3-pentanedione, commonly known as (S)-DPD, a small signaling molecule that modulates QS in both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, is phosphorylated by LsrK, and the resulting phospho-DPD activates QS. We designed and prepared a small library of DPD derivatives, characterized by five different scaffolds, and evaluated their LsrK inhibition in the context of QS interference. SAR studies highlighted the pyrazole moiety as an essential structural element for LsrK inhibition. Particularly, four compounds were found to be micromolar LsrK inhibitors (IC50 ranging between 100 mu M and 500 mu M) encouraging further exploration of novel analogues as potential new antimicrobials.

In the present study, identification of chiral 1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-ones as potent and selective FAAH inhibitors has been described. The separated enantiomers showed clear differences in the potency and selectivity toward both FAAH and MAGL. Additionally, the importance of the chirality on the inhibitory activity and selectivity was proven by the simplification approach by removing a methyl group at the 3-position of the 1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-one ring. The most potent compound of the series, the S-enantiomer of 3-(1-(4-isobutylphenyl)ethyl)-5-methoxy-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2(3H)-one (JZP-327A, 51), inhibited human recombinant FAAH (hrFAAH) in the low nanomolar range (IC50 = 11 nM), whereas its corresponding R-enantiomer 52 showed only moderate inhibition toward hrFAAH (IC50 = 0.24 μM). In contrast to hrFAAH, R-enantiomer 52 was more potent in inhibiting the activity of hrMAGL compared to S-enantiomer 51 (IC50 = 4.0 μM and 16% inhibition at 10 μM, respectively). The FAAH selectivity of the compound 51 over the supposed main off-targets, MAGL and COX, was found to be900-fold. In addition, activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) indicated high selectivity over other serine hydrolases. Finally, the selected S-enantiomers 51, 53, and 55 were shown to be tight binding, slowly reversible inhibitors of the hrFAAH.

The human constitutive androstane receptor (CAR, NR1I3) is an important regulator of xenobiotic metabolism and other physiological processes. So far, only few CAR agonists are known and no explicit mechanism has been proposed for their action. Thus, we aimed to generate a 3D QSAR model that could explain the molecular determinants of CAR agonist action. To obtain a sufficient number of agonists that cover a wide range of activity, we applied a virtual screening approach using both structure- and ligand-based methods. We identified 27 novel human CAR agonists on which a 3D QSAR model was generated. The model, complemented by coregulator recruitment and mutagenesis results, suggests a potential activation mechanism for human CAR and may serve to predict potential activation of CAR for compounds emerging from drug development projects or for chemicals undergoing toxicological risk assessment.

A series of commercial phenyl-, heteroaryl-, alkyl-, and alkenylboronic acids were evaluated for their FAAH and MGL inhibitory activities. The compounds were generally selective for FAAH, with IC50 in the nanomolar or low-micromolar range. Eight of these compounds inhibited MGL with IC50 in the micromolar range. The most potent compound, phenylboronic acid with para-nonyl substituent (13), inhibited FAAH and MGL with IC50 of 0.0091 and 7.9 microM, respectively.

A new inhibitor for human sirtuin type proteins 1 and 2 (SIRT1 and SIRT2) was discovered through virtual database screening in search of new scaffolds. A series of compounds was synthesized based on the hit compound (3-[[3-(4-tert-butylphenyl)1,2,4-oxadiazole-5-carbonyl]amino]-1-[3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]thiourea). The most potent compound in the series was nearly as potent as the reference compound (6-chloro-2,3,4,9-tetrahydro-1H-carbazole-1-carboxamide).

The highly CB2 selective cannabinoid receptor inverse agonist, 7-methoxy-2-oxo-8-pentyloxy-1,2-dihydroquinoline-3-carboxylic acid N-benzo[1,3]dioxol-5-ylmethyl)amide (JTE-907; 9b), served as the lead compound for investigating the structure-activity relationships of its analogues and in the search for more potent and effective CB2 receptor inverse agonists. A series of aromatic amides of 7-methoxy-2-oxo-8-pentyloxy-1,2-dihydroquinoline-3-carboxylic acid 6 was synthesized, and the CB2 receptor activities of the compounds were determined by a [35S]GTPgammaS-binding assay using membranes of CHO cells stably transfected with the human CB2 receptor. As a result, all the compounds were defined as full CB2 receptor inverse agonists, and additionally, except for two 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalkylamides, they were found to be equally potent as SR144528.

A series of dicarboxylic acid azacycle l-prolyl-pyrrolidine amides was synthesized, and their inhibitory activity against prolyl oligopeptidase (POP) from porcine brain was tested. Three different azacycles were tested at the position beyond P3 and six different dicarboxylic acids at the P3 position. l-Prolyl-pyrrolidine and l-prolyl-2(S)-cyanopyrrolidine were used at the P2-P1 positions. The IC(50) values ranged from 0.39 to 19000 nM. The most potent inhibitor was the 3,3-dimethylglutaric acid azepane l-prolyl-2(S)-cyanopyrrolidine amide. Molecular docking (GOLD) was used to analyze binding interactions between different POP inhibitors of this type and the POP enzyme. The data set consisted of the novel inhibitors, inhibitors published previously by our group, and well-known reference compounds. The alignments were further analyzed using comparative molecular similarity indices analysis. The binding of the inhibitors was consistent at the P1-P3 positions. Beyond the P3 position, two different binding modes were found, one that favors lipophilic structures and one that favors nonhydrophobic structures.

Type 2 human sirtuin (SIRT2) is a NAD(+)-dependent cytoplasmic protein that is colocalized with HDAC6 on microtubules. SIRT2 has been shown to deacetylate alpha-tubulin and to control mitotic exit in the cell cycle. To date, some small molecular inhibitors of SIRT2 have been identified; however, more inhibitors are still needed to improve the understanding of SIRT2 biological function and to discover its possible therapeutic indications. In this paper, an in silico identification procedure is described for discovering novel SIRT2 inhibitors. Molecular modeling and virtual screening were utilized to find potential compounds, which were then subjected to experimental tests for their SIRT2 inhibitory activity. Five of the 15 compounds tested in vitro showed inhibitory activity toward SIRT2, yielding a hit ratio of 33% in a micromolar level and thus demonstrating the usefulness of this procedure in finding new bioactive compounds. Two of the five compounds yielded in vitro IC(50) values of 56.7 and 74.3 microM, and these can be considered as novel inhibitors of SIRT2. On the basis of our results, a phenol moiety on the active compound is suggested to be important for SIRT2 inhibitory activity. This phenol group, together with a hydrophobic moiety and hydrogen-bonding features, is suggested to form an active SIRT2 pharmacophore.

A successful virtual screening experiment of novel SIRT2 inhibitors is described. Four out of 11 experimentally tested compounds showed in vitro inhibitory activity toward SIRT2 in a micromolar level, resulting in an experimental hit ratio of 36%. Two of these compounds inhibited SIRT2 with IC50 (microM) values of 51 and 91; moreover, one of the new inhibitors was comprised of an entirely new SIRT2-inhibiting structural scaffold.

The synthesis and characterization of the first fluorescent prolyl oligopeptidase inhibitor 4-fluoresceinthiocarbamoyl-6-aminocaproyl-L-prolyl-2(S)-(hydroxyacetyl)pyrrolidine is described. This compound has an IC50 value of 0.83 nM and a dissociation half-life of 160 min, and its fluorescence signal is detectable using standard filters for fluorescein. These properties make this compound a suitable probe for visualizing prolyl oligopeptidase in various applications.

Chemical changes performed on 1a (sirtinol) led to a series of SIRT1/2 inhibitors, in some cases more potent than 1a mainly against SIRT1. Tested in human leukemia U937 cells, the benzamide and anilide derivatives 1b, 1c, 2b, and 2c as well as the 4-(2-phenylpropyl)thioanalogue 4c showed huge apoptosis induction, while some sulfinyl and sulfonyl derivatives (5b, 5c, and 6a-c) were highly efficient in granulocytic differentiation. When assayed in human leukemia MOLT4 as well as in human breast MDA-MB-231 and colon RKO cancer cell lines, the anilide 2b (salermide) and the phenylpropylthio analogue 4b emerged as the most potent antiproliferative agents. Tested on colorectal carcinoma and glioblastoma multiforme cancer stem cells (CSCs) from patients, 2b was particularly potent against colorectal carcinoma CSCs, while 4b, 6a, and the SIRT2-selective inhibitor AGK-2 showed the highest effect against glioblastoma multiforme CSCs. Such compounds will be further explored for their broad-spectrum anticancer properties.

The lack of substrate-bound crystal structures of SIRT1 and SIRT2 complicates the drug design for these targets. In this work, we aim to study whether SIRT3 could serve as a target structure in the design of substrate based pseudopeptidic inhibitors of SIRT1 and SIRT2. We created a binding hypothesis for pseudopeptidic inhibitors, synthesized a series of inhibitors, and studied how well the fulfillment of the binding criteria proposed by the hypothesis correlated with the in vitro inhibitory activities. The chosen approach was further validated by studying docking results between 12 different SIRT3, Sir2Tm, SIRT1 and SIRT2 X-ray structures and homology models in different conformational forms. It was concluded that the created binding hypothesis can be used in the design of the substrate based inhibitors of SIRT1 and SIRT2 although there are some reservations, and it is better to use the substrate-bound structure of SIRT3 instead of the available apo-SIRT2 as the target structure.

N()-Thioacetyl-lysine-containing tri-, tetra-, and pentapeptides, based on the alpha-tubulin and p53 protein sequences, were studied as SIRT1 and SIRT2 inhibitors. The potency of the pentapeptides depended on the selection of the side chains. The removal of N- and C-terminal residues of the pentapeptides yielded tripeptides with retained SIRT1 inhibitory activity but decreased SIRT2 inhibitory activity. The most potent SIRT1 inhibitors were equipotent with the reference compound (6-chloro-2,3,4,9-tetrahydro-1H-carbazole-1-carboxamide) with the IC(50) values of 180-330 nM.

The endocannabinoid system consists of two cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2), endogenous ligands (endocannabinoids), and the enzymes involved in the metabolism of the endocannabinoids, including fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and monoglyceride lipase (MGL). In the present study, virtual screening of MGL inhibitors was performed by utilizing a comparative model of the human MGL enzyme. All hit molecules were tested for their potential MGL inhibitory activity, but no compounds were found capable of inhibiting MGL-like enzymatic activity in rat cerebellar membranes. However, these compounds were also tested for their potential FAAH inhibitory activity and five compounds (2-6) inhibiting FAAH were found with IC50 values between 4 and 44 microM. In addition, the hit molecules from the virtual screening of CB2 receptor ligands (reported previously in Salo et al. J. Med. Chem. 2005, 48, 7166) were also tested in our FAAH assay, and four active compounds (7-10) were found with IC50 values between 0.52 and 22 microM. Additionally, compound 7 inhibited MGL-like enzymatic activity with an IC50 value of 31 microM.

To identify novel selective CB2 lead compounds, a comparative model of the CB2 receptor was constructed using the high-resolution bovine rhodopsin X-ray structure as a template. The CB2 model was utilized both in building the database queries and in filtering the hit compounds by a docking and scoring method. In G-protein activation assays, 1-isoquinolyl[3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]methanone (40, NRB 04079) was found to act as a selective agonist at the human CB2 receptor.

We have developed a fast grid-based algorithm, BRUTUS, for rigid-body molecular superposition and similarity searching. BRUTUS aligns molecules using field information derived from charge distributions and van der Waals shapes of the compounds. Molecules can have similar biological properties if their charge distributions and shapes are similar, even though they have different chemical structures; that is, BRUTUS can identify compounds possessing similar properties, regardless of their structures. In this paper, we present two applications of BRUTUS. First, BRUTUS was used to superimpose five sets of inhibitors. Second, two sets of known inhibitors were searched from a database, and the results were analyzed using self-organizing maps. We demonstrate that BRUTUS is successful in superimposing compounds using molecular fields and, importantly, is fast and accurate enough for virtual screening of chemical databases using a standard personal computer. This fast and efficient molecular-field-based algorithm is applicable for virtual screening of structurally diverse, active molecules.

The purpose of this study was to develop screening and in silico modeling methods to obtain accurate information on the active center of CYP2A6, a nicotine oxidizing enzyme. The inhibitory potencies of 26 naphthalene and 16 non-naphthalene derivatives were determined for human CYP2A6 and mouse CYP2A5 enzymes. Several comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) models were developed to find out what types of steric and electrostatic properties are required for potent inhibitors. The IC(50) values of the tested compounds varied from 0.55 to 35 400 microM for CYP2A6 and from 1 to 1500 microM for CYP2A5. The generated CoMFA models were able to accurately predict the inhibition potencies of an external test set of chemicals. Potent and specific inhibitors of the CYP2A6 enzyme can be used in the future to increase nicotine bioavailability and thus make oral nicotine administration feasible in smoking cessation therapy.

A novel comparison model of the human cannabinoid CB1 receptor has been constructed using the bovine rhodopsin X-ray structure as a template. The model was subjected to a 500-ps molecular dynamics simulation, and thereafter new conformers of the receptor model were produced in a simulated annealing procedure. Using an automated docking procedure, well-known cannabimimetic ligands were docked into six different model conformers, of which one was chosen for a detailed study of receptor-ligand interactions. The docking results confirm, for example, the importance of lysine K3.28(192) in the binding of these ligands. Also, other experimental data are fairly consistent with the present model, though there are some differences when compared to other recent CB1 comparison models. The present model will serve as a tool to investigate the receptor-ligand interactions and facilitate the design of novel cannabimimetic drugs.

The constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) regulates drug and steroid metabolism through binding to cytochrome P450 2B, 2C, and 3A gene enhancers. Uniquely among nuclear receptors, mouse CAR (mCAR) can be suppressed by androstenol and activated by structurally diverse drugs, pesticides, and environmental pollutants. To gain insight into presently ill-defined structural requirements of mCAR ligands, we employed a mCAR inhibition assay in mammalian HEK293 cells to create a QSAR model that could well predict the inhibition by three unknown steroids. Two novel mCAR inhibitors were thus identified. Yeast two-hybrid assays indicated that steroids inhibit mCAR primarily by promoting association of mCAR with the corepressor NCoR, with only minor contribution from other mechanisms. Analysis of chimeric and mutant mCAR constructs suggested that androstenol sensitivity is controlled by residues between amino acids 201-263 (helices 5-7) and it does not depend on the residue 350 within helix 12, as previously suggested.