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Since acetaldehyde (AcH), a toxic oxidation product of ethanol, may play an etiologic role in the initiation of alcoholic liver disease, we had earlier pioneered the development of beta, beta-disubstituted-beta-mercapto-alpha-amino acids as AcH-sequestering agents. We now report the synthesis of a series of N-terminal dipeptides of D(-)-penicillamine, prepared from the synthon 3-formyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethylthiazolidine-4S-carboxylic acid (3), a cyclized N-protected derivative of D(-)-penicillamine. These dipeptides were equally or more effective than penicillamine in trapping AcH in a cell-free system. In experiments using a hepatocyte culture system, two of the dipeptides, D-penicillamylglycine (6a) and D-penicillamyl-beta-alanine (6d), at 1/20 the molar concentration of ethanol, lowered the concentration of ethanol-derived AcH by 79% and 84%, respectively, at 2 h. The presence of cyanamide (an inhibitor of aldehyde dehydrogenase) in the incubation medium resulted in a 45-fold increase in ethanol-derived AcH; nevertheless, dipeptides 6a and 6c (D-penicillamyl-alpha-aminoisobutyric acid) were able to reduce this AcH level by approximately one-third.

The synthesis and the chemical/biological properties of N-hydroxysaccharin (1) (2-hydroxy-1,2-benzisothiazol-3(2H)-one 1,1-dioxide), a nitroxyl prodrug, are described. When treated with 0.1 M aqueous NaOH, 1 liberated nitroxyl (HN=O), a known inhibitor of aldehyde dehydrogenase (AlDH), in a time-dependent manner. Nitroxyl was measured gas chromatographically as its dimerization/dehydration product N2O. Under these conditions, Piloty's acid (benzenesulfohydroxamic acid) also gave rise to HNO. However, whereas Piloty's acid liberated finite quantities of nitroxyl when incubated in physiological phosphate buffer, pH 7.4, formation of nitroxyl from 1 was minimal. This was reflected in the differential inhibition of yeast AlDH (IC50 = 48 and > 1000 microM) and the differential relaxation of preconstricted rabbit aortic rings in vitro (EC50 = 1.03 and 14.0 microM) by Piloty's acid and 1, respectively. The O-acetyl derivative of 1, viz., N-acetoxysaccharin (13a), was much less active in both assays. It is concluded that N-hydroxysaccharin (1) is relatively stable at physiological pH and liberates nitroxyl appreciably only at elevated pH's. As a consequence, neither 1 nor its O-methyl (8a) and O-benzyl (8b) derivatives were effective AlDH inhibitors in vivo when administered to rats at 1.0 mmol/kg.

On the basis of our previous observation that N1-alkyl substituted chlorpropamide derivatives when administered to rats nonenzymatically eliminated n-propyl isocyanate, a known inhibitor of aldehyde dehydrogenase (AlDH), we have synthesized other latentiated n-propyl isocyanates as in vivo inhibitors of AlDH. N1-Allylchlorpropamide 3 was, as expected, a potent inhibitor of hepatic AlDH in rats, as indicated by the 4-fold increase in the levels of ethanol-derived blood acetaldehyde relative to that elicited by chlorpropamide itself. Closely following in activity in decreasing order were N3-(n-propylcarbamoyl)uracil (7),N-(n-propylcarbamoyl)saccharin (6), and the S-(n-propylcarbamoyl) derivative (9) of benzyl mercaptan. However, two hydantoin derivatives, 5 and 8, were totally inactive in inhibiting AlDH in vivo. A prodrug of N1-ethylchlorpropamide, viz., its N3-trifluoroacetyl derivative (4b), was a good in vivo inhibitor of AlDH, mimicking the activity of the parent N1-ethylchlorpropamide. These results suggest that latent alkyl isocyanates are inhibitors of AlDH, giving further support to the hypothesis that the inhibition of AlDH in vivo by the hypoglycemic agent chlorpropamide may be due to the release of n-propyl isocyanate following metabolic bioactivation.

Certain (arylsulfonyl)urea hypoglycemic drugs exemplified by chlorpropamide (CP) are known to interact pharmacologically with alcohol (ethanol) to elicit a chlorpropamide-alcohol flushing (CPAF) reaction that is reminiscent of the disulfiram-ethanol reaction (DER). In the present structure-activity study, designed to elucidate the mechanism of inhibition of aldehyde dehydrogenase (AlDH) by CP, we discovered that the N1-methoxy derivative of CP 2a was a potent inhibitor of AlDH in vivo similar in activity to that of the N1-ethyl derivative 2b. Both 2a and 2b can release n-propyl isocyanate, a known inhibitor of AlDH, nonenzymatically. However, (arylsulfonyl)carbamates that are structurally analogous to 2a were also active inhibitors of AlDH, whereas the corresponding (arylsulfonyl)carbamate analogs of 2b were uniformly without activity. We propose a mechanism of bioactivation of 2a and its analogs that involves initial O-demethylation followed by disproportionation and solvolysis of the intermediate formed to release nitroxyl, the putative inhibitor of AlDH.

In the preceding paper, analogs of chlorpropamide with an OMe substituent on the sulfonamide nitrogen were shown to inhibit aldehyde dehydrogenase (AlDH), and it was postulated that these compounds were bioactivated by O-demethylation to release nitroxyl (HN = O, nitrosyl hydride), which is an inhibitor of AlDH. Further evidence for the production of nitroxyl from compounds with O-acyl instead of OMe on the sulfonamide nitrogen is now presented. Thus, nitrous oxide (N2O), the end product of nitroxyl dimerization and disproportionation, was found to be generated on alkaline or enzymatic hydrolysis of N,O-diacylated N-hydroxyarylsulfonamides. Since the latter compounds strongly inhibit yeast AlDH in vitro after bioactivation by an esterase intrinsic to this enzyme, nitroxyl generated from these compounds must be the common intermediate that inhibits AlDH.

The relationship between metabolic depropargylation in vitro to inhibition of the low Km aldehyde dehydrogenase (AIDH) of rat liver mitochondria in vivo was determined for a number of compounds bearing a propargyl substituent on nitrogen or oxygen. Only those compounds which enzymatically released the highly reactive alpha, beta-acetylenic aldehyde, propioladehyde, when incubated in vitro with phenobarbital-induced rat liver microsomes, e.g., tripropargylamine (4), pargyline (1a), and N-propargylbenzylamine (1b), significantly elevated blood acetaldehyde levels when administered in vivo. Mitochondrial AIDH activity in these animals was corresponding reduced to less than or equal to 20% that of control animals. Compounds that did not inhibit mitochondrial AlDH activity to this degree did not produce significant levels of propiolaldehyde when incubated with microsomes. Thus, for this series of compounds, metabolic depropargylation is a requirement for AlDH inhibitory activity in vivo.

Of a series of polyfunctional compounds containing amino, hydroxyl, or mercapto groups in conjunction with the carboxyl group, only the 1,2- or 1,3-disubstituted aminothiols, namely, D-(-)-penicillamine (1), L-cysteine (2), L-cysteinyl-L-valine (3), mercaptoethylglycine (4), and DL-homocysteine (12), showed any propensity to sequester acetaldehyde (AcH) when tested in vitro in a buffered system at pH 7.5. In vivo, however, only D-(-)-penicillamine (1) was effective in lowering ethanol-derived blood AcH in rats that had been treated with disulfiram and ethanol. These results suggest that, in addition to the functionality in the molecule, pharmacokinetic and metabolic factors must also be considered when designing AcH-sequestering agents for use in vivo.

On the basis of an earlier observation that the N1-ethyl derivative of the hypoglycemic agent chlorpropamide (CP) inhibited aldehyde dehydrogenase (AlDH) in rats without producing hypoglycemia, we undertook a structure-activity study to assess the effect of altering the alkyl substituents at N1 and N3, as well as substituting O for N at the latter position, and evaluated these analogues for their effect on AlDH in vivo and in vitro. Our results suggest that only those CP analogues that can release alkyl isocyanates nonenzymatically inhibited AlDH. Increasing the steric bulk of the N1-alkyl substituent enhanced isocyanate formation and AlDH inhibition. CP analogues that lacked the NH group at N3 or were otherwise incapable of alkyl isocyanate release were inactive.

A series of beta-mono- and beta,beta-disubstituted cysteines were evaluated in rats as sequestering agents for metabolically generated acetaldehyde (AcH) during the oxidation of ethanol in vivo and compared against D-(-)-penicillamine. Both threo- (5) and erythro-beta-phenyl-DL-cysteine (6) reduced ethanol-derived blood AcH by ca. 40% and 60%, respectively, whereas the corresponding beta-methyl-DL-cysteines (3 and 4) and the alpha-substituted alpha-methyl-DL-cysteine (8) had no effect. beta,beta-Tetramethylene-DL-cysteine (7), however, was as effective as D-(-)-penicillamine in sequestering AcH in vivo, reducing blood AcH after ethanol to 20% of maximal values. Thus, bulky beta-substitution or, better, beta,beta-disubstitution on cysteine is required for such activity. 14C-Labeled 2(RS),5,5-trimethylthiazolidine-4(S)-carboxylic acid (1) prepared by the condensation of D-(-)-penicillamine with [1,2-14C]acetaldehyde was found to be relatively stable in vivo, giving rise to less than 6% 14CO2 excretion in the expired air and the recovery of 65.5% of the administered dose in the urine as unchanged 1.

A series of compounds structurally related to pargyline (N-methyl-N-propargylbenzylamine, 4) were synthesized with the propargyl group replaced by a cyclopropyl, allyl, or 2,2,2-trichloroethyl group and, additionally in several cases, with the methyl group replaced by H. The rationale for their preparation was based on the expectation that, like pargyline, which gives rise to propiolaldehyde, oxidative metabolism of the above compounds by the hepatic cytochrome P-450 enzymes would lead to the generation in vivo of the aldehyde dehydrogenase (AlDH) inhibitors, cyclopropanone, acrolein, or chloral. These compounds were evaluated for inhibition of liver AlDH in vivo by measuring the elevation of ethanol-derived blood acetaldehyde in rats and in vitro by the rate of oxidation of acetaldehyde by intact and osmotically disrupted liver mitochondria. Administration of N-methyl-N-cyclopropylbenzylamine (5) and its nor-methyl analogue (8) to rats raised blood acetaldehyde levels significantly over controls at 2 h. This effect was more pronounced at 9 h, with blood acetaldehyde levels reaching 19 to 27 times control values and approaching the values induced by pargyline. Other compounds elicited significant elevations in ethanol-derived blood acetaldehyde only at 9 h. We suggest that latent inhibitors of AlDH such as 5 or 8 might be useful as alcohol deterrent agents.

Some glycine, leucine and phenylalanine dipeptide derivatives of the transport inhibitory, tricycloaliphatic alpha-amino acid, adamantanine (1), have been synthesized using classical methods of peptide synthesis with the aim of improving the latter's bioavailability. Although test doses of glycyladamantanine and L-leucyladamantanine appeared to be absorbed in vivo as evidenced by its appearance in the uring following intraperitoneal administration, they were not hydrolyzed by a purified preparation of leucine aminopeptidase in vitro. Indeed, they were inhibitors of this enzyme. Adamantanylglycine, adamantanyl-L-leucine, and adamantanyl-L-phenylalanine were also not hydrolyzed by leucine aminopeptidase.

The synthesis of lysine analogues wherein blocking groups are substituted at position 5, the site of hydroxylation by peptidyl lysine hydroxylase, is described. Thus, 5,5-difluorolysine (1) and 5,5-dimethylysine (2) were synthesized via a four- and six-step sequence, respectively, starting from ketone precursors. The propensity for these lysine analogues to be incorporated into procollagen protein in vivo was assessed by their ability to stimulate the lysine-dependent ATP-PPi exchange reaction in the presence of lysyl-tRNA ligase in vitro. The difluoro analogue 1 stimulated exchange, but at a Km (1.3 X 10(-3) M) 1000 times greater than that for lysine itself. The dimethyl analogue 2 did not stimulate exchange, but at high concentrations was a competitive inhibitor of lysine, with an apparent Ki of 1.6 X 10(-2) M. Thus, electronegative and/or bulky substituents at the 5 position of lysine cannot be tolerated by lysyl-tRNA ligase, and this position must be kept free in lysine analogues specifically designed to block collagen biosynthesis.