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The central melanocortin system has been demonstrated to play an important role in regulating different aspects of energy homeostasis. Understanding the specific contributions of MC3 and MC4 receptors, however, requires specific agonists and antagonists for each of the predominant forms of brain melanocortin receptors, MC3-R and MC4-R. We report here the characterization of a small peptide mimetic MC4-R-specific agonist that possesses both high affinity (K(i)=11.3 nM) and potency (EC(50)=1.62 nM) in vitro and is capable of inhibiting feeding behavior in mice when administered intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.). Depending on the paradigm, acute (1 h following an overnight fast) or long-term (greater than 6 h under normal nocturnal feeding conditions) feeding inhibition was observed following icv injection. No effect on long-term feeding inhibition was observed with this compound in MC4-R knockout mice, and central administration of this compound had no effect on either metabolic rate or insulin release.

A series of N-acyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their bradycardic activities in isolated guinea pig right atria and in urethane-anesthetized rats. These efforts resulted in identification of the compound 8a, which exhibits potent bradycardic activity with minimal influence on mean blood pressure in urethane-anesthetized rats. Oral administration of compound 8a to conscious rats revealed increased potency and prolonged duration of action when compared to Zatebradine.

A new series of N-substituted bis-(tetrahydropapaverine) ring systems have been synthesised in expectation of better antispasmodic activity in comparison with papaverine. The synthesis of the targeted heterocycles is described along with a discussion of their structure activity relationship. The general synthetic methods of bis-(tetrahydropapaverine) analogues involve tetrahydropapaverine, various piperazines, diisocyanates and diisothiocyanates as starting materials. Pharmacological evaluation involves the in vitro antispasmodic activity on a freshly removed guinea pig ileum using a force displacement transducer amplifier connected to a physiograph. Among the analogues synthesized in the present study, N,N'-bis-[2-carbamoyl-1-(3,4-dimethoxybenzyl)-6,7-dimethoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolinyl]piperazine (22), was found to be the most potent muscle relaxant (IC(50): 0.31 microM).

Two sets of new o-methoxyphenylpiperazine (MPP; series a) and 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline (THIQ; series b) derivatives, containing various imide moieties derived from NAN190, were synthesized and evaluated in vitro for their ability to bind to the serotonin 5-HT(1A) and 5-HT(2A) receptors. All new derivatives from series a demonstrated high 5-HT(1A) affinities, whereas THIQ analogues were much less active. With respect to 5-HT(2A) receptors, three MPP derivatives presented moderate activity but the rest of the investigated compounds were practically inactive. The influence of changes in terminus geometry on 5-HT(1A) receptor affinity was analyzed in regard to model compounds NAN190and MM199.

The methodology we developed relies on an external chiral coordinating reagent that forms a deaggregated chelate complex with organolithium reagents. Under the positive control of a chiral dimethyl ether of stilbenediol 4, an asymmetric conjugate addition reaction of organolithium reagents with unsaturated imines and esters proceeded successfully to yield the corresponding addition products with reasonably high stereoselectivity. The sense of stereochemistry is predictable based on a coordination model. The methodology has been extended to a catalytic asymmetric 1,2-addition reaction of organolithium reagents with imines. An enantiotopic group differentiating the opening of cyclohexene oxide with organolithium was also mediated by a chiral ligand. The asymmetric Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction of phosphonates and Peterson reaction of alpha-silylester with 4-substituted cyclohexanone were another successful extension of the methodology. A three-component reagent of lithium ester enolate, lithium amide, and chiral diether reacts with imines to afford beta-lactam with reasonably high enantioselectivity. Tridentate aminoether ligands were also shown to affect the catalytic asymmetric addition of lithium ester enoaltes to imines, giving beta-lactams with high enantioselectivity. Asymmetric conjugate addition of lithium amide to enoates was mediated by a chiral diether ligand to give the beta-aminoester with high yield and enatioselectivity. The methodology has been successfully applied to an asymmetric synthesis of biologically potent compounds. Dihydrexidine, a promising anti-Parkinsonism candidate, and salsolidine, a representative isoquinoline alkaloid, have been synthesized using asymmetric addition reactions of organolithium reagents as the key steps.

The sulfoxides 7b and 7d carrying thiophene or benzothiophene as heteroaromatic nucleophiles, when treated with trifluoroacetic anhydride at room temperature (Pummerer reaction), underwent an intramolecular alkylation in an exclusive manner to yield 4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-7-methyl-4-phenylsulfanylthieno[2,3-c]pyridine-6-carbaldehyde (10) and the corresponding benzothiophene derivative (12b) in high yields, respectively. Thus, this route provides biologically interesting nitrogen heterocycles (1b) and (2b). On the other hand, the sulfoxide (7c) carrying benzofuran as a nucleophile on reaction with TFAA yielded not only the Pummerer-type cyclization product (12a), but also the diastereoisomeric tandem cyclization products (13) and (14) having a noble 11-aza-2-oxa-7-thiatricyclo[4.3.3.0(1,5)]dodecane ring system (B). The formation of these products can be readily rationalized by the intervention of the oxonium ion intermediate (21).

As a follow up of our previous structure-activity relationship and molecular modeling studies, we synthesized a novel series of 1-aryl-6,7-dimethoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives as potential non-competitive AMPA receptor antagonists. When tested for their ability to prevent sound-induced seizures in DBA/2 mice, some of these novel compounds showed high anticonvulsant potency.

A new solution-phase methodology microwave-assisted for improving the Pictet-Spengler reaction in the synthesis of the tetrahydroisoquinoline and beta-carboline derivatives has been reported. This methodology was applied to obtain a small library of tetrahydroisoquinoline and beta-carboline derivatives using L-Dopa, dopamine, and tryptophan, as well as a variety of commercially available aldehydes as starting material. The use of such nonconventional reaction conditions reveals several features like a short reaction time compared to conventional eating, ease of isolation of the products after work-up, and improvement of the yields. This new one-pot protocol would be an ideal and rapid method to synthesize compounds in a combinatorial context.

The identification of potent and selective orexin-2 receptor (OX(2)R) antagonists is described based on the modification of N-acyl 6,7-dimethoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline analogue 1, recently discovered during high throughput screening (HTS). Substitution of an acyl group in 1 with tert-Leucine (tert-Leu), and introduction of a 4-pyridylmethyl substituent onto the amino function of tert-Leu improved compound potency, selectivity, and water solubility. Thus, compound 29 is a promising tool to investigate the role of orexin-2 receptors.

The first total synthesis of the novel glycosylated tetrahydroisoquinoline antitumor antibiotic (-)-lemonomycin has been accomplished (15 steps from 9). The highly convergent synthesis relies on a key asymmetric dipolar cycloaddition to set the stereochemistry of the aglycone core, a Suzuki fragment coupling to connect the diazabicycle to the aryl subunit, and a stereoselective Pictet-Spengler reaction that incorporates the aminoglycoside subunit directly into the core structure without the need for late-stage glycosylation or protecting group manipulations. The novel aminoglycoside was prepared using a highly diastereoselective Felkin-controlled acetate aldol addition reaction to a threonine-derived ketone.

The Pictet-Spengler reaction is an important reaction for the generation of tetrahydro-beta-carbolines and tetrahydroisoquinoline ring systems, which exhibit a range of biological and pharmacological properties. This review covers the solid-phase Pictet-Spengler reaction, as employed in solid-phase routes toward a range of complex heterocyclic ring systems, with focus on experimental conditions, efficiency and diastereoselectivity. This is illustrated by the application of this reaction to the synthesis of combinatorial libraries, natural product analogs and drug-like scaffolds.

1-Methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline (1MeTIQ) 1 and various 5- or 6,7-substituted analogues were synthesized and assayed for neurotoxicity towards SH-SY5Y cells. Among mono-substituted derivatives of 1, hydroxyl substitution decreased the toxicity, while methoxyl substitution increased it. Disubstituted derivatives of 1, 5a and 5b, showed the opposite tendency. Hydroxy-1MeTIQ derivatives were tested for neuroprotective activity, and 3b and 4b exhibited greater efficacy than 1. We suggest that hydroxy-1MeTIQ derivatives, especially 4b, may have potential for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

A series of (+/-)-2-(3-piperidyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines were prepared and their bradycardic activities were examined in isolated guinea-pigs' right atria and in anesthetized rats. Modifications on the benzyl moiety of the parent compound, 1, led to the identification of compound 11e as a potent and specific bradycardic agent.

Improved synthesis of four stereoisomeric chiral 1,3-dimethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines (1a, b, ent-1a, b) was achieved via the super acid-induced cyclization of chiral N-[1-methyl-2-(phenylsulfinyl)ethyl]-N-(1-phenylethyl)formamides (4a, b, ent-4a, b) using the Pummerer-type cyclization reaction as a key step. The cyclization leading to the isoquinoline ring proceeded in a quantitative manner when trifluoromethane sulfonic acid (TFSA) was used as the super acid, although Friedel-Crafts-type alkylation of 4-phenylsulfanyl TIQ derivatives (5) with benzene used as the solvent accompanied cyclization to yield the 4-phenyl-TIQs (7). The byproduct (7) was exclusively formed when a large excess amount of TFSA was used.

A multistage synthesis of a new derivative of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline is described. Synthesis of title compound is based on the Bischler-Napieralski reaction.