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Diarrhea is one of the most important causes of mortality in the developing world, being responsible for 2.5 million deaths each year. Many of these deaths are caused by enterotoxigenic strains of bacteria, like Escherichia coli, that produce enterotoxins that cause acute watery diarrhea, commonly defined as secretory diarrhea. Studies on symptomatic patients indicate a high prevalence of enterotoxigenic E. coli strains producing the heat-stable toxin, STa. STa is a small, cysteine-rich peptide that binds to the extracellular receptor domain of guanylyl cyclase C (GCC), located at the luminal membrane of intestinal epithelial cells. GCC and its endogenous peptide ligands, guanylin and uroguanylin, play a key role in balancing water absorption and hydration of the intestinal lumen, as exemplified by the finding that loss of GCC function causes severe dehydration of the intestinal lumen, culminating in intestinal obstruction. From a mechanistic viewpoint, reduction of GCC activity offers an efficient approach to limit enterotoxigenic E. coli- provoked secretory diarrhea. Inhibition of GCC-mediated cGMP production would not only reduce anion secretion, but would also restore NHE3 activity, resulting in a comprehensive antidiarrheal action. In the present study, two novel phenylpyrimidinone derivatives were simultaneously synthesized and tested for their ability to block STa-induced CFTR activity in T84 cells.

This paper reports the synthesis of new norbornene and exo-N-hydroxy-7-oxabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-5-ene-2,3-dicarboximide derivatives and their binding to the 5-HT1A , 5-HT2A , and 5-HT2C receptors, in order to identify selective ligands for these 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, serotonine) receptor subtypes. The combination of structural elements (heterocyclic nucleus, hydroxyalkyl chain, and 4-substituted piperazine) known to be critical for affinity to 5-HT1A receptors and the proper selection of substituents led to compounds with high specificity and affinity toward serotoninergic receptors. The most active compounds were selected and further evaluated for their binding affinities to D1 , D2 dopaminergic and α1 , α2 adrenergic receptors. 4-[3-[4-(2-Furoyl)piperazin-1-yl]propoxy-2-ol]-4-aza-tricyclo[5.2.1.02,6]dec-8-ene-3,5-dione 3e with Ki = 5.04 ± 0.227 nM was the most active and selective derivative for the 5-HT2C receptor with respect to other serotonin receptors, and the most selective derivative versus dopaminergic and adrenergic receptors.

The synthesis of non natural amino acid 2-​amino-​3,​3,​4-​trimethylpentanoic acid (Ipv)​, ready for solid phase peptide synthesis, has been developed. Copper(I) chloride Michael addn., followed by a Curtius rearrangement are the key steps for the Ipv synthesis. The racemic valine​/leucine chimeric amino acid was then successfully inserted in position 5 of neuropeptide S (NPS) and the diastereomeric mixt. sepd. by reverse phase HPLC. The two diastereomeric NPS derivs. were tested for intracellular calcium mobilization using HEK293 cells stably expressing the mouse NPS receptor where they behaved as partial agonist and pure antagonist.

Molecular modeling studies based on the potent NK-1 antagonist CP-96,345 led us to the identification of some 2-benzylidene- and 2-benzyl-3- benzylaminoquinuclidine derivatives as potential antagonists at the NK receptor subtypes. The synthesized compounds, whose Z/E isomerism has been defined by X-ray analysis, show only moderate potency on the three neurokinin receptors. The possible reasons of the low potency exhibited by the tested compounds are discussed.

With the aim of discovering new molecules with K+ channel modulating properties, we have synthesized analogues of cromakalim, an important molecule which shows specific affinity toward the K+ channels, by replacing the benzopyrane ring with a benzoxazine moiety. As a part of this study, we have synthesized and characterized, in solution and in the solid state as well, the compound ethyl [2,2-dimethyl-6-(A2-thiazolin-2-yl)-4H-l,4-benzoxazin-3-one-4-yl]butyrate (V). This compound exhibits in the solid state the following parameters: molecular formula C19H24N2O4S, triclinic, space group PI, Mw = 376.5, a = 12.581(3) A, b = 5.485(4) A, c = 14.612(2) A, a = 91.85(2), 0 = 108.9(3), y = 82.04(4), V = 944.7 A3, Z = 2, d = 1.323 g-cnT3. We describe here the synthesis and discuss the solid-state conformation of this new molecule; when tested on rat aorta ring precontracted with phenylephrine, the compound showed a concentrationdependent relaxation comparable to that measured for cromakalin taken as reference drug.

To compare the bioavailability of two potassic losartan immediate release tablet (50 mg) formulations (Losartan from Laboratórios Cristália Ltd., Brazil, as a test formulation and Cozaar from Merck SharpDohme Farmacêutica Ltd., Brazil, as a reference formulation) in 25 volunteers of both sexes.The study was conducted in an open, randomized, 2-period crossover design and a 1-week washout period. Plasma samples were obtained over a 24-hour interval. The concentrations of losartan and its active metabolite losartan acid were analyzed by combined reversed phase liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) with negative ion electrospray ionization using a selected ion monitoring method. From the losartan and losartan acid plasma concentrations vs. time curves the following pharmacokinetic parameters were obtained: AUClast, AUC0-inf and Cmax.The geometric mean and respective 90% confidence interval (CI) of Losartan/Cozaar losartan percent ratios were 92.9% (82.2-105.0%) for Cmax, 99.0% (92.5-105.9%) for AUClast, and 99.1% (92.7-105.8%) for AUC0-inf. Furthermore, the geometric mean and respective 90% CI of Losartan/Cozaar losartan acid percent ratios were 98.5% (91.5-106.0%) for Cmax, 97.9% (93.3 102.7%) for AUClast, and 98.1% (93.6-102.9%) for AUC0-inf.Since the 90% CI for Cmax, AUClast and AUC0-inf were within the 80-125% interval proposed by the US Food and Drug Administration, it was concluded that the potassic losartan immediate release 50 mg tablet was bioequivalent to the Cozaar immediate release 50 mg tablet, according to both the rate and extent of absorption. While there were no significant differences in the bioequivalence assessed by either losartan or losartan acid, future bioequivalence studies on losartan may be performed by quantifying losartan alone as the parent compounds are more discriminative.

We report on the synthesis and the pharmacological properties of a new series of tachykinin antagonists based on the peptide N2-[(4R)-4-hydroxy-1-[(1-methyl-1H-indol-3-yl) carbonyl]-L-prolyl]-N-methyl-N-(phe-nylmethyl)-3-(2-naphthyl)-L-al aninamide (FK888) modified on the (2-naphthyl)-L-alanine and the [(1-methyl-1H-indol-3-yl)carbonyl] moieties. The compounds were tested on guinea pig ileum for NK-1, rat colon for NK-2 and rat portal vein for NK-3 receptors. The two most potent peptides of this series, 1b and 2b, were selective for the NK-2 receptor (pA2 = 7.5 and 7.3, respectively).