Peptide inhibitors of insulin-regulated aminopeptidase (IRAP) enhance fear avoidance and spatial memory and accelerate spatial learning in a number of memory paradigms. Using a virtual screening ...approach, a series of benzopyran compounds was identified that inhibited the catalytic activity of IRAP, ultimately resulting in the identification of potent and specific inhibitors. The present study describes the medicinal chemistry campaign that led to the development of the lead candidate, 3, highlighting the key structural features considered as critical for binding. Furthermore, the in vivo pharmacokinetics and brain uptake of compounds (1 and 3) were assessed in rats and were complemented with in vitro human and rat microsomal stability studies. Following intravenous administration to rodents, 3 exhibits brain exposure, albeit it is rapidly converted to 1, a compound which also exhibits potent inhibition of IRAP.
The purpose of this study was to characterize the solubilization and precipitation characteristics of a range of poorly water-soluble drugs during digestion of either long-chain or medium-chain ...triglyceride (TG) lipid formulations.
TG solution formulations of five selected drugs (griseofulvin, diazepam, danazol, cinnarizine, and halofantrine) were digested in ritro and drug distribution/solubilization behavior in the resulting digests assessed.
For the less lipophilic drugs, the mass of drug dissolved in either medium or long-chain TG was low and the drugs partitioned rapidly into the aqueous digestion phase. For the higher log P drugs, drug transfer to the aqueous phase was limited by accumulation in undigested long-chain TG. In contrast, medium-chain TG was digested completely producing a dispersed aqueous phase that was capable, at least in the case of the high log P drugs, of supporting supersaturated drug concentrations.
The solubilization behavior of lipophilic drugs on digestion of simple TG lipid formulations is a function of the lipophilicity of the drug (which dictates the drug dose and the partitioning behavior), the nature of the colloidal phases produced on digestion of the different formulation lipids, and the kinetics of drug transfer between the digesting formulation and the colloidal phases produced.
The antimalarial endoperoxides, such as artemisinin, are postulated to exert their potent parasiticidal activity via the formation of reactive intermediates in the iron-rich infected erythrocyte. The ...in vitro chemical reaction profile of putative endoperoxide antimalarials and ferrous iron is often qualitatively used to assess their potential antimalarial activity and to develop a structure-reactivity relationship. This study utilized LCMS to monitor the kinetics of artemisinin degradation and product formation in the presence of iron. A second order degradation reaction (k=18M−1 h−1) was observed from the reaction of artemisinin with ferrous sulphate in aqueous acetonitrile to produce a number of stable isomeric rearrangement products. A systematic study of the effect of a number of solvent systems and different iron salts showed pronounced changes in reaction rate and product distribution. The significant effects observed in the current study highlight the need to carefully control reaction conditions when studying peroxide antimalarial stability or attempting to develop in vitro/in vivo correlations of endoperoxide antimalarials and their reactivity with iron.
The human histamine H
receptor (hH
R) is subject to extensive gene splicing that gives rise to a large number of functional and nonfunctional isoforms. Despite the general acceptance that G ...protein-coupled receptors can adopt different ligand-induced conformations that give rise to biased signaling, this has not been studied for the H
R; further, it is unknown whether splice variants of the same receptor engender the same or differential biased signaling. Herein, we profiled the pharmacology of histamine receptor agonists at the two most abundant hH
R splice variants (hH
R
and hH
R
) across seven signaling endpoints. Both isoforms engender biased signaling, notably for 4-3-(benzyloxy)propyl-1H-imidazole (proxyfan) e.g., strong bias toward phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) via the full-length receptor and its congener 3-(1H-imidazol-4-yl)propyl-(4-iodophenyl)-methyl ether (iodoproxyfan), which are strongly consistent with the former's designation as a "protean" agonist. The 80 amino acid IL3 deleted isoform hH
R
is more permissive in its signaling than hH
R
: 2-(1H-imidazol-5-yl)ethyl imidothiocarbamate (imetit), proxyfan, and iodoproxyfan were all markedly biased away from calcium signaling, and principal component analysis of the full data set revealed divergent profiles for all five agonists. However, most interesting was the identification of differential biased signaling between the two isoforms. Strikingly, hH
R
was completely unable to stimulate GSK3β phosphorylation, an endpoint robustly activated by the full-length receptor. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first quantitative example of differential biased signaling via isoforms of the same G protein-coupled receptor that are simultaneously expressed in vivo and gives rise to the possibility of selective pharmacological targeting of individual receptor splice variants.
An evaluation of the in‐vitro digestion profile and phase behaviour of the common formulation lipids Miglyol 812 (medium chain triglyceride, MCT), Capmul MCM (C8/C10 monoglyceride/diglyceride ...mixture), soybean oil (long chain triglyceride, LCT) and Maisine 35‐1 (C18 monoglyceride/diglyceride mixture), is described. Experiments were conducted using titrimetric, high‐performance thin‐layer chromatographic (HPTLC) and ultracentrifugational techniques under model fasted and post‐prandial intestinal conditions. The rate and extent of digestion of the medium chain lipids was greater than the corresponding long chain lipids, and independent of bile salt concentration, with complete conversion to monoglyceride and fatty acid occurring after 30 min digestion. The long chain lipid digests separated into an oily phase (containing undigested triglyceride and diglyceride), an aqueous phase (containing bile salt, fatty acid and monoglyceride) and a pellet phase (containing approximately 5 mM of fatty acid, presumably as an insoluble soap) after ultracentrifugation. Higher proportions of long chain fatty acid and monoglyceride were dispersed into the aqueous phase with increasing bile salt concentrations. In contrast, medium chain lipolytic products separated only into an aqueous phase and a pellet fraction in a bile‐salt‐independent manner. The digestion of both the C8/C10 and C18 monoglyceride/diglyceride lipid mixtures was more rapid than the corresponding triglyceride, especially at early time points. This investigation provides insight into the relative digestion kinetics of medium chain and long chain lipids and provides information regarding the phase behaviour of their lipolytic products under conditions modelled on those expected after oral administration. The data also provide a background for improved understanding of the potential utility of long chain and medium chain lipid‐based formulations.
Drug receptor kinetics is as a key component in drug discovery, development, and efficacy; however, determining kinetic parameters has historically required direct radiolabeling or competition with a ...labeled tracer. Here we present a simple approach to determining the kinetics of competitive antagonists of G protein-coupled receptors by exploiting the phenomenon of hemi-equilibrium, the state of partial re-equilibration of agonist, antagonist, and receptor in some functional assays. Using functional Ca(2+)i-flux and extracellular kinases 1 and 2 phosphorylation assays that have short incubation times and therefore are prone to hemi-equilibrium "behaviors," we investigated a wide range of structurally and physicochemically distinct muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonists. Using a combined operational and hemi-equilibrium model of antagonism to both simulate and analyze data, we derived estimates of association and dissociation rates for the test set of antagonists, identifying both rapidly dissociating (4-DAMP, himbacine) and slowly dissociating (tiotropium, glycopyrrolate) ligands. The results demonstrate the importance of assay incubation time and the degree of receptor reserve in applying the analytical model. There was an excellent correlation between estimates of antagonist pK(B), k(on), and k(off) from functional assays and those determined by competition kinetics using whole-cell (3)HN-methylscopolamine binding, validating this approach as a rapid and simple method to functionally profile receptor kinetics of competitive antagonists in the absence of a labeled tracer.
The purpose of this study was to characterize the solubilization and precipitation characteristics of a range of poorly water-soluble drugs during the in vitro digestion of long-chain or medium-chain ...triglyceride (TG) lipid suspension formulations.
TG suspensions of model drugs (present at double their equilibrium solubilities in the respective lipid) were digested in vitro and the drug solubilization and precipitation pattern in the resulting digests analyzed.
For griseofulvin, diazepam, and danazol, solubilization of the small mass of drug originally presented in the TG lipid was efficient with only a small proportion of the dose precipitating and being recovered in the pellet phase after digestion of the TG lipid. For the more lipophilic and lipid-soluble drugs (cinnarizine, halofantrine), in which higher drug loadings were possible, significant enhancement in drug solubilization in the postdigestion aqueous phase was not apparent compared with simple TG lipid solutions.
Suspensions of drugs, which are poorly soluble in water and TG lipid, may prove beneficial as the relatively high solubilizing capacity of the colloidal phases produced on TG digestion will likely exceed the mass of drug that could have been administered as a simple lipid solution. However, for more lipid-soluble drugs, suspension formulations may offer little benefit as sufficiently high drug loadings can otherwise be achieved with simple solution formulations that still provide for adequate solubilization after TG digestion.
12,28-Oxamanzamine A (1), 12,28-oxa-8-hydroxymanzamine A (2), and 31-keto-12,34-oxa-32,33-dihydroircinal A (3) were isolated from two collections of an Indo-Pacific sponge, and their structures were ...assigned on the basis of 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data. These compounds possess a novel manzamine-type ring system generated through a new ether bridge formed between carbons 12 and 28 or between carbons 12 and 34 of the typical manzamine structure and add to our growing understanding of manzamine SAR and metabolism. Based on molecular modeling studies, the formation of these oxidation products is highly sterically favored. The potent antiinflammatory, antifungal, and anti-HIV-1 activity for a number of previously reported manzamines is also presented in addition to the pharmacokinetic studies of manzamine A (5). Oral and intravenous pharmacokinetic studies of manzamine A in rats indicated the compound to have low metabolic clearance, a reasonably long pharmacokinetic half-life, and good absolute oral bioavailability of 20.6%, which supports the value of these compounds as potential leads for further preclinical assessment and possible development.