Marta Nesi

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of 2-Mercapto-1,3-benzothiazole Derivatives with Potential Antimicrobial Activity

The enhancement of bacterial resistance of pathogens to currently available antibiotics constitutes a serious public health threat. So, intensive efforts are underway worldwide to develop new antimicrobial agents. To identify compounds with a potent antimicrobial profile, we designed and synthesized low molecular weight 2‐mercaptobenzothiazole derivatives 2a–2l and 3a–3l. Both series were screened for in‐vitro antibacterial activity against the representative panel of Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacteria strains. The biological screening identified compounds 2e and 2l as the most active ones showing an interesting antibacterial activity with MIC values of 3.12 μg/mL against Staphylococcus aureus and 25 μg/mL against Escherichia coli, respectively. The replacement of the S‐H by the S‐Bn moiety resulted in considerable loss of the antibacterial action of the 3a–3l series. The antibiotic action of compounds 2e and 2l was also investigated by testing their activity against some clinical isolates with different antimicrobial resistance profile. Moreover, the involvement of the NorA efflux pump in the antibacterial activity of our molecules was evaluated. Finally, in this paper, we also describe the cytotoxic activity of the most interesting compounds by MTS assay against HeLa and MRC‐5 cell lines.

1,4-Dioxane, a Suitable Scaffold for the Development of Novel M3 Muscarinic Receptor Antagonists

In this study the modulation of the pharmacological profile from agonist to antagonist was successfully obtained by replacing the methyl group in position 6 of the 1,4-dioxane scaffold of the potent M(2)/M(3) muscarinic agonist 1 with bulkier groups. In particular, the 6,6-diphenyl substitution provided the potent M(3) preferring antagonist (±)-17, which in in vivo study proved to be effective in reducing the volume-induced contractions of rat urinary bladder and was devoid of cardiovascular effects.

Properly substituted 1,4-dioxane nucleus favours the selective M3 muscarinic receptor activation.

Novel analogues of cis-N,N,N-trimethyl-(6-methyl-1,4-dioxan-2-yl)methanaminium iodide (2a) were synthesized by inserting methyl groups alternatively or simultaneously in positions 5 and 6 of the 1,4-dioxane nucleus in all combinations. Their biological profile was assessed by receptor binding assays at human muscarinic M(1)-M(5) receptors stably expressed in CHO cells and by functional studies performed on classical isolated organ preparations, namely, rabbit electrically stimulated vas deferens, and guinea pig electrically stimulated left atrium, ileum, and lung strips. The results showed that the simultaneous presence of one methyl group in both positions 5 and 6 with a trans stereochemical relationship with each other (diastereomers 4 and 5) or the geminal dimethylation in position 6 (compound 8) favour the selective activation of M(3) receptors. Compounds 4, 5, and 8 might be valuable tools in the characterization of the M(3) receptor, as well as provide useful information for the design and development of novel selective M(3) antagonists.

Carbachol dimers as homobivalent modulators of muscarinic receptors

A series of homodimers of the well-known cholinergic agonist carbachol have been synthesized, showing the two agonist units symmetrically connected through a methylene chain of variable length. The new compounds have been tested on the five cloned muscarinic receptors (hM1-5) expressed in CHO cells by means of equilibrium binding studies, showing an increase in affinity by rising the number of methylene units up to 7 and 9. Functional experiments on guinea-pig ileum and assessment of ERK1/2 phosphorylation on hM1, hM2 and hM3 on CHO cells have shown that the new compounds are endowed with muscarinic antagonistic properties. Kinetic binding studies have revealed that some of the tested compounds are able to slow the rate of dissociation of NMS, suggesting a bitopic behavior. Docking simulations, performed on the hM1 and hM2 receptors, give a sound rationalization of the experimental data revealing how these compounds are able to interact with both orthosteric and allosteric binding sites depending on the length of their connecting chain.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of a novel series of heterobivalent muscarinic ligands based on xanomeline and 1-[3-(4-butylpiperidin-1-yl)propyl]-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolin-2-one (77-LH-28-1)

Novel bitopic hybrids, based on the M1/M4 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) orthosteric agonist xanomeline (1) and the putative M1 mAChR allosteric agonist 1-[3-(4-butylpiperidin-1-yl)propyl]-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolin-2-one (77-LH-28-1, 3) connected by an aliphatic linker of variable length, were prepared. The novel heterobivalent hybrids 4a-f along with the intermediate alcohols 5a-f were pharmacologically evaluated in radioligand binding assays and some of them for their functional efficacies in bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET)-based assays to give an insight into the structure-activity relationships of bivalent and linker-attached compounds in mAChRs. The hybrid 4d exhibited high efficacy for β-arrestin2 engagement in M1 mAChR and alcohol 5c behaved much like 3 at M1 mAChR and showed full antagonism in both Gi activation and β-arrestin2 engagement at M4 mAChR. Moreover, docking simulations on the M1 mAChR model were performed to elucidate how the binding mode of the proposed compounds is influenced by the linker length.

Mode of interaction of 1,4-dioxane agonists at the M2 and M3 muscarinic receptor orthosteric sites

The methyl group in cis stereochemical relationship with the basic chain of all pentatomic cyclic analogues of ACh is crucial for the agonist activity at mAChR. Among these only cevimeline (1) is employed in the treatment of xerostomia associated with Sjögrens syndrome. Here we demonstrated that, unlike 1,3-dioxolane derivatives, in the 1,4-dioxane series the methyl group is not essential for the activation of mAChR subtypes. Docking studies, using the crystal structures of human M2 and rat M3 receptors, demonstrated that the 5-methylene group of the 1,4-dioxane nucleus of compound 10 occupies the same lipophilic pocket as the methyl group of the 1,3-dioxolane 4.

Muscarinic antagonists with multiple stereocenters: Synthesis, affinity profile and functional activity of isomeric 1-methyl-2-(2,2-alkylaryl-1,3-oxathiolan-5-yl) pyrrolidine sulfoxide derivatives

Completing a long-lasting research on 1,3-oxathiolane muscarinic ligands, we have synthesized a set of isomeric 1-methyl-2-(2,2-alkylaryl-1,3-oxathiolan-5-yl)pyrrolidine 3-sulfoxide derivatives, containing three or four stereogenic centers. In general the compounds are very potent antagonists even if, unlike the corresponding agonists, they show modest subtype selectivity.

Synthesis, Affinity Profile and Functional Activity of Potent Chiral Muscarinic Antagonists with a Pyrrolidinylfuran Structure

Starting from the structure of previously studied muscarinic agonists, characterized by a pyrrolidinylfuran scaffold, a new series of muscarinic antagonists was synthesized by substituting the 5-position of the furane cycle with bulky hydrophobic groups. Both tertiary amines and the corresponding iodomethyl derivatives were obtained and studied. All the new compounds show high affinity toward cloned human muscarinic M(1)-M(5) receptors expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and behave as competitive antagonists on classical models of muscarinic receptors. The diastereoisomeric mixture of the highest affinity compound of the series was resolved into the four optical isomers by chiral HPLC. The relative and absolute configuration of the obtained compounds was established by means of a combined strategy based on X-ray crystallography and chiroptical techniques. Although generally fairly potent, the compounds showed only modest subtype selectivity, with the exception of 2a and 6a, which in functional assays presented clear-cut selectivity for the muscarinic receptors present in rabbit vas deferens.

Synthesis and Pharmacological Characterization of Chiral Pyrrolidinylfuran Derivatives: The Discovery of New Functionally Selective Muscarinic Agonists

Building on the previously and successfully applied hypothesis that stereochemical complication in the proximity of the critical cationic head of a cholinergic agonist would result in subtype selective compounds, we synthesized a series of chiral derivatives of furmethide and 5-methylfurmethide, with the aim of obtaining compounds that are useful for treating diseases derived from cholinergic receptor dysfunctions and/or useful for further characterizing subtypes of cholinergic receptors. Unlike their parent compounds, the new molecules lack nicotinic activity, being pure muscarinic ligands. While binding studies on the five cloned human muscarinic receptors showed no subtype selectivity, functional assays revealed that some of the molecules of the series are potent M 2 selective partial agonists with interesting pharmacological profiles.

Synthesis and evaluation as PDE4 inhibitors of pyrimidine-2,4-dione derivatives

A series of nitraquazone analogs with a pyrimidindione core was synthesized and tested for inhibitory activity on PDE4, selectivity versus PDE3 and PDE5 and for affinity towards the rolipram high‐affinity binding site (HARBS). The 5‐anilino derivatives 13–18 showed the best profile combining appreciable PDE4 inhibitory activity (IC50 = 5–14 µM) with a good selectivity toward PDE3 and PDE5. The same compounds demonstrate low affinity for the HARBS site with IC50 values of 12–69 µM (IC50 for Rolipram = 3.6 nM). Drug Dev Res 72: 274–288, 2011.