Paola Fossa

Novel angular furo and thieno-quinolinones: synthesis and preliminary photobiological studies

A number of new furo and thienoquinolinones carrying an electron-withdrawing function or unsubstituted at the position 3 were synthesized in order to obtain new potential photochemotherapeutic agents with increased antiproliferative activity and decreased toxic side effects. Our interest in studying the SAR of these derivatives also prompted us to investigate the influence of N-methylation on biological activity, by preparing N-methyl derivatives. The antiproliferative activity of all the newly synthesized compounds was evaluated and compared to 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP), the drug widely used in PUVA-therapy. The 3-unsubstituted thienoquinolinones were generally the most potent derivatives, followed by the furo-analogues. In particular, the unsubstituted thieno[2,3-h]quinoline-2(1H)one showed the highest activity in T2 bacteriophage, HeLa cells and Ehrlich cells tests. All the compounds, assayed on Escherichia coli WP2 TM9, showed a similar mutagenic activity, very close to that of 8-MOP. Except for 2-oxo-1,2-dihydrothieno[2,3-h]quinoline-3-carboxylic acid, which appeared to be very effective, all compounds generated singlet oxygen to slightly larger amounts when compared to 8-MOP. The N-methyl analogues only induced moderate skin erythemas on albino guinea pigs, while all other derivatives appeared to be entirely inactive. On the basis of these results, the unsubstituted thieno[2,3h]quinoline 2(1H)one seems to be the most interesting potential drug for PUVA photochemotherapy and photopheresis.

HSPB1 and HSPB8 in inherited neuropathies: study of an Italian cohort of dHMN and CMT2 patients.

Mutations in the small heat‐shock protein 27 kDa protein 1 (HSPB1) and 22 kDa protein 8 (HSPB8) genes were associated with distal hereditary motor neuropathy (dHMN) and with the axonal form of Charcot‐Marie‐Tooth disease type 2 (CMT2). Here we report the clinical and molecular evaluation of an Italian dHMN and CMT2 cohort to establish HSPB1 and HSPB8 mutation occurrence and associated clinical features. One hundred and sixty‐seven patients with dHMN or CMT2 were studied. HSPB1 and HSPB8 exons 1 and 3 molecular analysis was carried out through DHPLC and direct sequencing of each variant chromatogram. HSPB8 exon 2 was analyzed by direct sequencing. Four mutations in five unrelated dHMN patients and four mutations in four unrelated CMT2 cases were found in HSPB1. The p.Arg136Leu mutation was found in two patients with different phenotypes. Electroneurographical follow‐up study in a dHMN patient revealed that sensory impairment occurred with disease progression. The HSPB1 mutation frequency was 8% in dHMN and 4% in CMT2 patients. The significant HSPB1 mutation frequency in both phenotypes indicates its relevance in the pathogenesis of these neuropathies. Recent literature data suggest a continuum between dHMN and CMT2. We confirm this finding in our cohort, proposing a definite relationship between these disorders.

Insights into the Structure and Pharmacology of the Human Trace Amine-Associated Receptor 1 (hTAAR1): Homology Modelling and Docking Studies

Trace amine‐associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) is a G protein–coupled receptor that belongs to the family of TAAR receptors and responds to a class of compounds called trace amines, such as β‐phenylethylamine (β‐PEA) and 3‐iodothyronamine (T1AM). The receptor is known to have a very rich pharmacology and could be also activated by other classes of compounds, including adrenergic and serotonergic ligands. It is expected that targeting TAAR1 could provide a novel pharmacological approach to correct monoaminergic dysfunctions found in several brain disorders, such as schizophrenia, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and Parkinson’s disease. Only recently, the first selective TAAR1 agonist RO5166017 has been identified. To explore the molecular mechanisms of protein–agonist interaction and speed up the identification of new chemical entities acting on this biomolecular target, we derived a homology model for the hTAAR1. The putative protein‐binding site has been explored by comparing the hTAAR1 model with the β2‐adrenoreceptor binding site, available by X‐ray crystallization studies, and with the homology modelled 5HT1A receptor. The obtained results, in tandem with docking studies performed with RO5166017, β‐PEA and T1AM, provided an opportunity to reasonably identify the hTAAR1 key residues involved in ligand recognition and thus define important starting points to design new agonists.

Ionization behaviour and tautomerism-dependent lipophilicity of pyridine-2(1H)-one cardiotonic agents

The acid-base properties of pyridine-2(1H)-one derivatives, analogues of the cardiotonic agent milrinone, were studied by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). Electrophoretic mobility and pH data were fitted to equilibrium expressions and apparent dissociation constants (pKa) calculated by non-linear regression. Compared with the ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometric method and potentiometric titrations, the CZE technique showed advantages, such as rapidity and applicability to compounds that are sparingly soluble in water. Based on the pKa values, intramolecular electronic interactions were assessed. The lipophilicity of a number of derivatives was also examined, by determining their n-octanol/water distribution coefficients over a wide pH range, and found to be significantly affected by 2-pyridone/2-hydroxypyridine tautomerism. As revealed by a comparison between experimental and calculated log P values, electron withdrawing substituents, especially at the C(6) position of 2-pyridone, favour the less polar hydroxypyridine tautomers both in water and octanol. Our results indicate that the positive inotropism of milrinone-related compounds could be explained taking ionization and tautomerism into account.

Further Insights Into the Pharmacology of the Human Trace Amine-Associated Receptors: Discovery of Novel Ligands for TAAR1 by a Virtual Screening Approach

Trace Amine‐Associated Receptor 1 (TAAR1) is a G protein‐coupled receptor that is expressed in brain and periphery and responds to a class of compounds called trace amines, such as β‐phenylethylamine (β‐PEA), tyramine, tryptamine, octopamine. The receptor is known to have a very rich pharmacology and could be also activated by different classes of compounds, including dopaminergic, adrenergic and serotonergic ligands. It is expected that targeting hTAAR1 could provide a novel pharmacological approach for several human disorders, such as schizophrenia, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Parkinsons disease and metabolic diseases. Only recently, a small number of selective hTAAR1 agonists (among which RO5166017 and T1AM) and antagonist (EPPTB), have been reported in literature. With the aim to identify new molecular entities able to act as ligands for this target, we used an homology model for the hTAAR1 and performed a virtual screening procedure on an in‐house database of compounds. A number of interesting molecules were selected and by testing them in an in vitro assay we found several agonists and one antagonist, with activities in the low micromolar range. These compounds could represent the starting point for the development of more potent and selective TAAR1 ligands.

Synthesis, Biological Evaluation, and Docking Studies of Tetrahydrofuran- Cyclopentanone- and Cyclopentanol-Based Ligands Acting at Adrenergic α1- and Serotonine 5-HT1A Receptors

A series of aralkylphenoxyethylamine and aralkylmethoxyphenylpiperazine compounds was synthesized and their in vitro pharmacological profile at both 5-HT(1A) receptors and α(1)-adrenoceptor subtypes was measured by binding assay and functional studies. The results showed that the replacement of the 1,3-dioxolane ring by a tetrahydrofuran, cyclopentanone, or cyclopentanol moiety leads to an overall reduction of in vitro affinity at the α(1)-adrenoceptor while both potency and efficacy were increased at the 5-HT(1A) receptor. A significant improvement of 5-HT(1A)/α(1) selectivity was observed in some of the cyclopentanol derivatives synthesized (4acis, 4ccis and trans). Compounds 2a and 4ccis emerged as novel and interesting 5-HT(1A) receptor antagonist (pK(i) = 8.70) and a 5-HT(1A) receptor partial agonist (pK(i) = 9.25, pD(2) = 9.03, E(max) = 47%, 5-HT(1A)/α(1a) = 69), respectively. Docking studies were performed at support of the biological data and to elucidate the molecular basis for 5-HT(1A) agonism/antagonism activity.

Rational design, synthesis and biological evaluation of new 1,5-diarylpyrazole derivatives as CB1 receptor antagonists, structurally related to rimonabant.

Among cannabinoid type-1 (CB(1)) receptor antagonists, those developed around the 1,5-diarylpyrazole scaffold of rimonabant (Acomplia are the most extensively investigated. In recent years, many SAR and QSAR reports on this topic have been published, focusing on the substitution and orientation of the N1 and C5 aryl functionalities and on the substituents at the 3-carboxamide position. In this context, the purpose of our study was to design and synthesize a set of 1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-5-arylpyrazoles strictly related to rimonabant, but with the hydrazide/amide group shifted from position 3 to position 4 of the pyrazole scaffold. The synthesized compounds were evaluated in vitro for their affinity on human CB(1) and CB(2) (cannabinoid type-2) receptors. Computational studies, performed both in the design step and after biological assays, contributed to rationalize the obtained results in terms of specific molecular interactions between antagonists and the human CB(1) receptor.

Homology modeling in tandem with 3D-QSAR analyses: A computational approach to depict the agonist binding site of the human CB2 receptor

CB2 receptor belongs to the large family of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) controlling a wide variety of signal transduction. The recent crystallographic determination of human β2 adrenoreceptor and its high sequence similarity with human CB2 receptor (hCB2) prompted us to compute a theoretical model of hCB2 based also on β2 adrenoreceptor coordinates. This model has been employed to perform docking and molecular dynamic simulations on WIN-55,212-2 (CB2 agonist commonly used in binding experiments), in order to identify the putative CB2 receptor agonist binding site, followed by molecular docking studies on a series of indol-3-yl-tetramethylcyclopropyl ketone derivatives, a novel class of potent CB2 agonists. Successively, docking-based Comparative Molecular Fields Analysis (CoMFA) and Comparative Molecular Similarity Indices Analysis (CoMSIA) studies were also performed. The CoMSIA model resulted to be the more predictive, showing r(ncv)(2) = 0.96, r(cv)(2) = 0.713, SEE = 0.193, F = 125.223, and r(2)(pred) = 0.78. The obtained 3D-QSAR models allowed us to derive more complete guidelines for the design of new analogues with improved potency so as to synthesize new indoles showing high CB2 affinity.

Synthesis of N-substituted-N-acylthioureas of 4-substituted piperazines endowed with local anaesthetic, antihyperlipidemic, antiproliferative activities and antiarrythmic, analgesic, antiaggregating actions.

Three series of N-acyl and N-cyclohexyl- or N-methyl or N-phenyl-thioureas of 4-substituted (methyl, phenyl, 2-pyridyl)piperazines (4-12) were synthesised according to a highly convergent one-pot procedure and tested in vivo (local anaesthetic, anti-hyperlipoproteinemic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antiarrythmic activities) and in vitro (antiaggregating and, for some selected derivatives, antiproliferative activities) experiments. All the test compounds showed local anaesthesia in particular 4Ar(4), 5Ar(4), 12Ar(3) (after 5 min) and 5Ar(2), 5Ar(3), 9Ar(4) (after 30 min) were equipotent to lidocaine. In lowering triglyceride levels, compounds 6Ar(4) and 7Ar(3) were more active than nicotinic acid, whereas 7Ar(4) and 11Ar(4) were approximately equipotent. As concerns analgesic activity, 5Ar(2) and 5Ar(4) were as active as indomethacin. Appreciable anti-inflammatory activity was found in 8Ar(1), 5Ar(2) and 11Ar(2), but inferior to that of indomethacin. High levels of antiarrythmic activity, comparable with that of quinidine, were found in derivatives 4Ar(2) and 10Ar(1). Compounds 4Ar(2) and 8Ar(2), assayed in antitumor in vitro screening system at National Cancer Institute (NCI), showed significant antiproliferative activity against ACHN cell line (GI50: 0.13 microM) and NCI-H226 cell line (GI50: 1.03 microM), respectively.

Docking-based 3D-QSAR analyses of pyrazole derivatives as HIV-1 non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors

Abstract1,3,4,5-tetrasubstituted-pyrazoles (TPs) have been recently identified as a new class of potent non-nucleoside HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitors. A computational strategy based on molecular docking studies, followed by docking-based comparative molecular fields analysis (CoMFA) and comparative molecular similarity indices analysis (CoMSIA), has been used to elucidate the atomic details of the RT/TP interactions and to identify the most important features impacting the TP antiretroviral activity. The final CoMSIA model resulted to be the more predictive, showing rncv2 = 0.97, rcv2 = 0.723, SEE = 0.248, F = 240.291, and r2pred = 0.77. The results allowed us to obtain useful information for the design of new compounds with improved potency toward WT HIV-1 and also against clinically relevant resistant mutants.