Wiro M. P. B. Menge

Identification of the First Nonpeptidergic Inverse Agonist for a Constitutively Active Viral-encoded G Protein-coupled Receptor

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) encodes a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), named US28, which shows homology to chemokine receptors and binds several chemokines with high affinity. US28 induces migration of smooth muscle cells, a feature essential for the development of atherosclerosis, and may serve as a co-receptor for human immunodeficiency virus-type 1 entry into cells. Previously, we have shown that HCMV-encoded US28 displays constitutive activity, whereas its mammalian homologs do not. In this study we have identified a small nonpeptidergic molecule (VUF2274) that inhibits US28-mediated phospholipase C activation in transiently transfected COS-7 cells and in HCMV-infected fibroblasts. Moreover, VUF2274 inhibits US28-mediated HIV entry into cells. In addition, VUF2274 fully displaces radiolabeled RANTES (regulated on activation normal T cell expressed and secreted) binding at US28, apparently with a noncompetitive behavior. Different analogues of VUF2274 have been synthesized and pharmacologically characterized, to understand which features are important for its inverse agonistic activity. Finally, by means of mutational analysis of US28, we have identified a glutamic acid in transmembrane 7 (TM 7), which is highly conserved among chemokine receptors, as a critical residue for VUF2274 binding to US28. The identification of a full inverse agonist provides an important tool to investigate the relevance of US28 constitutive activity in viral pathogenesis.

Cytotoxicity of a series of mono- and di-substituted thiourea in freshly isolated rat hepatocytes: a preliminary structure-toxicity relationship study.

The cytotoxicity of a series of 12 mono- and 4 di-substituted thiourea containing compounds in freshly isolated rat hepatocytes was investigated. It was found that thiourea toxicity, as evidenced by an increase in LDH-leakage from the cells, was accompanied by a depletion of intracellular glutathione (GSH). No increase in lipid peroxidation was observed with any of the thiourea. Burimamide and thioperamide, thiourea-containing histamine receptor ligands, were also found to deplete intracellular GSH. A clear structure-toxicity relationship was uncovered among a homologous series of N-phenylalkylthiourea. N-benzylthiourea (BTU) and N-phenylethylthiourea (PETU) were found to be non-toxic at a concentration of 1 mM, while N-phenylpropylthiourea (PPTU) and N-phenylbutylthiourea (PBTU) were found to cause significant LDH-leakage from the cells, accompanied by a depletion of intracellular GSH. This structure-toxicity relationship was further investigated using hepatocytes of differentially induced rats, however, no significantly different results were obtained when using hepatocytes of rats induced with phenobarbital (PB) or beta-naphthoflavone (BNF). Oxidation of the thiourea moiety is thought to be the first step in the bioactivation of thiourea containing compounds. The oxidation of thiocholine sulfenic acids, produced by FMO-mediated oxidation of the thiourea moiety, was used to determine whether the compounds examined are substrates for the FMO enzymes in rat liver. No clear relationship was found between cytotoxicity of the mono-substituted thiourea and lipophilicity of the N-substituent, nor with the FMO-mediated oxidation of the thionosulfur atom of the mono-substituted thiourea. It is concluded from this study, that thiourea toxicity in rat hepatocytes is structure-dependent and manifests itself as LDH-leakage and as a depletion of intracellular non-protein sulfhydryls, notably GSH, most likely followed by alkylation of vital macromolecular structures.

Evaluation of [18F]VUF 5000 as a potential PET ligand for brain imaging of the histamine H3 receptor.

[18F]VUF 5000 was evaluated as a potential PET ligand for the histamine H3 receptor. In the rat a high uptake of [18F]VUF 5000 was observed in liver, lung and kidney and a low uptake in the brain. In order to explain these findings we determined the LogD(oct,7.2) of [18F]VUF 5000, studied the biodistribution in the presence of carrier VUF 5000, modified [18F]VUF 5000 chemically and studied the binding of [18F]VUF 5000 to human serum albumin. From the results of these experiments it was concluded that [18F]VUF 5000 is not suitable as a PET ligand for brain imaging of the histamine H3 receptor, since [18F]VUF 5000 hardly penetrates into the brain.

A qualitative model for the histamine H3 receptor explaining agonistic and antagonistic activity simultaneously.

A pharmacophore model for histamine H3 ligands is derived that reveals the putative interaction of both H3 agonists and antagonists with an aspartate residue of the receptor. This interaction is determined by applying the density functional theory implemented in a program package adapted for parallel computers. The model reveals a molecular determinant explaining efficacy as the conformation of the aspartic acid residue differs according to whether it is binding to agonists or antagonists. The differences in structure‐activity relationships (SAR) observed for the lipophilic tails of different classes of H3 antagonists are now explained, since the model reveals two distinct lipophilic pockets available for antagonist binding.

Synthesis and histamine H3 receptor activity of 4-(n-alkyl)-1H-imidazoles and 4-(omega-phenylalkyl)-1H-imidazoles.

The influence of lipophilic moieties attached to a 4-1H-imidazole ring on the histamine H3 receptor activity was systematically investigated. Series of 4-(n-alkyl)-1H-imidazoles and 4-(omega-phenylalkyl)-1H-imidazoles were prepared, with an alkyl chain varying from 2-9 methylene groups and from 1-9 methylene groups, respectively. The compounds were tested for their activity on the H3 receptor under in vitro conditions. For the 4-(n-alkyl)-1H-imidazoles the activity is proportional to chain length, ranging from a pA2 value of 6.3 +/- 0.2 for 4-(n-propyl)-1H-imidazole to a pA2 value of 7.2 +/- 0.1 for 4-(n-decyl)-1H-imidazole. For the series 4-(omega-phenylalkyl)-4H-imidazoles an optimum in H3 activity was found for the pentylene spacer: 4-(omega-phenylpentyl)-1H-imidazole has a pA2 value of 7.8 +/- 0.1.

Influence of monovalent cations on the binding of a charged and an uncharged (‘carbo’‐)muscarinic antagonist to muscarinic receptors

1 The effect of the buffer concentration on binding of [3H]‐N‐methylscopolamine to muscarinic receptors M2 was tested in rat heart. Tracer binding was of low affinity in a 20 mM imidazole buffer (pKD 8.3), inhibited by an increase from 10 to 100 mM of the sodium phosphate buffer concentration (pKD 9.92 to 9.22), slightly inhibited by an increase of the Tris/HCl buffer concentration from 20 to 100 mM (pKD 9.70 to 9.47) and unaffected by an increase of the histidine/HCl buffer concentration from 20 to 100 mM (pKD 9.90 to 9.82). We chose the last buffer to analyse the effect of ions on antagonists binding to cardiac M2 receptors and to transiently expressed wild‐type and (Y533→F) mutant m3 muscarinic receptors in COS‐7 cells. 2 Equilibrium [3H]‐N‐methylscopolamine binding to cardiac M2 receptors was inhibited, apparently competitively, by monovalent salts (LiCl≥NaCl≥KCl). In contrast, binding of the uncharged 3,3‐dimethylbutan‐l‐ol ester of diphenylglycolic acid (BS‐6181) was facilitated by addition of monovalent salts (LiCl≥NaCl≥KCl) to the binding buffer. This cation binding pattern is consistent with interaction with a large, negative field strength binding site, such as, for instance, a carboxylic acid. 3 In the presence of 100 mM NaCl, [3H]‐N‐methylscopolamine had a similar affinity for the wild‐type m3 receptor (pKD 9.85) and for a (Y533→F) mutant m3 receptor (pKD 9.68). However, in the absence of added salts, the tracer had a significantly lower affinity for the mutated (pKD 10.19) as compared to the wild‐type (pKD 10.70) m3 receptor. BS‐6181 had a significantly lower affinity for the (Y533→F) mutant m3 muscarinic receptor, as compared to the wild‐type m3 receptor, both in the absence (pKD 6.19‐6.72) in the presence (pKD 6.48‐7.40) of 100 mM NaCl. The effects of NaCl on binding of the uncharged ester and of [3H]‐N‐methylscopolamine to the m3 receptor were decreased by the mutation. 4 Taken together, these results support the hypothesis that monovalent cations from the buffer may interact with the cation binding site of the receptors (an aspartate residue in the third transmembrane helix of muscarinic receptors). Buffer cations may inhibit competitively the binding of (charged) muscarinic ligands having a tertiary amine or ammonium group, while facilitating the receptor recognition by uncharged, isosteric ‘carbo‐analogues’. Mutation of the (Y533→F) of the m3 receptor decreased the affinity of the receptor for positive charges, including the sodium ion.

Radiosynthesis and biodistribution of 123I-labeled antagonists of the histamine H3 receptor as potential SPECT ligands.

We have synthesized three 123I-labeled histamine H3 receptor ligands, i.e., [123I]GR 190028, [123I]FUB 271, and [123I]iodoproxyfan, in moderate to good radiochemical yields via a Cu+-assisted I-for-123I exchange method. Biodistribution in the rat of these compounds revealed high hepatic and pulmonary uptake. Brain uptake was moderate, but for [123I]iodoproxyfan, brain uptake was high enough for a pilot single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) study in the rabbit. However, for this compound, the cerebral uptake could not be blocked by a pretreatment with [R]-alpha-methylhistamine, a selective, high-affinity histamine H3 receptor agonist, both in the SPECT study in the rabbit and in the biodistribution study in the rat. Apparently, [123I]iodoproxyfan is binding to a non-H3 receptor binding site. None of the three investigated compounds is suitable for use as a SPECT ligand for the H3 receptor in the brain.

Solid-Phase synthesis of 4-substituted imidazoles using a scaffold approach

Immobilized 4-iodoimidazole 2 was used in a metal/halogen exchange reaction followed by treatment with electrophiles and subsequent cleavage from the resin to yield 4-substituted imidazoles 8-11. Grignard reaction with the resin-bound ketones 5 yielded the corresponding alcohols 11. This approach was used for a library synthesis of 35 imidazoles.

Synthesis,in vitro pharmacology and radiosynthesis ofN-(cis-4-fluoromethylcycloyhexyl)-4-(1(H)-imidazol-4-yl)piperidine-11-thiocarbonamide (VUF 5000), a potential PET ligand for the histamine H3 receptor

The synthesis of N-(cis-4-fluoromethylcyclohexyl)-4-( 1 (H)-imidazol-4-yl)piperidine- 1-thiocarbonamide (VUF 5000) 3, a fluorinated analogue of the potent (pA 2 value of 8.9 ± 0.1, K i = 4.3 ± 0.9 nM) histamine H 3 receptor antagonist thioperamide 2 is described. After the establishment of the H 3 antagonistic activity of VUF 5000, pA 2 value = 9.0 ± 0.2, K i = 2.3 ±0.5 nM, a four step synthesis for the radiolabelling of VUF 5000 with 18 F (half life 110 min) was developed. Within 4 hours of the end of the bombartment, [ 18 F]VUF 5000 was obtained with an average radiochemical yield of 23% (decay corrected) and a specific activity > 96.2 TBq/μmol (2.6 Ci/μmol).

Pharmacological analysis of immepip and imetit homologues. Further evidence for histamine H(3) receptor heterogeneity

Following a previous report by our research group on discriminative properties of a series of aliphatic histamine homologues, we now studied immepip, imetit and its lower and higher sidechain homologues as ligands for the histamine H(3) receptor in a [(125)I]-iodophenpropit binding assay using rat cerebral cortex membranes, and two functional H(3) receptor models (inhibition of the neurogenic contraction of the guinea pig jejunum and inhibition of [(3)H]-noradrenaline release in rat cerebral cortex slices). The immepip homologues behaved as competitive H(3)-receptor antagonists in both functional systems. The potencies (pA(2) values) observed at the guinea pig jejunum were 8.4 and 6.2 for the immepip homologues VUF 4929 and VUF 4735, respectively, whereas on the electrically evoked release of [(3)H]-noradrenaline from cortical slices the pA(2) values were 7.1 and 5.5 for VUF 4929 and VUF 4735, respectively. Moreover, immepip, but not the (R)-alpha-methylhistamine, showed almost a tenfold higher agonistic potency in the rat cerebral cortex than in the guinea pig jejunum. For imetit and its homologues important discrepancies in the potencies in the two functional assays were noticed as well. VUF 8328 acts as a potent (pD(2)=8.0) partial agonist in the brain, but as a very active (pA(2)=9.4) competitive antagonist in the guinea pig jejunum. The partial agonistic activity of VUF 8328 in the brain was confirmed by GTP gamma S-sensitive, biphasic displacement of [(125)I]-iodophenpropit binding to rat cerebral cortex membranes. The differences in potencies shown by the various ligands are discussed in relation to H(3) receptor heterogeneity.