The desferrithiocin pharmacophore

Concise Modular Synthesis and NMR Structural Determination of Gallium Mycobactin T

A modular synthesis of mycobactin T and its N-acetyl analogue is reported in a route that facilitates permutation of the lipid tails. A key feature is the generation of N(α)-Cbz-N(ε)-benzyloxy-N(ε)-Boc-lysine (A4) with methyl(trifluoromethyl)dioxirane in 59% yield. Selective hydroxamate N-acylation was achieved with acyl fluorides, enabling installation of lipids tails in the final step. O-Benzyl-dehydrocobactin T (B4) was prepared by modifying a known five-step sequence with an overall yield of 49%. 2-Hydroxyphenyl-4-carboxyloxazoline (C3) was prepared from 2-hydroxybenzoic acid and l-serine methyl ester in three steps with an overall yield of 55%. Ester coupling of A4 and B4 with EDCI afforded MbI-1 in 73% yield. Catalytic hydrogenation with Pd/BaSO₄ and 50 psi of H₂ simultaneously effected alkene reduction and debenzylation to afford MbI-2 in 96% yield. Fragment C3 was converted into acyl fluoride C4, which coupled with MbI-2 to afford MbI-3 in 51% yield. Finally, Boc-removal with HCl/EtOAc and treatment of the resultant hydroxylamine with stearyl fluoride furnished mycobactin T in 65% yield. Overall, the yield is 4% over 14 steps. The gallium mycobactin T-N-acetyl derivative (GaMbT-NAc) structure was determined by ¹H NMR. The structure shows an octahedral Ga and two internal hydrogen bonds between peptidic N-Hs and two of the oxygen atoms coordinating Ga.

Scaffold Based Search on the Desferithiocin Archetype

Iron overload disorder and diseases where iron mismanagement plays a crucial role require orally available iron chelators with favourable pharmacokinetic and toxicity profile. Desferrithiocin (DFT), a tridentate and orally available iron chelator has a favourable pharmacokinetic profile but its use has been clinically restricted due to its nephrotoxic potential. The chemical architecture of the DFT has been naturally well optimized for better iron chelation and iron clearance from human biological system. Equally they are also responsible for its toxicity. Hence, subsequent research has been devoted to develop a non-nephrotoxic analogue of DFT without losing its iron clearance ability. The review has been designed to classify the compounds reported till date and to discuss the structure activity relationship with reference to modifications attempted at different positions over pyridine and thiazoline ring of DFT. Compounds are clustered under two major classes: (i) Pyridine analogues and (ii) phenyl analogue and further each class has been further subdivided based on the presence or absence and the number of hydroxy functional groups present over pyridine or phenyl ring of the DFT analogues. Finally a summary and few insights into the development of newer analogues are provided.

Deferitazole, a new orally active iron chelator

Deferitazole possesses a high affinity and selectivity for iron(iii), forming an equilibrium mixture of two Fe^III(deferitazole)₂complexes, under biological conditions.

Desferrithiocin: a search for clinically effective iron chelators

The successful search for orally active iron chelators to treat transfusional iron-overload diseases, e.g., thalassemia, is overviewed. The critical role of iron in nature as a redox engine is first described, as well as how primitive life forms and humans manage the metal. The problems that derive when iron homeostasis in humans is disrupted and the mechanism of the ensuing damage, uncontrolled Fenton chemistry, are discussed. The solution to the problem, chelator-mediated iron removal, is clear. Design options for the assembly of ligands that sequester and decorporate iron are reviewed, along with the shortcomings of the currently available therapeutics. The rationale for choosing desferrithiocin, a natural product iron chelator (a siderophore), as a platform for structure-activity relationship studies in the search for an orally active iron chelator is thoroughly developed. The study provides an excellent example of how to systematically reengineer a pharmacophore in order to overcome toxicological problems while maintaining iron clearing efficacy and has led to three ligands being evaluated in human clinical trials.

Synthesis and biological properties of iron chelators based on a bis-2-(2-hydroxy-phenyl)-thiazole-4-carboxamide or -thiocarboxamide (BHPTC) scaffold

Bis-2-(2-hydroxy-phenyl)-thiazole-4-carboxamides and -thiocarboxamides (BHPTCs) form a family of gemini hexacoordinated bis-tridentate chelating scaffolds. Four molecules were synthesized and shown to chelate iron(III) efficiently with a 1:1 stoichiometry. A dithioamide BHPTC displayed promising antiproliferative activity in several cancerous cell lines, making this molecule an interesting lead compound for the design of new iron-chelating anticancer drugs. Conversely, diamide BHPTCs had significant cytoprotective activity against iron overload in HepaRG cells in vitro, and were as efficient as and less toxic than deferoxamine B (DFO).

The Evolution of Iron Chelators for the Treatment of Iron Overload Disease and Cancer

The evolution of iron chelators from a range of primordial siderophores and aromatic heterocyclic ligands has lead to the formation of a new generation of potent and efficient iron chelators. For example, various siderophore analogs and synthetic ligands, including ICL670A [4-[3,5-bis-(hydroxyphenyl)-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl]-benzoic acid], 4'-hydroxydesazadesferrithiocin, and Triapine, have been developed from predecessors and illustrate potent iron-mobilizing or antineoplastic activities. This review focuses on the evolution of iron chelators from initial lead compounds through to the development of novel chelating agents, many of which show great potential to be clinically applied in the treatment of iron overload disease and cancer.

The Design of Orally Active Iron Chelators

It is now generally accepted that it is not possible to design iron(III)-selective hexadentate chelators with high oral bioavailability. In order to achieve suitable levels of oral activity for the treatment of systemic iron overload either tridentate or bidentate molecules need to be investigated. There are a number of such molecules in clinical practice, including hydroxypyridin-4-ones, desferrithiocin analogues and bis-hydroxyphenyltriazoles. The underlying chemistry of each group is described, together with an indication of the distribution properties, redox cycling activity, and iron scavenging activity.

Structure-activity relationships among desazadesferrithiocin analogues

Desferrithiocin, a natural product iron chelator (siderophore), offers an excellent platform from which to construct orally active iron chelators which have a good therapeutic window. A systematic structure-activity study on desferrithiocin identified the structural fragments necessary for the compound's oral iron-clearing activity. There are strict requirements regarding the distance between the ligating centers; they cannot be altered without loss of efficacy. The thiazoline ring must remain intact. Benz-fusions, which were designed to improve the ligands' tissue residence time and possibly iron-clearing efficiency, are ineffective. The maintenance of an (S)-configured C-4 carbon is optimal in the design of desferrithiocin-based iron chelators. With this information in hand, alteration of the redox potential of the aromatic ring was initiated. Introduction of a hydroxy in the 4'-position of at least three different desazadesferrithiocin analogues resulted in moderate to small changes in iron clearing efficacy yet dramatic reductions in the toxicity of the compounds were observed. Although the toxicity studies of these desferrithiocin analogues are continuing, it is clear that it is possible to alter a siderophore in such a way as to ameliorate its toxicity profile while maintaining its iron-clearing properties.

Iron chelators and iron toxicity

Iron chelation may offer new approaches to the treatment and prevention of alcoholic liver disease. With chronic excess, either iron or alcohol alone may individually injure the liver and other organs. In combination, each exaggerates the adverse effects of the other. In alcoholic liver disease, both iron and alcohol contribute to the production of hepatic fibrosis through their effects on damaged hepatocytes, hepatic macrophages, hepatic stellate cells, and the extracellular matrix. The pivotal role of iron in these processes suggests that chelating iron may offer a new approach to arresting or ameliorating liver injury. For the past four decades, deferoxamine B mesylate has been the only iron-chelating agent generally available for clinical use. Clinical experience with deferoxamine has demonstrated the safety and effectiveness of iron chelation for the prevention and treatment of iron overload. Determined efforts to develop alternative agents have at last resulted in the development of a variety of candidate iron chelators that are now in or near clinical trial, including (a) the hexadentate phenolic aminocarboxylate HBED [N,N'-bis(2-hydroxybenzyl)ethylenediamine-N,N'-diacetic acid], (b) the tridentate desferrithiocin derivative 4'-OH-dadmDFT [4'-hydroxy-(S)-desazadesmethyl-desferrithiocin; (S)-4,5-dihydro-2-(2,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-4-thiazolecarboxylic acid], (c) the tridentate triazole ICL670A [CGP72 670A; 4-[3,5-bis-(hydroxyphenyl)-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl]-benzoic acid], and (d) the bidentate hydroxypyridin-4-one deferiprone [L1, CP20; 1,2-dimethyl-3-hydroxypyridin-4-one]. These agents may provide new pharmacological means of averting or ameliorating liver damage in alcoholic liver disease by binding, inactivating, and eliminating the reactive forms of iron that contribute to oxidative injury of cellular components, are involved in signal transduction, or both.

Liquid extraction and ion-pair HPLC for determination of hydrophilic 3-hydroxypyridin-4-one iron chelators

Hydrophilic 3-hydroxypyridin-4-ones (HPOs), such as 1-(2'-carboxyethyl)-2-methyl-3-hydroxypyridin-4-one (CP38), 1-(3'-hydroxypropyl)-2-methyl-3-hydroxypyridin-4-one (CP41) and 1-(2'-hydroxyethyl)-2-ethyl-3-hydroxypyridin-4-one (CP102), are orally active iron chelators and ester prodrugs of these molecules are currently under investigation. A liquid extraction method using acetonitrile and 2-propanol (80:20 v/v) under acidic and NaCl-saturated conditions has been developed in order to efficiently extract these HPOs from various matrices. The extracted HPOs were determined using a reversed phase polymer HPLC column (PLRP-S 100 A) and the gradient ion-pair mobile phase containing tetrabutylammonium chloride (5 mM) and EDTA (0.5 mM). The extraction recovery of these chelators in phosphate buffer, rat blood and liver homogenate varied from 85 to 94%. The coefficients of variation (C.V.) for within-day determination were in the range of 1.4-3.3% at 1 mM and 2.0-4.7% at 0.1 mM. High accuracy of determination was also achieved.

The origin of the differences in (R)- and (S)-desmethyldesferrithiocin. Iron-clearing properties

The iron clearance properties, toxicity, and pharmacokinetics of (R)- and (S)-desmethyldesferrithiocin (DMDFT) are described. The studies were performed in rodent and primate models. While both enantiomers were found to be effective iron chelators with minimal toxicity in the rodents, only (S)-DMDFT was able to induce the clearance of any iron in the primates. In addition, two out of nine of the monkeys given (R)-DMDFT died within 24 h of drug administration. The reason for the differences in iron clearance properties and the apparent toxicity of the (R)-enantiomer in the primates is likely related to the disparities in the pharmacokinetics of the two analogues. The pharmacokinetic data suggest enantioselectivity in renal clearance of the desferrithiocins and their iron complexes with (S)-DMDFT clearance 3.5 times greater than that of (R)-DMDFT, and FeIII [(S)-DMDFT]2 clearance 6.8 times greater than that of FeIII [R-DMDFT]2. In all primates studied FeIII [(R)-DMDFT]2 in the plasma exceeded 25 mg/L (50 microM) for several hours and remained above 10 mg/L (20 microM) at 8 h while levels of FeIII [(S)-DMDFT]2 never exceeded 50 microM and were at or below the limits of detection 8 h post-injection.