Discovery of tert-Butyl Ester Based 6-Diazo-5-oxo-l-norleucine Prodrugs for Enhanced Metabolic Stability and Tumor Delivery

The glutamine antagonist 6-diazo-5-oxo-l-norleucine (DON) exhibits remarkable anticancer efficacy; however, its therapeutic potential is hindered by its toxicity to gastrointestinal (GI) tissues. We recently reported the discovery of DRP-104, a tumor-targeted DON prodrug with excellent efficacy and tolerability, which is currently in clinical trials. However, DRP-104 exhibits limited aqueous solubility, and the instability of its isopropyl ester promoiety leads to the formation of an inactive M1-metabolite, reducing overall systemic prodrug exposure. Herein, we aimed to synthesize DON prodrugs with various ester and amide promoieties with improved solubility, GI stability, and DON tumor delivery. Twenty-one prodrugs were synthesized and characterized in stability and pharmacokinetics studies. Of these, P11, tert-butyl-(S)-6-diazo-2-((S)-2-(2-(dimethylamino)acetamido)-3-phenylpropanamido)-5-oxo-hexanoate, showed excellent metabolic stability in plasma and intestinal homogenate, high aqueous solubility, and high tumor DON exposures and preserved the ideal tumor-targeting profile of DRP-104. In conclusion, we report a new generation of glutamine antagonist prodrugs with improved physicochemical and pharmacokinetic attributes.

A gut-restricted glutamate carboxypeptidase II inhibitor reduces monocytic inflammation and improves preclinical colitis

There is an urgent need to develop therapeutics for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) because up to 40% of patients with moderate-to-severe IBD are not adequately controlled with existing drugs. Glutamate carboxypeptidase II (GCPII) has emerged as a promising therapeutic target. This enzyme is minimally expressed in normal ileum and colon, but it is markedly up-regulated in biopsies from patients with IBD and preclinical colitis models. Here, we generated a class of GCPII inhibitors designed to be gut-restricted for oral administration, and we interrogated efficacy and mechanism using in vitro and in vivo models. The lead inhibitor, (S)-IBD3540, was potent (half maximal inhibitory concentration = 4 nanomolar), selective, gut-restricted (AUCcolon/plasma > 50 in mice with colitis), and efficacious in acute and chronic rodent colitis models. In dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis, oral (S)-IBD3540 inhibited >75% of colon GCPII activity, dose-dependently improved gross and histologic disease, and markedly attenuated monocytic inflammation. In spontaneous colitis in interleukin-10 (IL-10) knockout mice, once-daily oral (S)-IBD3540 initiated after disease onset improved disease, normalized colon histology, and attenuated inflammation as evidenced by reduced fecal lipocalin 2 and colon pro-inflammatory cytokines/chemokines, including tumor necrosis factor-α and IL-17. Using primary human colon epithelial air-liquid interface monolayers to interrogate the mechanism, we further found that (S)-IBD3540 protected against submersion-induced oxidative stress injury by decreasing barrier permeability, normalizing tight junction protein expression, and reducing procaspase-3 activation. Together, this work demonstrated that local inhibition of dysregulated gastrointestinal GCPII using the gut-restricted, orally active, small-molecule (S)-IBD3540 is a promising approach for IBD treatment.

Comprehensive Mechanistic View of the Hydrolysis of Oxadiazole-Based Inhibitors by Histone Deacetylase 6 (HDAC6)

Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors used in the clinic typically contain a hydroxamate zinc-binding group (ZBG). However, more recent work has shown that the use of alternative ZBGs, and, in particular, the heterocyclic oxadiazoles, can confer higher isoenzyme selectivity and more favorable ADMET profiles. Herein, we report on the synthesis and biochemical, crystallographic, and computational characterization of a series of oxadiazole-based inhibitors selectively targeting the HDAC6 isoform. Surprisingly, but in line with a very recent finding reported in the literature, a crystal structure of the HDAC6/inhibitor complex revealed that hydrolysis of the oxadiazole ring transforms the parent oxadiazole into an acylhydrazide through a sequence of two hydrolytic steps. An identical cleavage pattern was also observed both in vitro using the purified HDAC6 enzyme as well as in cellular systems. By employing advanced quantum and molecular mechanics (QM/MM) and QM calculations, we elucidated the mechanistic details of the two hydrolytic steps to obtain a comprehensive mechanistic view of the double hydrolysis of the oxadiazole ring. This was achieved by fully characterizing the reaction coordinate, including identification of the structures of all intermediates and transition states, together with calculations of their respective activation (free) energies. In addition, we ruled out several (intuitively) competing pathways. The computed data (ΔG^‡ ≈ 21 kcal·mol^-1 for the rate-determining step of the overall dual hydrolysis) are in very good agreement with the experimentally determined rate constants, which a posteriori supports the proposed reaction mechanism. We also clearly (and quantitatively) explain the role of the -CF₃ or -CHF₂ substituent on the oxadiazole ring, which is a prerequisite for hydrolysis to occur. Overall, our data provide compelling evidence that the oxadiazole warheads can be efficiently transformed within the active sites of target metallohydrolases to afford reaction products possessing distinct selectivity and inhibition profiles.

Investigation of a new chiral auxiliary derived chemoenzymatically from toluene: experimental and computational study

A tricyclic chiral auxiliary, prepared from the enzymatically derived cis-arene dihydrodiol metabolite of toluene, was investigated as a means of asymmetric induction in several different reactions. The auxiliary was converted to an oxaziridine, and its utility in hydroxylation, providing low levels of enantiomeric excess, was compared with that of Davis’s oxaziridine. Insight into the origin of stereoinduction in this reaction is provided and is based on computational Monte Carlo Multiple Minimum (MCMM) searches using the OPLS3 force field. The use of the auxiliary group in the alkylation of appended esters proved disappointing. Diels-Alder cycloaddition of an acrylate, derived from the auxiliary group, with cyclohexadiene furnished a mixture of diastereomeric adducts in essentially equal amounts. The adducts were separated and the corresponding enantiomeric residues were isolated with good enantiomeric excess. Evidence of reasonable levels of asymmetric induction in the above processes was lacking. Experimental and spectral data are provided for all key compounds.

Cross-metathesis reaction of α- and β-vinyl C-glycosides with alkenes

Cross-metathesis of α- and β-vinyl C-deoxyribosides and α-vinyl C-galactoside with various terminal alkenes under different conditions was studied. The cross-metathesis of the former proceeded with good yields of the corresponding products in ClCH2CH2Cl the latter required the presence of CuI in CH2Cl2 to achieve good yields of the products. A simple method for the preparation of α- and β-vinyl C-deoxyribosides was also developed. In addition, feasibility of deprotection and further transformations were briefly explored.

Alpha (α-) and beta (β-carboranyl-C-deoxyribosides: syntheses, structures and biological evaluation

The syntheses of the unprotected neutral closo-carboranyl-C-deoxyriboses, starting from anomeric mixture of 1-ethynyldeoxyriboses, and their corresponding open-cage nido-derivatives have been described. The structures of both the α- and β-anomers were confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. While limited water solubility of the neutral closo-anomers led to high cytotoxicity, their cesium salts (nido-species) exhibited higher water solubility leading to lower cytotoxicity. However, in vitro boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) investigation using the murine squamous cell carcinoma (SCCVII) cell lines showed that there are no significant differences between the survival fractions of the two species.

Pentenolide Analogues of Antifungal Butenolides: Strategies Towards 3,6-Disubstituted Pyranones and Unexpected Loss of Biological Effect

Pentenolide analogues of antifungal 3,5-disubstituted butenolides were prepared by oxidative cyclization of 2-(substituted aryl)hex-5-enoic acids as the key step. Given the limitations of the methodology, another approach to the title compounds based on the Pd-catalyzed carbonylative lactonization of 4-iodo-3-en-1-ols was developed, and the carbonylation conditions were optimized. While the former sequence allows only the introduction of a substituted methyl at C6, pyranones bearing a range of various C-substituents at C6 can be prepared by the latter. Somewhat surprisingly, unlike the corresponding butenolides with the same substitution pattern, the title pentenolides possess no antifungal or cytostatic activity.