1
|
Gay EA, Guan D, Van Voorhies K, Vasukuttan V, Mathews KM, Besheer J, Jin C. Discovery and Characterization of the First Nonpeptide Antagonists for the Relaxin-3/RXFP3 System. J Med Chem 2022; 65:7959-7974. [PMID: 35594150 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c00508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The neuropeptide relaxin-3/RXFP3 system is involved in many important physiological processes such as stress responses, appetite control, and motivation for reward. To date, pharmacological studies of RXFP3 have been limited to peptide ligands. In this study, we report the discovery of the first small-molecule antagonists of RXFP3 through a high-throughput screening campaign. Focused structure-activity relationship studies of the hit compound resulted in RLX-33 (33) that was able to inhibit relaxin-3 activity in a battery of functional assays. RLX-33 is selective for RXFP3 over RXFP1 and RXFP4, two related members in the relaxin/insulin superfamily, and has favorable pharmacokinetic properties for behavioral assessment. When administered to rats intraperitoneally, RLX-33 blocked food intake induced by the RXFP3-selective agonist R3/I5. Collectively, our findings demonstrated that RLX-33 represents a promising antagonist scaffold for the development of drugs targeting the relaxin-3/RXFP3 system.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elaine A Gay
- Center for Drug Discovery, Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - Dongliang Guan
- Center for Drug Discovery, Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - Kalynn Van Voorhies
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
| | - Vineetha Vasukuttan
- Center for Drug Discovery, Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - Kelly M Mathews
- Center for Drug Discovery, Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - Joyce Besheer
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States.,Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
| | - Chunyang Jin
- Center for Drug Discovery, Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Guan D, Rahman MT, Gay EA, Vasukuttan V, Mathews KM, Decker AM, Williams AH, Zhan CG, Jin C. Indole-Containing Amidinohydrazones as Nonpeptide, Dual RXFP3/4 Agonists: Synthesis, Structure-Activity Relationship, and Molecular Modeling Studies. J Med Chem 2021; 64:17866-17886. [PMID: 34855388 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c01081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The central relaxin-3/RXFP3 system plays important roles in stress responses, feeding, and motivation for reward. However, exploration of its therapeutic applications has been hampered by the lack of small molecule ligands and the cross-activation of RXFP1 in the brain and RXFP4 in the periphery. Herein, we report the first structure-activity relationship studies of a series of novel nonpeptide amidinohydrazone-based agonists, which were characterized by RXFP3 functional and radioligand binding assays. Several potent and efficacious RXFP3 agonists (e.g., 10d) were identified with EC50 values <10 nM. These compounds also had high potency at RXFP4 but no agonist activity at RXFP1, demonstrating > 100-fold selectivity for RXFP3/4 over RXFP1. In vitro ADME and pharmacokinetic assessments revealed that the amidinohydrazone derivatives may have limited brain permeability. Collectively, our findings provide the basis for further optimization of lead compounds to develop a suitable agonist to probe RXFP3 functions in the brain.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dongliang Guan
- Center for Drug Discovery, Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - Md Toufiqur Rahman
- Center for Drug Discovery, Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - Elaine A Gay
- Center for Drug Discovery, Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - Vineetha Vasukuttan
- Center for Drug Discovery, Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - Kelly M Mathews
- Center for Drug Discovery, Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - Ann M Decker
- Center for Drug Discovery, Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - Alexander H Williams
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40536, United States
| | - Chang-Guo Zhan
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40536, United States
| | - Chunyang Jin
- Center for Drug Discovery, Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Rahman MT, Decker AM, Langston TL, Mathews KM, Laudermilk L, Maitra R, Ma W, Darcq E, Kieffer BL, Jin C. Design, Synthesis, and Structure-Activity Relationship Studies of (4-Alkoxyphenyl)glycinamides and Bioisosteric 1,3,4-Oxadiazoles as GPR88 Agonists. J Med Chem 2020; 63:14989-15012. [PMID: 33205975 PMCID: PMC7737621 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c01581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Increasing evidence implicates the orphan G protein-coupled receptor 88 (GPR88) in a number of striatal-associated disorders. In this study, we report the design and synthesis of a series of novel (4-alkoxyphenyl)glycinamides (e.g., 31) and the corresponding 1,3,4-oxadiazole bioisosteres derived from the 2-AMPP scaffold (1) as GPR88 agonists. The 5-amino-1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives (84, 88-90) had significantly improved potency and lower lipophilicity compared to 2-AMPP. Compound 84 had an EC50 of 59 nM in the GPR88 overexpressing cell-based cAMP assay. In addition, 84 had an EC50 of 942 nM in the [35S]GTPγS binding assay using mouse striatal membranes but was inactive in membranes from GPR88 knockout mice, even at a concentration of 100 μM. In vivo pharmacokinetic testing of 90 in rats revealed that the 5-amino-1,3,4-oxadiazole analogues may have limited brain permeability. Taken together, these results provide the basis for further optimization to develop a suitable agonist to probe GPR88 functions in the brain.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Md Toufiqur Rahman
- Center for Drug Discovery, Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 27709, United States
| | - Ann M. Decker
- Center for Drug Discovery, Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 27709, United States
| | - Tiffany L. Langston
- Center for Drug Discovery, Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 27709, United States
| | - Kelly M. Mathews
- Center for Drug Discovery, Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 27709, United States
| | - Lucas Laudermilk
- Center for Drug Discovery, Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 27709, United States
| | - Rangan Maitra
- Center for Drug Discovery, Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 27709, United States
| | - Weiya Ma
- Douglas Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec H4H 1R3, Canada
| | - Emmanuel Darcq
- Douglas Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec H4H 1R3, Canada,INSERM U1114, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg 67085, France
| | - Brigitte L. Kieffer
- Douglas Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec H4H 1R3, Canada,INSERM U1114, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg 67085, France
| | - Chunyang Jin
- Center for Drug Discovery, Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 27709, United States,Corresponding author: Dr. Chunyang Jin, Research Triangle Institute, Post Office Box 12194, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, Telephone: 919 541-6328, Fax: 919 541-8868,
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Decker AM, Mathews KM, Blough BE, Gilmour BP. Validation of a High-Throughput Calcium Mobilization Assay for the Human Trace Amine-Associated Receptor 1. SLAS Discov 2020; 26:140-150. [PMID: 32734809 DOI: 10.1177/2472555220945279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The human trace amine-associated receptor 1 (hTAAR1) is a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that is widely expressed in monoaminergic nuclei in the central nervous system and has therapeutic potential for multiple diseases, including drug addiction and schizophrenia. Thus, identification of novel hTAAR1 ligands is critical to advancing our knowledge of hTAAR1 function and to the development of therapeutics for a wide range of diseases. Herein we describe the development of a robust, 3-addition high-throughput screening (HTS) calcium mobilization assay using stable CHO-Gαq16-hTAAR1 cells, which functionally couple hTAAR1 to the promiscuous Gαq16 protein and thus allow signal transduction to occur through mobilization of internal calcium. Our previously established 96-well hTAAR1 assay was first miniaturized to the 384-well format and optimized to provide an assay with a Z' factor of 0.84, which is indicative of a robust HTS assay. Using the 3-addition protocol, 22,000 compounds were screened and yielded a ~1% agonist hit rate and a ~0.2% antagonist hit rate. Of the antagonist hits, two confirmed hits are the most potent hTAAR1 antagonists identified to date (IC50 = 206 and 281 nM). While scientists have been studying hTAAR1 for years, the lack of suitable hTAAR1 antagonists has been a major roadblock for studying the basic pharmacology of hTAAR1. Thus, these new ligands will serve as valuable tools to study hTAAR1-mediated signaling mechanisms, therapeutic potential, and in vivo functions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ann M Decker
- Center for Drug Discovery, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | - Kelly M Mathews
- Center for Drug Discovery, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | - Bruce E Blough
- Center for Drug Discovery, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | - Brian P Gilmour
- Center for Drug Discovery, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Nguyen T, Decker AM, Langston TL, Mathews KM, Siemian JN, Li JX, Harris DL, Runyon SP, Zhang Y. Discovery of Novel Proline-Based Neuropeptide FF Receptor Antagonists. ACS Chem Neurosci 2017; 8:2290-2308. [PMID: 28737888 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.7b00219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The neuropeptide FF (NPFF) system has been implicated in a number of physiological processes including modulating the pharmacological activity of opioid analgesics and several other classes of drugs of abuse. In this study, we report the discovery of a novel proline scaffold with antagonistic activity at the NPFF receptors through a high throughput screening campaign using a functional calcium mobilization assay. Focused structure-activity relationship studies on the initial hit 1 have resulted in several analogs with calcium mobilization potencies in the submicromolar range and modest selectivity for the NPFF1 receptor. Affinities and potencies of these compounds were confirmed in radioligand binding and functional cAMP assays. Two compounds, 16 and 33, had good solubility and blood-brain barrier permeability that fall within the range of CNS permeant candidates without the liability of being a P-glycoprotein substrate. Finally, both compounds reversed fentanyl-induced hyperalgesia in rats when administered intraperitoneally. Together, these results point to the potential of these proline analogs as promising NPFF receptor antagonists.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Thuy Nguyen
- Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - Ann M. Decker
- Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - Tiffany L. Langston
- Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - Kelly M. Mathews
- Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - Justin N. Siemian
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University at Buffalo, the State University of New York, Buffalo, New York 14214, United States
| | - Jun-Xu Li
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University at Buffalo, the State University of New York, Buffalo, New York 14214, United States
| | - Danni L. Harris
- Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - Scott P. Runyon
- Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - Yanan Zhang
- Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Abstract
To study the changes in the epidemiology of extrapulmonary tuberculosis in Tennessee, we compared the 454 cases of extrapulmonary tuberculosis reported between 1977 and 1981 with 356 cases encountered between 1982 and 1986. The data were analyzed by age, sex, race and site of the disease which were compared with the national statistics during the periods. We observed that 11.3 percent of the total TB cases were extrapulmonary. Unlike national statistics, the proportion of extrapulmonary tuberculosis had remained unchanged between the two study periods. Except for a significant decline (p less than 0.001) in genitourinary tuberculosis, the incidence of other extrapulmonary TB had remained the same. The higher incidences of lymphatic, miliary, and meningeal TB were noted in nonwhites, particularly in the younger population, during both study periods. While the national trend showed a steady increase in the percentage of extrapulmonary TB cases, there was no change in Tennessee. The reason for a continued decline of GU TB remains unclear. Although AIDS may have contributed toward the increase nationally, fewer cases of AIDS in the state have not influenced the proportion of extrapulmonary TB. Awareness of such regional differences in the epidemiology of TB, and the impact of HIV infection, will be very useful to physicians and other health care providers involved in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of tuberculosis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- J B Mehta
- Department of Internal Medicine, James H. Quillen College of Medicine, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City 37614-0002
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|