Optically active analogues of ebastine: synthesis and effect of chirality on their antihistaminic and antimuscarinic activity

A series of optically active analogues of the H1-antihistamine ebastine, with chiral center(s) at the benzhydryl and/or phenylbutyl part of the molecule, have been synthesized. Their in vitro antihistaminic and antimuscarinic activities were investigated, along with a molecular modelling study. It was found that introduction of the benzhydryl chiral center yielded significant stereoselectivity for both antihistaminic and antimuscarinic activities. The steric preferences of the benzhydryl chiral center for antihistaminic and antimuscarinic actions were mirror images of each other. The (-)-isomer of 4-methylebastine (6d) showed more than 10-fold higher in vitro antihistaminic potency than ebastine. Meanwhile the selectivity of 6d for histamine H1-receptors was also increased by more than 20 times in comparison with ebastine. The chirality at the phenylbutyl part of the molecule does not significantly alter the antihistaminic or antimuscarinic activity of the compounds although the (S)-isomers showed slightly but unanimously higher antihistaminic activity than the (R)-isomers. These results have been discussed with existing stereoselectivity data of antihistamines and an asymmetric pharmacophore model for H1-antagonists has been described.

Terfenadine: a mixture of equipotent antihistamine enantiomers without a clear 'isomeric ballast'

Terfenadine was the first non-sedating histamine H1 receptor antagonist and one of the most frequently prescribed H1 antihistamines. Terfenadine has one asymmetric centre in the molecule and is currently used as a racemate. Different methods and approaches for obtaining pure enantiomers of terfenadine are summarized and discussed in the present paper. Studies on antihistamine activity of the enantiomers, their side-effects on the central nervous system, calcium channel affinity and metabolism are also reviewed and analysed.

A weight array method for splicing signal analysis

A new method of sequence analysis, using a weight array method (WAM), which generalizes the traditional Staden weight matrix method (WMM), is proposed. With the help of a statistical mechanical model, the discriminant function is identified with the energy function describing macromolecular interactions. The method is applied to the study of 5'-splice signals in Schizosaccharomyces pombe pre-mRNA sequences. The results show that there may exist weak pairwise correlations within the signals and that our method can help to better discriminate these signals. Experiments are proposed to test the predictions of the theory.

Hypertrophy of rat sensory ganglion neurons following intestinal obstruction

BACKGROUND

Neuroplastic changes following ileum hypertrophy have been reported in intrinsic enteric neurons. The hypothesis in the present study was that intestinal hypertrophy induces neuronal changes in dorsal root ganglia (DRG).

METHODS

Under sodium pentobarbital anesthesia, partial obstruction was produced in the rat by tying a plastic ring around the terminal loop of ileum. Fast Blue (FB) (Sigma, St. Louis, MO) was injected into the obstructed ileum wall, and the rat was perfused after 8 days. DRG were immunostained and examined to identify and measure sizes of perikarya containing FB and/or calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) or FB and/or substance P (SP).

RESULTS

Of the DRG neurons that projected to the ileum in control or obstructed animals, approximately 50% were CGRP-immunoreactive (IR) and 30% were SP-IR (colchicine pretreatment was not used). Neurons that projected to the obstructed ileum were increased in size compared with neurons in nonobstructed controls. Some of these neurons were CGRP-IR or SP-IR; some were large FB-labeled neurons that were not SP-IR or CGRP-IR.

CONCLUSIONS

The morphology of sensory autonomic neurons in adult animals is influenced by dynamic interactions with the targets they innervate, whether directly or transneuronally.

Genome mapping by nonrandom anchoring: a discrete theoretical analysis

As part of our effort to construct a physical map of the genome of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, we have made theoretical predictions for the progress expected, as measured by the expected length fraction of island coverage and by the expected properties of the anchored islands such as the number and the size of islands. Our experimental strategy is to construct a random clone library and screen the library for clones having unique sequence at both ends. This scheme is essentially the same as the clone-limited double sequence-tagged-site selection scheme which was used in a computer simulation by Palazzolo et al. [Palazzolo, M. J., Sawyer, S. A., Martin, C. H., Smoller, D. A. & Hartl, D. L. (1991) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88, 8034-8038]. Both simulation and ongoing experiments in our laboratory have shown that the nonrandom anchoring method is far superior to random anchoring. In this paper, we propose a theoretical model to explain the simulated data and the experimental data.

Calcium antagonism and structure-affinity relationships of terfenadine, a histamine H1 antagonist, and some related compounds

Calcium channel affinity of terfenadine and its optical isomers was determined by the displacement of [3H]nitrendipine on rat cerebral cortex membranes. Terfenadine showed a pKd of 6.36 +/- 0.03 whereas its R(+)-isomer (VUF4567) had a pKd value of 6.39 +/- 0.03 and the S(-)-isomer (VUF4568) had a pKd of 6.40 +/- 0.04. The same affinity between the enantiomers suggests that the binding domain on the membrane is not sterically restricted towards the part of the molecule in which the chiral centre is present. The characteristics of terfenadine in regulating [3H]nitrendipine binding were similar to those of some other diphenyl-alkylamine type calcium antagonists. It allosterically altered the binding affinity for nitrendipine and acted at the same site linked to the calcium channel as gallopamil. A structure-affinity relationship among a group of terfenadine analogues is discussed.

[In vitro measurement of antibacterial activities of topical antibacterial creams]

A new method of in vitro measurement of antibacterial activity of different antimicrobial creams is introduced in this paper. The tested cream in known quantity is uniformed suspended in a solid medium, and bacteria of known quantity are inoculated. The result is expressed in MIC. In this observation, four creams were tested against 3 bacteria. It is the authors impression that the new method is better than the traditional disc method, as it reflects better the actual antibacterial activity of the drug in a cream base. It is helpful in selecting an effective drug or to evaluate the effectiveness of certain drugs in clinical practice.

[Ranitidine in the prevention of upper gastrointestinal tract hemorrhage following thermal injury]

This paper reports the use of Ranitidine in preventing upper gastrointestinal tract hemorrhage following thermal injury. In 12 hours after intravenous injection of Ranitidine, gastric pH was elevated from 3.25 +/- 0.26 to 5.16 +/- 0.47 (P less than 0.01) in twenty-one burn patients, with mean TBSA 62.6% +/- 17.2% (31%-87.5%), mean third degree BSA 41.4% +/- 18.3% (0-68%). The volume of gastric secretion was decreased from 15.81 +/- 4.4 ml to 2.85 +/- 0.9 ml. The free acid of gastric secretion was decreased from 25.74 +/- 4.42 mmol/L to 5.98 +/- 3.68 mmol/L (P less than 0.01). The total titratable acidity of gastric secretion was decreased from 44.76 +/- 5.76 mmol/L to 13.85 +/- 0.02 mmol/L (P less than 0.01). Three patients had occult blood in their gastric contents on admission, and it turned negative after Ranitidine therapy. However, during 1987-1988, the incidence of upper gastrointestinal tract hemorrhage of fifty-one patients with similar TBSA and third degree BSA burned was 21.6%. Changes in gastric secretion and lowered incidence of upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage after Ranitidine therapy suggest that Ranitidine may be effective in preventing upper gastrointestinal tract hemorrhage following thermal injury.

Quinolone antimicrobial agents: structure-activity relationships

The rapid growth in the quinolone research changed the whole face of the previous SAR concepts. So far structural modifications at all positions of the quinolone nucleus except the 4-oxo group have successfully lead to the discovery of potent antimicrobial agents. At position 1, ethyl and its bioisosteres such as fluoroethyl, methylamino, methoxy, etc, are optimal substituents while some groups with a tert.-carbon atom directly connected with N-1 position such as tert.-butyl, phenyl, etc. are also promising for the activity of the quinolone compounds. Steric bulk is no longer considered as the only factor which influences the activity of the compounds. However, it could only be answered by further research how big such steric bulk tolerance at position 1 would be and what is the precise role that the N-1 substituents play in the mechanism of action of the quinolones. Fluorination has been extensively employed as a modifying technique to almost all possible positions of the quinolone nucleus. While being maintained at C-6, a fluorine atom was also introduced to C-5 and C-8 to produce potent analogues. Fluorination of N-1 substituents, e.g., fluoroethyl, fluorophenyl, etc., and C-7 substituents, e.g. 2-((fluoromethyl)piperazinyl and fluorohomopiperazinyl, etc., yielded also a handful of potent quinolones. Amino-and chloro groups are found to be beneficial for positions 5 and 8, respectively. The "medium size" concept concerning the 7-substituents is no longer valid. Numerous potent quinolones with a "large" group substituted on position 7 have been discovered. A certain amount of free rotation in the 7-substituents appears to emerge as an important factor which influences the activity of the compounds. Some radical modifications in 7-substituents, e.g. C--C linkage between the nucleus and 7-substituents, afforded new insight into the SAR of quinolones. A planarity between the 4-oxo group and 3-carboxylic group may be important for binding to the DNA gyrase as demonstrated by a group of enolized isothiazoloquinolone derivatives. Further research will surely lead to the better understanding on the mechanism of action of quinolones as well as the discovery of analogues with better activity features, lower adverse effects and more favourable pharmacokinetic properties.

Influence of N substitution on antimycobacterial activity of ciprofloxacin

Ciprofloxacin analogs with various substitutions on the piperazine nitrogen were tested against several mycobacteria. In contrast to what has been found with other gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, alkyl analogs such as N-isopropylciprofloxacin were shown to be significantly more active than ciprofloxacin. MICs of 0.125 microgram/ml against Mycobacterium tuberculosis were found.

[Studies on the introduction and cultivation of Kaempferia galanga L]

This paper reports a systematic survey of the biological character istics of K. galanga. As a result of investigations on plant density, planting season, fertilization, storage of maternal tubers in winter and qualitative analysis of tubers, etc, cultural measures have been brought forth that suit the local climatic conditions and thus give high yield and quality of products.

The intestine as a model for neuronal plasticity

This study focuses on establishing the nature and extent of the changes that occur in gastroenteric innervation, specifically the myenteric plexus of the rat ileum, following an injury generated by experimental obstruction. A partial obstruction was accomplished by placing a cuff around the terminal portion of the ileum of the rat. Substantial hypertrophy of the enteric muscle wall occurred after 3-5 weeks. Light microscopic examination of the myenteric plexus revealed changes in the numbers of neuronal perikarya, ganglia and perikarya per ganglia; sizes and shapes of perikarya; and thicknesses of nerve fiber bundles. Using vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) and substance P light microscopic immunohistochemistry, we observed indications of transmitter accumulation in cell bodies and nerve fibers and reactive, degenerative and regenerative changes in axonal endings. Electron microscopic studies provided evidence for neuroplastic changes, as demonstrated by the appearance of reactive and regenerative, or growth, cones in the myenteric plexus.