Selective indole-based ECE inhibitors: synthesis and pharmacological evaluation

Rational questing for inhibitors of endothelin converting enzyme-1 from Salvia miltiorrhiza by combining ligand- and structure-based virtual screening

In this study, a virtual screening approach based on pharmacophore and molecular docking was proposed to identify endothelin converting enzyme-1 (ECE-1) (EC 3.4.24.71) inhibitors from Salvia miltiorrhiza. First, the pharmacophore models were generated to recognize the common features of the ECE-1 inhibitors. The models were validated by a test database composed by a set of compounds known as ECE-1 inhibitors and nonactive compounds and proven to be successful in discriminating active and inactive inhibitors. Then, the best pharmacophore model was used to screen the compounds from S. miltiorrhiza. Furthermore, the Surflex-Dock procedure was used for molecular docking. All compounds from S. miltiorrhiza were docked into the active site of the target protein. An empirical scoring function was used to evaluate the affinity of the compounds and the target protein. Comparing the virtual screening results based on pharmacophore and molecular docking, respectively, 11 communal compounds with higher QFIT and docking score were hit, and the activity of some compounds was validated in the literature. The binding modes between these compounds and the ECE-1 binding site were predicted and used to identify the key interactions that contribute to the inhibitory activity of ECE-1 activity. The results show that the two methods have good consistency and can be validated and supplemented with each other.

Endothelin-Converting Enzyme/Neutral Endopeptidase Inhibitor SLV338 Prevents Hypertensive Cardiac Remodeling in a Blood Pressure–Independent Manner

Hypertensive heart disease is a major contributor to cardiovascular mortality. Endothelin is a potent vasoconstrictive and profibrotic mediator produced by the endothelin-converting enzyme (ECE), whereas natriuretic peptides, degraded by the neutral endopeptidase (NEP), have diuretic, vasodilatory, and antifibrotic properties. Thus, combined ECE/NEP inhibition may halt hypertensive cardiac remodeling. This study examined effects of SLV338, a novel ECE/NEP inhibitor, on cardiac protection in experimental renovascular hypertension (2-kidney, 1-clip [2K1C]). Male rats were allocated to 5 groups: sham-operated rats, untreated animals with 2K1C, 2K1C animals treated with oral SLV338 (30 and 100 mg/kg per day), and 2K1C animals treated with oral losartan (20 mg/kg per day). Treatment duration was 12 weeks. Blood pressure was assessed every 4 weeks. At study end, hearts were taken for histology/computer-aided histomorphometry/immunohistochemistry. Pharmacological properties of SLV338 are described. SLV338 is a dual ECE/NEP inhibitor, as demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo. In the 2K1C study, losartan lowered blood pressure by ≤46 mm Hg, whereas both dosages of SLV338 had no effect. However, SLV338 (both dosages) completely normalized cardiac interstitial fibrosis, perivascular fibrosis, myocyte diameter, and media:lumen ratio of cardiac arteries, as did losartan. Cardiac transforming growth factor-β1 expression was significantly enhanced in untreated 2K1C rats versus controls, whereas treatment with SLV338 and losartan prevented this effect. Taken together, dual ECE/NEP inhibitor SLV338 prevents cardiac remodeling to the same extent as losartan, but in a blood pressure–independent manner, in a rat model of renovascular hypertension. This effect is at least partially mediated via suppression of cardiac transforming growth factor-β1 expression.

Endothelins and their receptors in cancer: identification of therapeutic targets

Endothelins and their receptors are important in normal physiology, but have been implicated in various pathophysiological conditions. Members of the so-called "endothelin axis" are dysregulated in a wide range of human cancers, opening the door for novel anticancer therapies. Established cancer chemotherapeutic agents and drugs that target specific components of the endothelin axis have been combined with promising results, but more work is needed in this area. The endothelin axis affects numerous signaling pathways, including Ras, mitogen activated protein kinases, β-catenin/T-cell factor/lymphoid enhancer factor, nuclear factor-κB (NFκB), SNAIL, and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). There is much still to learn about optimizing drug specificity in this area, while minimizing off-target effects. Selective agonists and antagonists of endothelins, their receptors, and upstream processing enzymes, as well as knockdown strategies in vitro, are providing valuable leads for testing in the clinical setting. The endothelin axis continues to be an attractive avenue of scientific endeavor, both in the cancer arena and in other important health-related disciplines.

Endothelin-converting enzyme inhibition in the rat model of acute heart failure: heart function and neurohormonal activation

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) has been implicated in many cardiovascular diseases, including acute heart failure (AHF) due to myocardial ischemia. Previously we described the oral endothelin-converting enzyme (ECE) inhibitor, PP36, and in this study, we investigated its cardioprotective effect in more detail, and examined the role of PP36 in the neurohormonal activation in rats that had been subjected to acute myocardial ischemia due to the microsphere embolization of coronary microcirculation. PP36 treatment (3.5 x 10(-5) M/kg/day) led to a significant fourfold decrease in hypertensive response when big-ET-1 was administered to healthy, conscious rats. ECE inhibition did not affect mortality during the first 48 hours after ischemia initiation. Systemic hemodynamic, heart function, and neurohormonal activation were analyzed in the healthy control group, the AHF group, and the AHF+PP36 group two days after AHF induction. In conscious rats in the AHF+PP36 group, mean arterial pressure (MAP) was restored and became similar to that of the MAP of the control group. In anesthetized rats, in the AHF+PP36 group, MAP was not restored and was 22% lower than the MAP of the control group. Myocardial contractility was partially restored and cardiac relaxation significantly improved after PP36 application. Further analysis of cardiac output and peripheral resistance in anesthetized rats revealed no differences between the AHF group and the AHF+PP36 group. There were no differences in plasma ET-1 concentration, serum angiotensin converting enzyme activity, and in the adrenal glands' catecholamine content between the AHF group and the AHF+PP36 group. However, rats in the AHF+PP36 group demonstrated a 60% decrease in cardiac endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) protein expression, and a 56% reduction of myocardial norepinephrine release, when compared with the AHF group's animals. These results suggest that PP36 can preserve heart function during the recovery from acute ischemic injury, and may modulate the cardiac norepinephrine release and eNOS protein level.