Preclinical studies with pyrazolopyridine non-benzodiazepine anxiolytics: ICI 190,622

Pyrazolopyridine-based kinase inhibitors for anti-cancer targeted therapy

The need for effective cancer treatments continues to be a challenge for the biomedical research community. In this case, the advent of targeted therapy has significantly improved therapeutic outcomes. Drug discovery and development efforts targeting kinases have resulted in the approval of several small-molecule anti-cancer drugs based on ATP-mimicking heterocyclic cores. Pyrazolopyridines are a group of privileged heterocyclic cores in kinase drug discovery, which are present in several inhibitors that have been developed against various cancers. Notably, selpercatinib, glumetinib, camonsertib and olverembatinib have either received approval or are in late-phase clinical studies. This review presents the success stories employing pyrazolopyridine scaffolds as hinge-binding cores to address various challenges in kinase-targeted drug discovery research.

Microwave-assisted one-pot synthesis in water of carbonylpyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridine derivatives catalyzed by InCl3 and sonochemical assisted condensation with aldehydes to obtain new chalcone derivatives containing the pyrazolopyridinic moiety

Pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridines derivatives have been synthesized via one-pot condensation of 3-methyl-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazolo-5-amine (1), paraformaldehyde (2) and β-diketones (3) under microwave irradiation in aqueous media catalyzed by InCl₃.

A versatile synthesis of pyrazolo[3,4-c]isoquinoline derivatives by reaction of 4-aryl-5-aminopyrazoles with aryl/heteroaryl aldehydes: the effect of the heterocycle on the reaction pathways

The reaction of 4-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-5-aminopyrazoles 7A-D with aromatic and heterocyclic aldehydes in strong acidic media (trifluoroacetic or formic acid) has been studied. The initial azomethine derivatives 8 undergo cyclization similar to the Pictet-Spengler condensation to form the intermediate 4,5-dihydroisoquinolines 9 which readily dehydrogenate giving 5-aryl(heteroaryl)-pyrazolo[3,4-c]isoquinoline derivatives 10 as the final products. Whereas for benzaldehyde and its derivatives this one-pot synthesis presents a convenient general route to 5-aryl-pyrazolo[3,4-c]isoquinolines 10, in the case of heterocyclic aldehydes the product structure varies markedly with the structure of the aldehyde used: (i) 3-pyridyl-, 3-quinolyl-, 3-thienyl-, and 1,2,3-thiadiazolyl-5-carboxaldehydes give 5-heteroarylpyrazolo[3,4-c]isoquinolines; (ii) 1-methylbenzimidazolyl-2-carboxaldehyde gives only intermediate azomethine 8Dh, which does not cyclize; (iii) 1-R-3-indolylcarboxaldehydes (R = H, CH3, CH2Ph) eliminate the heteroaryl fragment resulting in 5-unsubstituted pyrazolo[3,4-c]isoquinolines 11. Thienyl-2-carboxaldehyde reacts by both pathways (i) and (iii) depending on the reaction conditions. The single crystal X-ray structures for 10Dj, 10Cd and 11D provide confirmation of the different types of products formed in these reactions. Mechanisms which explain these transformations are presented.

Synthesis and antimicrobial evaluation of new pyridine, thienopyridine and pyridothienopyrazole derivatives

The reaction of thiocyanoacetamide (1) with alpha,beta-unsaturated ketones 2a,b resulted in the formation of the corresponding newly synthesized 1(H)-pyridinethione derivatives 3a,b. Compounds 3a,b were used as synthons for the preparation of 2-S-alkyl-, 2-S-aryl-, 2-S-acetamidopyridine, thieno[2,3-b]pyridine and pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridine derivatives via a wide range of reactions with different reagents. The antimicrobial activity of some of the newly synthesized compounds was tested. Compounds 3a, 11a, 15a, and 19a,b were found to be the most active ones.

Molecular determinants of recognition and activation at the cerebellar benzodiazepine receptor site

Semiempirical quantum mechanical and molecular mechanics calculations were carried out to identify and characterize the steric and electronic properties that modulate ligand recognition and activation of the cerebellar GABAA/benzodiazepine (BDZ) receptor. For this hypothesis development, thirteen compounds belonging to structurally diverse chemical families were selected for study. Among the compounds selected were nine that bind and four that do not bind with appreciable affinity to this receptor and some that are known agonists, antagonists and inverse agonists, as measured by their modulation of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) enhanced chloride ion flux in cerebellum. The stereoelectronic requirements for recognition deduced from commonalities among the ligands are the presence of at least two of three hydrogen bonding centers, and a lipophilic aromatic ring, in a specific spatial relationship. The results suggest that the selectivity for the cerebellar or Type I subtype, demonstrated by some of these ligands, could be failure to meet the requirements for binding at other receptors because of the absence of one of the proton accepting centers or the larger surface area and volume of these ligands. The requirement for activation, deduced from comparisons of agonist, antagonist, and inverse agonist properties is the presence of an electron accepting aromatic ring in a specific geometric arrangement with respect to the components of recognition. The validity of the '3D-Pharmacophore' developed was probed by using it for predictions of the behavior of 11 additional compounds not used for its development.

A review of recently-developed ligands for neuronal benzodiazepine receptors and their pharmacological activities

There has recently been a large increase in the number of new benzodiazepine receptor ligands, some with benzodiazepine structures, but many with other chemical structures. The pharmacological activities of these ligands have been interpreted on the basis of a continuum of efficacy ranging from full agonist through different degrees of partial agonism to antagonist and through partial to full inverse agonists. Inconsistencies with this hypothesis are considered in terms of alternative hypotheses, particularly the existence of functionally separable receptor subtypes. The potential of partial agonists as non-sedative anxiolytic agents with reduced potential of dependence and of weak partial inverse agonists as pro-cognitive agents is discussed. A pharmacophore for benzodiazepine receptors is proposed and supporting evidence presented.

Effect of psychotomimetics and some putative anxiolytics on stress-induced hyperthermia

Stress-induced hyperthermia (SIH), which is seen in the last mice removed from the cage, is a novel animal model sensitive to anxiolytic drugs. SIH is antagonized by CL 218872 (25 and 50 mg/kg, os), by tracazolate (5 and 7.5 mg/kg, ip) and by 2-AP-5 (50 and 100 mg/kg, ip). At higher dose, CL 218872 (100 mg/kg, os) and tracazolate (12.5 mg/kg, ip) lose their activity. PK 9084 (5-40 mg/kg, ip) and CGS 9896 (2-20 mg/kg, both ip and os) were also ineffective in preventing SIH. The anti-hyperthermic effect of CL 218872 (25 mg/kg) and tracazolate (7.5 mg/kg) was blocked by the benzodiazepine antagonist Ro 15-1788 (15 mg/kg), CGS 9896 (10 mg/kg, os) also reversed the effect of CL 218872 (25 mg/kg) on SIH. Differently from anxiolytics, MK-801 (0.5-1 mg/kg, os), PCP (2.5 mg/kg, ip) and d-amphetamine (10 mg/kg, ip) evoked hyperthermia in the first set of mice and prevented a further stress-induced rise of body temperature in the last set of mice.