Novel C-aryl glucoside SGLT2 inhibitors as potential antidiabetic agents: 1,3,4-Thiadiazolylmethylphenyl glucoside congeners

Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter Inhibitors as Antidiabetic Drugs: Current Development and Future Perspectives

Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors (gliflozins) represent the most recently approved class of oral antidiabetic drugs. SGLT-2 overexpression in diabetic patients contributes significantly to hyperglycemia and related complications. Therefore, SGLT-2 became a highly interesting therapeutic target, culminating in the approval for clinical use of dapagliflozin and analogues in the past decade. Gliflozins improve glycemic control through a novel insulin-independent mechanism of action and, moreover, exhibit significant cardiorenal protective effects in both diabetic and nondiabetic subjects. Therefore, gliflozins have received increasing attention, prompting extensive structure-activity relationship studies and optimization approaches. The discovery that intestinal SGLT-1 inhibition can provide a novel opportunity to control hyperglycemia, through a multifactorial mechanism, recently encouraged the design of low adsorbable inhibitors selectively directed to the intestinal SGLT-1 subtype as well as of dual SGLT-1/SGLT-2 inhibitors, representing a compelling strategy to identify new antidiabetic drug candidates.

Discovery of GCC5694A: A potent and selective sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor for the treatment of type 2 diabetes

Sodium-dependent glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) has emerged as a promising drug target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, and recently, several SGLT2 inhibitors have been approved for clinical use. A series of molecules with a C-aryl glucoside scaffold was designed and synthesized for biological evaluation. Among the molecules tested, a dihydrobenzofuran-containing analog, 14g (GCC5694A), exhibited excellentin vitro activity against SGLT2 (IC₅₀ = 0.460 nM), good selectivity for SGLT1, and good metabolic stability. Data from further evaluation of the compound in animal models showed that this molecule is a promising candidate for development as an anti-diabetic agent.

Recent Advances in the Development of Type 2 Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter Inhibitors for the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

BACKGROUND

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is one of the most serious and prevalent diseases worldwide. In the last decade, type 2 sodium-glucose cotransporter inhibitors (iSGLT2) were approved as alternative drugs for the pharmacological treatment of T2DM. The anti-hyperglycemic mechanism of action of these drugs involves glycosuria. In addition, SGLT2 inhibitors cause beneficial effects such as weight loss, a decrease in blood pressure, and others.

OBJECTIVE

This review aimed to describe the origin of SGLT2 inhibitors and analyze their recent development in preclinical and clinical trials.

RESULTS

In 2013, the FDA approved SGLT2 inhibitors as a new alternative for the treatment of T2DM. These drugs have shown good tolerance with few adverse effects in clinical trials. Additionally, new potential anti-T2DM agents based on iSGLT2 (O-, C-, and N-glucosides) have exhibited a favorable profile in preclinical evaluations, making them candidates for advanced clinical trials.

CONCLUSION

The clinical results of SGLT2 inhibitors show the importance of this drug class as new anti-T2DM agents with a potential dual effect. Additionally, the preclinical results of SGLT2 inhibitors favor the design and development of more selective new agents. However, several adverse effects could be a potential risk for patients.

SGLT inhibitors as antidiabetic agents: a comprehensive review

Diabetes is one of the most common disorders that substantially contributes to an increase in global health burden. As a metabolic disorder, diabetes is associated with various medical conditions and diseases such as obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and atherosclerosis. In this review, we cover the scientific studies on sodium/glucose cotransporter (SGLT) inhibitors published during the last decade. Our focus on providing an exhaustive overview of SGLT inhibitors enabled us to present their chemical classification for the first time.

Development of sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors with novel structure by molecular docking and dynamics simulation

In this study, molecular docking studies were carried out to explore the binding interactions of sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) with its inhibitors. A correlation between the docking scores and the experimental bioactivity was observed (R² = 0.8368, N = 24). The new inhibitors were designed using the 3D quantitative structure activity relationship (3D-QSAR) method, and the activities were predicted by the docking method. In order to understand the structure-activity correlation of compound 1 m (the highest score of docking) and compound 1 t (the lowest score), we carried out a combined molecular dynamics simulation and MM-GBSA method. It was found that, in the system of SGLT2-1 m, the interaction between Gln271 and Val272 exhibited significant effects, which were absent in the SGLT2-1 t system. This study is expected to shed light on the mechanism of action of compound 1 m, leading to development of active drug candidates targeting SGLT2.

Recent progress of sodium-glucose transporter 2 inhibitors as potential antidiabetic agents

SGLT2 inhibitors were promising and novel antidiabetic drugs which suppressed glucose reabsorption and increased urinary glucose exertion. This review paper are aimed to summarize the recent progress of SGLT2 inhibitors during the last 5 years. This paper first summarizes the information of SGLT2 inhibitors, including mechanism, evolution and then focuses on the recent efforts on structure-activity relationships and structural optimization of SGLT2 inhibitors. Finally, the corresponding clinical therapeutic efficacy and adverse drug reaction in patients with Type 2 diabetes are discussed in detail.

Glycosyltransferase cascades made fit for chemical production: Integrated biocatalytic process for the natural polyphenol C-glucoside nothofagin

Glycosyltransferase cascades are promising tools of biocatalysis for natural product glycosylation, but their suitability for actual production remains to be shown. Here, we demonstrate at a scale of 100 g isolated product the integrated biocatalytic production of nothofagin, the natural 3'-C-β-D-glucoside of the polyphenol phloretin. A parallel reaction cascade involving coupled C-glucosyltransferase and sucrose synthase was optimized for the one-pot glucosylation of phloretin from sucrose via an UDP/UDP-glucose shuttle. Inclusion complexation with the highly water soluble 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin pushed the phloretin solubility to its upper practical limit (∼120 mM) and so removed the main bottleneck on an efficient synthesis of nothofagin. The biotransformation thus intensified had excellent performance metrics of 97% yield and ∼50 gproduct /L at a space-time yield of 3 g/L/hr. The UDP-glucose was regenerated up to ∼220 times. A scalable downstream process for efficient recovery of nothofagin (≥95% purity; ≥65% yield) was developed. A tailored anion-exchange chromatography at pH 8.5 was used for capture and initial purification of the product. Recycling of the 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin would also be possible at this step. Product precipitation at a lowered pH of 6.0 and re-dissolution in acetone effectively replaced desalting by size exclusion chromatography in the final step of nothofagin purification. This study therefore, reveals the potential for process intensification in the glycosylation of polyphenol acceptors by glycosyltransferase cascades. It demonstrates that, with up- and downstream processing carefully optimized and suitably interconnected, a powerful biocatalytic technology becomes available for the production of an important class of glycosides difficult to prepare otherwise.

N-Hydroxyphthalimide-Mediated Electrochemical Iodination of Methylarenes and Comparison to Electron-Transfer-Initiated C-H Functionalization

An electrochemical method has been developed for selective benzylic iodination of methylarenes. The reactions feature the first use of N-hydroxyphthalimide as an electrochemical mediator for C-H oxidation to nonoxygenated products. The method provides the basis for direct (in situ) or sequential benzylation of diverse nucleophiles using methylarenes as the alkylating agent. The hydrogen-atom transfer mechanism for C-H iodination allows C-H oxidation to proceed with minimal dependence on the substrate electronic properties and at electrode potentials 0.5-1.2 V lower than that of direct electrochemical C-H oxidation.

In vitro and in vivo assessment of newer quinoxaline-oxadiazole hybrids as antimicrobial and antiprotozoal agents

A new series of N-(substituted-phenyl)-2-[5-(quinoxalin-2-yloxymethyl)-[1,3,4] oxadiazol-2-ylsulfanyl]-acetamides (5a-o) was designed and synthesised from the parent compound 2-hydroxy quinoxaline (1) through a multistep reaction sequence and was characterised by spectral and elemental analyses. All of the compounds synthesised were evaluated for their antimicrobial and antiprotozoal activities. The results revealed that quinoxaline-based 1,3,4-oxadiazoles displayed promising antibacterial, antifungal and anti-Trypanosoma cruzi activities compared with reference drugs, particularly the lead compound 5l in a short-term in vivo model in T. cruzi.

Ligand-forced dimerization of copper(I)–olefin complexes bearing a 1,3,4-thiadiazole core

As an important class of heterocyclic compounds, 1,3,4-thiadiazoles have a broad range of potential applications in medicine, agriculture and materials chemistry, and were found to be excellent precursors for the crystal engineering of organometallic materials. The coordinating behaviour of allyl derivatives of 1,3,4-thiadiazoles with respect to transition metal ions has been little studied. Five new crystalline copper(I) π-complexes have been obtained by means of an alternating current electrochemical technique and have been characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and IR spectroscopy. The compounds are bis[μ-5-methyl-N-(prop-2-en-1-yl)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-amine]bis[nitratocopper(I)], [Cu2(NO3)2(C6H9N3S)2], (1), bis[μ-5-methyl-N-(prop-2-en-1-yl)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-amine]bis[(tetrafluoroborato)copper(I)], [Cu2(BF4)2(C6H9N3S)2], (2), μ-aqua-bis{μ-5-[(prop-2-en-1-yl)sulfanyl]-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-amine}bis[nitratocopper(I)], [Cu2(NO3)2(C5H7N3S2)2(H2O)], (3), μ-aqua-(hexafluorosilicato)bis{μ-5-[(prop-2-en-1-yl)sulfanyl]-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-amine}dicopper(I)–acetonitrile–water (2/1/4), [Cu2(SiF6)(C5H7N3S2)2(H2O)]·0.5CH3CN·2H2O, (4), and μ-benzenesulfonato-bis{μ-5-[(prop-2-en-1-yl)sulfanyl]-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-amine}dicopper(I) benzenesulfonate–methanol–water (1/1/1), [Cu2(C6H5O3S)(C5H7N3S2)2](C6H5O3S)·CH3OH·H2O, (5). The structure of the ligand 5-methyl-N-(prop-2-en-1-yl)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-amine (Mepeta), C6H9N3S, was also structurally characterized. BothMepetaand 5-[(prop-2-en-1-yl)sulfanyl]-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-amine (Pesta) (denotedL) reveal a strong tendency to form dimeric {Cu2L2}2+fragments, being attached to the metal atom in a chelating–bridging modeviatwo thiadiazole N atoms and an allylic C=C bond. Flexibility of the {Cu2(Pesta)2}2+unit allows the CuIatom site to be split into two positions with different metal-coordination environments, thus enabling the competitive participation of different molecules in bonding to the metal centre. ThePestaligand in (4) allows the CuIatom to vary between water O-atom and hexafluorosilicate F-atom coordination, resulting in the rare case of a direct CuI...FSiF52−interaction. Extensive three-dimensional hydrogen-bonding patterns are formed in the reported crystal structures. Complex (5) should be considered as the first known example of a CuI(C6H5SO3) coordination compound. To determine the hydrogen-bond interactions in the structures of (1) and (2), a Hirshfeld surface analysis has been performed.

Palladium-catalyzed one-pot synthesis of diazoles via tert-butyl isocyanide insertion

An efficient one-pot palladium-catalyzed reaction for the synthesis of diazoles from readily available hydrazides and aryl halide via isocyanide insertion/cyclization sequence has been developed. This methodology efficiently constructs diazoles in good to excellent yields with the advantages of wide functional group tolerance and operational simplicity.

Leloir Glycosyltransferases and Natural Product Glycosylation: Biocatalytic Synthesis of the C-Glucoside Nothofagin, a Major Antioxidant of Redbush Herbal Tea

Nothofagin is a major antioxidant of redbush herbal tea and represents a class of bioactive flavonoid-like C-glycosidic natural products. We developed an efficient enzymatic synthesis of nothofagin based on a one-pot coupled glycosyltransferase-catalyzed transformation that involves perfectly selective 3'-C-β-d-glucosylation of naturally abundant phloretin and applies sucrose as expedient glucosyl donor. C-Glucosyltransferase from Oryza sativa (rice) was used for phloretin C-glucosylation from uridine 5'-diphosphate (UDP)-glucose, which was supplied continuously in situ through conversion of sucrose and UDP catalyzed by sucrose synthase from Glycine max (soybean). In an evaluation of thermodynamic, kinetic, and stability parameters of the coupled enzymatic reactions, poor water solubility of the phloretin acceptor substrate was revealed as a major bottleneck of conversion efficiency. Using periodic feed of phloretin controlled by reaction progress, nothofagin concentrations (45 mM; 20 g l-1) were obtained that vastly exceed the phloretin solubility limit (5-10 mM). The intermediate UDP-glucose was produced from catalytic amounts of UDP (1.0 mM) and was thus recycled 45 times in the process. Benchmarked against comparable glycosyltransferase-catalyzed transformations (e.g., on quercetin), the synthesis of nothofagin has achieved intensification in glycosidic product formation by up to three orders of magnitude (μM→mM range). It thus makes a strong case for the application of Leloir glycosyltransferases in biocatalytic syntheses of glycosylated natural products as fine chemicals.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel C-aryl d-glucofuranosides as sodium-dependent glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors

Novel C-aryl-d-glucofuranosides were synthesized and evaluated for their capacity to inhibit human sodium-dependent glucose co-transporter 2 (hSGLT2) and hSGLT1. Compound 21q demonstrated the best in vitro inhibitory activity against SGLT2 in this series (EC50=0.62μM).

Enzymatic C-glycosylation: Insights from the study of a complementary pair of plant O- and C-glucosyltransferases

C-Glycosylation presents a rare mode of sugar attachment to the core structure of natural products and is catalyzed by a special type of LeloirC-glycosyltransferases (C-GTs). Elucidation of mechanistic principles for these glycosyltransferases (GTs) is of fundamental interest, and it could also contribute to the development of new biocatalysts for the synthesis of valuableC-glycosides, potentially serving as analogues of the highly hydrolysis-sensitiveO‑glycosides. Enzymatic glucosylation of the natural dihydrochalcone phloretin from UDP‑D-glucose was applied as a model reaction in the study of a structurally and functionally homologous pair of plant glucosyltransferases, where the enzyme from rice (Oryza sativa) was specific forC-glycosylation and the enzyme from pear (Pyrus communis) was specific forO-glycosylation. We show that distinct active-site motifs are used by the two enzymes to differentiate betweenC- andO-glucosylation of the phloretin acceptor. An enzyme design concept is therefore developed where exchange of active-site motifs results in a reversible switch betweenC/O-glycosyltransferase (C/O-GT) activity. Mechanistic proposal for enzymaticC-glycosylation involves a single nucleophilic displacement at the glucosyl anomeric carbon, proceeding through an oxocarbenium ion-like transition state. Alternatively, the reaction could be described as Friedel–Crafts-like direct alkylation of the phenolic acceptor.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of C-glucosides with azulene rings as selective SGLT2 inhibitors for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus: discovery of YM543

Here, a series of C-glucosides with azulene rings in the aglycon moiety was synthesized and the inhibitory activities toward hSGLT1 and hSGLT2 were evaluated. Starting from the azulene derivative 7 which had relatively good SGLT2 inhibitory activity, compound 8a which has a 3-[(azulen-2-yl)methyl]phenyl group was identified as a lead compound for further optimization. Introduction of a phenolic hydroxyl group onto the central benzene ring afforded a potent and selective SGLT2 inhibitor 8e, which reduced blood glucose levels in a dose-dependent manner in rodent diabetic models. A mono choline salt of 8e (YM543) was selected as a clinical candidate for use in treating type 2 diabetes mellitus.

CoMFA and CoMSIA studies on C-aryl glucoside SGLT2 inhibitors as potential anti-diabetic agents

SGLT2 has become a target of therapeutic interest in diabetes research. CoMFA and CoMSIA studies were performed on C-aryl glucoside SGLT2 inhibitors (180 analogues) as potential anti-diabetic agents. Three different alignment strategies were used for the compounds. The best CoMFA and CoMSIA models were obtained by means of Distill rigid body alignment of training and test sets, and found statistically significant with cross-validated coefficients (q²) of 0.602 and 0.618, respectively, and conventional coefficients (r²) of 0.905 and 0.902, respectively. Both models were validated by a test set of 36 compounds giving satisfactory predicted correlation coefficients (r² pred) of 0.622 and 0.584 for CoMFA and CoMSIA models, respectively. A comparison was made with earlier 3D QSAR study on SGLT2 inhibitors, which shows that our 3D QSAR models are better than earlier models to predict good inhibitory activity. CoMFA and CoMSIA models generated in this work can provide useful information to design new compounds and helped in prediction of activity prior to synthesis.

An Efficient Synthesis of Novel Bis-1,3,4-Thiadiazolyl-Carbamate Derivatives based on Deoxycholic Acid under Microwave Irradiation

An easy and efficient method for the synthesis of novel deoxycholic acid bis-1,3,4-thiadiazol-carbamate derivatives under microwave irradiation has been developed. Twelve new methyl 3α,12α-bis-[(5-aryl-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl) carbamoyloxy]-cholan-24-oates were obtained in better yield (78–91%) and shorter time (15–22 min). Their structures were identified by 1H NMR, IR, MS spectra and elemental analyses.

Novel thiophenyl C-aryl glucoside SGLT2 inhibitors as potential antidiabetic agents

Novel thiophene C-aryl glucoside SGLT2 inhibitors were designed and synthesized. Two different types of thiophene derivatives were readily prepared. Among the compounds tested, ethylphenyl at the distal ring 71p showed the best in vitro inhibitory activity in this series to date (IC(50)=4.47 nM) against SGLT2.

Glucosides with cyclic diarylpolynoid as novel C-aryl glucoside SGLT2 inhibitors

Novel C-aryl glucoside SGLT2 inhibitors containing cyclic diarylpolynoid motif were designed and synthesized for biological evaluation. Alkylzinc bromides have been efficiently prepared by the direct insertion of zinc metal into alkyl bromides. The organozinc reagents underwent smooth Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions. Subsequent ring closing metathesis using 2nd generation Grubbs catalyst successfully generated novel class of ansa-compounds. These glucosides with cyclic diarylpolynoids demonstrated moderate in vitro inhibitory activity against SGLT2 in this series to date (IC(50)=59.5-103 nM).

Thiazolylmethyl ortho-substituted phenyl glucoside library as novel C-aryl glucoside SGLT2 inhibitors

In order to investigate SAR regarding proximal phenyl ring in novel C-aryl glucoside SGLT2 inhibitors containing a thiazole motif, a series of chemical modifications on proximal phenyl ring was conducted. During a series of lead optimization efforts, ortho-allyloxyphenyl 10p or ortho-hydroxyphenyl 11a showed subnanomolar inhibitory activity against hSGLT2.

Synthesis and SAR of Thiazolylmethylphenyl Glucoside as Novel C-Aryl Glucoside SGLT2 Inhibitors

Novel C-aryl glucoside SGLT2 inhibitors containing the thiazole motif were designed and synthesized for biological evaluation. Among the compounds assayed, thiazole containing furanyl moiety 14v and thiophenyl moiety 14y demonstrated the best in vitro inhibitory activity against SGLT2 in this series to date (IC50 = 0.720 nM for 14v and IC50 = 0.772 nM for 14y). Both of these compounds have been further evaluated on a urinary glucose excretion test and the urine volumes excreted.