Evaluation of in vitro aldose redutase inhibitory activity of 5-arylidene-2,4-thiazolidinediones

A comprehension on structure guided alignment dependent 3D-QSAR modelling, and molecular dynamics simulation on 2,4-thiazolidinediones as aldose reductase inhibitors for the management of diabetic complications

Aldose reductase is an oxo-reductase enzyme belonging to the aldo-keto reductase class. Compounds having thiazolidine-2,4-dione scaffold are reported as potential aldose reductase inhibitors for diabetic complications. The present work uses structure-guided alignment-dependent Gaussian field- and atom-based 3D-QSAR on a dataset of 84 molecules. 3D-QSAR studies on two sets of dataset alignment have been carried out to understand the favourable and unfavourable structural features influencing the affinity of these inhibitors towards the enzyme. Using common pharmacophore hypotheses, the five-point pharmacophores for aldose reductase favourable features were generated. The molecular dynamics simulations (up to 100 ns) were performed for the potent molecule from each alignment set (compounds 24 and 65) compared to reference standard tolrestat and epalrestat to study target-ligand complexes' binding energy and stability. Compound 65 was most stable with better interactions in the aldose reductase binding pocket than tolrestat. The MM-PBSA study suggests compound 65 possessed better binding energy than reference standard tolrestat, i.e. -87.437 ± 19.728 and -73.424 ± 12.502 kJ/mol, respectively. The generated 3D-QSAR models provide information about structure-activity relationships and ligand-target binding energy. Target-specific stability data from MD simulation would be helpful for rational compound design with better aldose reductase activity.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Designed multiple ligands for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus and its complications: Discovery of (5-arylidene-4-oxo-2-thioxothiazolidin-3-yl)alkanoic acids active as novel dual-targeted PTP1B/AKR1B1 inhibitors

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a serious chronic disease with an alarmingly growing worldwide prevalence. Current treatment of T2DM mainly relies on drug combinations in order to control blood glucose levels and consequently prevent the onset of hyperglycaemia-related complications. The development of multiple-targeted drugs recently emerged as an attractive alternative to drug combinations for the treatment of complex diseases with multifactorial pathogenesis, such as T2DM. Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) and aldose reductase (AKR1B1) are two enzymes crucially involved in the development of T2DM and its chronic complications and, therefore, dual inhibitors targeted to both these enzymes could provide novel agents for the treatment of this complex pathological condition. In continuing our search for dual-targeted PTP1B/AKR1B1 inhibitors, we designed new (5-arylidene-4-oxo-2-thioxothiazolidin-3-yl)alkanoic acids. Among them, 3-(4-phenylbutoxy)benzylidene derivatives 6f and 7f, endowed with interesting inhibitory activity against both targets, proved to control specific cellular pathways implicated in the development of T2DM and related complications.

Baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) catalyzed synthesis of bioactive heterocycles and some stereoselective reactions

Saccharomyces cerevisiae, commonly known as baker’s yeast, has gained significant importance as a mild, low-cost, environmentally benign biocatalyst. Initially it was mostly employed as an efficient catalyst for the enantioselective reduction of carbonyl compounds. Over the last decade, baker’s yeast has found versatile catalytic applications in various organic transformations. Many multicomponent reactions were also catalyzed by baker’s yeast. Various heterocyclic scaffolds with immense biological activities were synthesized by employing baker’s yeast as catalyst at room temperature. In this communication, we have summarized baker’s yeast catalyzed various organic transformations focusing primarily on heterocyclic synthesis.

Antifungal Thiazolidines: Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Mycosidine Congeners

Novel derivatives of Mycosidine (3,5-substituted thiazolidine-2,4-diones) are synthesized by Knoevenagel condensation and reactions of thiazolidines with chloroformates or halo-acetic acid esters. Furthermore, 5-Arylidene-2,4-thiazolidinediones and their 2-thioxo analogs containing halogen and hydroxy groups or di(benzyloxy) substituents in 5-benzylidene moiety are tested for antifungal activity in vitro. Some of the synthesized compounds exhibit high antifungal activity, both fungistatic and fungicidal, and lead to morphological changes in the Candida yeast cell wall. Based on the use of limited proteomic screening and toxicity analysis in mutants, we show that Mycosidine activity is associated with glucose transport. This suggests that this first-in-class antifungal drug has a novel mechanism of action that deserves further study.

Non-acidic bifunctional benzothiazole-based thiazolidinones with antimicrobial and aldose reductase inhibitory activity as a promising therapeutic strategy for sepsis

Sepsis is a life-threatening disease that affects millions of people worldwide. Microbial infections that lead to sepsis syndrome are associated with an increased production of inflammatory molecules. Aldose reductase has recently emerged as a molecular target that is involved in various inflammatory diseases, including sepsis. Herein, a series of previously synthesized benzothiazole-based thiazolidinones that exhibited strong antibacterial and antifungal activities has been evaluated for inhibition efficacy against aldose reductase and selectivity toward aldehyde reductase under in vitro conditions. The most promising inhibitor 5 was characterized with IC₅₀ value of 3.99 μM and a moderate selectivity. Molecular docking simulations revealed the binding mode of compounds at the active site of human aldose reductase. Moreover, owning to the absence of an acidic pharmacophore, good membrane permeation of the novel aldose reductase inhibitors was predicted. Excellent “drug-likeness” was assessed for most of the compounds by applying the criteria of Lipinski’s “rule of five”.

The Importance of Rhodanine Scaffold in Medicinal Chemistry: A Comprehensive Overview

After the clinical use of epalrestat that contains a rhodanine ring, in type II diabetes mellitus and diabetic complications, rhodanin-based compounds have become an important class of heterocyclic in the field of medicinal chemistry. Various modifications to the rhodanine ring have led to a broad spectrum of biological activity of these compounds. Synthesis of rhodanine derivatives, depended on advenced throughput scanning hits, frequently causes potent and selective modulators of targeted enzymes or receptors, which apply their pharmacological activities through different mechanisms of action. Rhodanine-based compounds will likely stay a privileged scaffold in drug discovery because of different probability of chemical modifications of the rhodanine ring. We have, therefore reviewed their biological activities and structure activity relationship.

In Search for Multi-Target Ligands as Potential Agents for Diabetes Mellitus and Its Complications-A Structure-Activity Relationship Study on Inhibitors of Aldose Reductase and Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase 1B

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a complex disease which currently affects more than 460 million people and is one of the leading cause of death worldwide. Its development implies numerous metabolic dysfunctions and the onset of hyperglycaemia-induced chronic complications. Multiple ligands can be rationally designed for the treatment of multifactorial diseases, such as DM, with the precise aim of simultaneously controlling multiple pathogenic mechanisms related to the disease and providing a more effective and safer therapeutic treatment compared to combinations of selective drugs. Starting from our previous findings that highlighted the possibility to target both aldose reductase (AR) and protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B), two enzymes strictly implicated in the development of DM and its complications, we synthesised 3-(5-arylidene-4-oxothiazolidin-3-yl)propanoic acids and analogous 2-butenoic acid derivatives, with the aim of balancing the effectiveness of dual AR/PTP1B inhibitors which we had identified as designed multiple ligands (DMLs). Out of the tested compounds, 4f exhibited well-balanced AR/PTP1B inhibitory effects at low micromolar concentrations, along with interesting insulin-sensitizing activity in murine C2C12 cell cultures. The SARs here highlighted along with their rationalization by in silico docking experiments into both target enzymes provide further insights into this class of inhibitors for their development as potential DML antidiabetic candidates.

Synthesis and Hypoglycemic and Anti-inflammatory Activity Screening of Novel Substituted 5-[Morpholino(Phenyl)Methyl]-Thiazolidine-2,4-Diones and Their Molecular Docking Studies

Objectives

The aim was the synthesis of novel substituted 5-[morpholino(phenyl)methyl]-thiazolidine-2,4-diones and screening for their in vivo hypoglycemic activity and in vitro anti-inflammatory activity, as well as molecular docking studies to find out active potential lead molecules.

Materials and Methods

Substituted aromatic aldehydes, thiazolidine-2,4-dione, and morpholine on Mannich reaction gave the title compounds. They were characterized by physical and spectral methods. In vivo hypoglycemic activity was examined in alloxan induced Wistar albino rats by tail tipping method. In vitro anti-inflammatory activity was tested by human red blood cell (HRBC) membrane stabilization and protein denaturation. Using AutoDock, molecular docking studies were carried out to find out the best fit ligands.

Results

Series of substituted 5-[morpholino(phenyl)methyl]-thiazolidine-2,4-diones were synthesized and chemically they were confirmed by spectral techniques. Acute toxic studies of in vivo hypoglycemic activity results revealed that compounds 4c, 4h, and 4n exhibited good activity at 35 mg/kg body weight. Chronic toxic study results indicated that compounds 4h and 4n exhibited good activity at 70 mg/kg body weight. Anti-inflammatory activity results indicated the highest inhibition was shown by compounds 4k and 4f at 500 μg/mL in HRBC membrane stabilization. In protein denaturation, the highest inhibition was shown by compound 4k at 500 μg/mL. In molecular docking studies, compounds 4h and 4n exhibited higher binding affinity at PPARγ receptor protein and compound 4k exhibited higher binding affinity at COX-1 and COX-2 actives sites.

Conclusion

Microwave irradiation produced high yield in short reaction times. The presence of electron releasing groups at the para position of the phenyl ring may give the ability to produce hypoglycemic activity and the presence of electron withdrawing groups at the para position of the phenyl ring causes anti-inflammatory activity. The results showed that some compounds exhibited good hypoglycemic and anti-inflammatory activities. Compounds 4h and 4n exhibited higher binding affinity at PPARγ receptor protein and compound 4k exhibited higher binding affinity at COX isoenzymes' active sites in molecular docking studies.

Anti-diabetic drugs recent approaches and advancements

Diabetes is one of the major diseases worldwide and is the third leading cause of death in the United States. Anti-diabetic drugs are used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus to control glucose levels in the blood. Most of the drugs are administered orally, except for a few of them, such as insulin, exenatide, and pramlintide. In this review, we are going to discuss seven major types of anti-diabetic drugs: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonist, protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) inhibitors, aldose reductase inhibitors, α-glucosidase inhibitors, dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-4) inhibitors, G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) agonists and sodium-glucose co-transporter (SGLT) inhibitors. Here, we are also discussing some of the recently reported anti-diabetic agents with its multi-target pharmacological actions. This review summarises recent approaches and advancement in anti-diabetes treatment concerning characteristics, structure-activity relationships, functional mechanisms, expression regulation, and applications in medicine.

Synthesis and Aldose Reductase Inhibitory Activity of Botryllazine A Derivatives

Aldose reductase (AR) is associated with the onset of diabetic complications. Botryllazine A and its analogues were synthesized and evaluated for human AR inhibitory activity. Analogues possessing aromatic bicyclic systems at the C5 position of the central pyrazine ring exhibited superior AR inhibiting activity relative to the parent botryllazine A. In addition, the benzoyl groups at positions C2 and C3 of the pyrazine ring were dispensable for this improved inhibitory activity. Conversely, a benzoyl group-containing phenolic hydroxyl groups-at either position C2 or C3 of the pyrazine ring was essential for attainment of high inhibitory activity approaching that of sorbinil (a highly effective AR inhibitor).

Thiazolidinediones as antidiabetic agents: A critical review

Thiazolidinediones (TZDs) or Glitazones are an important class of insulin sensitizers used in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). TZDs were reported for their antidiabetic effect through antihyperglycemic, hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic agents. In time, these drugs were known to act by increasing the transactivation activity of Peroxisome Proliferators Activated Receptors (PPARs). The clinically used TZDs that suffered from several serious side effects and hence withdrawn/updated later, were full agonists of PPAR-γ and potent insulin sensitizers. These drugs were developed at a time when limited data were available on the structure and mechanism of PPARs. In recent years, however, PPAR-α/γ, PPAR-α/δ and PPAR-δ/γ dual agonists, PPAR pan agonists, selective PPAR-γ modulators and partial agonists have been investigated. In addition to these, several non PPAR protein alternatives of TZDs such as FFAR1 agonism, GPR40 agonism and ALR2, PTP1B and α-glucosidase inhibition have been investigated to address the problems associated with the TZDs. Using these rationalized approaches, several investigations have been carried out in recent years to develop newer TZDs devoid of side effects. This report critically reviews TZDs, their history, chemistry, mechanism mediated through PPAR, recent advances and future prospects.

Novel quinazolinone-based 2,4-thiazolidinedione-3-acetic acid derivatives as potent aldose reductase inhibitors

Aim: Targeting aldose reductase enzyme with 2,4-thiazolidinedione-3-acetic acid derivatives having a bulky hydrophobic 3-arylquinazolinone residue. Materials & methods: All the target compounds were structurally characterized by different spectroscopic methods and microanalysis, their aldose reductase inhibitory activities were evaluated, and binding modes were studied by molecular modeling. Results: All the synthesized compounds proved to inhibit the target enzyme potently, exhibiting IC50 values in the nanomolar/low nanomolar range. Compound 5i (IC50 = 2.56 nM), the most active of the whole series, turned out to be almost 70-fold more active than the only marketed aldose reductase inhibitor epalrestat. Conclusion: This work represents a promising matrix for developing new potential therapeutic candidates for prevention of diabetic complications through targeting aldose reductase enzyme.

[Formula: see text]

5-Ene-4-thiazolidinones - An efficient tool in medicinal chemistry

The presented review is an attempt to summarize a huge volume of data on 5-ene-4-thiazolidinones being a widely studied class of small molecules used in modern organic and medicinal chemistry. The manuscript covers approaches to the synthesis of 5-ene-4-thiazolidinone derivatives: modification of the C5 position of the basic core; synthesis of the target compounds in the one-pot or multistage reactions or transformation of other related heterocycles. The most prominent pharmacological profiles of 5-ene derivatives of different 4-thiazolidinone subtypes belonging to hit-, lead-compounds, drug-candidates and drugs as well as the most studied targets have been discussed. Currently target compounds (especially 5-en-rhodanines) are assigned as frequent hitters or pan-assay interference compounds (PAINS) within high-throughput screening campaigns. Nevertheless, the crucial impact of the presence/nature of C5 substituent (namely 5-ene) on the pharmacological effects of 5-ene-4-thiazolidinones was confirmed by the numerous listed findings from the original articles. The main directions for active 5-ene-4-thiazolidinones optimization have been shown: i) complication of the fragment in the C5 position; ii) introduction of the substituents in the N3 position (especially fragments with carboxylic group or its derivatives); iii) annealing in complex heterocyclic systems; iv) combination with other pharmacologically attractive fragments within hybrid pharmacophore approach. Moreover, the utilization of 5-ene-4-thiazolidinones in the synthesis of complex compounds with potent pharmacological application is described. The chemical transformations cover mainly the reactions which involve the exocyclic double bond in C5 position of the main core and correspond to the abovementioned direction of the 5-ene-4-thiazolidinone modification.

Structure-guided discovery of thiazolidine-2,4-dione derivatives as a novel class of Leishmania major pteridine reductase 1 inhibitors

Leishmania major, as other protozoan parasites, plague human kind since pre-historic times but it remains a worldwide ailment for which the therapeutic arsenal remains scarce. Although L. major is pteridine- and purine-auxotroph, well-established folate biosynthesis inhibitors, such as methotrexate, have poor effect over the parasite survival. The lack of efficiency is related to an alternative biochemical pathway in which pteridine reductase 1 (PTR1) plays a major role. For this reason, this enzyme has been considered a promising target for anti-leishmanial drug development and several inhibitors that share the substrate scaffold have been reported. In order to design a novel class of PTR1 inhibitors, we employed the thiazolidinone ring as a bioisosteric replacement for pteridine/purine ring. Among seven novel thiazolidine-2,4-dione derivatives reported herein, 2d was identified as the most promising lead by thermal shift assays (ΔTm = 11 °C, p = 0,01). Kinetic assays reveal that 2d has IC50 = 44.67 ± 1.74 μM and shows a noncompetitive behavior. This information guided docking studies and molecular dynamics simulations (50 000 ps) that supports 2d putative binding profile (H-bonding to Ser-111 and Leu-66) and shall be useful to design more potent inhibitors.

Induced fit docking, pharmacophore modeling, and molecular dynamic simulations on thiazolidinedione derivatives to explore key interactions with Tyr48 in polyol pathway

To obtain a scientific thought and expedition to explore key interactions with Tyr48 in aldose reductase (ALR), combined study of pharmacophore modeling, induced fit docking, and dynamics studies were performed on ALR. A stereo chemically and energetically valid model of ALR-NADP+ complex was developed using homology modeling technique. Statistically a significant five point pharmacophore model was designed on a set of 54 thiazolidinedione derivatives with good external and internal predictive ability. Rigid and induced fit docking protocols were applied on ALR protein for both with and without NADP+ cofactor to identify a suitable binding mode that facilitates the key hydrogen bond interactions with Tyr48. Docking of thiazolidinedione derivatives into ALR-NADP+ complex gave more promising results by reducing false positive binding of inhibitors into the co-factor binding site. Structural changes within Try48 and Asp43 during the binding process in enzyme inhibitor complex were analyzed using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The results obtained from dynamic simulations emphasized the role of Tyr48 in maintaining inter or intra molecular hydrogen bond interaction with the protein or inhibitor respectively. New molecules were designed and checked for their binding interactions and showed improved results compared to existing thiazolidinediones derivatives. Hence, these combined protocols will be helpful and cooperative to design and optimize molecules with better inhibitory activity against the biologically active target.

Structure-activity relationships and molecular modelling of new 5-arylidene-4-thiazolidinone derivatives as aldose reductase inhibitors and potential anti-inflammatory agents

A series of 5-(carbamoylmethoxy)benzylidene-2-oxo/thioxo-4-thiazolidinone derivatives (6-9) were synthesized as inhibitors of aldose reductase (AR), enzyme which plays a crucial role in the development of diabetes complications as well as in the inflammatory processes associated both to diabetes mellitus and to other pathologies. In vitro inhibitory activity indicated that compounds 6-9a-d were generally good AR inhibitors. Acetic acid derivatives 8a-d and 9a-d were shown to be the best enzyme inhibitors among the tested compounds endowed with significant inhibitory ability levels reaching submicromolar IC50 values. Moreover, some representative AR inhibitors (7a, 7c, 9a, 9c, 9d) were assayed in cultures of human keratinocytes in order to evaluate their capability to reduce NF-kB activation and iNOS expression. Compound 9c proved to be the best derivative endowed with both interesting AR inhibitory effectiveness and ability to reduce NF-kB activation and iNOS expression. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations were undertaken to investigate the binding modes of selected compounds into the active site of AR in order to rationalize the inhibitory effectiveness of these derivatives.

Synthesis and antihyperglycemic evaluation of new 2-hydrazolyl-4-thiazolidinone-5-carboxylic acids having pyrazolyl pharmacophores

In the search of new antihyperglycemic agents and following rational approach of drug designing here new 2-hydrazolyl-4-thiazolidinone-5-carboxylic acids (4a-g) with pyrazolyl pharmacophore have been synthesized via thia Michael addition reaction of 1-((3-(4-substituted phenyl)-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)methylene)thiosemicarbazides (3a-g) with maleic anhydride. The required precursors, (3a-g) were obtained by condensing known 3-(4-substituted phenyl)-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazole-4-carbaldehydes (1a-g) with thiosemicarbazide in ethanol. The newly synthesized compounds (4a-g) have been evaluated for the antihyperglycemic activity in sucrose loaded rat model and among these compounds 4d, 4f and 4g have displayed significant antihyperglycemic activity.

Thiazolidione derivatives as novel antibiofilm agents: design, synthesis, biological evaluation, and structure-activity relationships

Rational designed novel thiazolidiones were synthesized and evaluated for antibiofilm activity. The active derivatives were not only potent inhibitors of Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilm growth but also efficient antibacterial agents. 3f showed 4-fold higher activity (6.25 μM) in the biofilms dispersal assay and significantly higher antibacterial activity (MIC 3.125 μM) in comparison to the 3-(5-((6- (ethoxycarbonyl)-5-(benzo[1,3]dioxol-5-yl)-3-oxo-7-phenyl- thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidin-2(5H)-ylidene)methyl)furan-2-yl)benzoic acid (1).

CoMFA and CoMSIA analysis of 2,4-thiazolidinediones derivatives as aldose reductase inhibitors

Diabetes remains a life-threatening disease. The clinical profile of diabetic subjects is often worsened by the presence of several long-term complications, for example neuropathy, nephropathy, retinopathy, and cataract. Comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) and comparative molecular similarity indices analysis (CoMSIA) were performed on a series of 2,4-thiazolidinediones derivatives as aldose reductase (ALR2) inhibitors. Molecular ligand superimposition on a template structure was finished by the database alignment method. The 3D-QSAR models resulted from 44 molecules gave q (2) values of 0.773 and 0.817, r (2) values of 0.981 and 0.979 for CoMFA and CoMSIA, respectively. The contour maps from the models indicated that a large volume group next to the R-substituent will increase the ALR2 inhibitory activity. In fact, adding a -CH(2)COOH substituent at the R-position would generate a new compound with higher predicted activity.

Synthesis, induced-fit docking investigations, and in vitro aldose reductase inhibitory activity of non-carboxylic acid containing 2,4-thiazolidinedione derivatives

In continuation of our studies, we here report a series of non-carboxylic acid containing 2,4-thiazolidinedione derivatives, analogues of previously synthesized carboxylic acids which we had found to be very active in vitro aldose reductase (ALR2) inhibitors. Although the replacement of the carboxylic group with the carboxamide or N-hydroxycarboxamide one decreased the in vitro ALR2 inhibitory effect, this led to the identification of mainly non-ionized derivatives with micromolar ALR2 affinity. The 5-arylidene moiety deeply influenced the activity of these 2,4-thiazolidinediones. Our induced-fit docking studies suggested that 5-(4-hydroxybenzylidene)-substituted derivatives may bind the polar recognition region of the ALR2 active site by means of the deprotonated phenol group, while their acetic chain and carbonyl group at position 2 of the thiazolidinedione ring form a tight net of hydrogen bonds with amino acid residues of the lipophilic specificity pocket of the enzyme.