Synthesis and nicotinic binding of novel phenyl derivatives of UB-165. Identifying factors associated with alpha7 selectivity

Cobalt(I)-Catalyzed [6π + 2π] Cycloaddition of 1,2-Dienes and 1,3-Diynes to N-Carbocholesteroxyazepine in the Synthesis of Previously Undescribed Heterofunctional 9-Azabicyclo[4.2.1]nonadi(tri)enes

Promising heterofunctional (E)-9-azabicyclo[4.2.1]nona-2,4-dienes (79-92%) and 9-azabicyclo[4.2.1]nona-2,4,7-trienes (77-90%) containing a cholesterol fragment in the structure have been synthesized for the first time through the [6π + 2π] cycloaddition reaction of terminal 1,2-dienes and symmetric 1,3-diynes with N-carbocholesteroxyazepine under the action of the Co(acac)₂(dppe)/Zn/ZnI₂ three-component catalytic system.

Synthesis of New Functionally Substituted 9-Azabicyclo[4.2.1]nona-2,4,7-trienes by Cobalt(I)-Catalyzed [6π + 2π]-Cycloaddition of N-Carbocholesteroxyazepine to Alkynes

Catalytic [6π + 2π]-cycloaddition of N-carbocholesteroxyazepine with functionally substituted terminal alkynes and 1,4-butynediol was performed for the first time under the action of the Co(acac)2(dppe)/Zn/ZnI2 three-component catalytic system. The reaction gave previously undescribed but promising 9-azabicyclo[4.2.1]nona-2,4,7-trienes (in 79-95% yields), covalently bound to a natural metabolite, cholesterol. The structure of the synthesized azabicycles was confirmed by analysis of one- and two-dimensional (1H, 13C, DEPT 13C, COSY, NOESY, HSQC, HMBC) NMR spectra.

QSAR study of a large set of 3-pyridyl ethers as ligands of the α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor

Extensive 3D-QSAR studies were performed on 158 diverse analogues of 3-pyridyl ethers, which are excellent ligands of alpha4beta2 neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (NnAChR). Comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) and comparative molecular similarity indices analysis (CoMSIA) techniques were used to relate the binding affinities with the ligand structures. Two QSAR models were obtained using CoMFA and CoMSIA techniques. The two QSAR models were proved to be statistically significant and have high predictive power. The best CoMFA model yielded the cross-validated q(2)=0.605 and the non-cross-validated r(2)=0.862. The derived model indicated the importance of steric (85.9%) as well as electrostatic (14.1%) contributions. The CoMFA model demonstrated the steric field as the major descriptor of the ligand binding. The best CoMSIA model gave q(2)=0.723 and r(2)=0.685. This model showed that steric (30.3%) and H-bond interaction (61.8%) properties played major roles in ligand binding process. The squares of correlation coefficient for external test set of 28 molecules were 0.723 and 0.685 for the CoMFA model and the CoMSIA model, respectively. The two models were further graphically interpreted in terms of field contribution maps. SAR studies were also performed on different series of compounds in order to get a more reasonable understanding of the interactions between the ligands and the receptor. With the results, we have also presumed some assistant elements as supplements to the traditional pharmacophoric elements. A crude vision of ligand localization in the ligand-binding pocket of the receptor was also obtained, which would favor for the docking study of this kind of ligands.

Central Nicotinic Receptors: Structure, Function, Ligands, and Therapeutic Potential

The growing interest in nicotinic receptors, because of their wide expression in neuronal and non-neuronal tissues and their involvement in several important CNS pathologies, has stimulated the synthesis of a high number of ligands able to modulate their function. These membrane proteins appear to be highly heterogeneous, and still only incomplete information is available on their structure, subunit composition, and stoichiometry. This is due to the lack of selective ligands to study the role of nAChR under physiological or pathological conditions; so far, only compounds showing selectivity between alpha4beta2 and alpha7 receptors have been obtained. The nicotinic receptor ligands have been designed starting from lead compounds from natural sources such as nicotine, cytisine, or epibatidine, and, more recently, through the high-throughput screening of chemical libraries. This review focuses on the structure of the new agonists, antagonists, and allosteric ligands of nicotinic receptors, it highlights the current knowledge on the binding site models as a molecular modeling approach to design new compounds, and it discusses the nAChR modulators which have entered clinical trials.

Nicotinic Agonists, Antagonists, and Modulators From Natural Sources

1. Acetylcholine receptors were initially defined as nicotinic or muscarinic, based on selective activation by two natural products, nicotine and muscarine. Several further nicotinic agonists have been discovered from natural sources, including cytisine, anatoxin, ferruginine, anabaseine, epibatidine, and epiquinamide. These have provided lead structures for the design of a wide range of synthetic agents. 2. Natural sources have also provided competitive nicotinic antagonists, such as the Erythrina alkaloids, the tubocurarines, and methyllycaconitine. Noncompetitive antagonists, such as the histrionicotoxins, various izidines, decahydroquinolines, spiropyrrolizidine oximes, pseudophrynamines, ibogaine, strychnine, cocaine, and sparteine have come from natural sources. Finally, galanthamine, codeine, and ivermectin represent positive modulators of nicotinic function, derived from natural sources. 3. Clearly, research on acetylcholine receptors and functions has been dependent on key natural products and the synthetic agents that they inspired.

Application of intramolecular enyne metathesis to the synthesis of aza[4.2.1]bicyclics: enantiospecific total synthesis of (+)-anatoxin-a

A concise synthesis of the potent nAChR agonist (+)-anatoxin-a (1) has been completed in a series of only nine chemical operations and 27% overall yield from commercially available D-methyl pyroglutamate (4). The synthesis features a novel procedure for the diastereoselective preparation of cis-2,5-disubstituted pyrrolidines leading to 10, which underwent an intramolecular enyne metathesis to afford a bridged azabicyclic intermediate that was transformed into 1. [reaction: see text]