N-(substituted-phenyl)-D-glycopyranosylamines and their O-acetyl derivatives as potential modifiers of the formation of glycosaminoglycans

Identification of PDZ ligands by docking-based virtual screening for the development of novel analgesic agents

Disrupting the interaction between the PDZ protein, PSD-95, and its target ligands (such as the glutamate NMDA receptor or the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor) was found to reduce hyperalgesia in various models of neuropathic pain. Here, we set out to identify lead molecules which would interact with PSD-95, and hence, would potentially display analgesic activity. We describe the virtual screening of the Asinex and Cambridge databases which together contain almost one million molecules. Using three successive docking filters and visual inspection, we identified three structural classes of molecules and synthesized a potential lead compound from each class. The binding of the molecules with the PDZ domains of PSD-95 was assessed by (1)H-(15)N HSQC NMR experiments. The analgesic activity of the best ligand, quinoline 2, was evaluated in vivo in a model of neuropathic pain and showed promising results.

Synthesis, structure-activity relationships and a reaction mechanism for mutagenic N-nitroso derivatives of glycosylamines and Amadori compounds--model substances for N-nitrosated early Maillard reaction products

A series of nine glycosylamines and an Amadori compound were synthesized, together with their N-nitroso derivatives. Their structures were established by physico-chemical and spectroscopic data and elemental analyses. The N-nitroso compounds were further characterized by denitrosation with hydrogen bromide-acetic acid, followed by detection of the liberated NO by a chemiluminescence detector. N-Nitroso derivatives of N-p-nitrophenyl/p-methylphenyl/p-carboxyphenyl pentopyranosylamines, N-p-methylphenyl-1-deoxy-D-fructosylamine (the Amadori compound) and N-3-ethylindole-D-xylopyranosylamine were shown to be direct-acting mutagens in Salmonella typhimurium TA100. The activity of some of the compounds was similar to that of N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea. Their mutagenic activity was shown to depend on the structure of the amine and the sugar moieties and to require the presence of free hydroxyl groups in the sugar. The mutagenicity of N-nitrosoglycosylamines was attributed to their hydrolysis to arenediazonium cations. The formation of these compounds was detected by azo-coupling with N-ethyl-1-naphthylamine, using spectrophotometric and mass spectrometric analyses. These data implicate arene(alkyl)diazonium cations as the ultimate mutagens of N-nitrosoglycosylamines (and possibly of N-nitroso Amadori compounds), a little-explored class of N-nitroso compounds that may be formed in vivo.