Novel 5α-Reductase Inhibitors: Synthesis, Structure−Activity Studies, and Pharmacokinetic Profile of Phenoxybenzoylphenyl Acetic Acids

Small molecule agents against alopecia: Potential targets and related pathways

Alopecia has emerged as a global concern, extending beyond the middle-aged and elderly population and increasingly affecting younger individuals. Despite its growing prevalence, the treatment options and effective drugs for alopecia remain limited due to the incomplete understanding of its underlying mechanisms. Therefore, it is urgent to explore the pathogenesis of alopecia and discover novel and safer therapeutic agents. This review provided an overview of the prevailing clinical disorders of alopecia, and the key pathways and targets involved in hair growth process. Additionally, it discusses FDA-approved drugs and clinical candidates for the treatment of alopecia, and explores small molecule compounds with anti-alopecia potential in the drug discovery phase. These endeavors are expected to provide researchers with valuable scientific insights and practical information for anti-alopecia drug discovery.

Virtual screening approach for the discovery of selective 5α-reductase type II inhibitors for benign prostatic hyperplasia treatment

Background: 5α-Reductase type II (5αR2) inhibition is a promising strategy for benign prostatic hyperplasia treatment. A computational approach including virtual screening, ligand-based 3D pharmacophore modeling, 2D quantitative structure-activity relationship and molecular docking simulations were adopted to develop novel inhibitors. Results: Hits were first filtered via the validated pharmacophore and 2D quantitative structure-activity relationship models. Docking on the recently determined cocrystallized structure of 5αR2 showed three promising hits. Visual inspection results were compared with finasteride ligand and dihydrotestosterone as reference, to explain the role of binding to Glu57 and Tyr91 for 5αR2 selective inhibition. Conclusion: Alignment between Hit 2 and finasteride in the binding pocket showed similar binding modes. The biological activity prediction showed antitumor and androgen targeting activity of the new hits.

Caffeic acid N-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl] amide as a non-steroidal inhibitor for steroid 5α-reductase type 1 using a human keratinocyte cell-based assay and molecular dynamics

Caffeic acid derivatives containing amide moieties similar to those of finasteride and dutasteride were synthesized. An in vitro inhibitory activity evaluation of caffeic acid (1) and its amide derivatives (2 - 4) against the steroid 5α-reductase type 1 (SRD5A1) produced by human keratinocyte cells coupled with the non-radioactive high-performance thin-layer chromatography detection revealed that caffeic acid N-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl] amide (4) was a promising non-steroidal suppressor, with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) of 1.44 ± 0.13 µM and relatively low cytotoxicity with an IC₅₀ of 29.99 ± 8.69 µM. The regulatory role of compound 4 against SRD5A1 involved both suppression of SRD5A1 expression and mixed mode SRD5A1 inhibition. The K_i value of compound 4 was 2.382 µM based on the whole-cell kinetic studies under specific conditions. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations with AlphaFold generated the human SRD5A1 structure and confirmed the stability of compound 4 at the SRD5A1 catalytic site with greater interactions, including hydrogen bonding of the key M119 amino-acid residue than those of finasteride and dutasteride. Thus, compound 4 shows the potential for further development as an SRD5A1 suppressor for androgenic alopecia treatment.

Novel and Predictive QSAR Model for Steroidal and Nonsteroidal 5α- Reductase Type II Inhibitors

AIMS AND OBJECTIVE

In this study, a novel quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) model has been developed for inhibitors of human 5-alpha reductase type II, which are used to treat benign prostate hypertrophy (BPH).

METHODS

The dataset consisted of 113 compounds-mainly nonsteroidal-with known inhibitory concentration. Then 3D structures of compounds were optimized and molecular structure descriptors were calculated. The stepwise multiple linear regression was used to select descriptors encoding the inhibitory activity of the compounds. Multiple linear regression (MLR) was used to build up the linear QSAR model.

RESULTS

The results obtained revealed that the descriptors which best describe the activity were atom type electropological state, carbon type, radial distribution function (RDF), barysz matrix and molecular linear free energy relation. The suggested model could achieve satisfied square correlation coefficient of R² = 0.72, higher than of many previous studies, indicating its superiority. Rigid validation criteria were met using external data with Q² ˃ 0.5 and R² = 0.75, reflecting the predictive power of the model.

CONCLUSION

The QSAR model was applied for screening botanical components of herbal preparations used to treat BPH, and could predict the activity of some, among others, making reasonable attribution to the proposed effect of these preparations. Gamma tocopherol was found to be an active inhibitor, in consistence with many previous studies, anticipating the power of this model in the prediction of new candidate molecules and suggesting further investigations.

1,3,4-Oxadiazol-2-ones as fatty-acid amide hydrolase and monoacylglycerol lipase inhibitors: Synthesis, in vitro evaluation and insight into potency and selectivity determinants by molecular modelling

Inhibition of the key hydrolytic enzymes of the endocannabinoid system, fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL), has been proposed as potential mode of action for various therapeutic applications. Continuing our previous work, we take the first steps of structure-activity relationship exploration and show that 1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-ones can serve as scaffold for both selective FAAH and MAGL inhibitors, and also function as a dual FAAH/MAGL inhibitor at sub-micromolar IC50 values. Moreover, 10-fold selectivity against MAGL over FAAH was achieved with compound 3d (FAAH and MAGL IC50; 2.0 and 0.22 μM). Lastly, enzyme and ligand features contributing to the potency and selectivity differences are analysed by molecular docking.

Determination of rat 5alpha-reductase type 1 isozyme activity and its inhibition by novel steroidal oxazolines

The 5alpha-reductase type 1 isozyme is a key enzyme in the metabolism of the androgen steroid hormones and inhibitors of this enzyme represent a new pharmacological treatment for several androgen dependent diseases. We developed a radiosubstrate in vitro incubation method for the determination of 5alpha-reductase type 1 activity using rat liver microsomes as an enzyme source. With this method we have studied the inhibiting activity of novel (5' S)-17beta-(4,5-dihydrooxazol-5-yl)androst-5-en-3-one compounds containing various derivatized phenyl substituents coupled to the exo -heterocyclic moiety. Tests revealed moderate inhibitory actions compared to finasteride, nevertheless, results provide interesting structure-activity relationship data.

Biocatalytic synthesis of 4-pregnen-20,21-diol-3-one, a selective inhibitor of human 5alpha-reductase type II

Biocatalysis, the conversion of substrates into valuable products by the use of enzymes, has some striking advantages in comparison to standard organic chemistry for drug synthesis. By biocatalysis, substrates that contain several identical reactive groups at different positions can be converted with high regio-selectivity and enantio-selectivity. In this study, an E. coli isolate (E132) was identified which was able to convert the steroid desoxycorticosterone into the product 4-pregnen-20,21-diol-3-one in real terms. The product was purified from the cell culture supernatant by HPLC and its structure was demonstrated by mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. It was tested on inhibition of human 5alpha-reductases type I and type II. At a concentration of 10 microM, inhibition was 49.0% for type I and 81.8% for type II, whereas there was no inhibition of human aromatase (CYP19) at 20 microM and human 17alpha-hydroxylase-C17,20-lyase (CYP17) at 2.5 microM detectable. The IC50 value of 4-pregnen-20,21-diol-3-one for human 5alpha-reductase type II was determined to be 1.56 microM.