Novel Potent and Efficacious Nonpeptidic Urotensin II Receptor Agonists

Direct Arylation of Benzyl Ethers with Organozinc Reagents

A novel C(sp³)-H bond arylation of benzyl ethers with Knochel-type arylzinc reagents has been developed. This transition-metal-catalyst-free reaction proceeds well under mild conditions in a simple and effective manner and enables the synthesis of a wide range of potentially biologically active benzyl ethers by using highly functionalized organozinc reagents as a carbon nucleophile.

Comparison of three methods for the methylation of aliphatic and aromatic compounds

RATIONALE

Methylation protocols commonly call for acidic, hot conditions that are known to promote organic ¹ H/² H exchange in aromatic and aliphatic C-H bonds. Here we tested two such commonly used methods and compared a third that avoids these acidic conditions, to quantify isotope effects with each method and to directly determine acidic-exchange rates relevant to experimental conditions.

METHODS

We compared acidic and non-acidic methylation approaches catalyzed by hydrochloric acid, acetyl chloride and EDCI (1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide)/DMAP (4-dimethylaminopyridine), respectively. These were applied to two analytes: phthalic acid (an aromatic) and octacosanoic acid (an aliphatic). We analyzed yield by gas chromatography/flame ionization (GC/FID) and hydrogen and carbon isotopic compositions by isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/IRMS). We quantified the ¹ H/² H exchange rate on dimethyl phthalate under acidic conditions with proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹ H-NMR) measurements.

RESULTS

The δ² H and δ¹³ C values and yield were equivalent among the three methods for methyl octacosanoate. The two acidic methods resulted in comparable yield and isotopic composition of dimethyl phthalate; however, the non-acidic method resulted in lower δ² H and δ¹³ C values perhaps due to low yields. Concerns over acid-catalyzed ¹ H/² H exchange are unwarranted as the effect was trivial over a 12-h reaction time.

CONCLUSIONS

We find product isolation yield and evaporation to be the main concerns in the accurate determination of isotopic composition. ¹ H/² H exchange reactions are too slow to cause measurable isotope fractionation over the typical duration and reaction conditions used in methylation. Thus, we are able to recommend continued use of acidic catalysts in such methylation reactions for both aliphatic and aromatic compounds.

Occurrence of urea-based soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitors from the plants in the order Brassicales

Recently, dibenzylurea-based potent soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) inhibitors were identified in Pentadiplandra brazzeana, a plant in the order Brassicales. In an effort to generalize the concept, we hypothesized that plants that produce benzyl glucosinolates and corresponding isothiocyanates also produce these dibenzylurea derivatives. Our overall aim here was to examine the occurrence of urea derivatives in Brassicales, hoping to find biologically active urea derivatives from plants. First, plants in the order Brassicales were analyzed for the presence of 1, 3-dibenzylurea (compound 1), showing that three additional plants in the order Brassicales produce the urea derivatives. Based on the hypothesis, three dibenzylurea derivatives with sEH inhibitory activity were isolated from maca (Lepidium meyenii) roots. Topical application of one of the identified compounds (compound 3, human sEH IC₅₀ = 222 nM) effectively reduced pain in rat inflammatory pain model, and this compound was bioavailable after oral administration in mice. The biosynthetic pathway of these urea derivatives was investigated using papaya (Carica papaya) seed as a model system. Finally, a small collection of plants from the Brassicales order was grown, collected, extracted and screened for sEH inhibitory activity. Results show that several plants of the Brassicales order could be potential sources of urea-based sEH inhibitors.

International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology. XCII. Urotensin II, urotensin II-related peptide, and their receptor: from structure to function

Urotensin II (UII) is a cyclic neuropeptide that was first isolated from the urophysis of teleost fish on the basis of its ability to contract the hindgut. Subsequently, UII was characterized in tetrapods including humans. Phylogenetic studies and synteny analysis indicate that UII and its paralogous peptide urotensin II-related peptide (URP) belong to the somatostatin/cortistatin superfamily. In mammals, the UII and URP genes are primarily expressed in cholinergic neurons of the brainstem and spinal cord. UII and URP mRNAs are also present in various organs notably in the cardiovascular, renal, and endocrine systems. UII and URP activate a common G protein-coupled receptor, called UT, that exhibits relatively high sequence identity with somatostatin, opioid, and galanin receptors. The UT gene is widely expressed in the central nervous system (CNS) and in peripheral tissues including the retina, heart, vascular bed, lung, kidney, adrenal medulla, and skeletal muscle. Structure-activity relationship studies and NMR conformational analysis have led to the rational design of a number of peptidic and nonpeptidic UT agonists and antagonists. Consistent with the wide distribution of UT, UII has now been shown to exert a large array of biologic activities, in particular in the CNS, the cardiovascular system, and the kidney. Here, we review the current knowledge concerning the pleiotropic actions of UII and discusses the possible use of antagonists for future therapeutic applications.

Selective formation of C–N and CN bonds via C(sp3)–H activation of isochroman in the presence of DTBP

An organocatalytic approach for the synthesis of isochroman derivatives via direct C(sp³)–H bond and N–H bond coupling is described. The C–N (amine or amide) and CN (imidate) products can be selectively achieved by controlling the amount of oxidants.

Urotensin II and urotensin II-related peptide activate somatostatin receptor subtypes 2 and 5

The UII and urotensin II-related peptide (URP) genes belong to the same superfamily as the somatostatin gene. It has been previously shown that somatostatin activates the UII-receptor (UTR). In contrast, the possible interaction between UII and URP and somatostatin receptors has remained scarcely analyzed. Herein, we have investigated the effects of UII and URP on cell proliferation and free cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in CHO-K1 cells stably expressing the porcine somatostatin receptor subtypes sst2 and sst5. Results show that both UII and URP induce stimulation of cell proliferation mediated by sst2 receptors and UII provokes inhibition of cell proliferation mediated by sst5 receptors. UII and URP also provoked an increase of [Ca2+]i in both sst2- and sst5-transfected cells. Together, our present data demonstrate that UII and URP directly activate sst2 and sst5 and thus mimic the effect of somatostatin on its cognate receptors.

Nonpeptide Urotensin-II receptor agonists and antagonists: review and structure-activity relationships

Human Urotensin-II (hU-II) is a cyclic 11-amino acid peptide that plays a role in cardiovascular homeostasis. Its receptor is a member of the class A of G-protein-coupled receptors, called GPR14. In recent years, several nonpeptide ligands have been reported in the literature. Most were identified by high-throughput screening and optimized by medicinal chemistry methods. Other nonpeptide ligands were discovered starting from the 3D structure of hU-II or other ligands. They were identified by a virtual screening approach based on a 3D pharmacophore or by structural similarity with others cyclic peptides. In this review, nonpeptide agonists and antagonists are presented in relation to structure-activity relationships.

Design, parallel synthesis and SAR of novel urotensin II receptor agonists

A 30-membered library of amides based on the potent urotensin II (UII) receptor agonist FL104, has been synthesized from ten different carboxylic acids and three amines. A synthetic protocol producing the amides in 47-98% yield has been developed in which the purification involved only extractions and in a few cases filtration through an ion-exchange resin. It was found that 5mg of starting material was enough to obtain reproducible results and excellent purities. Thus, the procedure is estimated to be transferable to fully automated systems. The synthesized compounds were evaluated for their UII receptor agonistic activities using a cell-based assay (R-SAT). The most active compounds were the 4-trifluoromethylcinnamic amides of 1-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-dimethylamino-propylamine and 1-(2-naphthyl)-3-dimethylamino-propylamine, both showed EC(50) values of 130 nM.