A prodrug approach toward cancer-related carbonic anhydrase inhibition

Molecular docking-guided synthesis of NSAID-glucosamine bioconjugates and their evaluation as COX-1/COX-2 inhibitors with potentially reduced gastric toxicity

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are a powerful class of inhibitors targeting two isoforms of the family of cyclooxygenase enzymes (COX-1 and COX-2). While NSAIDs are widely used in the management of pain, in particular as a treatment for osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis, their long-term use has been associated with numerous on- and off-target effects. As the carboxylic acid moiety present in common NSAIDs is responsible for some of their adverse effects, but is not required for their anti-inflammatory activity, we sought to mask this group through direct coupling to glucosamine, which is thought to prevent cartilage degradation. We report herein the conjugation of commonly prescribed NSAIDs to glucosamine hydrochloride and the use of molecular docking to show that addition of the carbohydrate moiety to the parent NSAID can enhance binding in the active site of COX-2. In a preliminary, in vitro screening assay, the diclofenac-glucosamine bioconjugate exhibited 10-fold greater activity toward COX-2, making it an ideal candidate for future in vivo studies. Furthermore, in an intriguing result, we observed that the mefenamic acid-glucosamine bioconjugate displayed enhanced activity toward COX-1 rather than COX-2.

Direct N-glycosylation of tosyl and nosyl carbamates with trichloroacetimidate donors

Acidic sulphonamide reactants act as both catalysts and nucleophiles to afford the desired N-glycofuranosyl sulfonamides stereoselectively.

An overview of carbohydrate-based carbonic anhydrase inhibitors

Carbonic anhydrases (CAs) are metalloenzymes responsible for the reversible hydration of carbon dioxide to bicarbonate, a fundamental reaction involved in various physiological and pathological processes. In the last decades, CAs have been considered as important drug targets for different pathologies such as glaucoma, epilepsy and cancer. The design of potent and selective inhibitors has been an outstanding goal leading to the discovery of new drugs. Among the different strategies developed to date, the design of carbohydrate-based CA inhibitors (CAIs) has emerged as a versatile tool in order to selectively target CAs. The insertion of a glycosyl moiety as a hydrophilic tail in sulfonamide, sulfenamide, sulfamate or coumarin scaffolds allowed the discovery of many different series of sugar-based CAIs, with relevant inhibitory results. This review will focus on carbohydrate-based CAIs developed so far, classifying them in glycosidic and glycoconjugated inhibitors based on the conjugation chemistry adopted.

Direct N-Glycosylation of Amides/Amines with Glycal Donors

Direct N-glycosylation between glycals and amides/amines was achieved with exclusive stereoselectivity in moderate to high yields. Various amides, amines, and 3,4-O-carbonate-glycals were tolerated, and unique β-N-glycosides were obtained. The strategy was based on palladium-catalyzed decarboxylative allylation, and the high 1,4-cis-selectivity was proposed because of the hydrogen bonding effect. Notably, all the synthesized products were subjected to preliminary bioactivity studies, revealing that three compounds were cytotoxic to tumor cells and nontoxic to normal human cells.

Synthesis and Evaluation of Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitors with Carbon Monoxide Releasing Properties for the Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a gas endogenously produced in humans, reported to exhibit anti-inflammatory and cytoprotective effects at low concentration. In this context, CO releasing molecules (CORMs) are attracting enormous interest. Herein, we report a series of small-molecule hybrids consisting of a carbonic anhydrase (CA; EC 4.2.1.1) inhibitor linked to a CORM tail section (CAI-CORMs). All compounds were screened in vitro for their inhibition activity against the human (h) CA I, II, IV, IX, and XII isoforms. On selected CAI-CORM hybrids, the CO releasing properties were evaluated, along with their pain-relieving effect, in a model of rheumatoid arthritis. One CAI-CORM hybrid (5b) induced a higher pain-relieving effect compared to the one exerted by the single administration of CAI (5a) and CORM (15b) fragments, shedding light on the possibility to enhance the pain relief effect of CA inhibitors inserting a CO releasing moiety on the same molecular scaffold.

Gram scale production of 1-azido-β-d-glucose via enzyme catalysis for the synthesis of 1,2,3-triazole-glucosides

The production of analytical amounts of azido sugars is used as a means of verifying catalytic acid/base mutations of retaining glycosidase, but application of this process to preparative synthesis has not been reported. The catalytic acid/base mutant of Thermoanaerobacterium xylanolyticus GH116 β-glucosidase, TxGH116D593A, catalyzed the gram scale production of 1-azido-β-d-glucose (1) from p-nitropheyl-β-d-glucopyranoside (pNPGlc) and azide via a transglucosylation reaction. Overnight reaction of the enzyme with pNPGlc and NaN₃ in aqueous MES buffer (pH 5.5) at 55 °C produced 1 (3.27 g), which was isolated as a white foamy solid in 96% yield. This 1 was successfully utilized for the synthesis of fifteen 1,2,3-triazole-β-d-glucosyl derivatives (2–16) containing a variety of functional groups, via click chemistry.

The retaining β-glucosidase acid/base mutant TxGH116D593A catalyzed the production of 1-azido-β-d-glucose for synthesis of 15 1,2,3-triazole β-glucosyl derivatives.

Crystallography and Its Impact on Carbonic Anhydrase Research

X-ray and neutron crystallography are powerful techniques utilized to study the structures of biomolecules. Visualization of enzymes in complex with substrate/product and the capture of intermediate states can be related to activity to facilitate understanding of the catalytic mechanism. Subsequent analysis of small molecule binding within the enzyme active site provides insight into mechanisms of inhibition, supporting the design of novel inhibitors using a structure-guided approach. The first X-ray crystal structures were determined for small, ubiquitous enzymes such as carbonic anhydrase (CA). CAs are a family of zinc metalloenzymes that catalyze the hydration of CO2, producing HCO3 - and a proton. The CA structure and ping-pong mechanism have been extensively studied and are well understood. Though the function of CA plays an important role in a variety of physiological functions, CA has also been associated with diseases such as glaucoma, edema, epilepsy, obesity, and cancer and is therefore recognized as a drug target. In this review, a brief history of crystallography and its impact on CA research is discussed.

A new probe for detecting zinc-bound carbonic anhydrase in cell lysates and cells

We report the synthesis and application of a small molecule probe for carbonic anhydrase (CA) to track holo-CA in cell lysates and live-cell models of zinc dyshomeostasis. The probe displays a 12-fold increase in fluorescence upon binding to bovine CA and also responds to human CA isoforms.

Cancer Drug Development of Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitors beyond the Active Site

Carbonic anhydrases (CAs) catalyze the reversible hydration of carbon dioxide to produce bicarbonate and a proton. Multiple CA isoforms are implicated in a range of diseases, including cancer. In solid tumors, continuously dividing cells create hypoxic conditions that eventually lead to an acidic microenvironment. Hypoxic tumor cells have different mechanisms in place to regulate and adjust the surrounding microenvironment for survival. These mechanisms include expression of CA isoform IX (CA IX) and XII (CA XII). These enzymes help maintain a physiological intracellular pH while simultaneously contributing to an acidic extracellular pH, leading to tumor cell survival. Expression of CA IX and CA XII has also been shown to promote tumor cell invasion and metastasis. This review discusses the characteristics of CA IX and CA XII, their mechanism of action, and validates their prospective use as anticancer targets. We discuss the current status of small inhibitors that target these isoforms, both classical and non-classical, and their future design in order to obtain isoform-specificity for CA IX and CA XII. Biologics, such as monoclonal antibodies, monoclonal-radionuclide conjugated chimeric antibodies, and antibody-small molecule conjugates are also discussed.

Evaluation of 99mTc-sulfonamide and sulfocoumarin derivatives for imaging carbonic anhydrase IX expression

With the aim to prepare hypoxia tumor imaging agents, technetium(I) and rhenium(I) tricarbonyl complexes with dipyridylamine (L1 = N-{[1-(2,2-dioxido-1,2-benzoxathiin-6-yl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl]methyl}-N-(2-pyridinylmethyl)-2-pyridinemethanamine; L3 = N-{[1-[N-(4-aminosulfonylphenyl)]-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl]methyl}-N-(2-pyridinyl-methyl)-2-pyridinemethanamine), and iminodiacetate (H₂L2 = N-{[1-(2,2-dioxido-1,2-benzoxathiin-6-yl)-1H-1,2,3-triazole-4-yl]methyl}-N-(carboxy-methyl)-glycine; H₂L4 = N-{[1-[N-(4-aminosulfonylphenyl)]-1H-1,2,3-triazole-4-yl]methyl}-N-(carboxymethyl)-glycine) ligands appended to sulfonamide or sulfocoumarin carbonic anhydrase inhibitors were synthesized. The Re(I) complexes were characterized using ¹H/¹³C NMR, MS, EA, and in one case the X-ray structure of [Et₃NH][Re(CO)₃(L2)] was obtained. As expected, the Re coordination geometry is distorted octahedral, with a tridentate iminodiacetate ligand in a fac arrangement dictated by the three strong-field CO ligands. Inhibition studies of human carbonic anhydrases (hCAs) showed that the Re sulfocoumarin derivatives were inactive against hCA-I, -II and -IV, but had moderate affinity for hCA-IX. The Re sulfonamides showed improved affinity against all tested hCAs, with [Re(CO)₃(L4)]^- being the most active and selective for the hCA-IX isoform. The corresponding ^99mTc complexes were synthesized from fac-[^99mTc(CO)₃(H₂O)₃]⁺, purified by HPLC, and obtained with average 41-76% decay-corrected radiochemical yields and with >99% radiochemical purity. Uptake in HT-29 tumors at 1 h post-injection was highest for [^99mTc(CO)₃(L4)]^- (0.14 ± 0.10%ID/g) in comparison to [^99mTc(CO)₃(L1)]⁺ (0.06 ± 0.01%ID/g), [^99mTc(CO)₃(L2)]^- (0.03 ± 0.00%ID/g), and [^99mTc(CO)₃(L3)]⁺ (0.07 ± 0.03%ID/g). The uptake in tumors was further reduced at 4 h post-injection. For potential imaging application with single photon emission computed tomography, further optimization is needed to improve the affinity to hCA-IX and uptake in hCA-IX expressing tumors.

Thiazole-substituted benzenesulfonamides as inhibitors of 12 human carbonic anhydrases

Four series of para or meta - substituted thiazolylbenzenesulfonamides bearing Cl substituents were designed, synthesized, and evaluated as inhibitors of all 12 catalytically active recombinant human carbonic anhydrase (CA) isoforms. Observed affinities were determined by the fluorescent thermal shift assay and the intrinsic affinities were calculated based on the fractions of binding-ready deprotonated sulfonamide and CA bearing protonated hydroxide bound to the catalytic Zn(II) in the active site. Several compounds exhibited selectivity towards CA IX, an anticancer target. Intrinsic affinities reached 30 pM, while the observed affinities - 70 nM. The structure-intrinsic affinity relationship map of the compounds showed the energetic contributions of the thiazole ring and its substituents.

Design, Synthesis, Molecular Docking Analysis, and Carbonic Anhydrase IX Inhibitory Evaluations of Novel N-Substituted-β-d-Glucosamine Derivatives that Incorporate Benzenesulfonamides

A series of novel N-substituted-β-d-glucosamine derivatives that incorporate benzenesulfonamides were designed using a fragment-based drug design strategy. Each derivative was synthesized and evaluated in vitro for its inhibitory activity against human carbonic anhydrase (hCA) IX; several derivatives displayed desirable potency profiles against this enzyme. The molecular docking studies provided the design rationale and predicted potential binding modes for carbonic anhydrase (CA) IX and three target compounds, including the most potent inhibitor, compound 7f (IC50 = 10.01 nM). Moreover, the calculated Log P (cLog P) values showed that all the compounds tended to be hydrophilic. In addition, topological polar surface area (TPSA) value-based predictions highlighted the selectivity of these carbohydrate-based inhibitors for membrane-associated CA IX.

Synthesis of Novel Saccharin Derivatives

The synthesis of saccharin (1,2-benzisothiazol-3-one-1,1-dioxide) derivatives substituted on the benzene ring has seen limited development despite the longevity of this compound’s use as an artificial sweetener. This type of saccharin derivative would however present attractive properties for the development of new bioactive, drug-like small molecule compounds. Here we report the derivatisation of the benzene ring of saccharin using Cu(I)-catalyzed azide alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) to synthesise a diverse library of novel saccharin-1,2,3-triazole conjugates. All library compounds retain the capability for interactions with biomolecules via the unmodified sulfonamide and lactam groups of the parent saccharin core heterocycle. The compounds also encompass alternate orientations of the 1,2,3-triazole heterocycle, thus further adding diversity to the potential hydrogen bonding interactions of these compounds with biomolecules of therapeutic interest. Our findings demonstrate that specifically functionalized derivatives of saccharin may be prepared from either saccharin azide or saccharin alkyne building blocks in high yield using CuAAC.

Glycosylated metal chelators as anti-parasitic agents with tunable selectivity

Metal complexation imparts selective anti-parasitic activity to aminopyridyl ligands: Zn(ii) and Cu(ii) complexes show potent activity and remarkable selectivity indexes.

An ionic liquid promoted approach to bitriazolyl compounds as succinate–ubiquinone oxidoreductase inhibitors

Bitriazolyl compounds, a novel skeleton that is totally different from existing commercialized SQR-inhibiting fungicides, could provide a new lead for further development of SQR inhibitors.

Non-Classical Inhibition of Carbonic Anhydrase

Specific isoforms from the carbonic anhydrase (CA) family of zinc metalloenzymes have been associated with a variety of diseases. Isoform-specific carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (CAIs) are therefore a major focus of attention for specific disease treatments. Classical CAIs, primarily sulfonamide-based compounds and their bioisosteres, are examined as antiglaucoma, antiepileptic, antiobesity, antineuropathic pain and anticancer compounds. However, many sulfonamide compounds inhibit all CA isoforms nonspecifically, diluting drug effectiveness and causing undesired side effects due to off-target inhibition. In addition, a small but significant percentage of the general population cannot be treated with sulfonamide-based compounds due to a sulfa allergy. Therefore, CAIs must be developed that are not only isoform specific, but also non-classical, i.e. not based on sulfonamides, sulfamates, or sulfamides. This review covers the classes of non-classical CAIs and the recent advances in the development of isoform-specific inhibitors based on phenols, polyamines, coumarins and their derivatives.

A class of sulfonamides as carbonic anhydrase I and II inhibitors

Four groups of novel sulfonamide derivatives: (i) acetoxybenzamide, (ii) triacetoxybenzamide, (iii) hydroxybenzamide and (iv) trihydroxybenzamide, all having thiazole, pyrimidine, pyridine, isoxazole and thiadiazole moieties were prepared and their inhibitory effects were studied on two metalloenzymes, i.e. carbonic anhydrase isozymes (hCA I and II), purified from human erythrocyte cells by Sepharose-4B-l-tyrosine-sulfanilamide affinity chromatography. These enzymes are present in almost all living organisms to catalyse the synthesis of bicarbonate ion (HCO₃^-) from carbon dioxide and water. The sulfonamide derivatives were found to be active against hCA I and II in the range of 2.62-136.54 and 5.74-210.58 nM, respectively.

A sucrose-binding site provides a lead towards an isoform-specific inhibitor of the cancer-associated enzyme carbonic anhydrase IX

Human carbonic anhydrase (CA; EC 4.2.1.1) isoform IX (CA IX) is an extracellular zinc metalloenzyme that catalyzes the reversible hydration of CO2 to HCO3(-), thereby playing a role in pH regulation. The majority of normal functioning cells exhibit low-level expression of CA IX. However, in cancer cells CA IX is upregulated as a consequence of a metabolic transition known as the Warburg effect. The upregulation of CA IX for cancer progression has drawn interest in it being a potential therapeutic target. CA IX is a transmembrane protein, and its purification, yield and crystallization have proven challenging to structure-based drug design, whereas the closely related cytosolic soluble isoform CA II can be expressed and crystallized with ease. Therefore, we have utilized structural alignments and site-directed mutagenesis to engineer a CA II that mimics the active site of CA IX. In this paper, the X-ray crystal structure of this CA IX mimic in complex with sucrose is presented and has been refined to a resolution of 1.5 Å, an Rcryst of 18.0% and an Rfree of 21.2%. The binding of sucrose at the entrance to the active site of the CA IX mimic, and not CA II, in a non-inhibitory mechanism provides a novel carbohydrate moiety binding site that could be further exploited to design isoform-specific inhibitors of CA IX.

N-Acylsulfonamides strongly inhibit human carbonic anhydrase isoenzymes I and II

Sulfonamides represent a significant class of biologically active compounds that inhibit carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC.: 4.2.1.1) isoenzymes involved in different pathological and physiological events. Sulfonamide CA inhibitors are used therapeutically as diuretic, antiglaucoma, antiobesity and anticancer agents. A series of new sulfonamides were synthesized using imides and tosyl chloride as starting materials. These N-acylsulfonamides efficiently inhibited the cytosolic human carbonic anhydrase isoenzymes I, and II (hCA I, and II), with nanomolar range inhibition constants ranging between 36.4 ± 6.0-254.6 ± 18.0 and 58.3 ± 0.6-273.3 ± 2.5 nM, respectively.

Saccharin: a lead compound for structure-based drug design of carbonic anhydrase IX inhibitors

Carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX) is a key modulator of aggressive tumor behavior and a prognostic marker and target for several cancers. Saccharin (SAC) based compounds may provide an avenue to overcome CA isoform specificity, as they display both nanomolar affinity and preferential binding, for CA IX compared to CA II (>50-fold for SAC and >1000-fold when SAC is conjugated to a carbohydrate moiety). The X-ray crystal structures of SAC and a SAC-carbohydrate conjugate bound to a CA IX-mimic are presented and compared to CA II. The structures provide substantial new insight into the mechanism of SAC selective CA isoform inhibition.

Targeting carbonic anhydrase IX activity and expression

Metastatic tumors are often hypoxic exhibiting a decrease in extracellular pH (~6.5) due to a metabolic transition described by the Warburg Effect. This shift in tumor cell metabolism alters the tumor milieu inducing tumor cell proliferation, angiogenesis, cell motility, invasiveness, and often resistance to common anti-cancer treatments; hence hindering treatment of aggressive cancers. As a result, tumors exhibiting this phenotype are directly associated with poor prognosis and decreased survival rates in cancer patients. A key component to this tumor microenvironment is carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX). Knockdown of CA IX expression or inhibition of its activity has been shown to reduce primary tumor growth, tumor proliferation, and also decrease tumor resistance to conventional anti-cancer therapies. As such several approaches have been taken to target CA IX in tumors via small-molecule, anti-body, and RNAi delivery systems. Here we will review recent developments that have exploited these approaches and provide our thoughts for future directions of CA IX targeting for the treatment of cancer.

Dipeptidyl peptidase IV as a potential target for selective prodrug activation and chemotherapeutic action in cancers

The efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs is often offset by severe side effects attributable to poor selectivity and toxicity to normal cells. Recently, the enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV) was considered as a potential target for the delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of targeting chemotherapeutic drugs to DPPIV as a strategy to enhance their specificity. The expression profile of DPPIV was obtained for seven cancer cell lines using DNA microarray data from the DTP database, and was validated by RT-PCR. A prodrug was then synthesized by linking the cytotoxic drug melphalan to a proline-glycine dipeptide moiety, followed by hydrolysis studies in the seven cell lines with a standard substrate, as well as the glycyl-prolyl-melphalan (GP-Mel). Lastly, cell proliferation studies were carried out to demonstrate enzyme-dependent activation of the candidate prodrug. The relative RT-PCR expression levels of DPPIV in the cancer cell lines exhibited linear correlation with U95Av2 Affymetrix data (r(2) = 0.94), and with specific activity of a standard substrate, glycine-proline-p-nitroanilide (r(2) = 0.96). The significantly higher antiproliferative activity of GP-Mel in Caco-2 cells (GI₅₀ = 261 μM) compared to that in SK-MEL-5 cells (GI₅₀ = 807 μM) was consistent with the 9-fold higher specific activity of the prodrug in Caco-2 cells (5.14 pmol/min/μg protein) compared to SK-MEL-5 cells (0.68 pmol/min/μg protein) and with DPPIV expression levels in these cells. Our results demonstrate the great potential to exploit DPPIV as a prodrug activating enzyme for efficient chemotherapeutic drug targeting.

Structural insights into carbonic anhydrase IX isoform specificity of carbohydrate-based sulfamates

Carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX) is an extracellular transmembrane homodimeric zinc metalloenzyme that has been validated as a prognostic marker and therapeutic target for several types of aggressive cancers. CA IX shares a close homology with other CA isoforms, making the design of CA IX isoform selective inhibitors challenging. In this paper, we describe the development of a new class of CA IX inhibitors that comprise a sulfamate as the zinc binding group, a variable linker, and a carbohydrate “tail” moiety. Seven compounds inhibited CA IX with low nM K_i values of 1–2 nM and also exhibited permeability profiles to preferentially target the binding of extracellular CA IX over cytosolic CAs. The crystal structures of two of these compounds in complex with a CA IX-mimic (a variant of CA II, with active site residues that mimic CA IX) and one compound in complex with CA II have been determined to 1.7 Å resolution or better and demonstrate a selective mechanism of binding between the hydrophilic and hydrophobic pockets of CA IX versus CA II. These compounds present promising candidates for anti-CA IX drugs and the treatment for several aggressive cancer types.

Rapid access to novel 1,2,3-triazolo-heterocyclic scaffolds via tandem Knoevenagel condensation/azide-alkyne 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction in one pot

An operationally simple, one-pot, two-step cascade method has been developed to afford biologically important fused 1,2,3-triazolo-heterocyclic scaffolds from 2-alkynyl aryl(heteroaryl) aldehydes and phenacyl azides. This unique atom economical transformation engages four reactive centers (aldehyde, alkyne, active methylene, and azide) under metal-free catalysis.

Exploring QSARs of some benzenesulfonamides incorporating cyanoacrylamide moieties as a carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (specifically against tumor-associated isoforms IX and XII)

Benzenesulfonamides incorporating cyanoacrylamide moieties with activity against tumour-associated human (h) isoforms hCA IX and XII (which are validated antitumor targets) were investigated for their quantitative structural activity relationships (QSAR). Multiple linear regression analysis was used to develop model relationships between molecular descriptors and inhibition constants (Ki). The molecular geometry optimization were performed on all molecules at DFT-B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level. Over 1250 molecular descriptors were calculated using Gaussian 09, Hyperchem and EDRAGON programs. Multiple linear regression equations have been developed and validated using leave-one-out cross-validated technique. The derived QSAR models are found to be statistically significant and show good predictive ability.

Design of glycosyltransferase inhibitors targeting human O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT)

Inhibition of glycosyltransferases requires the design of neutral inhibitors to allow cell permeation as mimicks of their natural dianionic substrates.