Studies on antiinflammatory agents. II. Synthesis and pharmacological properties of 2'-(phenylthio)methanesulfonanilides and related derivatives

Nimesulide analogues: From anti-inflammatory to antitumor agents

Nimesulide is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug possessing analgesic and antipyretic properties. This drug is considered a selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor and, more recently, has been associated to antitumor activity. Thus, numerous works have been developed to modify the nimesulide skeleton aiming to develop new and more potent and selective COX-2 inhibitors as well as potential anticancer agents. This review intends to provide an overview on analogues of nimesulide, including the general synthetic approaches used for their preparation and structural diversification and their main anti-inflammatory and/or antitumor properties.

The effect of a selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor in extended liver resection with ischemia in dogs

BACKGROUND

Pringle's procedure is commonly used during liver surgery, and it sometimes causes liver failure. Metabolites of arachidonic acid, which are converted by cyclooxygenase (Cox), are involved in ischemia-reperfusion injury. This study evaluated the effects of FK 3311, which selectively inhibits Cox-2, on ischemia-reperfusion injury during liver resection in dogs.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The animals were divided into four groups and subjected to 60 min of warm ischemia by partial inflow occlusion. The FK-treated groups (FK0.2: 0.2 mg/kg, FK1: 1 mg/kg, FK3: 3mg/kg) received FK3311, and the control group received vehicle. Following reperfusion, the nonischemic lobes were resected and remnant liver function was evaluated.

RESULTS

Tissue blood flow and serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, glutamic pyruvic transaminase, and lactate dehydrogenase were significantly better in the FK1 and FK3 groups, especially FK1, than in the control group. Thromboxane B(2) was significantly lower in the FK1 and FK3 groups than in the control group. The level of 6-keto-prostaglandin F(1alpha) was significantly lower in the FK3 group and relatively unchanged in the FK1 group. Histological damage was milder in the FK1 group. There were significantly fewer polymorphonuclear neutrophils in the FK1 group than in the control group.

CONCLUSIONS

FK3311 ameliorates the ischemia-reperfusion injury caused by Pringle's procedure during extensive liver resection. This agent may be clinically useful in extended liver surgery involving vascular isolation.

Design of selective inhibitors of cyclooxygenase-2 as nonulcerogenic anti-inflammatory agents

The discovery of a second isoform of cyclooxygenase (cyclooxygenase-2) that is expressed in inflammatory cells and the central nervous system, but not in the gastric mucosa, offers the possibility of developing anti-inflammatory and analgesic agents that lack the gastrointestinal side effects of currently available nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Lead compounds from several different structural classes have been identified and shown to be slow, tight-binding inhibitors that express their selectivity for cyclooxygenase-2 in the time-dependent step. The determination of structures of enzyme-inhibitor co-crystals along with site-directed mutagenesis experiments reveal the molecular basis for selectivity of some, but not all, inhibitors. Preclinical and clinical studies suggest cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors are highly promising new agents for the treatment of pain and inflammation, and for the prevention of cancer.