Advances in the field of COX-2 inhibition

4,5-Diaryl 3(2H)Furanones: Anti-Inflammatory Activity and Influence on Cancer Growth

Apart from their anti-inflammatory action, COX inhibitors have gathered the interest of many scientists due to their potential use for the treatment and prevention of cancer. It has been shown that cyclooxygenase inhibitors restrict cancer cell growth and are able to interact with known antitumor drugs, enhancing their in vitro and in vivo cytotoxicity. The permutation of hydrophilic and hydrophobic aryl groups in COX inhibitors leads to cardinal changes in the biological activity of the compounds. In the present study, thirteen heterocyclic coxib-like 4,5-diarylfuran-3(2H)-ones and their annelated derivatives—phenanthro[9,10-b]furan-3-ones—were synthesized and studied for anti-inflammatory and COX-1/2 inhibitory action and for their cytotoxic activity on the breast cancer (MCF-7) and squamous cell carcinoma (HSC-3) cell lines. The F-derivative of the –SOMe substituted furan-3(2H)-ones exhibited the best activity (COX-1 IC₅₀ = 2.8 μM, anti-inflammatory activity (by carrageenan paw edema model) of 54% (dose 0.01 mmol/kg), and MCF-7 and HSC-3 cytotoxicity with IC₅₀ values of 10 μM and 7.5 μM, respectively). A cytotoxic effect related to the COX-1 inhibitory action was observed and a synergistic effect with the anti-neoplastic drugs gefitinib and 5-fluorouracil was found. A phenanthrene derivative exhibited the best synergistic effect with gefitinib.

Houttuynia cordata, a novel and selective COX-2 inhibitor with anti-inflammatory activity

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Houttuynia cordata Thunb. (Saururaceae; HC) has been long used in traditional oriental medicine for the treatment of inflammation diseases. Modern research has implicated inducible cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) as a key regulator of the inflammatory process.

AIM OF THE STUDY

In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effect of HC on COX-2. We examined the effects of HC on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced prostaglandin (PG) E(2) production, an indirect indicator of COX-2 activity, and COX-2 gene and protein expression in mouse peritoneal macrophages.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

LPS-induced mouse peritoneal macrophages were employed as an in vitro model system. LPS-induced PGE(2) production was assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay and COX-2 protein expression was assessed by Western blot assay.

RESULTS

The results showed that HC was able to inhibit the release of LPS-induced PGE(2) from mouse peritoneal macrophages (IC50 value: 44.8 μg/mL). Moreover, the inhibitory activity of HC essential oil elicited a dose-dependent inhibition of COX-2 enzyme activity (IC50 value: 30.9 μg/mL). HC was also found to cause reduction in LPS-induced COX-2 mRNA and protein expression, but did not affect COX-1 expression. The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) and specific COX-2 inhibitor NS398 functioned similarly in LPS-induced mouse peritoneal macrophages.

CONCLUSION

Taken together, our data suggest HC mediates inhibition of COX-2 enzyme activity and can affect related gene and protein expression. HC works by a mechanism of action similar to that of NSAIDs. These results add a novel aspect to the biological profile of HC.

Anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive effects of Baccharis dracunculifolia DC (Asteraceae) in different experimental models

AIM OF THE STUDY

The aerial parts of Baccharis dracunculifolia D.C., popularly known as "alecrim do campo", are used in folk medicine as anti-inflammatory. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities of the crude hydroalcoholic extract obtained from leaves of Baccharis dracunculifolia (BdE), which have not been reported.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

BdE was analyzed by HPLC and in vivo evaluated (doses ranging from 50 to 400mg/kg, p.o.) by using the acetic acid-induced abdominal constrictions, paw oedema induced by carrageenan or histamine, overt nociception models using capsaicin, glutamate or phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), formalin-induced nociception and mechanical hypernociception induced by carrageenan or complete Freund adjuvant (CFA). As positive controls it was used paracetamol in both acetic acid and formalin tests; dipyrone in capsaicin, glutamate and PMA-induced nociception; indomethacin in CFA and carrageenan-induced hypernociception models. In addition, the in vitro effects of BdE on COX-2 activity and on the activation of NF-kappaB were also evaluated.

RESULTS

BdE (50-400mg/kg, p.o.) significantly diminished the abdominal constrictions induced by acetic acid, glutamate and CFA. Furthermore, BdE also inhibited the nociceptive responses in both phases of formalin-induced nociception. BdE, administered orally, also produced a long-lasting anti-hypernociceptive effect in the acute model of inflammatory pain induced by carrageenan. It was also observed the inhibition of COX-2 activity by BdE.

CONCLUSION

In summary, the data reported in this work confirmed the traditional anti-inflammatory indications of Baccharis dracunculifolia leaves and provided biological evidences that Baccharis dracunculifolia, like Brazilian green propolis, possess antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities.

Novel 2-(4-methylsulfonylphenyl)pyrimidine derivatives as highly potent and specific COX-2 inhibitors

New series of 2-(4-methylsulfonylphenyl) and 2-(4-sulfamoylphenyl)pyrimidines were synthesized and evaluated for their ability to inhibit cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitory activity of these compounds was determined using purified enzyme (PE) and human whole blood (HWB) assays. Extensive structure-activity relationship (SAR) work was carried out within these series, and a wide number of potent and specific COX-2 inhibitors were identified (HWB COX-2 IC(50)=2.4-0.3nM and 80- to 780-fold more selective than rofecoxib).

Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors: Valdecoxib binds to a different active site region of the human isoform II as compared to the structurally related cyclooxygenase II ‘selective’ inhibitor celecoxib

The high resolution X-ray crystal structure of the adduct of human carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1) isoform II (hCA II) with the clinically used painkiller valdecoxib, acting as a potent CA II and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor, is reported. The ionized sulfonamide moiety of valdecoxib is coordinated to the catalytic Zn(II) ion with a tetrahedral geometry. The phenyl-isoxazole moiety of the inhibitor fills the active site channel and interacts with the side chains of Gln92, Val121, Leu198, Thr200, and Pro202. Its 3-phenyl group is located into a hydrophobic pocket, simultaneously establishing van der Waals interactions with the aliphatic side chain of various hydrophobic residues (Val135, Ile91, Val121, Leu198, and Leu141) and a strong offset face-to-face stacking interaction with the aromatic ring of Phe131 (the chi1 angle of which is rotated about 90 degrees with respect to what was observed in the structure of the native enzyme and those of other sulfonamide complexes). Celecoxib, a structurally related COX-2 inhibitor for which the X-ray crystal structure was reported earlier, binds in a completely different manner to hCA II as compared to valdecoxib. Celecoxib completely fills the entire CA II active site, with its trifluoromethyl group in the hydrophobic part of the active site and the p-tolyl moiety in the hydrophilic one, not establishing any interaction with Phe131. In contrast to celecoxib, valdecoxib was rotated about 90 degrees around the chemical bond connecting the benzensulfonamide and the substituted isoxazole ring allowing for these multiple favorable interactions. These different binding modes allow for the further drug design of various CA inhibitors belonging to the benzenesulfonamide class.

Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors. Inhibition of the prokariotic beta and gamma-class enzymes from Archaea with sulfonamides

A detailed inhibition study of carbonic anhydrases (CAs, EC 4.2.1.1) belonging to the beta- and gamma-families from Archaea with sulfonamides has been performed. Compounds included in this study were the clinically used sulfonamide CA inhibitors, such as acetazolamide, methazolamide, ethoxzolamide, topiramate, valdecoxib, celecoxib, dorzolamide, sulfanilamide, dichlorophanamide, as well as sulfanilamide analogs, halogenated sulfanilamides, and some 1,3-benzenedisulfonamide derivatives. The two gamma-CAs from Methanosarcina thermophila (Zn-Cam and Co-Cam) showed very different inhibitory properties with these compounds, as compared to the alpha-CA isozymes hCA I, II, and IX, and the beta-CA from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum (Cab). The best Zn-Cam inhibitors were sulfamic acid and acetazolamide, with inhibition constants in the range of 63-96 nM, whereas other investigated aromatic/heterocylic sulfonamides showed a rather levelled behavior, with KIs in the range of 0.12-1.70 microM. The best Co-Cam inhibitors were topiramate and p-aminoethyl-benzenesulfonamide, with KIs in the range of 0.12-0.13 microM, whereas the worst one was homosulfanilamide (KI of 8.50 microM). In the case of Cab, the inhibitory power of these compounds varied to a much larger extent, with sulfamic acid and sulfamide showing millimolar affinities (KIs in the range of 44-103 mM), whereas the best inhibitor was ethoxzolamide, with a KI of 5.35 microM. Most of these sulfonamides showed inhibition constants in the range of 12-100 microM against Cab. Thus, the three CA families investigated up to now possess a very diverse affinity for sulfonamides, the inhibitors with important medicinal, and environmental applications.

A prodrug approach to COX-2 inhibitors with methylsulfone

2,2-dimethyl-4-phenyl-5-[4-(methylsulfinyl)phenyl]-3(2H)furanone derivatives, 3 and 6, were shown to be effectively transformed in vivo into the corresponding methylsulfone derivatives 1 and 4, when orally administered to rats. Pharmacological implications for use of sulfoxide analogues 3 and 6 are discussed as prodrugs to potent selective COX-2 inhibitors 1 and 4.