Thrombin inhibitors are potentially useful in medicine for their anticoagulant and antithrombotic effects. We synthesized and evaluated diverse heterocycle-activated ketones based on the d-Phe-Pro-Arg, and related thrombin active-site recognition motifs, as candidate inhibitors. The peptide-based alpha-ketoheterocycles were typically prepared by either an imidate or a Weinreb amide route (Schemes 1 and 2), the latter of which proved to be more general. Test compounds were generally assayed for inhibition of human alpha-thrombin and bovine trypsin. From a structure-based design standpoint, the heterocycle allows one to explore and adjust interactions within the S1' subsite of thrombin. The preferred alpha-ketoheterocycle is a pi-rich 2-substituted azole with at least two heteroatoms proximal to the carbon bearing the keto group, and a preferred thrombin inhibitor is 2-ketobenzothiazole 3, with a potent K(i) value of 0.2 nM and ca. 15-fold selectivity over trypsin. 2-Ketobenzothiazole 13 exhibited exceedingly potent thrombin inhibition (K(i) = 0.000 65 nM; slow tight binding). Several alpha-ketoheterocycles had thrombin K(i) values in the range 0.1-400 nM. The "Arg" unit in the alpha-ketoheterocycles can be sensitive to stereomutation under mildy basic conditions. For example, 2-ketothiazoles 4 and 59 readily epimerize at pH 7.4, although they are fairly stable stereochemically at pH 3-4; thus, suitable conditions had to be selected for the enzymatic assays. Lead d-Phe-Pro-Arg 2-benzothiazoles 3, 4, and 68 displayed good selectivity for thrombin over other key coagulation enzymes (e.g., factor Xa, plasmin, protein Ca, uPA, tPA, and streptokinase); however, their selectivity for thrombin over trypsin was modest (<25-fold). Compounds 3, 4, and 68 exhibited potent in vitro antithrombotic activity as measured by inhibition of gel-filtered platelet aggregation induced by alpha-thrombin (IC(50) = 30-40 nM). They also proved to be potent anticoagulant/antithrombotic agents in vivo on intravenous administration, as determined in the canine arteriovenous shunt (ED(50) = 0.45-0.65 mg/kg) and the rabbit deep vein thrombosis (ED(50) = 0.1-0.4 mg/kg) models. Intravenous administration of 3, and several analogues, to guinea pigs caused hypotension and electrocardiogram abnormalities. Such cardiovascular side effects were also observed with some nonguanidine inhibitors and inhibitors having recognition motifs other than d-Phe-Pro-Arg. 2-Benzothiazolecarboxylates 4 and 68 exhibited significantly diminished cardiovascular side effects, and benzothiazolecarboxylic acid 4 had the best profile with respect to therapeutic index. The X-ray crystal structures of the ternary complexes 3-thrombin-hirugen and 4-thrombin-hirugen depict novel interactions in the S(1)' region, with the benzothiazole ring forming a hydrogen bond with His-57 and an aromatic stacking interaction with Trp-60D of thrombin's insertion loop. The benzothiazole ring of 3 displaces the Lys-60F side chain into a U-shaped gauche conformation, whereas the benzothiazole carboxylate of 4 forms a salt bridge with the side chain of Lys-60F such that it adopts an extended anti conformation. Since 3 has a 10-fold greater affinity for thrombin than does 4, any increase in binding energy resulting from this salt bridge is apparently offset by perturbations across the enzyme (viz. Figure 4). The increased affinity and selectivity of 2-ketobenzothiazole inhibitors, such as 3, may be primarily due to the aromatic stacking interaction with Trp-60D. However, energy contour calculations with the computer program GRID also indicate a favorable interaction between the benzothiazole sulfur atom and a hydrophobic patch on the surface of thrombin.

Novel indolylindazolylmaleimides were synthesized and examined for kinase inhibition. We identified low-nanomolar inhibitors of PKC-beta with good to excellent selectivity vs other PKC isozymes and GSK-3beta. In a cell-based functional assay, 8f and 8i effectively blocked IL-8 release induced by PKC-betaII (IC(50) = 20-25 nM). In cardiovascular safety assessment, representative lead compounds bound to the hERG channel with high affinity, potently inhibited ion current in a patch-clamp experiment, and caused a dose-dependent increase of QT(c) in guinea pigs.

Vasopressin receptor antagonists can elicit ion-sparing diuretic effects (i.e., aquaresis) in vivo by blunting the action of the circulating hypophyseal hormone arginine vasopressin. We have identified two new series of basic tricyclic benzodiazepines, represented by general structure 1, which contain compounds that bind with high affinity to human V2 receptors. For example, (S)-(+)-8 and 5 are potent and selective V2 receptor antagonists with pronounced aquaretic activity in rats on oral administration.

A novel series of acyclic 3-(7-azaindolyl)-4-(aryl/heteroaryl)maleimides was synthesized and evaluated for activity against GSK-3β and selectivity versus PKC-βII, as well as a broad panel of protein kinases. Compounds 14 and 17c potently inhibited GSK-3β (IC50=7 and 26 nM, respectively) and exhibited excellent selectivity over PKC-βII (325 and >385-fold, respectively). Compound 17c was also highly selective against 68 other protein kinases. In a cell-based functional assay, both 14 and 17c effectively increased glycogen synthase activity by inhibiting GSK-3β.

The synthesis, resolution, and stereochemical characterization of novel piperazino-, thiazino-, and oxazinoberizodiazepines are described. The absolute stereochemistry of the heterotricycles was determined by using X-ray crystallography and the enantiomeric purity was determined by using Pirkle-solvent NMR techniques and chiral HPLC. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A series of novel 3,4,5,6-tetrahydro-1H-azepino[4,3,2-cd]indoles was synthesized and tested for vasopressin receptor antagonist activity. We identified compounds with high affinity for the human V2 receptor and good selectivity over the human V1a receptor. Compound 6c bound to V2 receptors with an IC(50) value of 20 nM, had >100-fold selectivity over V1a receptors, and inhibited cAMP formation in a cellular V2 functional assay with an IC(50) value of 70 nM.

Preparation of methyl (S)-3-amino-3-(3'-pyridyl)propionate dihydrochloride in high enantiomeric purity by selective crystallization of a diastereomeric salt of a carboxylic add precursor (N-BOC-protected) with (1R,2S)-(-)-ephedrine is described. Further demonstration of the usefulness of this procedure to resolve other 3-amino-3-[(substituted)pyridyl]propionic acids is also described.

Although intravenously administered antiplatelet fibrinogen receptor (GPIIb/IIIa) antagonists have become established in the acute-care clinical setting for the prevention of thrombosis, orally administered drugs for chronic use are still under development. Herein, we present details from our exploration of structure-activity surrounding the prototype fibrinogen receptor antagonist RWJ-50042 (racemate of 1), which was derived from a unique approach involving the gamma-chain of fibrinogen (Hoekstra et al. J. Med. Chem. 1995, 38, 1582). Our analogue studies culminated in the discovery of RWJ-53308 (2), a potent, orally active GPIIb/IIIa antagonist. To progress from RWJ-50042 to a suitable candidate for clinical development, we conducted a series of optimization cycles that employed solid-phase parallel synthesis for the rapid, efficient preparation of nearly 250 analogues, which were assayed for fibrinogen receptor affinity and inhibition of platelet aggregation induced by four different activators. This strategy produced several promising analogues for advanced study, including 3-(3,4-methylenedioxybenzene)-beta-amino acid analogue 3 (significant improved, in vivo potency) and 3-(3-pyridyl)-beta-amino acid 2 (significant;ly improved potency, oral absorption, and duration of action). In dogs, 2 displayed significant ex vivo antiplatelet activity on oral administration at 1.0 mg/kg, 16% systemic oral bioavailability, minimal metabolic transformation, and an excellent safety profile. Additionally, 2 was found to be efficacious in three in vivo thrombosis models: canine arteriovenous (AV) shunt (0.01-0.1 mg/kg, iv), guinea pig photoactivation-induced injury (0.3-3 mg/kg, iv), and guinea pig ferric chloride-induced injury (0.3-1 mg/kg, iv). On the basis of its noteworthy preclinical data, RWJ-53308 (2) was selected for clinical evaluation.

The thrombin receptor (PAR-1) is activated by alpha-thrombin to stimulate various cell types, including platelets, through the tethered-ligand sequence SFLLRN. Macrocyclic peptide analogues of SFLLRN were synthesized and evaluated in vitro. In general, the compounds were much less potent in inducing platelet aggregation relative to SFLLRN-NH2 and did not act as antagonists of alpha-thrombin. Derivative 3c was the most potent macrocycle in activating PAR-1, with an EC50 of 24 microM.

A series of macrocyclic α-keto amides containing the D-Phe-Pro-Arg (fPR) motif were synthesized and evaluated in vitro as inhibitors of human α-thrombin and bovine trypsin. Structure-function studies, relating ring size and modifications at the P3 and P1' positions to enzyme inhibition, are described. An X-ray crystallo-graphic study was performed on a ternary complex formed from 3i, thrombin, and hirugen.

ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVLetterNEXTPotent Thrombin Inhibitors That Probe the S1' Subsite: Tripeptide Transition State Analogues Based on a Heterocycle-Activated Carbonyl Group 1Michael J. Costanzo, Bruce E. Maryanoff, Leonard R. Hecker, Mary R. Schott, Stephen C. Yabut, Han-Cheng Zhang, Patricia Andrade-Gordon, Jack A. Kauffman, Joan M. Lewis, Raman Krishnan, and Alexander TulinskyView Author Information Drug Discovery, The R. W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Spring House, Pennsylvania 19477, and Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824Cite this: J. Med. Chem. 1996, 39, 16, 3039–3043Publication Date (Web):August 2, 1996Publication History Received2 May 1996Published online2 August 1996Published inissue 1 January 1996https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jm9603274https://doi.org/10.1021/jm9603274rapid-communicationACS PublicationsCopyright © 1996 American Chemical SocietyRequest reuse permissionsArticle Views646Altmetric-Citations59LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InRedditEmail Other access optionsGet e-AlertscloseSupporting Info (1)»Supporting Information Supporting Information SUBJECTS:Heterocyclic compounds,Inhibition,Inhibitors,Noncovalent interactions,Peptides and proteins Get e-Alerts

N,N,N″-Trisubstituted guanidines (most of them N″-aryl-N-azacycloalkanecarboximidamides) are prepared in generally good yields by S-methylation of monosubstituted thioureas with methyl iodide in methanol or acetone and reaction of the resultant methyl carbamimidothioate hydroiodides with secondary amines in boiling tert-butyl alcohol or acetonitrile.