Designing and Synthesis of Novel Celecoxib Derivatives with Aminosulfonylmethyl and Azidomethyl Substituents as Selective Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibitors

Abstract: Introduction: Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) are used in treating pathologic conditions such as fever, pain and inflammation by inhibiting cyclooxygenase and consequently prostaglandin production. Recently , the discovery of different isoforms of this enzyme, Cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) and Cyclooxygense-2 (COX-2), has led to the synthesis and introduction of novel drugs with selective inhibitory effect on COX-2, the isoform produced in pathologic conditions (celecoxib in 1997 and rofecoxib in 1999). This study was carried out to design and synthesize two novel celecoxib derivatives with potential selective COX-2 inhibitory activity. Method: The derivatives were designed according to the Structure-Activity Relationship (SAR) data of selective COX-2 inhibitors. The condensation reaction of 4-hydrazinobenzoic acid and 4,4,4-triflouro-1-p-tolylbutane-1,3-dione led to the formation of 4-(5-p-tolyl-3-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)benzoic acid [8]. The carboxyl group of this acid was reduced to hydroxyl and then converted to chloride by freshly distilled thyonyl chloride. Successive reaction of chloride derivative with sodium sulfite, phosphrous pentachloride and ammonia led to the formation of sulfonamide derivative and reaction of it with sodium azide led to the azide analogue. Results: About 4 grams of each derivative has been synthesized (total yield 60-70%) and their chemical structures have been verified using appropriate spectroscopic methods. Conclusion: In this study, two novel celecoxib analogues with a methylene bridge distance between sulfonamide and azide functional groups and the rest of the molecule were designed and synthesized according to the SAR data of selective COX-2 inhibitors. This methylene group brings the pharmacophoric sulfonamide and azide functional groups closer to the binding site and leads to better binding. Furthermore, this methylene group provides free rotation to pharmacophore to attain appropriate conformation for better binding. Hopefully, pharmacological evaluation of derivatives, which is currently in progress, will confirm these assumptions. Keywords: Synthesis, Design, Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), Cyclooxygenase, Rofecoxib, Celecoxi

A crystallographic and theoretical study of an (E)-2-Hydroxyiminoethanone derivative: prediction of cyclooxygenase inhibition selectivity of stilbenoids by MM-PBSA and the role of atomic charge

We recently reported that a hydroxyiminoethanone derivative behaves as a highly selective COX-1 inhibitor (COX-1 SI= 833), and also an interesting scaffold with unique characteristics. In the current study, a comprehensive crystallographic and computational study was performed to elucidate its conformational stability and pharmacological activity. Its conformational energy was studied at the B3LYP/6-311G** level of theory and compared to the single-crystal X-ray data. In addition, computational studies of three structurally different stilbenoid derivatives used as selective COX-1 or COX-2 inhibitors were performed to predict their COX selectivity potentials. Flexible docking was performed for all compounds at the active site of both COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes by considering some of the key residues as flexible during the docking operation. In the next step, molecular dynamic simulation and binding free energy calculations were performed by MM-PBSA. Final results were found to be highly dependent on the atomic charges of the inhibitors and the choice of force field used to calculate the atomic charges. The binding conformation of the hydroxyiminoethanone derivative is highly correlated with the type of COX isoform inhibited. Our predictive approach can truly predict the cyclooxygenase inhibition selectivity of stilbenoid inhibitors

Potentiation of low-dose doxorubicin cytotoxicity by affecting p-glycoprotein through caryophyllane sesquiterpenes in hepg2 cells: an in vitro and in silico study

Doxorubicin represents a valuable choice for different cancers, although the severe side effects occurring at the high effective dose limits its clinical use. In the present study, potential strategies to potentiate low-dose doxorubicin efficacy, including a metronomic schedule, characterized by a short and repeated exposure to the anticancer drug, and the combination with the natural chemosensitizing sesquiterpenes β-caryophyllene and β-caryophyllene oxide, were assessed in human hepatoma HepG2 cells. The involvement of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) in the HepG2- chemosensitization to doxorubicin was evaluated. Also, the direct interaction of caryophyllene sesquiterpenes with P-gp was characterized by molecular docking and dynamic simulation studies. A metronomic schedule allowed us to enhance the low-dose doxorubicin cytotoxicity and the combination with caryophyllane sesquiterpenes further potentiated this effect. Also, an increased intracellular accumulation of doxorubicin and rhodamine 123 induced by caryophyllane sesquiterpenes was found, thus suggesting their interference with P-gp function. A lowered expression of P-gp induced by the combinations, with respect to doxorubicin alone, was observed too. Docking studies found that the binding site of caryophyllane sesquiterpene was next to the ATP binding domain of P-gp and that β-caryophyllene possessed the stronger binding affinity and higher inhibition potential calculated by MM-PBSA. Present findings strengthen our hypothesis about the potential chemosensitizing power of caryophyllane sesquiterpenes and suggest that combining a chemosensitizer and a metronomic schedule can represent a suitable strategy to overcome drawbacks of doxorubicin chemotherapy while exploiting its powerful activity

Large-scale Validation of AMIP II Land-surface Simulations: Preliminary Results for Ten Models

This report summarizes initial findings of a large-scale validation of the land-surface simulations of ten atmospheric general circulation models that are entries in phase II of the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP II). This validation is conducted by AMIP Diagnostic Subproject 12 on Land-surface Processes and Parameterizations, which is focusing on putative relationships between the continental climate simulations and the associated models' land-surface schemes. The selected models typify the diversity of representations of land-surface climate that are currently implemented by the global modeling community. The current dearth of global-scale terrestrial observations makes exacting validation of AMIP II continental simulations impractical. Thus, selected land-surface processes of the models are compared with several alternative validation data sets, which include merged in-situ/satellite products, climate reanalyses, and off-line simulations of land-surface schemes that are driven by observed forcings. The aggregated spatio-temporal differences between each simulated process and a chosen reference data set then are quantified by means of root-mean-square error statistics; the differences among alternative validation data sets are similarly quantified as an estimate of the current observational uncertainty in the selected land-surface process. Examples of these metrics are displayed for land-surface air temperature, precipitation, and the latent and sensible heat fluxes. It is found that the simulations of surface air temperature, when aggregated over all land and seasons, agree most closely with the chosen reference data, while the simulations of precipitation agree least. In the latter case, there also is considerable inter-model scatter in the error statistics, with the reanalyses estimates of precipitation resembling the AMIP II simulations more than to the chosen reference data. In aggregate, the simulations of land-surface latent and sensible heat fluxes appear to occupy intermediate positions between these extremes, but the existing large observational uncertainties in these processes make this a provisional assessment. In all selected processes as well, the error statistics are found to be sensitive to season and latitude sector, confirming the need for finer-scale analyses which also are in progress

Discovery of novel 1,2,4-triazolo-1,2,4-triazines with thiomethylpyridine hinge binders as potent c-Met kinase inhibitors

Mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor HGF/c-Met overactivation is involved in diverse human cancers. Herein, we report the synthesis and biological evaluation of thiomethylpyridine-linked triazolotriazines as c-Met kinase inhibitors

Super-resolution imaging as a method to study GPCR dimers and higher-order oligomers

The study of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) dimers and higher-order oligomers has unveiled mechanisms for receptors to diversify signaling and potentially uncover novel therapeutic targets. The functional and clinical significance of these receptor–receptor associations has been facilitated by the development of techniques and protocols, enabling researchers to unpick their function from the molecular interfaces, to demonstrating functional significance in vivo, in both health and disease. Here we describe our methodology to study GPCR oligomerization at the single-molecule level via super-resolution imaging. Specifically, we have employed photoactivated localization microscopy, with photoactivatable dyes (PD-PALM) to visualize the spatial organization of these complexes to <10 nm resolution, and the quantitation of GPCR monomer, dimer, and oligomer in both homomeric and heteromeric forms. We provide guidelines on optimal sample preparation, imaging parameters, and necessary controls for resolving and quantifying single-molecule data. Finally, we discuss advantages and limitations of this imaging technique and its potential future applications to the study of GPCR function

The role of kinetic context in apparent biased agonism at GPCRs

Biased agonism describes the ability of ligands to stabilize different conformations of a GPCR linked to distinct functional outcomes and offers the prospect of designing pathway-specific drugs that avoid on-target side effects. This mechanism is usually inferred from pharmacological data with the assumption that the confounding influences of observational (that is, assay dependent) and system (that is, cell background dependent) bias are excluded by experimental design and analysis. Here we reveal that ‘kinetic context’, as determined by ligand-binding kinetics and the temporal pattern of receptor-signalling processes, can have a profound influence on the apparent bias of a series of agonists for the dopamine D2 receptor and can even lead to reversals in the direction of bias. We propose that kinetic context must be acknowledged in the design and interpretation of studies of biased agonism

Subcellular optogenetic inhibition of G proteins generates signaling gradients and cell migration

Cells sense gradients of extracellular cues and generate polarized responses such as cell migration and neurite initiation. There is static information on the intracellular signaling molecules involved in these responses, but how they dynamically orchestrate polarized cell behaviors is not well understood. A limitation has been the lack of methods to exert spatial and temporal control over specific signaling molecules inside a living cell. Here we introduce optogenetic tools that act downstream of native G protein–coupled receptor (GPCRs) and provide direct control over the activity of endogenous heterotrimeric G protein subunits. Light-triggered recruitment of a truncated regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) protein or a Gβγ-sequestering domain to a selected region on the plasma membrane results in localized inhibition of G protein signaling. In immune cells exposed to spatially uniform chemoattractants, these optogenetic tools allow us to create reversible gradients of signaling activity. Migratory responses generated by this approach show that a gradient of active G protein αi and βγ subunits is sufficient to generate directed cell migration. They also provide the most direct evidence so for a global inhibition pathway triggered by Gi signaling in directional sensing and adaptation. These optogenetic tools can be applied to interrogate the mechanistic basis of other GPCR-modulated cellular functions