Biomedical subjects

Anders Karlén

Publications and source records attributed to Anders Karlén.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Selective angiotensin II AT2 receptor agonists: arylbenzylimidazole structure-activity relationships.

Structural alterations in the 2- and 5-positions of the first drug-like selective angiotensin II AT2 receptor agonist (1) have been performed. The imidazole ring system was proven to be a strong determinant for the AT2 selectivity, and with few exceptions all variations gave good AT2 receptor affinities and with retained high AT2/AT1 selectivities. On the contrary to the findings with AT1 receptor agonists, the impact of structural modifications in the 5-position of the AT2 selective compounds were less pronounced regarding activation of the AT2 receptor. The butyloxyphenyl (56) and the propylthienyl (50) derivatives were found to exert a high agonistic effect as deduced from their capacity to induce neurite elongation in neuronal cells, as does angiotensin II.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Presentation of a structurally diverse and commercially available drug data set for correlation and benchmarking studies.

A multivariate analysis of drugs on the Swedish market was the basis for the selection of a small, physicochemically diverse set of 24 drug compounds. Factors such as structural diversity, commercial availability, price, and a suitable analytical technique for quantification were considered in the selection. Lipophilicity, pKa, solubility, and permeability across human Caco-2 cell monolayers were measured for the compiled data set. The results show that, by use of a physicochemically diverse data set, experimental responses over a wide range were obtained. The paper also shows how experimental difficulties due to the diversity of the data set can be overcome. We anticipate that this data set can serve as a benchmark set for validation of new experimental techniques or in silico models. It can also be used as a diverse starting data set for the development of new computational models.

Caco-2 Cells↗

PubMed2006

Phenylglycine as a novel P2 scaffold in hepatitis C virus NS3 protease inhibitors.

Molecular modeling and inhibitory potencies of tetrapeptide protease inhibitors of HCV NS3 proposed phenylglycine as a new promising P2 residue. The results suggest that phenylglycine might be capable of interacting with the NS3 (protease-helicase/NTPase) in ways not possible for the common P2 proline-based inhibitors. Thus, a series of tripeptides, both linear and macrocyclic, based on p-hydroxy-phenylglycine in the P2 position were prepared and their inhibitory effect determined. When the p-hydroxy group was replaced by methoxy, isoquinolin-, or quinolinyloxy functions, inhibitors with improved potencies were obtained. The P2 phenylglycine-based inhibitors were further optimized by C-terminal extension to acyl sulfonamides and by P1-P3 cyclization, which gave products with inhibition constants in the nanomolar range ( approximately 75nM).

Antiviral Agents↗

PubMed2006

Development of CoMFA models of affinity and selectivity to angiotensin II type-1 and type-2 receptors.

The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is of major importance in cardiovascular and renal regulation and has been an attractive target in drug discovery for a long time. The main receptors involved in the RAS are the Angiotensin type-1 (AT(1)) and type-2 (AT(2)) receptors, which are both activated by the endogenous octapeptide angiotensin II (AngII). This study describes the development of 3D-QSAR models for AT(1) and AT(2) receptor affinity and AT(1)/AT(2) receptor selectivity using CoMFA. A data set of 244 compounds, based on the triazolinone and quinazolinone structural classes was compiled from the literature. Before CoMFA could be performed, an alignment rule for the two structural classes was defined using the pharmacophore-searching program DISCOtech. Models were validated using a test set obtained by dividing the data set into a training set and test set using hierarchical clustering, based on the CoMFA fields, AT(1)-, AT(2)-receptor affinities, and AT(1)/AT(2) selectivity values. Predictive models with good statistics could be developed both for AT(1) and AT(2) receptor affinity as well as selectivity towards these receptors.

Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers↗

PubMed2006

Design, synthesis, and incorporation of a beta-turn mimetic in angiotensin II forming novel pseudopeptides with affinity for AT1 and AT2 receptors.

A benzodiazepine-based beta-turn mimetic has been designed, synthesized, and incorporated into angiotensin II. Comparison of the mimetic with beta-turns in crystallized proteins showed that it most closely resembles a type II beta-turn. The compounds exhibited high to moderate binding affinity for the AT2 receptor, and one also displayed high affinity for the AT1 receptor. Molecular modeling showed that the high-affinity compounds could be incorporated into a previously derived model of AT2 receptor ligands.

Angiotensin II↗

PubMed2006

Short pseudopeptides containing turn scaffolds with high AT2 receptor affinity.

Two pentapeptides, Ac-Tyr-Ile-His-Pro-Phe/Ile, were synthesized and shown to have angiotensin II AT2 receptor affinity and agonistic activity. Based on these peptides, a new series of 13 pseudopeptides was synthesized via introduction of five different turn scaffolds replacing the Tyr-Ile amino acid residues. Pharmacological evaluation disclosed subnanomolar affinities for some of these compounds at the AT2 receptor. Substitution of Phe by Ile in this series of ligands enhanced the AT2 receptor affinity of all compounds. These results suggest that the C-terminal amino acid residues can be elaborated on to enhance the AT2 receptor affinity in truncated Ang II analogues.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

A new structural theme in C2-symmetric HIV-1 protease inhibitors: ortho-substituted P1/P1' side chains.

In this report, the rapid syntheses of 24 novel C2-symmetric HIV-1 protease inhibitors are described. Two ortho-iodobenzyloxy containing C-terminal duplicated inhibitors served as starting materials for microwave-enhanced palladium(0)-catalyzed carbon-carbon bond forming reactions (Suzuki, Sonogashira, Heck, and Negishi). Highly potent inhibitors equipped with ortho-functionalized P1/P1' side chains as the structural theme were identified. Computational efforts were applied to study the binding mode of this class of inhibitors and to establish structure-activity relationships. The overall orientation of the inhibitors in the active site was reproduced by docking which suggested three possible conformations of the P1/P1' groups of which two seem more plausible.

Amides↗

PubMed2006

Cyclic insulin-regulated aminopeptidase (IRAP)/AT4 receptor ligands.

The angiotensin IV receptor (AT4 receptor) is the insulin-regulated aminopeptidase enzyme (IRAP, EC 3.4.11.3). This membrane-spanning enzyme belongs to the M1 family of zinc-dependent metallo-peptidases. It has been proposed that AT4 receptor ligands exert their physiological effects by binding to the active site of IRAP and thereby inhibiting the catalytic activity of the enzyme. The biological activity of a large series of linear angiotensin IV analogs was previously disclosed. Herein, the synthesis and biological evaluation of a series of angiotensin IV analogs, encompassing macrocyclic ring systems of different sizes, are presented. It is demonstrated that disulfide cyclizations of angiotensin IV can deliver ligands with high IRAP/AT4 receptor affinity. One ligand, with an 11-membered ring system (4), inhibited human IRAP and aminopeptidase N (AP-N) activity with similar potency as angiotensin IV but was considerably more stable than angiotensin IV toward enzymatic degradation. The compound provides a promising starting point for further optimization toward more drug-like derivatives. The cyclic constrained analogs allowed us to propose a tentative bioactive conformation of angiotensin IV and it seems that the peptide adopts an inverse gamma-turn at the C-terminal.

Angiotensin II↗

PubMed2005

A new tool in peptide engineering: a photoswitchable stilbene-type beta-hairpin mimetic.

Peptide secondary structure mimetics are important tools in medicinal chemistry, as they provide analogues of endogenous peptides with new physicochemical and pharmacological properties. The development, synthesis, photochemical investigation, and conformational analysis of a stilbene-type beta-hairpin mimetic capable of light-triggered conformational changes have been achieved. In addition to standard spectroscopic techniques (nuclear Overhauser effects, amide temperature coefficients, circular dichroism spectroscopy), the applicability of self-diffusion measurements (longitudinal eddy current delay pulsed-field gradient spin echo (LED-PGSE) NMR technique) in conformational studies of oligopeptides is demonstrated. The title compound shows photoisomerization of the stilbene chromophore, resulting in a change in solution conformation between an unfolded structure and a folded beta-hairpin.

Biomimetic Materials↗

PubMed2005

Angiotensin II pseudopeptides containing 1,3,5-trisubstituted benzene scaffolds with high AT2 receptor affinity.

Two 1,3,5-trisubstituted aromatic scaffolds intended to serve as gamma-turn mimetics have been synthesized and incorporated in five pseudopeptide analogues of angiotensin II (Asp-Arg-Val-Tyr-Ile-His-Pro-Phe), replacing Val-Tyr-Ile, Val-Tyr, or Tyr-Ile. All the tested compounds exhibited nanomolar affinity for the AT2 receptor with the best compound (3) having a K(i) of 1.85 nM. Four pseudopeptides were AT2 selective, while one (5) also exhibited good affinity for the AT1 receptor (K(i) = 30.3 nM). This pseudopeptide exerted full agonistic activity in an AT2 receptor induced neurite outgrowth assay but displayed no agonistic effect in an AT1 receptor functional assay. Molecular modeling, using the program DISCOtech, showed that the high-affinity ligands could interact similarly with the AT2 receptor as other ligands with high affinity for this receptor. A tentative agonist model is proposed for AT2 receptor activation by angiotensin II analogues. We conclude that the 1,3,5-trisubstituted benzene rings can be conveniently prepared and are suitable as gamma-turn mimics.

Angiotensin II↗

PubMed2005

Synthesis, biological evaluation, and modeling studies of inhibitors aimed at the malarial proteases plasmepsins I and II.

The increasing resistance of the malarial parasite to antimalarial drugs is a major contributor to the reemergence of the disease and increases the need for new drug targets. The two aspartic proteases, plasmepsins I and II, from Plasmodium falciparum have recently emerged as potential targets. In an effort to inhibit these hemoglobinases, a series of inhibitors encompassing a basic hydroxyethylamine transition state isostere as a central fragment were prepared. The synthesized compounds were varied in the P1' position and exhibited biological activities in the range of 31 to >2000 nM. To try to rationalize the results, molecular docking and 3D-QSAR analysis were used.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

New selective AT2 receptor ligands encompassing a gamma-turn mimetic replacing the amino acid residues 4-5 of angiotensin II act as agonists.

New benzodiazepine-based gamma-turn mimetics with one or two amino acid side chains were synthesized. The gamma-turn mimetics were incorporated into angiotensin II (Ang II) replacing the Val(3)-Tyr(4)-Ile(5) or Tyr(4)-Ile(5) peptide segments. All of the resulting pseudopeptides displayed high AT(2)/AT(1) receptor selectivity and exhibited AT(2) receptor affinity in the low nanomolar range. Molecular modeling was used to investigate whether the compounds binding to the AT(2) receptor could position important structural elements in common areas. A previously described benzodiazepine-based gamma-turn mimetic with high affinity for the AT(2) receptor was also included in the modeling. It was found that the molecules, although being structurally quite different, could adopt the same binding mode/interaction pattern in agreement with the model hypothesis. The pseudopeptides selected for agonist studies were shown to act as AT(2) receptor agonists being able to induce outgrowth of neurite cells, stimulate p42/p44(mapk), and suppress proliferation of PC12 cells.

Amino Acid Substitution↗

PubMed2005

Cyclic sulfamide HIV-1 protease inhibitors, with sidechains spanning from P2/P2' to P1/P1'.

Previous studies of HIV protease inhibitors have shown that it is possible to elongate the P1/P1' sidechains to reach the S3/S3' binding sites. By analogy, we expected that it would be possible to design inhibitors reaching between the S1/S1' and S2/S2' binding sites. Molecular modeling suggested that this could be achieved with appropriate ortho-substitution of the P2/P2' benzyl groups in our cyclic sulfamide inhibitors. Four different spacer groups were investigated. The compounds were smoothly prepared from tartaric acid in five steps and exhibit low to moderate activity, the most potent inhibitor possessing a Ki value of 0.53 microM.

HIV Protease Inhibitors↗

PubMed2004

AT2-selective angiotensin II analogues containing tyrosine-functionalized 5,5-bicyclic thiazabicycloalkane dipeptide mimetics.

This paper reports the synthesis of two angiotensin II analogues with tyrosine-functionalized 5,5-bicyclic thiazabicycloalkane dipeptide mimetics replacing the Tyr(4)-Ile(5) residues. The preparation of these analogues relies on the synthesis and incorporation of an alpha,alpha-disubstituted chimeric amino acid derivative and on-resin bicyclization to a cysteine residue. The synthesized analogues both displayed high angiotensin AT(2)/AT(1) receptor binding preferences and had AT(2) receptor affinities in the same low nanomolar range as angiotensin II itself. Conformational analysis, using experimental constraints derived from NMR studies, indicated that the Tyr(4) and His(6) residues in one of the angiotensin II analogues were in close proximity to each other.

Angiotensin II↗

PubMed2004

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of the first selective nonpeptide AT2 receptor agonist.

The first druglike selective angiotensin II AT(2) receptor agonist (21) with a K(i) value of 0.4 nM for the AT(2) receptor and a K(i) > 10 microM for the AT(1) receptor is reported. Compound 21, with a bioavailability of 20-30% after oral administration and a half-life estimated to 4 h in rat, induces outgrowth of neurite cells, stimulates p42/p44(mapk), enhances in vivo duodenal alkaline secretion in Sprague-Dawley rats, and lowers the mean arterial blood pressure in anesthetized, spontaneously hypertensive rats. Thus, the peptidomimetic 21 exerts a similar biological response as the endogenous peptide angiotensin II after selective activation of the AT(2) receptor. Compound 21, derived from the prototype nonselective AT(1)/AT(2) receptor agonist L-162,313 will serve as a valuable research tool, enabling studies of the function of the AT(2) receptor in more detail.

Administration, Oral↗

PubMed2004

First reported nonpeptide AT1 receptor agonist (L-162,313) acts as an AT2 receptor agonist in vivo.

In this investigation, it is demonstrated that the first nonpeptide AT(1) receptor agonist L-162,313 (1), disclosed in 1994, also acts as an agonist at the AT(2) receptor. In anesthetized rats, administration of compound 1 intravenously or locally in the duodenum increased duodenal mucosal alkaline secretion, effects that were sensitive to the selective AT(2) receptor antagonist PD-123,319. The data strongly suggest that 1 is an AT(2) receptor agonist in vivo. To the best of our knowledge, this substance is the first nonpeptidic low-molecular weight compound with an agonistic effect mediated through the AT(2) receptor.

Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers↗

PubMed2004

A selective AT2 receptor ligand with a gamma-turn-like mimetic replacing the amino acid residues 4-5 of angiotensin II.

Three angiotensin II (Ang II) analogues encompassing a benzodiazepine-based gamma-turn-like scaffold have been synthesized. Evaluation of the compounds in a radioligand binding assay showed that they had no affinity to the rat liver AT(1) receptor. However, one of the compounds displayed considerable affinity to the pig uterus AT(2) receptor (K(i) = 3.0 nM) while the other two lacked affinity to this receptor. It was hypothesized that the reason for the inactivity of one of these analogues to the AT(2) receptor was that the guanidino group of the Arg(2) residue and/or the N-terminal end of the pseudopeptide could not interact optimally with the receptor. To investigate this hypothesis, a conformational analysis was performed and a comparison was carried out with the monocyclic methylenedithioether analogue cyclo(S-CH(2)-S)[Cys(3,5)]Ang II which is known to bind with high affinity to the AT(2) receptor (K(i) = 0.62 nM). This comparison showed that, in the compounds with high AT(2) receptor affinity, the guanidino group of the Arg(2) residue and the N-terminal end could access common regions of space that were not accessible to the inactive compound. To examine the importance of the guanidino group for binding, the Arg side chain was removed by substituting Arg(2) for Ala(2) in the analogue having the high affinity. This analogue lacked affinity to AT(2) receptors, which supports the role of the guanidino group in receptor binding.

Angiotensin II↗

PubMed2004

Conformer- and alignment-independent model for predicting structurally diverse competitive CYP2C9 inhibitors.

A conformer- and alignment-independent three-dimensional structure-activity relationship (3D-QSAR) model has been derived that is based on flexible molecular interaction fields calculated in GRID and the subsequent description of these fields by use of alignment-independent descriptors derived in ALMOND. The training set consisted of 22 diverse and flexible competitive inhibitors of the drug-metabolizing enzyme CYP2C9 and generated a model with r(2) of 0.81 and q(2) of 0.62. The predicitive capacity of the model was externally evaluated with a test set of 12 competitive inhibitors and 11 out of 12 were predicted within 0.5 log unit. The most relevant points of interaction in the model correlated well to the amino acids involved in CYP2C9-substrate/inhibitor binding in the active site of a CYP2C9 homology model, further validating the mechanistic sense of our model. This approach offers the possibility to derive predicitve 3D-QSAR models without the need for an alignment rule for chemically diverse ligands and in the absence of target protein crystal structure information.

Amino Acids↗