Effects of novel monoamine oxidases and cholinesterases targeting compounds on brain neurotransmitters and behavior in rat model of vascular dementia.

Neurodegenerative disorders are associated with different neurochemical and morphological alterations in the brain leading to cognitive and behavioural impairments. New therapeutic strategies comprise multifunctional drugs. The aim of the presented studies is to evaluate in vivo the novel compounds - ASS188 and ASS234 - which combine the benzylpiperidine moiety of the acetylcholinesteras (AChE) inhibitor donepezil and the indolyl propargylamino moiety of the monoaminooxidase (MAO) inhibitor, N-[(5-benzyloxy-1- methyl-1H-indol-2-yl)methyl]-N-methylprop-2-yn-1-amine, with respect to their influence on cerebral amine neurotransmitters systems and neuroprotective activity. The presumed therapeutic potential of these compounds has been evaluated following their administration to rats with experimental vascular dementia. A rat model of the permanent bilateral occlusion of the common carotid arteries (BCCAO) and the holeboard memory test were employed for this purpose. Wistar rats were used, either intact or 1 day after BCCAO. ASS188 (1 mg/kg) and ASS234 (5 mg/kg) were given s.c. for 5 consecutive days. Working and reference memory in rats was evaluated by holeboard tests before- and 7 and 12 days after BCCAO. The activities of MAOs, AChE and histamine N-methyltransferase (HMT), as well as cerebral amines concentrations were assayed. A significant inhibition of brain MAO A (>95%) and weaker MAO B (ca 60%) and HMT (<30%) and reduced AChE activities were recorded with a pronounced (2 - 10 fold) increase in the cerebral concentrations of serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenaline and smaller rises (up to 30%) of histamine. The BCCAO rats treated with ASS188 or ASS234 tended to perform holeboard tests better than the BCCAO untreated group, indicating a beneficial effect of the administered therapeutics.

Controlled heterocyclization/cross-coupling domino reaction of ß,γ-allendiols and α-allenic esters: method and mechanistic insight for the preparation of functionalized buta-1,3-dienyl dihydropyrans.

Starting from ß,γ-allendiols and α-allenic acetates, a chemo- and regiocontrolled palladium-catalyzed methodology has provided access to enantiopure 3,6-dihydropyrans that bear a buta-1,3-dienyl moiety. Thus, it has been demonstrated for the first time that the preparation of six-membered heterocycles through cross-coupling reactions of two different allenes can be accomplished. These heterocyclization/cross-coupling reactions have been developed experimentally and their mechanisms have additionally been investigated by a computational study.

Metal-catalyzed cyclization of beta- and gamma-allenols derived from D-glyceraldehyde--synthesis of enantiopure dihydropyrans and tetrahydrooxepines: an experimental and theoretical study.

Regiocontrolled metal-catalyzed preparations of enantiopure dihydropyrans and tetrahydrooxepines have been synthesized starting from beta- and gamma-allenols derived from D-glyceraldehyde. The Pd(II)-catalyzed cyclizative coupling reactions of beta-allenols 1 a and 1 b with allyl bromide effectively afforded enantiopure tetrafunctionalized dihydropyrans through a 6-endo oxycyclization protocol, whereas the gold-, platinum-, and palladium-mediated heterocyclization of gamma-allenol 2 furnished tetrahydrooxepines 13-16 through regioselective 7-endo-trig oxycyclization reactions. Moreover, density functional calculations were performed to predict the regioselectivity of the gamma-allenol cycloetherification to tetrahydrooxepines on the basis of both the tether nature and characteristics of the metals, and to gain an insight into the mechanism of the oxycyclization reactions.

Regioselectivity control in the metal-catalyzed O-C functionalization of gamma-allenols, part 1: Experimental study.

We describe versatile regiocontrolled metal-catalyzed heterocyclization reactions of gamma-allenol derivatives leading to a variety of fused enantiopure tetrahydrofurans, dihydropyrans, and tetrahydrooxepines. Regioselectivity control in the O-C functionalization of gamma-allenols can be achieved through the choice of catalyst: use of AuCl(3) exclusively affords tetrahydrofurans, use of La[N(SiMe(3))(2)](3) usually favors the formation of dihydropyrans, whereas use of PdCl(2) solely gives tetrahydrooxepines. In addition, it has been observed that for the Au-catalyzed cycloisomerization, the presence of a methoxymethyl protecting group not only masks a hydroxy functionality, but also exerts directing effects as a controlling unit in a regioselectivity reversal (7-endo versus 5-exo cyclization). In addition, the regioselectivity of the La-catalyzed cycloetherification can be tuned (5-exo versus 7-endo) simply through a subtle variation in the substitution pattern of the allene component (Ph versus Me). Thus, for the first time the regiocontrolled heterocyclization of gamma-allenol derivatives is both catalyst- and substrate-directable. These metal-catalyzed heterocyclization reactions have been developed experimentally (Part 1, this paper), and their mechanisms have additionally been investigated by a theoretical study (Part 2, accompanying paper).

Regioselectivity control in the metal-catalyzed functionalization of gamma-allenols, part 2: Theoretical study.

The gold-, palladium- and lanthanum-catalyzed oxycyclization reactions of azetidin-2-one-tethered gamma-allenol derivatives to a variety of fused enantiopure tetrahydrofurans, dihydropyrans, and tetrahydrooxepines have been developed experimentally (Part 1, accompanying paper). The mechanisms of these regiocontrolled metal-catalyzed heterocyclization reactions have now been computationally explored at the DFT level (Part 2). The energies of the reaction intermediates and transition states for different possible pathways have been calculated in various model systems very close to the real system. Additionally, we selected the La[N(SiH(3))(2)](3) complex to simulate the lanthanide amide precatalyst species. The agreement of theoretically predicted and experimentally observed selectivities is very good in all cases.