Hydrogen bonding. 47. Characterization of the ethylene glycol-heptane partition system: hydrogen bond acidity and basicity of peptides.

Twelve measured ethylene glycol-heptane partition coefficients, Peh, have been combined with 20 measured literature values and 44 indirectly determined values to give a set of 76 values. Excluding one value for benzamide, the log Peh values are correlated through our general solvation equation, log Peh = 0.336 - 0.075R2 - 1. 201pi2H - 3.786 Sigmaalpha2H - 2.201 Sigmabeta2H + 2.085Vx with r2 = 0.966, sd = 0.28, and F = 386. The solute descriptor R2 is the excess molar refraction, pi2H is the dipolarity/polarizability, Sigmaalpha2H and Sigmabeta2H are the overall hydrogen bond acidity and basicity, and Vx is the McGowan volume. The log Peh equation has then been used to obtain descriptors for eleven peptides, all of which are end-protected. It is shown that for these end-protected peptides, hydrogen bond basicity makes a greater contribution to log Peh than does hydrogen bond acidity.

Multiwavelength spectrophotometric determination of acid dissociation constants: Part III. Resolution of multi-protic ionization systems.

A multiwavelength spectrophotometric (WApH) titration method was applied to study several multi-protic histamine H2-receptor antagonists which involved four acid dissociation constants (pKa values) over the pH range of 2-10. Specifically, UV absorption spectra of the drug solution were acquired in the course of a pH-metric titration using an optical device based on a fibre optics dip probe, a light source and a diode array detector. Target factor analysis was utilized to deduce the pKa values from the spectral data recorded at different pH. It was noted that some of the pKa values were within mid pH range which were difficult to obtain because of insufficient absorption spectra acquired in the un-buffered region of the titration curve. With the aid of the WApH technique coupled with an optically transparent buffer, all pKa values have been successfully determined and were in excellent agreement with those measured using a conventional pH-metric method.

Algorithms for skin permeability using hydrogen bond descriptors: the problem of steroids.

Several algorithms that use hydrogen bond descriptors have been published for the permeation of compounds from aqueous solution through human stratum corneum. In the present work, all the skin permeability coefficients, Kp in cm s-1, used in these algorithms for non-steroids have been correlated through the Abraham equation to give a new algorithm: [equation: see text] where n is the number of solutes, r is the correlation coefficient, s.d. is the standard deviation, and F is the F-statistic. The solute descriptors are: R2 an excess molar refraction, pi 2H the dipolarity/polarizability, sigma alpha 2H and sigma beta 2H the overall or effective hydrogen-bond acidity and basicity, and Vx the McGowan characteristic volume. Equation 1 is a reasonably good predictor of log Kp values for steroids as given by Johnson et al, but not for those given by Scheuplein.

On the partition of ampholytes: application to blood-brain distribution.

Partition coefficients in the water-octanol, -cyclohexane, and -dichloromethane systems were determined as a function of pH for three non-zwitterionic ampholytes (nitrazepam, albendazole sulfoxide, and sulfadimidine) and three zwitterionic ampholytes (morphine, difloxacin, and niflumic acid). From known macro- and microprotonation constants in water, the concentration of cation, anion, neutral form, and zwitterion can be found, and partition coefficients can then be calculated for the partition of the neutral form in water to the neutral form in the organic solvent for all six compounds. These micropartition coefficients were then used to obtain descriptors for the neutral form in the general linear free energy (LFER) equation of Abraham. Knowledge of the descriptors enables a number of physicochemical and biochemical properties of the neutral form to be estimated; a detailed analysis is given of the estimation of the blood-brain distribution ratio for the process of going from the neutral form in blood to the neutral form in brain. A related procedure leads to an estimation of the distribution ratio for the process of going from the zwitterion in blood to the neutral form in brain.

Hydrogen-bonding. Part 36. Determination of blood brain distribution using octanol-water partition coefficients.

It is shown that the octanol-water partition coefficient (Poct) cannot be used to predict blood brain distribution (BB) rectilinearly, but can be combined with Abraham solute descriptors to yield a predictive regression equation, eq (15), in which the solute descriptors sigma alpha H2 and sigma beta H2 are the overall summation hydrogen-bond acidity and basicity respectively. It is also demonstrated that of the various predictive models now available, that of Abraham, Chadha and Mitchell, eq (14), still yields the best results on a new test set of drug molecules; where the other solute descriptors are: R2, an excess molar refraction; pi H2, the dipolarity/polarisability; and Vx the characteristic volume of McGowan. Thus, solute dipolarity/polarizability, hydrogen-bond acidity and hydrogen-bond basicity favour blood, and solute size favours brain. logBB = +0.055 + 0.203logPoct - 0.507 sigma alpha H2 - 0.500 sigma beta H2 n = 49 rho = 0.9491 sd = 0.201 F = 136.1 (15) logBB = -0.038 + 0.198R2 - 0.607 pi H2 - 0.715 alpha H2 - 0.698 beta H2 + 0.995Vx n = 57 rho = 0.9522 sd = 0.197 F = 99.2 (14)

Hydrogen bonding. 33. Factors that influence the distribution of solutes between blood and brain.

It is shown that neither the set of directly determined blood-brain concentration ratios (BB) of Young and Mitchell nor the set of indirectly obtained values of Abraham and Weathersby are suitable for the construction of a general equation for the interpretation and prediction of log BB values. However, combination of both sets leads to the general equation log BB = -0.038 + 0.198R2 - 0.687 pi H2 - 0.715 alpha H2 - 0.698 beta H2 + 0.995Vx (n = 57, rho = 0.9522, sd = 0.197, F = 99.2), where the solute descriptors are R2, an excess molar refraction; pi H2, the dipolarity/polarizability, alpha H2 and beta H2, the effective or summation hydrogen-bond acidity and basicity; and Vx, the characteristic volume of McGowan. Thus solute dipolarity/polarizability, hydrogen-bond acidity, and hydrogen-bond basicity favor blood, and solute size, as Vx, favors brain. Methods are given for the estimation of solute descriptors through fragment schemes, so that log BB values themselves may be obtained simply from knowledge of solute molecular structure.

Hydrogen bonding. 32. An analysis of water-octanol and water-alkane partitioning and the delta log P parameter of seiler.

A general linear solvation energy equation has been used to analyze published partition coefficients in the systems water-octanol (613 solutes), water-hexadecane (370 solutes), water-alkane (200 solutes), and water-cyclohexane (170 solutes). The descriptors used in the equation are R2, an excess molar refraction; phi H2, the solute dipolarity/polarizability; sigma alpha H2 and sigma beta H2, the effective solute hydrogen-bond acidity and basicity; and Vx, the characteristic volume of McGowan. It is shown that the water-octanol partition coefficient is dominated by solute hydrogen-bond basicity, which favors water, and by solute size, which favors octanol, but solute excess molar refraction and dipolarity/polarizability are also significant. For the water-alkane partition coefficients, the same factors are at work, together with solute hydrogen-bond acidity as a major influence that favors water. An analysis of 288 delta log P values shows that solute hydrogen-bond acidity is the major factor but that solute hydrogen-bond basicity and, to a lesser extent, solute dipolarity/polarizability and size are also significant factors that influence the delta log P parameter.

Polydeoxycholate in human and hamster feces: a major product of cholate metabolism.

Fecal bile acid excretion is one of the two major routes by which cholesterol is eliminated from the body, fecal cholesterol being the other. During their enterohepatic circulation, bile acids are secreted into the duodenum, pass down the jejunum and into the ileum where more than 95% is reabsorbed by the gut. Bile acids that escape reabsorption in the small intestine are metabolized by microorganisms in the large intestine. The major routes of metabolism are reported to be deconjugation, dehydroxylation, especially at the 7 alpha-hydroxy position, and dehydrogenation of the hydroxyl moieties. There are also some reports that saponifiable metabolites containing mostly deoxycholic acid form a major component of the bile acids found in human feces. We have identified a novel metabolite of cholic acid, 3 alpha-hydroxy polydeoxycholate, in both human and hamster feces that is the major constituent of these saponifiable metabolites. Furthermore, we have shown in hamsters that the animals that excreted more bile acid were excreting the additional bile acid as polydeoxycholate. As expected, there was a negative correlation between bile acid excretion in the feces and plasma cholesterol concentrations in these animals. We speculate that polydeoxycholate is formed in the lower gut of both humans and hamsters and that, by its formation, bile acid will be sequestered in an insoluble form, thus inhibiting its reabsorption by the gut. This process may help to reduce plasma cholesterol concentrations and coronary heart disease in humans.

Spectroscopic and physicochemical studies on the interactions of reversible H+/K(+)-ATPase inhibitors with phospholipid bilayers.

Three complementary techniques, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, have been used to characterise the interactions between dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) model biological membranes and two non-covalent inhibitors of the gastric (H+, K+)-ATPase. DSC, FT-IR and deuterium NMR studies of side-chain perdeuterated DMPC (DMPC-d54) support the prediction, based on physical property measurements, that SK&F 96079 partitions readily into phospholipid bilayers, resulting in a slight but measurable disordering of the lipid hydrocarbon side-chain motion and a concomitant reduction in the co-operativity and onset temperature of the gel to liquid crystalline phase transition. However, FT-IR and deuterium NMR studies show that the bilayer structure remains intact even at high (1:4) compound to lipid molar ratios. Proton (1H) NMR nuclear Overhauser effect determinations in sonicated codispersions reveal details of the membrane bound conformations of SK&F 96079. The structurally related analogue SK&F 96464, also studied by 1H-NMR, can be shown, by interpreting the effects of nitroxide-labelled fatty acid relaxation probes, to adopt a well-defined orientation relative to the bilayer, in contrast to SK&F 96079. This orientation directs the proton at the 5-position of the quinoline ring towards the hydrophobic centre of the bilayer, and the quinoline 8-methoxy group towards the surface and hence the aqueous phase. Molecular modelling has been used to rationalise this orientation in terms of hydrogen bonds between the amino NH group of SK&F 96464 and the sn-1 carbonyl group of DMPC, and between the NH group of the protonated quinoline ring of SK&F 96464 and the DMPC phosphodiester group.

Determination of protein secondary structure using factor analysis of infrared spectra.

A method is presented for determining the secondary structural composition of a protein in aqueous solution from its infrared spectrum. A factor analysis approach is used to analyze the infrared spectra of 18 proteins whose crystal structures are known from X-ray studies. Factor analysis followed by multiple linear regression identifies those eigenspectra that correlate with the variation in properties described by the calibration set. The properties of interest in this study are % alpha-helix, % beta-sheet, and % turns. In the analysis of an unknown, the factor loadings required to reproduce its spectrum are substituted in the regression equation for each property to predict its secondary structural composition. The accuracy of the method was determined by removing each standard, in turn, from the calibration set and using a calibration set generated from the remainder to predict its composition. By this method we obtain standard errors of prediction of 3.9% for alpha-helix, 8.3% for beta-sheet, and 6.6% for turns. The method may also be applied to the spectra of proteins in 2H2O. The method has important advantages over those currently in use for the quantitative analysis of the infrared spectra of proteins. Manipulation of the spectrum is kept to a minimum, no curve-fitting is necessary, and the several amide I band components need not be assigned.

Binding of a calcium sensitizer, bepridil, to cardiac troponin C. A fluorescence stopped-flow kinetic, circular dichroism, and proton nuclear magnetic resonance study.

Stopped-flow fluorescence kinetic measurements, circular dichroism (CD), and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy at 360 MHz have been used to study the interaction of the calcium-channel blocker and calmodulin antagonist bepridil with cardiac troponin C (cTnC) in the presence of calcium. The kinetic data show that bepridil reduces the rate of calcium release only from the low affinity, calcium-specific site and not from the two high affinity calcium/magnesium sites. CD measurements indicate that drug binding leads to a small increase in the alpha-helical content of the complex. 1H NMR shows that the protein binds one equivalent of bepridil, with a dissociation constant of approximately 20 microM, only when the low affinity calcium site is occupied. Exchange is fast or intermediate on the chemical shift time scale. Drug binding is shown to be largely localized in the N-terminal domain, containing the low affinity calcium site, by observing the shifting and broadening of several resonances associated with that domain. These include assigned aromatic signals together with methionyl and other methyl signals. Observation of intermolecular nuclear Overhauser effects was precluded by extensive spectral overlap. Consideration of the data from the three techniques permitted a model of the bepridil-cTnC complex to be constructed, using the model of cTnC derived from the x-ray structure of calmodulin (MacLachlan L. K., Reid, D. G., and Carter, N. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 9754-9763). Binding of bepridil to a prominent hydrophobic depression in the N-terminal domain can be invoked to explain many of the induced changes in the spectral and kinetic properties of the protein. The implications of the model for the calcium sensitizing action of bepridil are discussed.

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic studies on gastric H+/K+-ATPase.

Suspensions of membrane-bound H+/K+-ATPase in both H2O and 2H2O were investigated using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Second-derivative techniques were used to reveal the overlapping bands in the 1800-1500 cm-1 region. Analysis of the amide I band shows that the protein component contains substantial amounts of both alpha-helical and beta-sheet structures. Addition of 10 mM KCl to a suspension in 2H2O does not significantly affect the amide I band, indicating that the E1-E2 conformational transition of the enzyme, induced by K+, does not involve a gross change in protein secondary structure. Analysis of the amide II band in the spectra of suspensions in 2H2O shows that inhibition of the enzyme with omeprazole increases the rate of 1H-2H exchange, indicating an increase in conformational flexibility. Furthermore, an additional feature at 1628 cm-1 in the spectra of the inhibited samples in 2H2O could either support a conformational change or arise from a vibrational mode of omeprazole in its enzyme-bound form. The frequency of the band due to the symmetric stretching vibrations of the methylene groups of the lipid acyl chains increases steadily with increasing temperature indicating that there is no co-operative melting process in the lipid component of the membrane over the temperature range 9-50 degrees C. For comparison, FT-IR studies on aqueous suspensions of Na+/K+-ATPase were also carried out. These show that the protein components in the Na+/K+- and H+/K+-ATPases have similar secondary structures.

Correlation between log POCT/H2O and pKB estimates for a series of muscarinic and histamine H2-receptor antagonists.

1. With histamine used as agonist, pKB values were estimated for seventeen histamine H2-receptor antagonists on assays involving acid secretion by the mouse isolated stomach and contraction frequency of the guinea-pig right atrium. 2. With the exception of oxmetidine, SK&F 94,826 and SK&F 94,206 on the right atrium assay, the compounds behaved as simple competitive antagonists on both assays. Although the former three compounds produced concentration-dependent, parallel, displacement of the histamine concentration-effect curves, subsequent analysis indicated Schild plot slope parameters significantly less than unity. However, the application of a combined dose-ratio analysis indicated that their antagonistic behaviour did not differ from expectations for simple competition at dose-ratios of approximately 20, and pKB values were estimated on this basis. 3. In accordance with previously reported data, pKB values were found to be consistently lower on the stomach than atrial assays. The pKB value for tiotidine was underestimated to the same extent on the stomach assay when impromidine was used as agonist. 4. The removal of the serosal muscle from the mouse stomach, achieved by using an isolated, perfused, mucosal sheet preparation, did not significantly affect the underestimation of the pKB value for metiamide. 5. Linear regressional analysis indicated a significant, positive, correlation between lipophilicity (log POCT/H2O) of the antagonists and the degree of antagonist pKB value underestimation on the gastric secretion assay.

Development of a new physicochemical model for brain penetration and its application to the design of centrally acting H2 receptor histamine antagonists.

A rational approach to the design of centrally acting agents is presented, based initially upon a comparison of the physicochemical properties of three typical histamine H2 receptor antagonists which do not readily cross the blood-brain barrier with those of the three brain-penetrating drugs clonidine (6), mepyramine (7) and imipramine (8). A good correlation was found between the logarithms of the equilibrium brain/blood concentration ratios in the rat and the partition parameter, delta log P, defined as log P (1-octanol/water)-log P (cyclohexane/water), which suggests that brain penetration might be improved by reducing overall hydrogen-bonding ability. This model has been employed as a guide in the design of novel brain-penetrating H2 antagonists by the systematic structural modification of representatives of different structural types of H2 antagonists. Although marked increases in brain penetration amongst congeners of cimetidine (1), ranitidine (9), and tiotidine (10) were achieved, no compound was found with an acceptable combination of H2 antagonist activity (-log KB in the guinea pig atrium greater than 7.0) and brain penetration (steady-state brain/blood concentration ratio greater than 1.0). Conversely, structural modification of N-[[(piperidinyl-methyl)phenoxy]propy]acetamide (30) led to several potent, novel compounds which readily cross the blood-brain barrier. One of these, zolantidine (SK&F 95282, 41), whose -log KB is 7.46 and steady-state brain/blood ratio is 1.4, has been identified for use in studying histaminergic H2 receptor mechanisms in brain. Comparison of delta log P values with the logarithms of the brain/blood ratios for 20 structurally diverse compounds for which data became available confirms a highly significant correlation and supports the general validity of this model.

Zolantidine (SK&F 95282) is a potent selective brain-penetrating histamine H2-receptor antagonist.

1. The novel benzthiazole derivative zolantidine (SK&F 95282) is a potent antagonist of histamine at H2-receptors in guinea-pig atrium and rat uterus. Only apparent pA2 values of 7.46 and 7.26 respectively could be calculated since the slopes of the Schild plots were significantly less than unity. 2. Zolantidine is equally potent as an antagonist at histamine H2-receptors in guinea-pig brain. The compound inhibited histamine stimulated adenylate cyclase (pKi 7.3) and dimaprit stimulated adenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (cyclic AMP) accumulation (approx pA2 7.63), and competed with [3H]-tiotidine binding (pKi 7.17). 3. Zolantidine is at least 30 fold more potent at H2-receptors than at other peripheral and central receptors investigated. 4. Infusion of zolantidine into rats produces a brain concentration greater than the plateau blood concentration (brain/blood ratio 1.45). 5. Zolantidine is thus characterized as a potent selective brain-penetrating H2-receptor antagonist, and will be a valuable pharmacological tool for investigating possible physiological and pathological roles for histamine in the central nervous system.

Zwitterionic analogues of cimetidine as H2 receptor antagonists.

A series of analogues of the H2 receptor histamine antagonist cimetidine have been synthesized in which the dipolar cyanoguanidine group has been replaced by a number of zwitterionic moieties. Although none of the compounds is more effective than cimetidine in blocking histamine-stimulated tachycardia on the isolated guinea pig atrium, the activities of most of the compounds possessing rigid dipoles can be accounted for on the basis of dipole orientation relative to the common side chain and by considering the active species in each case to be the zwitterion. These findings are in general agreement with those found for analogues having conjugated groups as dipoles.

Dipole moment in relation to H2 receptor histamine antagonist activity for cimetidine analogues.

The activities of a series of H2 receptor histamine antagonists structurally related to cimetidine (1) have been compared to investigate the effect of replacing the cyanoguanidine moiety by other neutral, dipolar groups. Antagonist activity, as measured in vitro on the histamine-stimulated guinea pig right atrium, was found to be very sensitive to relatively minor structural changes. Differences in H2 antagonist activity are accounted for by dipole moment orientation and lipophilicity and are rationalized in terms of an optimum requirement for alignment of a hydrogen-bonding moiety in the antagonist with respect to the receptor and desolvation effects at the receptor. The most active compound in the series is the 2-amino-3-nitropyrrole derivative 5, which combines a near-optimal dipole orientation with high lipophilicity.

The metabolism in animals and man of oxmetidine--a new histamine H2-receptor antagonist.

The absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of [14C]oxmetidine in rat, dog and man has been studied following both i.v. and oral administration. Excretion is rapid and essentially complete in all three species. The biliary route is predominant. Distribution of radioactivity is widespread although none is seen in the brain. Metabolite patterns in urine from rat, dog and man have been compared by thin-layer chromatography. Metabolite patterns in urine and bile from rat and dog have been compared by high pressure liquid chromatography. Six major metabolites have been isolated and identified including two O-glucuronides and one N-glucuronide.

The effect of intramolecular hydrogen bonding on the thermodynamics of partitioning of an isomer of the histamine H2-receptor antagonist metiamide.

The thermodynamics of transfer from water to 1-octanol of the 4 and 5 substituted N-methylimidazole isomers of the H2-receptor antagonist metiamide have been determined. The isomers have similar free energies of transfer but the enthalpy and entropy of transfer of the 4-isomer are substantially greater than those of the 5-isomer. This indicates that the 4-isomer forms an intramolecular hydrogen bond in the polar octanol phase.

Nitrosation of peptides.

The synthesis and characterization of N-(N-acetylprolyl)-N-nitroso-glycine, the first authentic N-nitrosopeptide, is described, and its stability under various conditions is reported. In acidic media, denitrosation and deamination (hydrolysis) occur concurrently, whereas in neutral and alkaline solutions, only deamination occurs. The rates of formation and decomposition of some unprotected N-nitrosopeptides in strong acid are also reported. Conditions for the formation of such compounds in the gastric tract are discussed, together with their potential involvement in human cancer.