High capacity homogeneous non-radioactive cortisol detection assays for human 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1.

11beta-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11beta-HSD1) catalyzes the interconversion of inert glucocorticoid (cortisone) to the active glucocorticoid (cortisol) and is enriched in liver and fat tissues. Increasing evidence suggests that selective inhibition of 11beta-HSD1 may reduce the excess glucocorticoid levels that underlie the etiology of many common disorders that constitute the metabolic syndrome. Measurement of 11beta-HSD1 activity has historically involved the detection of cortisol by methods unfavorable for large-scale screening, such as high performance liquid chromatography or thin layer chromatography. Here we describe the development and validation of novel homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer (TR-FRET) and electrochemiluminescence assays for the measurement of cortisol. These non-radioactive assays were easy to perform and produced robust results with reference compound values comparable to those obtained by conventional methods. The TR-FRET assay was easily automated and was successfully employed for the high-throughput screening of a large compound library for inhibitors of purified human recombinant 11beta-HSD1.

Solid-phase synthesis and structure-activity relationships of novel biarylethers as melanin-concentrating hormone receptor-1 antagonists.

Melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) is a cyclic 19 amino acid orexigenic neuropeptide. The action of MCH on feeding is thought to involve the activation of its respective G protein-coupled receptor MCH-R1. Consequently, antagonists that block MCH regulated MCH-R1 activity may provide a viable approach to the treatment of diet-induced obesity. This communication reports the discovery of a novel MCH-R1 receptor antagonist, the biarylether 7, identified through high throughput screening. The solid-phase synthesis and structure-activity relationship of related analogs is described.