Bicyclic thiazolidine lactam peptidomimetics of the dopamine receptor modulating peptide Pro-Leu-Gly-NH2.

Bicyclic thiazolidine lactam peptidomimetics 3-5 have been synthesized as potential analogues of the dopamine receptor modulating peptide Pro-Leu-Gly-NH2 (PLG). Peptidomimetics 3 and 4 were designed to constrain two, psi 2 and phi 3, of the four torsion angles that define a beta-turn to values approximating those found for a type-II beta-turn, while 5 was designed as a compound that could not achieve a beta-turn conformation. Peptidomimetics 3 and 4 were found to enhance the binding of the dopamine receptor agonist ADTN to the dopamine receptor, while 5 was found to be inactive. Like PLG the dose-response curves for 3 and 4 were bell-shaped in nature with the maximum effect occurring at a concentration of 1 microM. Both 3 and 4 were more effective than PLG in enhancing the binding of ADTN to dopamine receptors. The 5,5-bicyclic thiazolidine lactam peptidomimetic 3 enhanced the binding of ADTN by almost 200%, while the 6,5-bicyclic thiazolidine lactam peptidomimetic 4 enhanced the binding of ADTN by about 75%. These results provide further evidence in support of the hypothesis that the bioactive conformation of PLG is a type-II beta-turn.

Guanosine analogues. Synthesis of nucleosides of certain 3-substituted 6-aminopyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidin-4(5H)-ones as potential immunotherapeutic agents.

Several guanosine analogues were synthesized in the pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine ring system with various substituents at the 3-position. The new analogues prepared here include the CH3 (2-amino-3-methyl-1-beta-D-ribofuranosylpyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidin-4 (5H)-one, 13a), the phenyl (2-amino-3-phenyl-1-beta-D-ribofuranosylpyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidin-4 (5H)-one, 13b), and the NH2 (3,6-diamino-1-beta-D-ribofuranosylpyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidin-4(5H)- one, 17) substituted derivatives. These new agents, as well as several other 3-substituted derivatives including H, Br, OCH3, COOH, and oxo, were evaluated for their ability to potentiate certain murine immune functions relative to the known active agent 5-amino-3-beta-D-ribofuranosylthiazolo[4,5-d]pyrimidine-2,7(3H,6H) -dione (4, 7-thia-8-oxoguanosine). The biological evaluation included the (1) ex vivo determination of increased natural killer cell function and (2) in vivo antiviral protection against a lethal challenge of Semliki Forest virus. The 3-unsubstituted (5a) and the 3-bromo (5c) derivatives were found to be the most active immunopotentiators in this series.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of analogues of Pro-Leu-Gly-NH2 modified at the leucyl residue.

A series of analogues of Pro-Leu-Gly-NH2 (PLG) in which the leucine residue has been replaced with the aliphatic amino acids L-isoleucine, L-2-aminohexanoic acid (Ahx), L-2-aminopentanoic acid, and L-2-aminobutanoic acid and the aromatic amino acids L-phenylalanine, L-phenylglycine, L- and D-2-amino-4-phenylbutanoic acid, L-O-methyltyrosine, and L-4-nitrophenylalanine have been synthesized. These analogues were tested for their ability to enhance the binding of the dopamine receptor agonist 2-amino-6,7-dihydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene (ADTN) to striatal dopamine receptors. Two of the above analogues, Pro-Ahx-Gly-NH2 (3) and Pro-Phe-Gly-NH2 (6), showed significant activity in this assay system. Pro-Ahx-Gly-NH2 produced a 16% enhancement of ADTN binding at 0.1 microM, while Pro-Phe-Gly-NH2 enhanced the binding of ADTN by 31% at a concentration of 1 microM.