Kinase-mediated trapping of bi-functional conjugates of paclitaxel or vinblastine with thymidine in cancer cells.

In the present work, we explore the possibility of introducing selectivity to existing chemotherapeutics via the design of non-pro-drug, bi-functional molecules comprising a microtubule-binding agent and a substrate for a disease-associated kinase. The design, synthesis, and in vitro biological evaluation of paclitaxel-thymidine and vinblastine-thymidine bi-functional conjugates are reported here. This work provides the first account of 'kinase-mediated trapping' of cancer therapeutics.

The design, synthesis, and evaluation of two universal doxorubicin-linkers: preparation of conjugates that retain topoisomerase II activity.

The design, synthesis, and evaluation of two N-alkylmaleimide aldehydes have been achieved, which upon reductive alkylation with the C3'-amino group of doxorubicin (DOX) permits the preparation of DOX conjugates via Michael addition of thiol-containing vectors. This method enables the mild, facile, and high-throughput preparation of DOX conjugates that retain the basic C3'-nitrogen, a pre-requisite for topoisomerase II inhibition. Seven DOX-amino acid conjugates were prepared, each displaying similar inhibitory activity as the parent drug.

A facile route to paclitaxel C-10 carbamates.

A general protocol for the synthesis of paclitaxel C-10 carbamates is described. The method entails MeI-mediated activation of 2'-O-TBS-7-O-TES-10-O-deacetyl-paclitaxel-10-O-carbonylimidazole prior to reaction with amines. This method is effective for the synthesis of paclitaxel C-10 derivatives, including bifunctional molecules.

Design of a gene family screening library targeting G-protein coupled receptors.

An iterative process for the design of a G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) gene family screening library has been developed. A key element of this process is the computational generation of pharmacophore descriptors of known GPCR ligands. Subsequent iterative analysis allows prioritization of scaffolds and sub-libraries for inclusion in the library. The final library, which consisted of 13,769 compounds, displayed a 2.6% hit rate when screened against the micro-opioid receptor.

Adenosine kinase inhibitors. 3. Synthesis, SAR, and antiinflammatory activity of a series of l-lyxofuranosyl nucleosides.

Chronic inflammatory diseases, such as arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, remain major health problems worldwide. We previously demonstrated that adenosine kinase inhibitors (AKIs) exhibit antiinflammatory effects by inhibiting TNF-alpha production, neutrophil accumulation, and edema formation. Although adenosine receptor agonists produce similar effects, AKIs showed the antiinflammatory activity without the cardiovascular side effects that prevented the development of adenosine receptor specific agonists. However, previously described potent AKIs, such as 5-iodotubercidin, are nucleosides which have the potential to undergo in vivo 5'-O-phosphorylation and therefore produce cytotoxicity. In an effort to eliminate toxicities produced by phosphorylated nucleosides, l-lyxofuranosyl analogues of tubercidin were tested as potential AKIs since the opposite stereochemical orientation of the CH(2)OH was expected to eliminate intracellular phosphorylation. Described herein are the discovery of a new series of AKIs based on alpha-l-lyxofuranosyl nucleosides, their SAR, as well as the antiinflammatory activity of the lead compound GP790 (IC(50) = 0.47 nM, 47% inhibition of paw swelling at 10 mg/kg in rat carrageenan paw edema model). In addition, a study showing that in the skin lesion model the antiinflammatory activity is reversed by an A2 selective adenosine receptor antagonist 3,7-dimethyl-1-propargyl xanthine [correction of propylxanthine] (DMPX) is also described.

Evaluation of a novel shape-based computational filter for lead evolution: application to thrombin inhibitors.

A novel shape-feature-based computational method is described and used to rapidly filter compound libraries. The computational model, built using three-dimensional conformations of active and inactive molecules, consists of a collection of whole molecule shapes and chemical feature positions that are ranked according to their correlation with activity. A small ensemble of these shapes and features is used to filter virtual compound libraries. The method is applied to two thrombin data sets and is shown to be efficient in identifying novel scaffolds with enhanced hit rates.