Autodisplay of catalytically active human hyaluronidase hPH-20 and testing of enzyme inhibitors.

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is the major biopolymer of the extracellular matrix and contributes significantly to cell proliferation and migration. Human hyaluronidase hPH-20 has been identified as a tumor marker for breast and laryngeal cancer. A hPH-20-autotransporter fusion protein for cell surface display was transformed into Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) and hPH-20 was displayed on the surface of E. coli. Enzymatic activity, however, was not detectable due to competitive inhibition by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Finally, expression in E. coli F470, a strain missing the O-polysaccharide of LPS, yielded cells with sufficient hyaluronidase activity. 6-Palmitoyl-l-ascorbic acid (Vcpal) and two indole-carboxamides, N-(4-fluorobenzyl)-1-benzyl-1H-indole-2-carboxamide (1) and N-(4-chlorobenzyl)-1-(4-fluorobenzyl)-1H-indole-3-carboxamide (2), were tested on inhibition of hPH-20. Vcpal with a concentration of 5 µM inhibited hPH-20 to 93% at pH 7, compounds 1 and 2 showed 61% and 21% inhibition at a concentration of 50 µM. At the same inhibitor concentrations the most frequently used bovine testes hyaluronidase (BTH) was inhibited by Vcpal to a similar extent (95%), whereas compound 1 (80%) and compound 2 (66%) showed much differing inhibition. Thus it can be assumed that BTH is not applicable as an alternative to human PH-20. These results indicate that Autodisplay enables the expression of human target enzymes normally forming inclusion bodies in E. coli and accelerates inhibitor testing as shown by the example of human hyaluronidase PH-20.

Investigation of aminomethyl indole derivatives as hyaluronidase inhibitors.

Hyaluronidase inhibitors are of potential therapeutic value for the treatment of a variety of diseases, such as cancer, arthrosis, or bacterial infections. Potent and selective hyaluronidase inhibitors are not known so far, and current approaches to the development of hyaluronidase inhibitors are limited. Elevated levels of hyaluronan (HA) are connected with most malignant tumours. Therefore, the search for drugs modulating the hyaluronidase activity became very important. In the present study, a new series of aminomethyl indole derivatives (AMIDs) were tested for inhibition of bovine testes hyaluronidase (BTH). In vitro assays were performed using stains-all at pH 7 and Morgan-Elson reaction at pH 3.5. Among the AMIDs, 3-[(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)methyl]-5-phenyl-1H-indole (9) was found to be active with 23% inhibition at 50 microM and pH 7. All the other inhibitors showed less activity at pH 3.5 and pH 7. These activity results demonstrated that compounds with phenyl substitution at position 5 have higher activity. The results confirmed that more lipophilic compounds have better inhibition against the hyaluronidase enzyme.

Indole carboxamides inhibit bovine testes hyaluronidase at pH 7.0 and indole acetamides activate the enzyme at pH 3.5 by different mechanisms.

Hyaluronidases are enzymes controlling many crucial physiological processes. Imbalanced enzymatic activity is connected with severe diseases. Because there is limited availability of drugs modulating hyaluronidase activity, the search for hyaluronidase interacting compounds is getting more and more important. A series of fifteen indole carboxamides and acetamides were synthesized and tested on inhibition of bovine testes hyaluronidase. In vitro assays were performed using stains-all at pH 7 and the Morgan-Elson reaction at pH 3.5. At neutral pH, the most active inhibitory compound was N-(Pyridin-4yl)-[5-bromo-1-(4-fluorobenzyl)indole-3-yl]carboxamide (20) with an IC(50) value of 46 microM. Surprisingly, inhibition of all compounds was completely abolished by a decrease in pH. At pH 3.5 the activity of the enzyme was increased up to 134% by compound N-(4,6-Dimethylpyridin-2yl)-(1-ethylindole-3-yl)acetamide (24) at a concentration of 100 microM. The known activating effect of bovine serum albumine (BSA) on hyaluronidase activity was verified in the assay and compared to the effect of compound 24. Structure-activity relationships are discussed and a model is proposed, which explains the increase in activity at pH 3.5 by bonding of the protonated form of N-(4,6-Dimethylpyridin-2yl)-(1-ethylindole-3-yl)acetamide (24) to hyaluronic acid. The bonding results in an elongated form of the substrate with easier enzymatic access.

Comparative studies on conventional and microwave synthesis of some benzimidazole, benzothiazole and indole derivatives and testing on inhibition of hyaluronidase.

We have synthesized twelve 2-substituted benzimidazole, benzothiazole and indole derivatives using on both microwave irradiation and conventional heating methods. The microwave method was observed to be more beneficial as it provides an increase of yield from 3% to 113% and a 95 to 98 % reduction in time. All compounds were tested by a stains-all assay at pH 7 and by a Morgan-Elson assay at pH 3.5 for hyaluronidase inhibitory activity at a concentration of 100 microM. The most potent compound was 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-3-phenylindole (12) with an IC(50) value of 107 microM at both pH 7 and 3.5.

New potent indole derivatives as hyaluronidase inhibitors.

Because of the physiologic importance of hyaluronidases, the identification of potent and selective inhibitors of hyaluronidases has become increasingly important. A variety of assay methods have been used for such a purpose, i.e. classical turbidimetric, viscometric and colorimetric. In this study, a modified enzymatic assay has been used to obtain a microtiter plate-based sensitive activity screening. All inhibitors were tested in a stains-all assay at pH 7 and in a Morgan-Elson assay at pH 3.5. Among the tested compounds, 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 16, 17 and 18 showed good inhibition of more than 50%, so the IC(50) values of these derivatives were determined in the range of 25-41 microm. The IC(50) value of the most active hyaluronidase inhibitor Vcpal (6-palmitoyl-L-ascorbic acid) was measured as 8.36 microm. All inhibitors including Vcpal showed twofold less activity at pH 3.5 in a Morgan-Elson assay. Examination of substituent effects on the activity showed that para-positions of benzamide needs to be chlorinated or fluorinated to obtain good inhibitory effect. It was found that the introduction of a p-fluoro benzyl ring in the indole nitrogen has a positive effect for the inhibitory effects of both indole-2- and 3-carboxamide derivatives.