(R)-3-Amino-4,4-diphenyl-butyric acid

The synthetic design and the biological activities of structurally new angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, (R)-3-amino-4-oxo-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1,5-benzothiazepine-5-acetic acid derivatives, are described. A number of compounds in this series showed potent ACE inhibitory activity in vitro and in vivo. Structure-activity studies indicated that a piperidyl moiety on the amino group at the 3-position in this series conferred long-lasting ACE inhibitory activity and that the duration of activity depended on the length of the carbon chain in the 1-carboxy-omega-(4-piperidyl)alkyl group. (R)-3-[(S)-1-carboxy-5-(4-piperidyl)-pentyl]amino-4-oxo-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro- 1,5-benzothiazepine-5-acetic acid (CV-5975) was selected as the most promising ACE inhibitor for further studies because of its marked inhibitory activity.

Through modification of the skeleton of Sitagliptin and Vildagliptin, we successfully synthesized and built-up four series of 1,2,4-triazole derivatives, containing N,O-disubstituted glycolamide, N,N'-disubstituted glycinamide, β-amino ester, and β-amino amide as linkers, for the development of new dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors. The synthetic strategy for glycolamides or glycinamides involved convenient two-steps reaction: functionalized transformation of 2-chloro-N-(2,4,5-triflurophenyl)acetamide 9 (hydroxylation or amination) and esterification or amidation of 1,2,4-triazole-3-carboxylic acid. On the other hand, the one-pot synthesis procedure, including substitution and deprotection, was developed for the preparation of β-amino carbonyl 1,2,4-triazoles from (1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)methanol 12 or (1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)methanamine 13 and Boc-(R)-3-amino-4-(2,4,5-trifluoro-phenyl)-butyric acid 14. All of glycolamides, glycinamides, and β-amino carbonyl 1,2,4-triazoles were also evaluated against DPP-4 inhibitory activity. Based on the SAR study of DPP-4 inhibitory capacity, β-amino ester 5n and β-amino amide 1,2,4-triazoles 6d and 6p possessed the significant inhibition of DPP-4 (IC50 < 51.0 nM), particularly for compound 6d (IC50 = 34.4 nM). The selectivity evaluation indicated compound 5n and 6p had excellent selectivity over QPP, DPP-8, and DPP-9. In addition, the docking results revealed compounds 5n and 6p provided stronger π-π stacking interaction with residue Phe357 than 1,5-disubstituted 1,2,4-triazole 6d and Sitagliptin 1. In summary, compounds 5n and 6p could be promising lead compounds for further development of DPP-4 inhibitor.

Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), a serum-borne bioactive lipid, regulates various physiological functions. We observed that the S1P receptor subtype 1 (S1P1), a high affinity G-protein coupled receptor of S1P, is the major S1P receptor expressed in the Kit+/Sca-1+/Lin- (KSL) hematopoietic stem progenitor cells (HSPCs, KSL-HSPCs). In this study, we investigate function of S1P1 receptors in the regulation of HSPC mobilization in animals. Treatment with SEW2871, a specific agonist of S1P1, had no effect on KSL-HSPC mobilization. In addition, mice pretreated with SEW2871 followed by AMD3100, a well-known activator of KSL-HSPC mobilization by antagonizing the stromal-derived factor-1 (SDF-1)/C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) signaling axis, did not enhance the AMD3100-induced KSL-HSPC mobilization. In contrast, pretreatment of (R)-3-amino-4-(3-hexylphenylamino)-4-oxobutyl phosphonic acid (W146), a selective antagonist of S1P1, significantly augments AMD3100-induced KSL-HSPC mobilization into peripheral blood. The inactive enantiomer W140 was incapable of enhancing the AMD3100-induced KSL-HSPC mobilization. Moreover, treatment with selective antagonists for S1P2 and S1P3 had no effects on AMD3100-mediated KSL-HSPC mobilization. Collectively, our data suggest that S1P/S1P1 signaling regulates the SDF-1/CXCR4-mediated retention of KSL-HSPCs in bone marrow microenvironment.