A review of late-stage CNS drug candidates for the treatment of obesity

2012 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
D J Heal ◽  
J Gosden ◽  
S L Smith
Author(s):  
Jack Rowbotham ◽  
Oliver Lenz ◽  
Holly Reeve ◽  
Kylie Vincent

<p></p><p>Chemicals labelled with the heavy hydrogen isotope deuterium (<sup>2</sup>H) have long been used in chemical and biochemical mechanistic studies, spectroscopy, and as analytical tracers. More recently, demonstration of selectively deuterated drug candidates that exhibit advantageous pharmacological traits has spurred innovations in metal-catalysed <sup>2</sup>H insertion at targeted sites, but asymmetric deuteration remains a key challenge. Here we demonstrate an easy-to-implement biocatalytic deuteration strategy, achieving high chemo-, enantio- and isotopic selectivity, requiring only <sup>2</sup>H<sub>2</sub>O (D<sub>2</sub>O) and unlabelled dihydrogen under ambient conditions. The vast library of enzymes established for NADH-dependent C=O, C=C, and C=N bond reductions have yet to appear in the toolbox of commonly employed <sup>2</sup>H-labelling techniques due to requirements for suitable deuterated reducing equivalents. By facilitating transfer of deuterium atoms from <sup>2</sup>H<sub>2</sub>O solvent to NAD<sup>+</sup>, with H<sub>2</sub> gas as a clean reductant, we open up biocatalysis for asymmetric reductive deuteration as part of a synthetic pathway or in late stage functionalisation. We demonstrate enantioselective deuteration via ketone and alkene reductions and reductive amination, as well as exquisite chemo-control for deuteration of compounds with multiple unsaturated sites.</p><p></p>


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 403
Author(s):  
Girolamo Di Maio ◽  
Nicola Alessio ◽  
Ibrahim Halil Demirsoy ◽  
Gianfranco Peluso ◽  
Silverio Perrotta ◽  
...  

Brown-like adipocytes can be induced in white fat depots by a different environmental or drug stimuli, known as “browning” or “beiging”. These brite adipocytes express thermogenin UCP1 protein and show different metabolic advantages, such as the ability to acquire a thermogenic phenotype corresponding to standard brown adipocytes that counteracts obesity. In this research, we evaluated the effects of several browning agents during white adipocyte differentiation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). Our in vitro findings identified two compounds that may warrant further in vivo investigation as possible anti-obesity drugs. We found that rosiglitazone and sildenafil are the most promising drug candidates for a browning treatment of obesity. These drugs are already available on the market for treating diabetes and erectile dysfunction, respectively. Thus, their off-label use may be contemplated, but it must be emphasized that some severe side effects are associated with use of these drugs.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiwei Ji ◽  
Changan Liu ◽  
Weiling Zhao ◽  
Claudio Soto ◽  
Xiaobo Zhou

AbstractAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is the leading cause of age-related dementia, affecting over 5 million people in the United States. Unfortunately, current therapies are largely palliative and several potential drug candidates have failed in late-stage clinical trials. Studies suggest that microglia-mediated neuroinflammation might be responsible for the failures of various therapies. Microglia contribute to Aβ clearance in the early stage of neurodegeneration and may contribute to AD development at the late stage by releasing pro-inflammatory cytokines. However, the activation profile and phenotypic changes of microglia during the development of AD are poorly understood. To systematically understand the key role of microglia in AD progression and predict the optimal therapeutic strategyin silico, we developed a 3D multi-scale model of AD (MSMAD) by integrating multi-level experimental data, to manipulate the neurodegeneration in a simulated system. Based on our analysis, we revealed how TREM2-related signal transduction leads to an imbalance in the activation of different microglia phenotypes, thereby promoting AD development. Our MSMAD model also provides an optimal treatment strategy for improving the outcome of AD treatment.


Author(s):  
Avinash Kumar ◽  
Suvarna G Kini ◽  
Ekta Rathi

: In silico ADMET models have progressed significantly over the past ~4 decades but still the pharmaceutical industry is vexed by the late-stage toxicity failure of lead molecules. This problem of late-stage attrition of the drug candidates because of adverse ADMET profile motivated us to analyze the current role and status of different in silico tools along with the rise of machine learning (ML) based program for ADMET prediction. In this review, we have differentiated AI from traditional in silico tools because, unlike traditional in silico tools where the final decision is made manually, AI automates the decision-making prerogative of humans. Due to the large volume of literature in this field, we have considered the publications in the last two years for our review. Overall, from the literature reviewed, deep neural networks (DNN) algorithm or deep learning seems to be the future of ML-based prediction models. DNNs have shown the ability to learn from more complex data and this gives DNN an edge over other ML algorithms to be applied for ADMET prediction. Our result also suggests that we need closer collaboration between the ADMET data generators and those who are employing ML-based tools on this generated data to build predictive models, so that more accurate models could be developed. Overall, our study concludes that ML is still a work in progress and its appetite for data has not been sated yet. It needs loads of more quality data and still some time to prove its real worth in predicting ADMET.


Author(s):  
Jack Rowbotham ◽  
Oliver Lenz ◽  
Holly Reeve ◽  
Kylie Vincent

<p></p><p>Chemicals labelled with the heavy hydrogen isotope deuterium (<sup>2</sup>H) have long been used in chemical and biochemical mechanistic studies, spectroscopy, and as analytical tracers. More recently, demonstration of selectively deuterated drug candidates that exhibit advantageous pharmacological traits has spurred innovations in metal-catalysed <sup>2</sup>H insertion at targeted sites, but asymmetric deuteration remains a key challenge. Here we demonstrate an easy-to-implement biocatalytic deuteration strategy, achieving high chemo-, enantio- and isotopic selectivity, requiring only <sup>2</sup>H<sub>2</sub>O (D<sub>2</sub>O) and unlabelled dihydrogen under ambient conditions. The vast library of enzymes established for NADH-dependent C=O, C=C, and C=N bond reductions have yet to appear in the toolbox of commonly employed <sup>2</sup>H-labelling techniques due to requirements for suitable deuterated reducing equivalents. By facilitating transfer of deuterium atoms from <sup>2</sup>H<sub>2</sub>O solvent to NAD<sup>+</sup>, with H<sub>2</sub> gas as a clean reductant, we open up biocatalysis for asymmetric reductive deuteration as part of a synthetic pathway or in late stage functionalisation. We demonstrate enantioselective deuteration via ketone and alkene reductions and reductive amination, as well as exquisite chemo-control for deuteration of compounds with multiple unsaturated sites.</p><p></p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 1733-1751
Author(s):  
Jongwoo Son

The late-stage C–H functionalization of bioactive structural motifs is a powerful synthetic strategy for accessing advanced agrochemicals, bioimaging materials, and drug candidates, among other complex molecules. While traditional late-stage diversification relies on the use of precious transition metals, the utilization of 3d transition metals is an emerging approach in organic synthesis. Among the 3d metals, manganese catalysts have gained increasing attention for late-stage diversification due to the sustainability, cost-effectiveness, ease of operation, and reduced toxicity. Herein, we summarize recent manganese-catalyzed late-stage C–H functionalization reactions of biologically active small molecules and complex peptides.


2014 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 1389-1397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeshi Q Tanaka ◽  
W. Armand Guiguemde ◽  
David S. Barnett ◽  
Maxim I. Maron ◽  
Jaeki Min ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTForty percent of the world's population is threatened by malaria, which is caused byPlasmodiumparasites and results in an estimated 200 million clinical cases and 650,000 deaths each year. Drug resistance has been reported for all commonly used antimalarials and has prompted screens to identify new drug candidates. However, many of these new candidates have not been evaluated against the parasite stage responsible for transmission, gametocytes. IfPlasmodium falciparumgametocytes are not eliminated, patients continue to spread malaria for weeks after asexual parasite clearance. Asymptomatic individuals can also harbor gametocyte burdens sufficient for transmission, and a safe, effective gametocytocidal agent could also be used in community-wide malaria control programs. Here, we identify 15 small molecules with nanomolar activity against late-stage gametocytes. Fourteen are diaminonaphthoquinones (DANQs), and one is a 2-imino-benzo[d]imidazole (IBI). One of the DANQs identified, SJ000030570, is a lead antimalarial candidate. In contrast, 94% of the 650 compounds tested are inactive against late-stage gametocytes. Consistent with the ineffectiveness of most approved antimalarials against gametocytes, of the 19 novel compounds with activity against known anti-asexual-stage targets, only 3 had any strong effect on gametocyte viability. These data demonstrate the distinct biology of the transmission stages and emphasize the importance of screening for gametocytocidal activity. The potent gametocytocidal activity of DANQ and IBI coupled with their efficacy against asexual parasites provides leads for the development of antimalarials with the potential to prevent both the symptoms and the spread of malaria.


2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 677-687 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaosong Yang ◽  
Rui Wu ◽  
Weiguang Shan ◽  
Liqing Yu ◽  
Bingzhong Xue ◽  
...  

Abstract Better understanding the mechanisms underlying adipogenesis may provide novel therapeutic targets in the treatment of obesity. Most studies investigating the mechanisms underlying adipogenesis focus on highly regulated transcriptional pathways; little is known about the epigenetic mechanisms in this process. Here, we determined the role of DNA methylation in regulating 3T3-L1 adipogenesis in early and late stage of differentiation. We found that inhibiting DNA methylation pharmacologically by 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine (5-aza-dC) at early stage of 3T3-L1 differentiation markedly suppressed adipogenesis. This inhibition of adipogenesis by 5-aza-dC was associated with up-regulation of Wnt10a, an antiadipogenic factor, and down-regulation of Wnt10a promoter methylation. In contrast, inhibiting DNA methylation by 5-aza-dC at late stage of differentiation enhanced the lipogenic program. The differential effects of 5-aza-dC on adipogenesis were confirmed by gain or loss of function of DNA methyltransferase 1 using genetic approaches. We further explored the molecular mechanism underlying the enhanced lipogenesis by inhibition of DNA methylation at late stage of differentiation. The Srebp1c promoter is enriched with CpG sites. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays showed that DNA methyltransferase 1 bound to the methylation region at the Srebp1c promoter. Pyrosequencing analysis revealed that the DNA methylation at the key cis-elements of the Srebp1c promoter was down-regulated in adipogenesis. Further, luciferase reporter assays showed that the Srebp1c promoter activity was dramatically up-regulated by the unmethylated promoter compared with the fully methylated promoter. Thus DNA methylation appears to exert a biphasic regulatory role in adipogenesis, promoting differentiation at early stage while inhibiting lipogenesis at late stage of 3T3-L1 preadipocyte differentiation.


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