Archives

  • 2018-07
  • 2019-04
  • 2019-05
  • 2019-06
  • 2019-07
  • 2019-08
  • 2019-09
  • 2019-10
  • 2019-11
  • 2019-12
  • 2020-01
  • 2020-02
  • 2020-03
  • 2020-04
  • 2020-05
  • 2020-06
  • 2020-07
  • 2020-08
  • 2020-09
  • 2020-10
  • 2020-11
  • 2020-12
  • 2021-01
  • 2021-02
  • 2021-03
  • 2021-04
  • 2021-05
  • 2021-06
  • 2021-07
  • 2021-08
  • 2021-09
  • 2021-10
  • 2021-11
  • 2021-12
  • 2022-01
  • 2022-02
  • 2022-03
  • 2022-04
  • 2022-05
  • 2022-06
  • 2022-07
  • 2022-08
  • 2022-09
  • 2022-10
  • 2022-11
  • 2022-12
  • 2023-01
  • 2023-02
  • 2023-03
  • 2023-04
  • 2023-05
  • 2023-06
  • 2023-07
  • 2023-08
  • 2023-09
  • 2023-10
  • 2023-11
  • 2023-12
  • 2024-01
  • 2024-02
  • 2024-03
  • br Heme oxygenase inhibitors Historically

    2021-11-24


    Heme oxygenase-1 inhibitors Historically, the first class of competitive HO-1 inhibitors was represented by MPs, heme analogs in which the central iron ABC294640 mg of heme is exchanged by another element, such as zinc, cobalt, tin, or chromium. These molecules compete with heme for binding to the enzyme and competitively inhibit its activity. Numerous studies confirmed the utility of MPs in decreasing HO-1 activity and one of the main studied therapeutic application is the management of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia [39,40]. Nevertheless, their potential clinical applications have been limited by side effects. The photosensitizing action of the majority of MPs is one of the most severe and may cause photo-toxicity and tissue damage [41]. Moreover, due to their structural analogy with heme, MPs, and particularly ZnPP, can interact with different heme-containing enzymes such as HO-1 and HO-2 isoforms [42], CYP450, sGC, and NOS [43]. Finally, although they are competitive inhibitors, some of them induce the expression of HO-1 upstream. This effect has been reported for SnPP and even more pronounced for CoPP, whose main effect in vivo was the induction of HO synthesis [44]. As a consequence, there has been an increasing interest in the development of HO-1 inhibitors with non-porphyrinic structure and the first reported is Azalanstat (4-( [(2S,4S)-2-[2-(4-chlorophenyl)ethyl]-2-(1H-imidazol-1-ylmethyl)-1,3-dioxolan-4-yl]methyl sulfanyl)aniline, Fig. 1). Azalanstat, an imidazole-dioxolane derivate, was firstly reported in 1993 as an inhibitor of lanosterol 14-α demethylase [45]. Later, in 2002, it was discovered a suitable inhibitor of HO-1 (IC50 = 5.5 μM) and HO-2 (IC50 = 24.5 μM) and can be considered the first non-porphyrin HO-1 LC [46]. Mechanistic studies showed a non-competitive binding. The first SAR studies on Azalanstat are due to a Canadian research group from the Queen's University of Kingston. Their studies aimed at developing new imidazole derivatives with improved HO-1 inhibitory activity and selectivity and lead to the identification of the main key structural features needed for HO-1 inhibition [26]. Accordingly, the chemical structure of Azalanstat can be regarded as formed by four different regions: northeastern, eastern, central and western (Fig. 1). The structural modifications of the different regions depicted in Fig. 1 can be summarized as follows (Table 1). The northeastern region is not essential for HO-1 activity as demonstrated by compound 1 (Fig. 2, HO-1 IC50  = 2.8 μM), one of the first identified HO-1 inhibitor selective towards the HO-2 isoform (IC50 > 100 μM) (Fig. 2) [47]. The elimination of the 4-aminophenylthiolmethyl moiety, while maintaining HO-1 activity similar to Azalanstat, resulted in a structural simplification of the LC (removal of two chiral centers) and a noteworthy enhancement of selectivity towards HO-2 (selectivity index (SI) HO-2/HO-1 >35.7). Compound 1 was used for the first crystallization studies complexed with rat HO-1 [47]. Modifications in the northeastern region, despite maintaining HO-1 activity, generally caused a drop in selectivity HO-1 vs HO-2 as evidenced by compound 2 (Fig. 2, HO-1 IC50 = 2.1 μM; HO-2 IC50 = 16 μM) [48]. The eastern ABC294640 mg region is the most conserved part of the molecule and plays a crucial role in building the first interactions with the enzyme. In fact, the presence of a nitrogen residue guarantees the establishment of a coordination binding with the ferrous iron of heme, when heme is located within HO-1 pocket and is ready for catabolism. The presence of one or more, small or bulky substituents at the imidazole ring are poorly tolerated. The imidazole replacement with an array of nitrogen-containing heterocycles generally implies a loss of activity with the exception of 1H-1,2,4-triazole or 1H-tetrazole rings as in compound 3 (Fig. 2, HO-1 IC50 = 2.5 μM, HO-2 IC50 = 18 μM) [49].