Potent Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase Inhibitors Research Articles

Design, Synthesis, and Pharmacological Characterization of a Potent Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase Inhibitor for the Treatment of Acute Pancreatitis.

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a potentially life-threatening illness characterized by an exacerbated inflammatory response with limited options for pharmacological treatment. Here, we describe the rational development of a library of soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) inhibitors for the treatment of AP. Synthesized compounds were screened in vitro for their sEH inhibitory potency and selectivity, and the results were rationalized by means of molecular modeling studies. The most potent compounds were studied in vitro for their pharmacokinetic profile, where compound 28 emerged as a promising lead. In fact, compound 28 demonstrated a remarkable in vivo efficacy in reducing the inflammatory damage in cerulein-induced AP in mice. Targeted metabololipidomic analysis further substantiated sEH inhibition as a molecular mechanism of the compound underlying anti-AP activity in vivo. Finally, pharmacokinetic assessment demonstrated a suitable profile of 28 in vivo. Collectively, compound 28 displays strong effectiveness as sEH inhibitor with potential for pharmacological AP treatment.

Structure-Directed Discovery of Potent Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase Inhibitors for the Treatment of Inflammatory Diseases.

Soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) has been identified as an attractive target for anti-inflammatory drug design in recent years. Picomolar level compound G1 against sEH was obtained by introducing the hydrophilic group homopiperazine and hydrophobic fragment propionyl onto the structure of lead compound A. G1 showed good microsomal stability, a moderate plasma protein binding rate, and good oral bioavailability and was well tolerated in rats. G1 has significant analgesic effects on CFA-induced AIA mice, ameliorated the pancreatic injury in acute pancreatitis induced by l-arginine, reversed pancreatic injury, edema, and neutrophil infiltration, and increased the survival time of C57BL/6 mice in a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced sepsis model. Moreover the expression levels of sEH, COX-2, NOS-2, vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM), IL-6, MCP-5, and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) were measured by Western blot or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), with varying degrees of decrease. These results suggested that G1 is a drug candidate worthy of further evaluation for the treatment of inflammation-induced diseases such as arthritis, acute pancreatitis, and sepsis.

Discovery of memantyl urea derivatives as potent soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitors against lipopolysaccharide-induced sepsis.

Sepsis, a systemic inflammatory response, caused by pathogenic factors including microorganisms, has high mortality and limited therapeutic approaches. Herein, a new soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) inhibitor series comprising a phenyl ring connected to a memantyl moiety via a urea or amide linkage has been designed. A preferential urea pharmacophore that improved the binding properties of the compounds was identified for those series via biochemical assay invitro and invivo studies. Molecular docking displayed that 3,5-dimethyl on the adamantyl group in B401 could make van der Waals interactions with residues at a hydrophobic pocket of sEH active site, which might indirectly explain the subnanomolar level activities of memantyl urea derivatives invitro better than AR-9281. Among them, compound B401 significantly improved the inhibition potency with human and murine sEH IC50 values as 0.4nM and 0.5nM, respectively. Although the median survival time of C57BL/6 mice in LPS-induced sepsis model was slightly increased, the survival rate did not reach significant efficacy. Based on safety profile, metabolic stability, pharmacokinetic and invivo efficacy, B401 demonstrated the proof of potential for this class of memantyl urea-based sEH inhibitors as therapeutic agents in sepsis.

Pharmacokinetics of a potent soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitor in three formulations

Inhibition of soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEHI) was shown to be potent to reduce the inflammation, lower the blood pressure in hypertension and is being developed for indication of chronic pain treatment. Guiding by in vitro potency screening, pharmacokinetics and in vivo efficacy studies, a potent sEHI (EC5026) is optimized for the followed clinical trials. Besides its own properties, formulation method is an important factor to be considered to reach ideal exposure time span and concentration in vivo, therefore for the efficacy in vivo.Here, we compared three different formulation methods: PEG mixtures, hot melt extrusion (HME), spray‐dried dispersion (SDD) for EC5026 by comparing the pharmacokinetics in Sprague Dawley rats. A sensitive UHPLC/MS/MS method was developed to measure the concentration of EC 5026 in the blood of rats after oral dosing at 3mg/Kg as a single dose. The pharmacokinetics parameters including Cmax, Tmax, AUC were calculated using non‐compartment modeling analysis. The result shows that three different formulations have similar pharmacokinetics properties with the highest Cmax in SDD (1,557 ng/mL) followed by HME (1,432 ng/mL) and PEG mixture (1,329 ng/mL). Tmax are all about the same at 2.5 and 3 hour respectively. The T1/2s are between 75–90 hours.The results above indicates all three formulations are proper for decent exposure of EC5026 with AUC from 6759–8516 ng/mL hr. The similarity among these three formulations allow the translation to the clinical trials using the new formulations (HME/SDD) from the preclinical studies with PEG mixture.Support or Funding InformationSupport or Funding InformationThis work was supported in part by NIEHS grant R35 ES030443, NIEHS Superfund Basic Research Program grant P42 ES04699.

Novel amide derivatives of 3-phenylglutaric acid as potent soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitors.

Soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) enzyme plays an important role in the metabolism of endogenous chemical mediators, epoxyeicosatrienoic acids, which are involved in the regulation of blood pressure and inflammation. According to the pharmacophoric model suggested for sEH inhibitors, some new amide-based derivatives of 3-phenylglutaric acid were designed, synthesized and biologically evaluated. Docking study illustrated that the amide group as a primary pharmacophore had a suitable distance from the three amino acids of Tyr383, Tyr466 and Asp335 for effective hydrogen binding. Most of the compounds showed moderate to high sEH inhibitory activities in in vitro test in comparison with 12-(3-Adamantan-1-yl-ureido)-dodecanoic acid, as a potent urea-based sEH inhibitor. Compound 6o with phenethyl in R position exhibited the highest activity with IC50 value of 0.5nM. In this study, some new amide-based derivatives of 3-phenylglutaric acid were designed, synthesized and biologically evaluated. Most of the synthesized compounds provided nanomolar range inhibition against sEH enzyme. The best observed IC50 value was 0.5nM. Incorporating a carboxylic moiety into these structures by forming carboxylate salts would increase the solubility and improving physicochemical properties.

In silico investigation of cycloartane triterpene derivatives from Cimicifuga dahurica (Turcz.) Maxim. roots for the development of potent soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitors

In our search for natural soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) inhibitors from plants, we found that an ethanolic extract of the roots of Cimicifuga dahurica (Turcz.) Maxim. significantly inhibits sEH in vitro. A phytochemical study on the dichloromethane fraction of C. dahurica resulted in the isolation of two new cycloartane triterpenoids (1 and 6), together with 13 known cycloartane analogues (2–5 and 7–15). The structures of compounds were determined by spectroscopic methods. All of the triterpenoid derivatives inhibited sEH enzymatic activity in a concentration-dependent manner, and 13 of the tested compounds showed significant activity. Among them, compounds 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 12 showed the highest levels of inhibitory activity, with IC50 values of about 5μM or less. Kinetic analysis of compounds 1, 3, 5–9, 11, 12, and 14 revealed that compounds 3, 6, 7, 11, and 14 were non-competitive; 1, 5, 9, and 12 were mixed-type; and 8 was a competitive inhibitor. Furthermore, in silico molecular docking indicated that compounds 3, 6–9, 11, 12, and 14 bound to sEH in a similar manner and had stable binding energies, as calculated by AutoDock 4.2 and processed in a 10,000-ps molecular dynamics simulation to assess the binding stability of compounds 5, 7, and 9.

Structure-based optimization of cyclopropyl urea derivatives as potent soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitors for potential decrease of renal injury without hypotensive action

Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) are known to have beneficial pharmacological effects on various cardiovascular events. However, EETs are biologically metabolized by soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) to less active metabolites. In our search for potent sEH inhibitors, we optimized a series of cyclopropyl urea derivatives and identified compound 38 as a potent sEH inhibitor with minimal CYP inhibition and good oral absorption in rats. Administration of 38 to DOCA-salt rats suppressed urinary albumin and MCP-1 excretion without affecting systolic blood pressure.

Discovery of 1-oxa-4,9-diazaspiro[5.5]undecane-based trisubstituted urea derivatives as highly potent soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitors and orally active drug candidates for treating of chronic kidney diseases

We identified 1-oxa-4,9-diazaspiro[5.5]undecane-based trisubstituted ureas as highly potent soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) inhibitors and orally active agents for treating chronic kidney diseases. Compound 19 exhibited excellent sEH inhibitory activity and bioavailability. When administered orally at 30mg/kg, 19 lowered serum creatinine in a rat model of anti-glomerular basement membrane glomerulonephritis but 2,8-diazaspiro[4.5]decane-based trisubstituted ureas did not. These results suggest that 19 is an orally active drug candidate for treating chronic kidney diseases.

Discovery of 2,8-diazaspiro[4.5]decane-based trisubstituted urea derivatives as highly potent soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitors and orally active drug candidates for treating hypertension

We identified 2,8-diazaspiro[4.5]decane-based trisubstituted urea derivatives as highly potent soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) inhibitors and orally active agents for treating hypertension. Docking studies using human and murine sEH X-ray crystal structures revealed steric hindrance around the side chain of Phe406 of murine sEH. The trifluoromethyl moiety (11) was replaced with a trifluoromethoxy moiety (12) to prevent steric clash, and improved murine sEH inhibitory activity was observed. The oral administration of 12, 20, and 37 at a dose of 30mg/kg reduced blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rat, but had little effect on blood pressure in normotensive rat.

Unique mechanistic insights into the beneficial effects of soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitors in the prevention of cardiac fibrosis

Tissue fibrosis represents one of the largest groups of diseases for which there are very few effective therapies. In the heart, myocardial infarction (MI) resulting in the loss of cardiac myocytes can culminate in adverse cardiac remodeling leading to eventual heart failure. Adverse cardiac remodeling includes myocyte hypertrophy, fibrosis, and electrical remodeling. We have previously demonstrated the beneficial effects of several potent soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitors (sEHIs) in different models of cardiac hypertrophy and failure. Here, we directly determine the molecular mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of sEHIs in cardiac remodeling post-MI. Treatment with a potent sEHI, 1-trifluoromethoxyphenyl-3-(1-propionylpiperidine-4-yl)urea (TPPU), which was started 1 wk post-MI in a murine model, results in a significant improvement in cardiac function. Importantly, treatment with TPPU results in a decrease in cardiac fibrosis as quantified using histological and immunostaining techniques. Moreover, single-cell-based assays demonstrate that treatment with TPPU results in a significant decrease not only in the percentages but also the proliferative capacity of different populations of cardiac fibroblasts as well as a reduction in the migration of fibroblasts into the heart from the bone marrow. Our study provides evidence for a possible unique therapeutic strategy to reduce cardiac fibrosis and improve cardiac function post-MI.

A potent soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitor, t-AUCB, acts through PPARγ to modulate the function of endothelial progenitor cells from patients with acute myocardial infarction

BackgroundEpoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) are natural angiogenic mediators regulated by soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH). Inhibitors of sEH can stabilize EETs levels and were reported to reduce atherosclerosis and inhibit myocardial infarction in animal models. In this work, we investigated whether increasing EETs with the sEH inhibitor t-AUCB would increase angiogenesis related function in endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) from patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Methods and resultsEPCs were isolated from 50 AMI patients and 50 healthy subjects (control). EPCs were treated with different concentrations of t-AUCB for 24h with or without peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ (PPARγ) inhibitor GW9662. Migration of EPCs was assayed in trans-well chambers. Angiogenesis assays were performed using a Matrigel-Matrix in vitro model. The expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) mRNA and protein in EPCs was measured by real-time PCR or Western blot, respectively. Also, the concentration of EETs in the culture supernatant was detected by ELISA.The activity of EPCs in the AMI patient group was reduced compared to healthy controls. Whereas increasing EET levels with t-AUCB promoted a dose dependent angiogenesis and migration in EPCs from AMI patients. Additionally, the t-AUCB dose dependently increased the expression of the angiogenic factors VEGF and HIF-α. Lastly, we provide evidence that these effects were PPARγ dependent. ConclusionThe results demonstrate that the sEH inhibitor positively modulated the functions of EPCs in patients with AMI through the EETs–PPARγ pathway. The present study suggests the potential utility of sEHi in the therapy of ischemic heart disease.

Discovery of 3,3-disubstituted piperidine-derived trisubstituted ureas as highly potent soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitors

3,3-Disubstituted piperidine-derived trisubstituted urea ent A-2b was discovered as a highly potent and selective soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) inhibitor. Despite the good compound oral exposure, excellent sEH inhibition in whole blood, and remarkable selectivity, compound ent A-2b failed to lower blood pressure acutely in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). This observation further challenges the premise that sEH inhibition can provide a viable approach to the treatment of hypertensive patients.