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There is substantial interest in the development of small molecules that inhibit the tight and highly challenging protein-protein interaction between the glycophosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored cell surface receptor uPAR and the serine protease uPA. While preparing derivatives of a fragment-like compound that previously emerged from a computational screen, we identified compound 5 (IPR-3242), which inhibited binding of uPA to uPAR with submicromolar IC50s. The high inhibition potency prompted us to carry out studies to rule out potential aggregation, lack of stability, reactivity, and nonspecific inhibition. We designed and prepared 16 derivatives to further explore the role of each substituent. Interestingly, the compounds only partially inhibited binding of a fluorescently labeled α-helical peptide that binds to uPAR at the uPAR·uPA interface. Collectively, the results suggest that the compounds bind to uPAR outside of the uPAR·uPA interface, trapping the receptor into a conformation that is not able to bind to uPA. Additional studies will have to be carried out to determine whether this unique inhibition mechanism can occur at the cell surface.

RUVBL1 and RUVBL2 are highly conserved AAA ATPases (ATPases Associated with various cellular Activities) and highly relevant to the progression of cancer, which makes them attractive targets for novel therapeutic anticancer drugs. In this work, docking-based virtual screening was performed to identify compounds with activity against the RUVBL1/2 complex. Seven compounds showed inhibitory activity against the complex in both enzymatic and cellular assays. A series of pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine-3-carboxamide analogs were synthesized based on the scaffold of compound 15 with inhibitory activity and good potential for structural manipulation. Analysis of the structure–activity relationship identified the benzyl group on R2 and aromatic ring-substituted piperazinyl on R4 as essential for inhibitory activity against the RUVBL1/2 complex. Of these, compound 18, which has IC50 values of 6.0 ± 0.6 μM and 7.7 ± 0.9 μM against RUVBL1/2 complex and RUVBL1 respectively, showed the most potent inhibition in cell lines A549, H1795, HCT116, and MDA-MB-231 with IC50 values of 15 ± 1.2 μM, 15 ± 1.8 μM, 11 ± 1.0 μM, and 8.9 ± 0.9 μM respectively. A docking study of the compound was performed to predict the binding mode of pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine-3-carboxamides. Furthermore, mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis was employed to explore cellular proteins dysregulated by treatment with compounds 16, 18, and 19. Together, the data from these analyses suggest that that compound 18 could serve as a starting point for structural modifications in order to improve potency, selectivity, and pharmacokinetic parameters of potential therapeutic molecules.

Hereby, we report our efforts on discovery and optimization of a new series of 5-aryl-4-(4-arylpiperazine-1-carbonyl)-1,2,3-thiadiazoles as new microtubule-destabilizing agents along our previous study. Guided by docking model analysis, we introduced the 1,2,3-thiadiazole moiety containing the hydrogen-bond acceptors as B-ring of XRP44X analogues. Extensive structure modifications were performed to investigate the detailed structure and activity relationships (SARs). Some compounds exhibited potent antiproliferative activities against three human cancer cell lines (SGC-7901, A549 and HeLa). The compound 5m exhibited the highest potency against the three cancer cell lines. The tubulin polymerization experiments indicated that compound 5m effectively inhibited the tubulin polymerization, and immunostaining assay revealed that it significantly disrupted microtubule dynamics. Moreover, cell cycle studies revealed that compound 5m dramatically arrested cell cycle progression at G2/M phase.

Two series of 4-arylpiperazine- and 4-benzylpiperidine naphthyl ethers were designed based on structure-activity relationship (SAR) and docking model of reported monoamine neurotransmitters reuptake inhibitors. The compounds were synthesized in 3-simple steps and their biological activities were evaluated. Several compounds were proven to be potent inhibitors of serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake. Computer docking was performed to study the interaction of the most potent compound 35 with human serotonin transporter. The results of the analyses suggest that 4-arylpiperazine- and 4-benzylpiperidine naphthyl ethers might be promising antidepressants worthy of further studies.

The dopamine D3 receptor (D3R) is a proven therapeutic target for the treatment of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. In particular, D3R-selective ligands that can eliminate side effects associated with dopamine D2 receptor (D2R) therapeutics have been validated. However, the high homology in signaling pathways and the sequence similarity between D2R and D3R have rendered the development of D3R-selective ligands challenging. Herein, we designed and synthesized a series of piperazine-phthalimide bitopic ligands based on a fragment-based and molecular docking inspired design. Compound 9i was identified as the most selective D3R ligand among these bitopic ligands. Its selectivity was improved compared to reference compounds 1 and 2 by 9- and 2-fold, respectively, and it was 21-fold more potent than compound 2. Molecular docking demonstrated that the orientation of Leu2.64 and Phe7.39 and the packing at the junction of helices may affect the specificity for D3R over D2R. Functional evaluation revealed that D3R-selective ligand 9i displayed a subpicomolar agonist activity at D3R with a 199-fold increase in potency compared to quinpirole. These results may be useful for the fragment-based design of bitopic compounds as selective D3R ligands.

Monoamine transporters regulate the concentration of monoamine neurotransmitters, which are essential for vital physiological processes, and their dysfunction can cause several central nervous system diseases. Monoamine transporters currently appear to be the potential target in the management of these disorders. In this study, homologation and bioisosterism techniques have been used in the designing of new 1,4-disubstituted piperazines and piperidines. These derivatives were synthesized and evaluated as potential triple reuptake inhibitors for studying the structure-activity relationships. The most advanced compound, 1-(4-(5-benzhydryl-1H-tetrazol-1-yl)butyl)-4-(3-phenylpropyl)piperazine (2i), was able to inhibit monoamine neurotransmitter reuptake in an in vitro test (IC50?=?158.7?nM for 5-HT, 99?nM for NE and 97.5?nM for DA). These novel potent triple reuptake inhibitor-based 1,4-disubstituted piperazine and piperidine scaffolds deserve further systematic optimization and pharmacological evaluation.

In the search for potent dual norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitors, several substituted arylpiperazine–tetrazoles were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their neurotransmitter reuptake inhibitory activities. Various derivatives exhibited selective and strong neurotransmitter reuptake inhibitory activity. In particular, compounds with a three-carbon linker displayed selective and stronger potency than those with two-carbon and four-carbon linkers. Interestingly, six compounds, 9b, 9c, 9d, 9o, 9q and 9u displayed more effective activity than the standard drug, bupropion. The provided SAR data and potent biological activity can offer useful guidelines for designing dual norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitors as effective therapeutic agents for treatment of several central nervous system diseases.

The limitations of established serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) and norepinephrine (NE) reuptake inhibitors necessitate the development of safer and more effective therapeutic agents. Based on the structures of 4-benzylpiperidine carboxamides and trazodone, arylpiperazine-benzylpiperidines with chemical scaffolds different from those of marketed drugs were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their neurotransmitter reuptake inhibitory activities. The majority of the synthesized compounds showed greater NE than 5-HT reuptake inhibition. The activities were even greater than those of the standard drug, venlafaxine hydrochloride were. The derivatives with a three-carbon linker showed better activities than the derivatives with a two-carbon linker. Among the newly synthesized compounds, 2d exhibited the strongest reuptake inhibition of the neurotransmitters (IC50 = 0.38 μM for NE and 1.18 μM for 5-HT). The biological activity data demonstrate that arylpiperazine-benzylpiperidines have the potential to be developed as a new class of therapeutic agents to treat neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.

An efficient protocol for the synthesis of various substituted phenylpiperazines was developed using sulfolane as solvent. The protocol was clean, high yielding and products were obtained in high purities (≥99%). It was also fast and convenient, as the final products were precipitated as hydrochloride salts and could be obtained by filtration. Sulfolane, an aprotic, dipolar, high boiling and recoverable solvent was used as a substitute for common organic solvents.

The present invention is a piperazinylalkylbenzofuran derivative of the formula wherein R1 represents a C1-4 alkyl group, R2 stands for a hydrogen atom, X means an oxygen atom, Y is a hydroxyl group, Z represents a hydrogen atom, Ar′ represents a diphenylmethyl group, a pyridyl group, a partially saturated 5-membered heterocyclic group or a phenyl group, n has a value of 0 or 1, and pharmaceutically suitable acid addition salts thereof.

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