Discovery of Novel Multifunctional Ligands with μ/δ Opioid Agonist/Neurokinin-1 (NK1) Antagonist Activities for the Treatment of Pain

Aswini Kumar Giri, Christopher R. Apostol, Yue Wang, Brittany L. Forte, Tally M. Largent-Milnes, Peg Davis, David Rankin, Gabriella Molnar, Keith M. Olson, Frank Porreca, Todd W. Vanderah, Victor J Hruby

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

Multifunctional ligands with agonist bioactivities at μ/δ opioid receptors (MOR/DOR) and antagonist bioactivity at the neurokinin-1 receptor (NK1R) have been designed and synthesized. These peptide-based ligands are anticipated to produce better biological profiles (e.g., higher analgesic effect with significantly less adverse side effects) compared to those of existing drugs and to deliver better synergistic effects than coadministration of a mixture of multiple drugs. A systematic structure-activity relationship (SAR) study has been conducted to find multifunctional ligands with desired activities at three receptors. It has been found that introduction of Dmt (2,6-dimethyl-tyrosine) at the first position and NMePhe at the fourth position (ligand 3: H-Dmt-d-Ala-Gly-NMePhe-Pro-Leu-Trp-NH-Bn(3′,5′-(CF3)2)) displays binding as well as functional selectivity for MOR over DOR while maintaining efficacy, potency, and antagonist activity at the NK1R. Dmt at the first position with Phe(4-F) at the fourth position (ligand 5: H-Dmt-d-Ala-Gly-Phe(4-F)-Pro-Leu-Trp-NH-Bn(3′,5′-(CF3)2)) exhibits balanced binding affinities at MOR and DOR though it has higher agonist activity at DOR over MOR. This study has led to the discovery of several novel ligands including 3 and 5 with excellent in vitro biological activity profiles. Metabolic stability studies in rat plasma with ligands 3, 5, and 7 (H-Tyr-d-Ala-Gly-Phe(4-F)-Pro-Leu-Trp-NH-Bn(3′,5′-(CF3)2)) showed that their stability depends on modifications at the first and fourth positions (3: T1/2 > 24 h; 5: T1/2 ≈ 6 h; 7: T1/2 > 2 h). Preliminary in vivo studies with these two ligands have shown promising antinociceptive activity.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)8573-8583
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Medicinal Chemistry
Volume58
Issue number21
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 14 2015

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Molecular Medicine
  • Drug Discovery

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