Antinociceptive activity of CC44, a biotinylated improgan congener.

Improgan, a non-opioid, antinociceptive drug, activates descending analgesic circuits following brain administration, but the improgan receptor remains unidentified. Since biotinylation of drugs can enhance drug potency or facilitate discovery of new drug targets, a biotinylated congener of improgan (CC44) and several related compounds were synthesized and tested for antinociceptive activity. In rats and mice, intracerebroventricular (i.

Redefining the structure-activity relationships of 2,6-methano-3-benzazocines. Part 9: Synthesis, characterization and molecular modeling of pyridinyl isosteres of N-BPE-8-CAC (1), a high affinity ligand for opioid receptors.

Derivatives of the lead compound N-BPE-8-CAC (1) where each CH of the biphenyl group was individually replaced by N were prepared in hopes of identifying high affinity ligands with improved aqueous solubility. Compared to 1, binding affinities of the five possible pyridinyl derivatives for the μ opioid receptor were between threefold lower to fivefold higher with the Ki of the most potent compound being 0.064 nM.

Redefining the structure-activity relationships of 2,6-methano-3-benzazocines. Part 8. High affinity ligands for opioid receptors in the picomolar Ki range: oxygenated N-(2-[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-ylethyl) analogues of 8-CAC.

N-[2-(4'-methoxy[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-yl)ethyl]-8-CAC (1) is a high affinity (K(i)=0.084 nM) ligand for the μ opioid receptor and served as the lead compound for this study. Analogues of 1 were made in hopes of identifying an SAR within a series of oxygenated (distal) phenyl derivatives.

Cyclin-dependent kinase 8 mediates chemotherapy-induced tumor-promoting paracrine activities.

Conventional chemotherapy not only kills tumor cells but also changes gene expression in treatment-damaged tissues, inducing production of multiple tumor-supporting secreted factors. This secretory phenotype was found here to be mediated in part by a damage-inducible cell-cycle inhibitor p21 (CDKN1A). We developed small-molecule compounds that inhibit damage-induced transcription downstream of p21.

Cytochrome P450 2C24: Expression, Tissue Distribution, High-Throughput Assay, and Pharmacological Inhibition.

Cytochrome P450 (CYP)-mediated epoxidation of arachidonic acid (AA) contributes to important biological functions, including the pain-relieving responses produced by analgesic drugs. However, the relevant epoxygenase(s) remain unidentified. Presently, we describe the tissue distribution, high-throughput assay, and pharmacological characteristics of the rat epoxygenase CYP2C24.