Rho GTPases play a key role in the regulation of multiple essential cellular processes, including actin dynamics, gene transcription and cell cycle progression. Aberrant activation of Rac1, a member of Rho family of small GTPases, is associated with tumorigenesis, cancer progression, invasion and metastasis. Particularly, Rac1 is overexpressed and hyperactivated in highly aggressive breast cancer. Thus, Rac1 appears to be a promising and relevant target for the development of novel anticancer drugs. We identified the novel Rac1 inhibitor ZINC69391 through a docking-based virtual library screening targeting Rac1 activation by GEFs. This compound was able to block Rac1 interaction with its GEF Tiam1, prevented EGF-induced Rac1 activation and inhibited cell proliferation, cell migration and cell cycle progression in highly aggressive breast cancer cell lines. Moreover, ZINC69391 showed an in vivo antimetastatic effect in a syngeneic animal model. We further developed the novel analog 1A-116 by rational design and showed to be specific and more potent than the parental compound in vitro and interfered Rac1-P-Rex1 interaction. We also showed an enhanced in vivo potency of 1A-116 analog. These results show that we have developed novel Rac1 inhibitors that may be used as a novel anticancer therapy.

We have found previously that structural features of adenosine derivatives, particularly at the N 6 -and 2-positions of adenine, determine the intrinsic efficacy as A 3 adenosine receptor (AR) agonists. Here, we have probed this phenomenon with respect to the ribose moiety using a series of ribose-modified adenosine derivatives, examining binding affinity and activation of the human A 3 AR expressed in CHO cells. Both 2′-and 3′-hydroxyl groups in the ribose moiety contribute to A 3 AR binding and activation, with 2′-OH being more essential. Thus, the 2′-fluoro substitution eliminated both binding and activation, while a 3′-fluoro substitution led to only a partial reduction of potency and efficacy at the A 3 AR. A 5′-uronamide group, known to restore full efficacy in other derivatives, failed to fully overcome the diminished efficacy of 3′-fluoro derivatives. The 4′-thio substitution, which generally enhanced A 3 AR potency and selectivity, resulted in 5′-CH 2 OH analogues (10 and 12) which were partial agonists of the A 3 AR. Interestingly, the shifting of the N 6 -(3-iodobenzyl)adenine moiety from the 1′-to 4′-position had a minor influence on A 3 AR selectivity, but transformed 15 into a potent antagonist (16) (K i = 4.3 nM). Compound 16 antagonized human A 3 AR agonist-induced inhibition of cyclic AMP with a K B value of 3.0 nM. A novel apio analogue (20) of neplanocin A, was a full A 3 AR agonist. The affinities of selected, novel analogues at rat ARs were examined, revealing species differences. In summary, critical structural determinants for human A 3 AR activation have been identified, which should prove useful for further understanding the mechanism of receptor activation and development of more potent and selective full agonists, partial agonists and antagonists for A 3 ARs.

The synthesis and biological evaluation of a bicyclo[3.1.0]hexene nucleoside designed as a conformational mimic of the anti-HIV agent stavudine (1, D4T) is described. The unsaturated methanocarbocyclic pseudosugar of N-MCD4T (2) was constructed from an iodo-substituted precursor by a DBU-catalyzed olefination reaction. Mitsunobu coupling with N(3)-benzoylthymine afforded the desired target after deprotection. Both D4T and N-MCD4T are in the North (N) hemisphere of the pseudorotational cycle but 70 degrees away from a perfect N (P = 0 degrees ) conformation toward the East and West hemispheres, respectively. Despite this large difference, the double bond reduces the puckering amplitude (nu(max)) of N-MCD4T to 6.81 degrees, and the superposition of both structures showed a RMS deviation of only 0.039 A. The combined structural analysis of P and nu(max) shows that while the value of P may differ substantially, the low nu(max) resolves the differences and becomes the dominant pseudorotational parameter. N-MCD4T is active against HIV-1 and HIV-2 in CEM, MT-2, and MT-4 cells, and while it is somewhat less potent than D4T, it also appears to be less toxic. The triphosphate (N-MCD4TTP) inhibits HIV reverse transcriptase with a 10-fold higher IC(50) than D4TTP. By virtue of its carbocyclic nature, N-MCD4T (2) is a more robust molecule stable to conditions that would cleave D4T.