Neuroprotection strategies are of great importance in the treatment of ischemic brain injury. Screening of our in-stock coumarin derivatives identified compound 1 as exhibiting neuroprotective activity. Subsequently, a structural optimization was carried out, which led to the discovery of the potent compound 20. This compound significantly attenuated the damage in a cell line derived from a pheochromocytoma of the rat adrenal medulla induced by oxygen glucose deprivation in vitro. Furthermore, compound 20 exhibited clear neuroprotection in middle cerebral artery occlusion rats by reducing infarct size and brain-water content, improving neurological function, and suppressing neuronal loss and neuropathological changes in the cortex and hippocampus. Pharmacokinetic evaluation indicated that compound 20 could penetrate the blood brain barrier of rats. (C) 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
Discovery and Optimization of Novel 3-Piperazinylcoumarin Antagonist of Chemokine-like Factor 1 with Oral Antiasthma Activity in Mice
Chemokine-like factor 1 (CKLF1) is a novel functional cytokine that acts through receptor CC chemokine receptor 4 (CCR4). Activation of CCR4 by CKLF1 plays an important role in diseases such as asthma and multiple Sclerosis. This article describes a cell-based screening assay Using an FITC-labeled CCR4 agonist (CKLF1-C27), a CKLF1 peptide fragment. Screening of our in-stock small-molecule library identified a 3-piperazinylcoumarin analogue 1 (IC50 = 4.36 x 10(-6) M) that led to the discovery of orally active compound 41 (IC50 = 2.12 x 10(-8) M) through systematic optimization. Compound 41 blocked the calcium mobilization and chemotaxis induced by CKLF1-C27 and reduced the asthmatic pathologic changes in lung tissue of human CKLF1-transfected mice. Further studies indicated that compound 41 ameliorated pathological changes via inhibition of the NF-kappa B signal pathway.