Heteroaryl-Fused 2-Phenylisothiazolone Inhibitors of Cartilage Breakdown

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/jm00045a012

The synthesis, biological evaluation, and structure-activity relationships of a series of N-phenyl heteroaryl-fused isothiazolones are described.These isothiazolones have been shown to exhibit potent, dose-dependent inhibition of IL-1β-induced breakdown of proteoglycan in a cartilage organ culture assay.This effect is likely due to inhibition of MMP activation and a consequent reduction in MMP activity following IL-1β stimulation.Thus these compounds potentially represent simple, non-peptidic disease-modifying agents for the treatment of arthritic diseases.To examine the effects of structure on in vitro activity, three general features of the molecules were varied, substituents on the pendant N-phenyl group, the position of ring fusion to the isothiazolone, and substituents on the fused ring peri to the isothiazolone sulfur.