Bioisosterism of urea-based GCPII inhibitors: Synthesis and structure-activity relationship studies

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/j.bmcl.2009.10.061

We report a strategy based on bioisosterism to improve the physicochemical properties of existing hydrophilic, urea-based GCPII inhibitors. Comprehensive structure-activity relationship studies of the P1′ site of ZJ-43- and DCIBzL-based compounds identifi

Full text of DOI:10.1016/j.bmcl.2009.10.061

Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters 20 (2010) 392–397
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/bmcl
Bioisosterism of urea-based GCPII inhibitors: Synthesis
and structure–activity relationship studies
Haofan Wang a, , Youngjoo Byun a, , Cyril Barinka b, Mrudula Pullambhatla a, Hyo-eun C. Bhang c,
James J. Fox a, Jacek Lubkowski b, Ronnie C. Mease a, Martin G. Pomper a,c,
*
a Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
b Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
c Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
a r t i c l e i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Article history:
We report a strategy based on bioisosterism to improve the physicochemical properties of existing
hydrophilic, urea-based GCPII inhibitors. Comprehensive structure–activity relationship studies of the
P10 site of ZJ-43- and DCIBzL-based compounds identified several glutamate-free inhibitors with Ki values
below 20 nM. Among them, compound 32d (Ki = 11 nM) exhibited selective uptake in GCPII-expressing
tumors by SPECT-CT imaging in mice. A novel conformational change of amino acids in the S10 pharma-
cophore pocket was observed in the X-ray crystal structure of GCPII complexed with 32d.
Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Received 13 August 2009
Revised 13 October 2009
Accepted 14 October 2009
Available online 24 October 2009
Keywords:
PSMA
Glutamate carboxypeptidase II
Molecular imaging
Radiopharmaceutical
SPECT
Glutamate carboxypeptidase II (GCPII) is a type II zinc-depen-
dent metalloprotease that cleaves N-acetylaspartylglutamate
(NAAG) to release N-acetylaspartate (NAA) and glutamate (Glu)
in the brain.1,2 Excessive production and release of Glu in the syn-
aptic cleft may over-stimulate glutamate receptors, leading to Glu-
associated neurotoxicity and neuronal death. A glutamatergic
imbalance has been proposed in the pathophysiology of a variety
of neurological diseases including ischemia, traumatic brain injury,
neuropathic pain, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, diabetic polyneu-
ropathy, and schizophrenia.3–8 Accordingly, maintaining Glu
homeostasis at the synapse is a goal in the prevention and treat-
ment of neuropsychiatric disease. Among the enzymes that modu-
late such Glu concentrations, GCPII is a potential target for
effecting beneficial intrasynaptic Glu concentrations.
been referred to as the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)
in the prostate and as folate hydrolase (FOLH1) in the intestine.
PSMA is over-expressed on the surface of androgen-independent
prostate cancer cells and its active site is located in the extracellu-
lar region. Cell-surface expression and up-regulation in prostate
tumors render PSMA an attractive target for the diagnosis and pos-
sibly therapy of prostate cancer.9,10 The FOLH1 activity of GCPII
hydrolyzes
c-linked glutamates from poly-c-glutamyl folate to
produce folic acid, which can then be bound by folate receptors
in the intestine.11 GCPII has also been identified in neovasculature
of most solid tumors.12 That vascular expression enhances GCPII as
a cancer imaging and therapeutic target.
Previously, we have synthesized a number of urea-based GCPII
inhibitors radiolabeled with 99mTc, 125I, 18F and 11C, which demon-
strated strong GCPII inhibitory potency in vitro and selective uptake
in PSMA-expressing tumors in vivo in single photon emission com-
puted tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography
(PET) small animal imaging studies.13–17 Recent crystallographic
studies of complexes between GCPII and low molecular weight
ligands, including our urea-based inhibitors, elucidated their bind-
ing modes withinthe active siteof GCPII, revealingthat theS1 pocket
of GCPII is more tolerant toward structural modification than
the glutamate-binding, S10 (pharmacophore) pocket.18–24 Conse-
quently, we have taken advantage of the structural freedom
provided by the S1 pocket for the development of imaging probes
for prostate cancer.
GCPII has also been identified in non-neuronal tissues including
kidney, small intestine, and prostate. Consequently GCPII has also
Abbreviations: PSMA, prostate-specific membrane antigen; GCPII, glutamate
carboxypeptidase II; NAAG, N-acetylaspartyl glutamate; NAALADase, N-acetylated-
a-linked acidic dipeptidase; DCIT, (S)-2-(3-((S)-1-carboxy-2-(4-hydroxy-3-iodo-
phenyl)ethyl)ureido)pentanedioic acid; DCIBzL, (S)-2-(3-((S)-1-carboxy-(4-iodoben-
zamido)pentyl)ureido)pentanedioic acid; ZJ-43, (S)-2-(3-((S)-1-carboxy-3-methylbu-
tyl)ureido)pentanedioic acid; SPECT, single-photon emission computed tomography;
SAR, structure–activity relationship.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 410 955 2789; fax: +1 443 817 0990.
E-mail address: mpomper@jhmi.edu (M.G. Pomper).
These authors contributed equally.
0960-894X/$ - see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.bmcl.2009.10.061

H. Wang et al. / Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 20 (2010) 392–397
393
O
125I
NH
HO
O
OH
OH
O
OH
OH
O
OH
OH
125I
O
O
O
HO
HO
HO
N
H
N
H
N
H
N
H
N
H
N
H
O
O
O
O
O
O
125I]DCIT
Figure 1. Chemical structures of ZJ-43, [125I]DCIT and [125I]DCIBzL.
ZJ-43
[
125I]DCIBzL
[
In parallel with our effort to develop PSMA-based imaging
agents for prostate cancer, we have attempted to develop imaging
agents for Glu-associated neurological disease. Using in vitro auto-
radiography we previously determined GCPII levels in rodent brain
by measuring specific binding of [125I]DCIT (Fig. 1), a potent GCPII
inhibitor.24 By employing GCPII knockout mice, we showed that
models.26 However, high doses of ZJ-43 (50–100 mg/kg) needed
to be administered in order to demonstrate an analgesic effect,
due to low penetration of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). DCIBzL
(Fig. 1), the most potent urea-based GCPII inhibitor (Ki = 0.01 nM)
that we have synthesized to date, showed high and prolonged tu-
mor uptake as well as high target to nontarget tissue ratios in
ex vivo biodistribution studies.14 Based on these findings with
existing urea-based GCPII inhibitors, we designed novel urea-based
GCPII inhibitors with increased lipophilicity through two ap-
proaches: (1) bioisosterism of the P10 glutamate using two potent
GCPII inhibitors ZJ-43 and DCIBzL as templates, and (2) prodrugs
of DCIT, which is beyond the scope of this Letter. Here, we discuss
the synthesis, structure–activity relationships (SAR), X-ray crystal
structures and in vivo SPECT-CT imaging studies of new urea-based
[
125I]DCIT demonstrated binding to rodent brain in a GCPII gene-
dose dependent fashion. Using a similar technique we reported
that GCPII levels in prefrontal cortex and temporal lobe in post-
mortem samples of patients with schizophrenia were significantly
lower than age-matched controls.25 Another tricarboxylic acid
with the urea core, ZJ-43 (Fig. 1), exhibited strong in vitro GCPII
inhibition (Ki = 0.8 nM) with cloned human GCPII and demon-
strated analgesic activity in inflammatory and neuropathic pain
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
3
1
1
3
1
1
1
1
3
1
3
1
3
3
1
1
1
3
3 2
1
1
3
3 2
1
1
2
2
3
3
1
3
2
2
3
3
1
1
3
2
2
2
3
1
1
3
2
3
3
Scheme 1. Synthetic route for ZJ-43 analogs and their Ki values. Reagents: (a) triphosgene, TEA/CH2Cl2; (b) appropriate unnatural amino acids, TEA, DMF; (c) LiOH, H2O/
CH3CN.

394
H. Wang et al. / Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 20 (2010) 392–397
contact the
enzymatic activity compared to mutation of those that contact
the
-carboxylate in the P1 and P10 sites.18 Therefore, we focused
on modifications of the
-carboxylate group of the P10 site in ZJ-
c
-carboxylate of the P10 glutamate had less effect on
a
c
43 and DCIBzL in this study.
2
2
We replaced the side chain of the P10 glutamate moiety in ZJ-43
with a variety of more lipophilic bioisosteres including phenylgly-
3
3
3
3
Table 1
Summary of Ki, CI and C log D values of DCIBzL analogs
Scheme 2. Synthetic route for non-commercial amino acids. Reagents: (a) TMSCN,
NH3/MeOH; (b) 6 N-HCl.
Compds
Kia (nM)
CIb (95%, nM)
C log Dc
32a
32b
32c
32d
32e
32f
32g
32h
32i
32j
32k
32l
32m
32n
32o
32p
32q
32r
1320
3430
318
11.0
5.3
52.3
254
132
320
23.0
24.1
85.1
285
5.3
16.2
794
795
16.1
105
692–2510
820–7520
107–946
8.2–14.8
3.8–7.5
32.3–84.7
187–345
83–211
206–497
12.0–44.0
15.6–37.3
63.7–114
181–452
3.8–7.4
11.7–22.6
266–2370
535–1130
11.3–23.0
65–170
ꢀ3.76
ꢀ3.35
ꢀ3.92
ꢀ2.48
ꢀ2.77
ꢀ2.35
ꢀ2.89
ꢀ3.46
ꢀ4.25
ꢀ2.37
ꢀ2.31
ꢀ2.51
ꢀ2.81
ꢀ2.40
ꢀ1.88
ꢀ2.40
ꢀ1.88
ꢀ3.34
ꢀ2.80
ꢀ2.96
ꢀ6.13
ꢀ5.16
GCPII inhibitors designed for greater penetration of the BBB. The
aim of this study was to identify novel scaffolds to replace Glu in
the P10 site in order to improve BBB penetration by passive diffu-
sion while retaining GCPII binding affinity needed for detection
by imaging. The current work focused on replacing one of the three
carboxylic acids in ZJ-43 and DCIBzL with more lipophilic func-
tional groups.
Ever since urea-based dipeptides with high GCPII binding affin-
ity were reported by Kozikowski and co-workers in 2000, a number
of urea-based GCPII inhibitors as therapeutic or imaging agents
have been synthesized and evaluated.27–29 Two potent urea-based
PSMA inhibitors, ZJ-43 and DCIBzL (Fig. 1), were selected as tem-
plates for substituting Glu in the P10 site with bioisosteric func-
tional groups. Compounds ZJ-43 and DCIBzL demonstrated potent
in vitro GCPII inhibitory activities (Ki = 0.8 nM and 0.01 nM) but
have low C log D values (ꢀ6.1 and ꢀ5.16), too hydrophilic for the
penetration of the BBB by passive diffusion. Recent site-directed
mutagenesis experiments of amino acids in the vicinity of the
GCPII active site revealed that mutation of the amino acids that
32s
32t
ZJ-43
DCIBzL
97.2
0.75
0.0114
54–175
0.60–0.94
a
b
c
Values are means of at least three experiments.
95% confidence interval.
Values are calculated by ACD ABS9.0.
2
3
2
Scheme 3. Synthetic route for DCIBzL analogs. Reagents: (a) (i) triphosgene, TEA/CH2Cl2; (ii) appropriate unnatural amino acids, TEA; (b) (i) TFA; (ii) N-succinimidyl-4-
iodobenzoate, TEA/DMF.

H. Wang et al. / Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 20 (2010) 392–397
395
125
125
2
125
Scheme 4. Synthetic route for [125I]32d.
cine (Class A, Scheme 1), tyrosine (Class B, Scheme 1) and others
(Class C, Scheme 1). The designed bioisosteric analogs of ZJ-43 were
prepared by following a synthetic route outlined in Scheme 1.
Briefly, treatment of Leu-methyl ester with triphosgene and trieth-
ylamine in dichloromethane generated an isocynate intermediate,
which was subsequently reacted with amino acids in free or methyl
ester form in DMF to yield the urea analogs. Hydrolysis of the methyl
ester with LiOH in H2O/CH3CN afforded the corresponding diacids
(2–5, 14, 15, 17 and 19) in 20–55% yield. For the synthesis of the iso-
propyl ester series (7, 9), we utilized the same synthetic strategy as
the methyl ester analogs shown in Scheme 1. The detailed synthetic
procedures and analytical data for each compound among ZJ-43
analogs (1–22) are available in Supplementary data. In cases where
non-natural amino acids were not commercially available, they
were synthesized according to Scheme 2. Reaction of substituted
benzaldehydes with ammonia in methanol (7 N) in the presence of
trimethylsilyl cyanide afforded aminonitrile analogs (23–26) in
40–65% yield. The aminonitriles were hydrolyzed in aqueous hydro-
chloric acid (6 N) under reflux to give a racemic mixture of amino
acids (27–30) in 70–80% yield. Racemic amino acids were directly
coupled with the reactive isocyanate intermediate in Scheme 1. All
final compounds (1–22) were purified by high-performance liquid
chromatography (HPLC) and their chemical structures were con-
firmed by NMR and ESI-MS. In vitro GCPII inhibitory activities were
determined using a fluorescence-based NAALADase assay.14 As
summarized in Scheme 1, Ki values of twenty-two ZJ-43 analogs
were higher than 80 nM. Although the absolute Ki values of ZJ-43
bioisosteres fell short of criteria for in vivo imaging studies (Ki values
of approximately 620 nM), which was estimated from the fact that
the concentration of GCPII is ꢁ40 fmol/mg protein in rodent brain30
and that external imaging can be observed with at least a 2:1 tar-
get:nontarget binding31,32, we could establish a relationship be-
tween in vitro GCPII inhibitory activities and different substituents
at the phenyl ring of the phenylglycine analog. Briefly, introduction
of a hydroxyl group at the 4-position (3) led to an increase in GCPII
inhibitory potency relative to substitution at the 3-position (1) or
at 3,5-positions (4), indicating that 4-OH is preferred in this series.
However, the replacement of 4-OH with 4-F resulted in a significant
decrease in GCPII potency. Preference for a functional group at the 3-
position along with 4-OH is as follows: OCH3 (6) > I (8), Br (10) > F
(12), suggesting that a bulky substituent at the 3-position slightlyin-
creased the binding affinity. Vanillin analog 7 (M.W. = 396.4,
Ki = 81 nM, C log D = ꢀ1.4), which has a hydroxyl group at the 4-po-
sition, a methoxy group at the 3-position and an isopropyl ester of
leucine at the P1 site, was the most potent among the evaluated ana-
logs. All compounds in the tyrosine (14–18), methionine (19–20),
glutamine (21), and tryptophan (22) series were less active than 7.
However, because none of the ZJ-43 analogs showed an inhibitory
activity lower than our initial 620 nM cut-off, we did not undertake
in vivo studies.
structure of GCPII complexed with DCIBzL (PDB ID: 3D7H) showed
a peculiar binding pattern in the vicinity of the S1-pocket.18 The
iodophenyl group of DCIBzL projects into the arginine-patch region
and resides in the accessory pocket delineated by side chains of
arginines 463, 534 and 536 (Fig. 3). The utilization of that sub-
pocket increases DCIBzL potency by more than 80-fold compared
to ZJ-43. We hypothesized that the iodophenyl-substituted lysine
moiety in place of the leucine of ZJ-43 would increase the binding
affinity for GCPII.
To confirm the importance of the
at the P10 site, we replaced the P10 glutamic acid with glycine (32a)
and -aminobutyric acid (32b), respectively. Both substitutions re-
sulted in a dramatic decrease of GCPII inhibitory activity, indicating
that both the - and -carboxylates are important for GCPII binding
although the glycine analog (32a, 1.32 M) is slightly more potent
than the GABA analog (32b, 3.43 M). However, cyclopropanylgly-
cine analog (32c, 318 nM) showed fourfold stronger binding affinity
for GCPII than 32a, implying that a substituent at the -carbon of the
c- and a-carboxylic acid groups
c
a
c
l
l
a
glycine may increase the binding potency. Encouraged by that re-
sult, we focused on the modification on the P10 side chain of DCIBzL
(bearing the
The synthesis of DCIBzL analogs is shown in Scheme 3. Briefly, N -
Boc- -lysine-t-butyl ester was reacted with triphosgene and trieth-
c-carboxylic functionality) using substituted glycines.
e
L
ylamine in dichloromethane, followed by the addition of unnatural
amino acid, to afford compounds in 30–70% yield. Protecting groups
(t-butyl and Boc) were removed by the treatment with TFA. The ter-
minal amine of Lys was coupled with N-succinimidyl-4-iodobenzo-
ate to give compounds 32a–32t (Scheme 3) in 50–75% yield.
Table 1 summarizes the Ki values and C log D values of DCIBzL
analogs. Introduction of hydrocarbon groups, which are more flex-
ible and bulky than cyclopropane, resulted in a substantial increase
in GCPII inhibitory activity. In particular, unsaturated hydrocarbon
groups such as allylic (32d, 11 nM) and propargylic (32e, 5.3 nM)
increased potency of GCPII inhibitory activity more significantly
than the corresponding saturated analog (32f, 52.3 nM). However,
analogs with heteroatom-containing functional groups including
epoxide (32g), nitrile (32h) and amide (32i) were less active, with
Ki values over 100 nM. Nevertheless, Ki values of sulfur-containing
analogs (32j and 32k) were 23 nM and 24 nM, respectively. Phen-
To increase GCPII inhibitory potency of our bioisoteres, we syn-
thesized analogs of DCIBzL (Ki = 0.01 nM), one of the most potent
GCPII urea-based inhibitors synthesized to date.14 The crystal
Figure 2. SPECT-CT images of [125I]32d at 30 min and 120 min after injection.

396
H. Wang et al. / Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 20 (2010) 392–397
Figure 3. Crystal structure of 32d (ball and stick in green) with GCPII overlaid with DCIBzL. Amino acids in the S10 site are shown in stick type.
ylglycine analogs 32l (85 nM) and 32m (285 nM) were not as po-
tent as 32j and 32k.
To investigate the effects of stereochemistry on GCPII binding,
compounds 32n–q were synthesized. Maintenance of natural ste-
by structural rearrangements at the bottom of the GCPII-S10 pock-
et, including displacement of the Lys699 side chain and a reposi-
tioning of the Leu259-Gly263 segment (Fig. 3). Such variability
has not been observed in any published GCPII structure and indi-
cates additional spatial freedom of the S10 pocket that could be
used for inhibitor design.
In summary, the SAR studies of ZJ-43 and DCIBzL analogs de-
scribed herein have identified new scaffolds to replace the glu-
tamic acid in the P10 region. These include the allyl, alkynl,
furanyl, and thiophenyl moieties. Among them, compound 32d,
containing the allylic moiety, exhibited selective uptake in
PSMA-positive tumors in SPECT-CT imaging studies. The GCPII
crystal structure with 32d showed a binding pattern similar to
DCIBzL in the active site, along with a unique conformational
change in the S10 pocket. However, compound 32d is still too
hydrophilic for brain imaging, suggesting that further structural
modification is warranted.
reochemistry at the
Compounds 32n (5.3 nM) and 32o (16.2 nM), which have (
uration at the -carbon, are much more potent than the correspond-
ing )-analogs 32p (794 nM) and 32q (795 nM). Thiazole-
a
-carbon is critical for GCPII inhibitory activity.
L
)-config-
a
(D
substituted 32r (16.1 nM) displayed strong potency, similar to the
thiophene-containing 32o. However, compounds 32s (105 nM)
and 32t (97 nM), substituted with a pyridine function, exhibited
weaker inhibitory potency than the five-membered heteroaromatic
analogs (32n, 32o and 32r). Compound 32d was further studied
in vivo because it demonstrated a Ki value of 11 nM, which is below
the theoretical cut-off value (Ki 620 nM) for visualization by exter-
nal imaging.31,32 Compound [125I]32d was prepared as in Scheme
4. Precursor 31d was reacted with N-succinimidyl-4-[125I]iodoben-
zoate(S-[125I]IB)33 to afford [125I]32d in 60% radiochemical yield. The
specific radioactivity of [125I]32d was 55.5 GBq/
l
mol. Mice bearing
Acknowledgments
both PSMA-positive PIP and PSMA-negative Flu tumors were in-
jected intravenously with 1.2 mCi of [125I]32d via the lateral tail
vein. SPECT-CT scanning of the brain of the mouse was performed
immediately after the injection and on the whole body at 30 min
and 120 min after injection. As seen in Figure 2, [125I]32d exhibited
selective uptake in the PSMA-positive PIP tumor over PSMA-nega-
tive Flu tumor at both time points. However, we did not observe
any brain uptake of [125I]32d (C log D = ꢀ2.48) in the SPECT-CT
imaging study, as expected, because it is still too hydrophilic to cross
the BBB despite improved physicochemical properties compared to
DCIBzL (C log D = ꢀ5.16).
The authors are grateful for financial support from National
Institutes of Health Grants MH080580 and CA092871 to M.G.P.
The use of the Advanced Photon Source was supported by the
U.S. Department of Energy (W-31-109-Eng38). J.L. and C.B.
acknowledge financial support from the National Cancer Institute,
Center for Cancer Research.
Supplementary data
Supplementary data associated with this article can be found, in
the online version, at doi:10.1016/j.bmcl.2009.10.061.
To elucidate the binding mode of 32d in the active site of GCPII,
we determined the X-ray crystal structure of GCPII in complex
with 32d (PDB ID: 3IWW). As shown in Figure 3, 32d (represented
in green) is positioned in the GCPII binding cavity in a manner
similar to DCIBzL.18 The 4-iodobenzoyl moiety resides inside the
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a-carboxylates are engaged primarily
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