1210
K. Kusumi et al. / Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 26 (2016) 1209–1213
S1P2 Ca2+ IC50 = 12 nM
To evaluate this idea, we also synthesized the 4-chloro and 4-meth-
H3C
H3C
OH
oxy derivatives (i.e., compounds 8 and 9, respectively). Compounds
7 and 8 were predicted to be more acidic than compound 3 (pKa val-
ues of 3.57, 3.42 and 3.85, respectively), while compound 9 was
predicted to be less acidic (pKa = 4.27). We supposed that the low
acidity could be advantageous for the preparation of drugs with
good exposure because ionic compound shows less permeability.
In this case, the least acidic compound 9 had a higher AUC and Cmax
than compounds 3, 7 and 8 (155 ngÁh/ml, 29 ng/ml, respectively),
although this difference was too small to allow for this compound
to be taken any further. Based on these results, it seemed that
reducing the acidity of these compounds would provide better
exposure. With this in mind, we synthesized the less acidic phenyl
acetic acid derivative 10 (pKa = 4.41). Although 10 showed low
potency (IC50 = 21 nM), it gave a large AUC value (787 ngÁh/ml)
and Cmax value (127 ng/ml), as we predicted. This increase in the
AUC was not only attributed to the lower acidity of 10 but was also
attributed to the higher lipophilicity of the phenyl acetic acid moi-
ety, which would improve the absorption of the molecule. Based on
this result, we shifted our focus toward the phenyl acetic acid
H
N
N
O
Rat PK profile
F = 12%
Cl = 10 ml/min/kg
O
F
O
1
CO2H
Figure 1. Representative compound from our previous report.10
modification of the western substructure of 1 appeared to be an
effective strategy for improving the oral exposure of the com-
pounds, we also synthesized compound 3, which has a shorter
alkyl chain at the 4-position of the piperidine moiety. Pleasingly,
this compound showed better oral exposure than
1
(AUC = 70 ngÁh/ml, Cmax = 18 ng/ml), while maintaining strong
antagonistic activity (IC50 = 4.0 nM). The improved oral exposure
of this compound compared with 1 was attributed to the reduced
flexibility of its alkyl group, as well as its improved metabolic sta-
bility (99% with NADPH and 86% with UDPGA). Although com-
pounds 2 and 3 both showed better oral exposure than 1,
compound 3 was selected as the best starting point for the opti-
mization of this series. Compound 3 had lower lipophilicity than
compound 2 (clogD = 1.63 and 1.70, respectively), as well as a
lower molecular weight (522.6 and 560.5, respectively). We then
proceeded with a SAR study using 3 as a lead compound, and the
results are shown in Table 2.
We initially walked a fluorine substituent around the phenyl
ring on the eastern portion of the molecule to develop a better
understanding of whether these positions could accommodate an
additional substituent. The 1- and 2-fluoro derivative of 3 (i.e.,
compounds 4 and 5, respectively) showed weaker potency than 3
(IC50 values of 20 and 25 nM, respectively). Furthermore, the intro-
duction of a fluoro group at the 1- or 2-position did not lead to an
increase in the AUC (65 and 62 ngÁh/ml, respectively) and Cmax
(10 and 12 ngÁh/ml, respectively). The 3- and 4-fluoro derivative
of 3 (i.e., compounds 6 and 7, respectively) also showed weaker
potency than 3 (IC50 values of 17 and 34 nM, respectively).
Although the AUC and Cmax value for 7 was almost same as that
of 3, we supposed that the introduction of substituents at the 4-
position of the phenyl ring could affect the acidity of the carboxylic
acid moiety, which might have an impact on the oral bioavailability.
moiety and conducted an SAR study using a variety of
-substituted carboxylic acid groups. The results of this study
are shown in Table 3.
a- and
a,a
At the start of this SAR study, we searched for the metabolites of
the phenyl acetic acid derivatives in vivo (i.e., in the blood, urine
and feces of the rat), and found that one of the main metabolites
was an acyl glucuronide. It is well known that the acyl glucuronide
conjugates of phenyl acetic acid derivatives may represent a seri-
ous idiosyncratic drug toxicity risk. As exemplified for Ibuprofen
and Ibufenac,11 the introduction of a suitable substituent at the
a
-position of the carboxylic acid moiety can mitigate these issues.
With this in mind, we investigated the introduction of different
substituents at the -position of these compounds. The mono-
a
methylated derivative 11 exhibited greater antagonistic activity
than the unmethylated compound 10 (IC50 = 9.3 nM). Moreover,
the di-methylated derivative 12 showed even greater antagonist
activity (IC50 = 2.3 nM). We subsequently compared the stabilities
of the acyl glucuronides of 12 and 10, and found that the acyl glu-
curonide of 12 was more stable than that of 10 (remaining ratios of
97% and 77%, respectively, in human blood plasma after 2 h). This
result indicated that 12 would pose a lower idiosyncratic drug tox-
icity risk than 10.11 The cyclopropane derivative 13 also showed
Table 1
Effect of structural modifications on the AUCa
H3C
H3C
OH
CH3
OH
OH
H
N
H
N
H3C
F
H
N
N
O
N
O
N
O
F
O
O
O
F
F
O
O
O
CO2H
CO2H
CO2H
1
2
3
Compd
1
2
3
S1P2 Ca2+ IC50 (nM)
12
12
3.3
64
6.2
40
11
94
74
1.70
3.76
560.5
4.0
70
18
99
AUCa (ngÁh/ml)
b
Cmax (ng/ml)
rLMSc (NADPH,%)
rLMSc (UDPGA, %)
LogDd
61
86
2.24
3.90
550.6
1.63
3.85
522.6
d
pKa
M.W.e
a
b
c
Area under the blood concentration–time curve, Rat, p.o. 1 mg/kg, calculated within 0–24 h. n = 2 (compounds 1 & 3), n = 3 (compound 2).
Rat, p.o. 1 mg/kg, n = 2 (compounds 1 & 3), n = 3 (compound 2).
Remaining ratio (%) in rat liver microsomes at 15 min with NADPH or UDPGA.
Predicted using ADMET predictor (SimulationsPlus, Lancaster, CA, USA).
Molecular weight.
d
e