High-throughput screening against the human sirtuin SIRT1 led to the discovery of a series of indoles as potent inhibitors that are selective for SIRT1 over other deacetylases and NAD-processing enzymes. The most potent compounds described herein inhibit SIRT1 with IC50 values of 60-100 nM, representing a 500-fold improvement over previously reported SIRT inhibitors. Preparation of enantiomerically pure indole derivatives allowed for their characterization in vitro and in vivo. Kinetic analyses suggest that these inhibitors bind after the release of nicotinamide from the enzyme and prevent the release of deacetylated peptide and O-acetyl-ADP-ribose, the products of enzyme-catalyzed deacetylation. These SIRT1 inhibitors are low molecular weight, cell-permeable, orally bioavailable, and metabolically stable. These compounds provide chemical tools to study the biology of SIRT1 and to explore therapeutic uses for SIRT1 inhibitors.

Bioisosteric substitution was used as a tool to generate several new structural alternatives to the thiazolidine-2,4-dione and tetrazole heterocycles as potential antidiabetic agents. Among the initial leads that emerged from this strategy, a family of acidic azoles, isoxazol-3- and -5-ones and a pyrazol-3-one, showed significant plasma glucose-lowering activity (17-42% reduction) in genetically obese, diabetic db/db mice at a dose of 100 mg/kg/day x4. Structure-activity relationship studies determined that 5-alkyl-4-(arylmethyl)pyrazol-3-ones, which exist in solution as aromatic enol/iminol tautomers, were the most promising new class of potential antidiabetic agent (32-45% reduction at 20 mg/kg/d x4). Included in this work are convenient syntheses for several types of acidic azoles that may find use as new acidic bioisosteres in medicinal chemistry such as the antidiabetic lead 5-(trifluoromethyl)pyrazol-3-one (hydroxy tautomer) and aza homologs of the pyrazolones, 1,2,3-triazol-5-ones (hydroxy tautomer) and 1,2,3,4-tetrazol-5-one heterocycles. log P and pKa data for 15 potential acidic bioisosteres, all appended to a 2-naphthalenylmethyl residue so as to maintain a similar distance between the acidic hydrogen and arene nucleus, are presented. This new data set allows comparison of a wide variety of potential acid mimetics (pKa 3.78-10.66; log P -0.21 to 2.76) for future drug design.

Herein, we report the discovery of a novel potent, selective, CNS penetrant, and orally bioavailable mGlu 4 PAM, VU0652957 (VU2957, Valiglurax). VU2957 possessed attractive in vitro and in vivo pharmacological and DMPK properties across species. To advance toward the clinic, a spray-dried dispersion (SDD) formulation of VU2957 was developed to support IND-enabling toxicology studies. Based on its overall profile, VU2957 was evaluated as a preclinical development candidate for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

Reaction of five‐membered ring anhydrides with sodium sulfide has previously been employed for synthesis of the corresponding thioanhydrides in low yields. Re‐examination of the stoichiometry reveals reaction of cyclic anhydride with sodium sulfide (2:1 respectively), affords the thioanhydride accompanied by the corresponding dicarboxylate in a 1:1 molar ratio. The mechanistic pathway for this reaction has also been elucidated. Optimization of reaction conditions has resulted in the synthesis of a variety of four to seven‐membered ring thioanhydrides in yields approaching theoretical.

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