Patent Application
20240301023
The present invention relates to peptide analogues of dynorphin and their use in pain management.
The present application is being filed along with a Sequence Listing in electronic format. The Sequence Listing is provided as a file entitled 59420935_1, created and last modified on Apr. 18, 2024, which is 20,170 bytes in size. The information in the electronic format of the Sequence Listing is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Opioids are a class of drugs that are used clinically as painkillers. As such, opioids are a mainstay of pain management and are considered the gold standard. However, opioids such as morphine have significant side-effects including constipation, sedation, respiratory depression, dependence and tolerance. These side-effects add significant burden to the quality of life experienced by patients, with prevention and management of opioid dependence being particularly challenging.
Opioids mainly act via the opioid receptors (μ, δ, κ and nociceptin). It is postulated that some of the undesirable side-effects reside in the agonist activity on some of these opioid receptors. As such, it would be advantageous to provide an opioid that has selective activity on some receptors to ameliorate this issue.
The natural mechanism for analgesia involves endogenous opioids. One such endogenous opioid is dynorphin which arises from prodynorphin. However, dynorphins are metabolised relatively quickly and so it would be advantageous to provide dynorphins which have greater pharmacokinetic (metabolic) stability and thus a longer half-life.
There is a need for the development of new drugs that are effective in pain management, while also having less side-effects and greater in vivo stability. There is also a need for a larger selection of pain management drugs to choose from.
The present invention is predicated at least in part on the discovery of peptidic dynorphin analogues that have selective activity in relation to opioid receptors and have improved stability in vivo allowing longer lasting pain management.
In one aspect of the present invention there is provided a compound of formula (I), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, solvate, stereoisomer or prodrug thereof:
R1NH—X1—X2—X3—X4—X5—X6—X7—X8—X9—X10—X11—C(O)R2 (I)
In another aspect of the present invention there is provided a pharmaceutical composition comprising a compound of formula (I) or pharmaceutically acceptable salt, solvate, stereoisomer or prodrug thereof and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, diluent and/or excipient.
In yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of treating or preventing pain in a subject comprising administering an effective amount of a compound of formula (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, solvate, stereoisomer or prodrug thereof, or a pharmaceutical composition comprising a compound of formula (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, solvate, stereoisomer or prodrug thereof.
In a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a use of a compound of formula (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, solvate, stereoisomer of prodrug thereof in the manufacture of a medicament for treating or preventing pain.
In yet a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a compound of formula (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof for use in treating or preventing pain.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention belongs. Although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the present invention, preferred methods and materials are described. For the purposes of the present invention, the following terms are defined below.
The articles “a” and “an” are used herein to refer to one or to more than one (i.e. to at least one) of the grammatical object of the article. By way of example, “an element” means one element or more than one element.
As used herein, the term “about” refers to a quantity, level, value, dimension, size, or amount that varies by as much as 20%, 15% or 10% to a reference quantity, level, value, dimension, size, or amount.
Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word “comprise”, and variations such as “comprises” and “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps.
As used herein, the term “amino acid” refers to an α-amino acid or a 3-amino acid and may be a
Amino acid structure and single and three letter abbreviations used throughout the specification are defined in Table 1, which lists the twenty naturally occurring amino acids which occur in proteins as
The term “non-proteinogenic amino acid” as used herein, refers to amino acids having a side chain that does not occur in the naturally occurring
The non-proteinogenic amino acids in Table 2 may be in the L or D configuration and may be N-methylated on the α-amino group.
The term “alkyl” as used herein refers to straight chain or branched hydrocarbon groups, for example, alkyl groups may have 1 to 20 carbon atoms, such as 1 to 10 carbon atoms. Suitable alkyl groups include, but are not limited to methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, isobutyl, pentyl and hexyl. The term alkyl may be prefixed by a specified number of carbon atoms to indicate the number of carbon atoms or a range of numbers of carbon atoms that may be present in the alkyl group. For example, C1-3alkyl refers to methyl, ethyl, propyl and isopropyl.
As used herein, the term “alkylene” refers to a divalent saturated hydrocarbon chain having 1 to 10 carbon atoms. Where appropriate, the alkylene group may have a specified number of carbon atoms, for example, C1-10alkylene includes alkylene groups having 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 carbon atoms in a linear arrangement. Examples of suitable alkylene groups include, but are not limited to, —CH2—, —CH2CH2—, —CH2CH2CH2—, —CH2CH2CH2CH2—, —CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2— and —CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2—.
As used herein, the term “cycloalkyl” refers to a saturated cyclic hydrocarbon. The cycloalkyl ring may include a specified number of carbon atoms. For example, a 3 to 8 membered cycloalkyl group includes 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 carbon atoms. Examples of suitable cycloalkyl groups include, but are not limited to, cyclopropyl, cyclobutyl, cyclopentyl, cyclohexyl, cycloheptyl and cyclooctyl.
The term “halo” as used herein refers to fluoro, chloro, bromo and iodo.
The term “hydrophilic amino acid residue” as used herein refers to an amino acid residue in which the side chain is polar or charged. Examples include glycine, sarcosine (N-methylglycine),
As used herein, the term “hydrophobic amino acid residue” refers to an amino acid residue in which the side chain is non-polar. Examples include, but are not limited to
As used herein, the term “positively charged amino acid residue” refers to an amino acid residue having a side chain capable of bearing a positive charge. Examples include, but are not limited to
As used herein, the term “negatively charged amino acid residue” refers to an amino acid residue having a side chain capable of bearing a negative charge. Examples include, but are not limited to
As used herein, the term “polar uncharged amino acid residue” refers to an amino acid residue having a side chain that is uncharged and has a dipole moment. Examples of polar amino acid residues, include, but are not limited to glycine, sarcosine,
The term “amino acid having a small side chain” refers to amino acid residues having a side chain with 4 or less non-hydrogen atoms, especially 3 or less non-hydrogen atoms. Examples include, but are not limited to, glycine, sarcosine,
The term “conservative amino acid substitution” refers to substituting one amino acid in a sequence with another amino acid that has similar properties of size, polarity and/or aromaticity and does not change the nature or activity of the peptide. For example, one polar amino acid residue may be substituted with another polar amino acid residue or an amino acid residue having a small side chain may be substituted with another amino acid residue having a small side chain.
The compounds of the invention may be in the form of pharmaceutically acceptable salts. It will be appreciated however that non-pharmaceutically acceptable salts also fall within the scope of the invention since these may be useful as intermediates in the preparation of pharmaceutically acceptable salts or may be useful during storage or transport. Suitable pharmaceutically acceptable salts include, but are not limited to, salts of pharmaceutically acceptable inorganic acids such as hydrochloric, sulphuric, phosphoric, nitric, carbonic, boric, sulfamic, and hydrobromic acids, or salts of pharmaceutically acceptable organic acids such as acetic, propionic, butyric, tartaric, maleic, hydroxymaleic, fumaric, maleic, citric, lactic, mucic, gluconic, benzoic, succinic, oxalic, phenylacetic, methanesulphonic, toluenesulphonic, benezenesulphonic, salicylic sulphanilic, aspartic, glutamic, edetic, stearic, palmitic, oleic, lauric, pantothenic, tannic, ascorbic and valeric acids.
Base salts include, but are not limited to, those formed with pharmaceutically acceptable cations, such as sodium, potassium, lithium, calcium, magnesium, ammonium and alkylammonium.
Basic nitrogen-containing groups may be quaternised with such agents as lower alkyl halide, such as methyl, ethyl, propyl, and butyl chlorides, bromides and iodides; dialkyl sulfates like dimethyl and diethyl sulfate; and others.
It will also be recognised that compounds of the invention may possess asymmetric centres and are therefore capable of existing in more than one stereoisomeric form. The invention thus also relates to compounds in substantially pure isomeric form at one or more asymmetric centres eg., greater than about 90% ee, such as about 95% or 97% ee or greater than 99% ee, as well as mixtures, including racemic mixtures, thereof. Such isomers may be prepared by asymmetric synthesis, for example using chiral intermediates, or by chiral resolution. The compounds of the invention may exist as geometric isomers. The invention also relates to compounds in substantially pure cis (Z) or trans (E) or mixtures thereof.
The compounds of the invention may also be in the form of solvates, including hydrates. The term “solvate” is used herein to refer to a complex of variable stoichiometry formed by a solute (a compound of formula (I)) and a solvent. Such solvents should not interfere with the biological activity of the solute. Solvents that may be included in a solvate include, but are not limited to, water, ethanol, propanol, and acetic acid. Methods of solvation are generally known within the art.
The term “pro-drug” is used in its broadest sense and encompasses those derivatives that are converted in vivo to the compounds of formula (I). Such derivatives would readily occur to those skilled in the art and include, for example, compounds where a free hydroxy group is converted into an ester derivative or a free nitrogen is converted to an N-oxide. Examples of ester derivatives include alkyl esters, phosphate esters and those formed from amino acids. Conventional procedures for the preparation of suitable prodrugs are described in text books such as “Design of Prodrugs” Ed. H. Bundgaard, Elsevier, 1985.
In one aspect of the present invention there is provided a compound of formula (I), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, solvate, stereoisomer or prodrug thereof:
R1NH—X1—X2—X3—X4—X5—X6—X7—X8—X9—X10—X11—C(O)R2 (I)
The term “tyrosine derivative” refers to
wherein R13 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and alkyl, especially wherein the alkyl is C1-6 alkyl, more especially wherein the alkyl is methyl or ethyl. In one embodiment R13 is hydrogen.
The term “3-(4-pyridyl)-alanine derivative” refers to
The term “phenylalanine derivative” refers to
The term “leucine derivative” refers to
In some embodiments, the amino acid residues are all in the
In some embodiments, one or both of X6 and X7 are in the
In some embodiments, X4 is a non-natural amino acid residue. In particular embodiments, X4 is a phenylalanine derivative. Suitable phenylalanine derivatives include 4-nitrophenylalanine, 4-chlorophenylalanine and 4-fluorophenylalanine.
In some embodiments, R1 is hydrogen. In other embodiments, R1 is methyl.
In some embodiments, R2 is OH. In other embodiments, R2 is NH2.
In some embodiments, one or more of the following applies:
In some particular embodiments, X4 is a substituted phenylalanine. In some embodiments, one or both of X6 and X7 is selected from
Particular embodiments of the compounds of formula (I) include:
In particular embodiments, the compound of formula (I) is selected from SEQ ID Nos. 2, 11, 12, 13, 20, 22, 24, 26. 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31.
The peptides of the present invention may be made using methods well known in the art and commercially available amino acid residues. For example, the peptides may be prepared by solid phase synthesis or solution phase synthesis using Fmoc or Boc protected amino acid residues (Jones, Amino Acid and Peptide Synthesis, 1992, Oxford Science Publications and other similar texts).
Also described are peptides in which X3 is glycine or sarcosine or a hydrophobic amino acid residue having a small side chain, especially where X3 is glycine, sarcosine,
These peptides include:
According to another aspect, the invention resides in a pharmaceutical composition comprising a compound of the invention, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, stereoisomer, solvate or prodrug thereof, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, diluent and/or excipient.
Suitably, the pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, diluent and/or excipient may be or include one or more of diluents, solvents, pH buffers, binders, fillers, emulsifiers, disintegrants, polymers, lubricants, oils, fats, waxes, coatings, viscosity-modifying agents, glidants and the like.
The salt forms of the compounds of the invention may be especially useful due to improved solubility.
Diluents may include one or more of microcrystalline cellulose, lactose, mannitol, calcium phosphate, calcium sulfate, kaolin, dry starch, powdered sugar, and the like. Binders may include one or more of povidone, starch, stearic acid, gums, hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose and the like. Disintegrants may include one or more of starch, croscarmellose sodium, crospovidone, sodium starch glycolate and the like. Solvents may include one or more of ethanol, methanol, isopropanol, chloroform, acetone, methylethyl ketone, methylene chloride, water and the like. Lubricants may include one or more of magnesium stearate, zinc stearate, calcium stearate, stearic acid, sodium stearyl fumarate, hydrogenated vegetable oil, glyceryl behenate and the like. A glidant may be one or more of colloidal silicon dioxide, talc or cornstarch and the like. Buffers may include phosphate buffers, borate buffers and carbonate buffers, although without limitation thereto. Fillers may include one or more gels inclusive of gelatin, starch and synthetic polymer gels, although without limitation thereto. Coatings may comprise one or more of film formers, solvents, plasticizers and the like. Suitable film formers may be one or more of hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, methyl hydroxyethyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, povidone, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, polyethylene glycol, acrylates and the like. Suitable solvents may be one or more of water, ethanol, methanol, isopropanol, chloroform, acetone, methylethyl ketone, methylene chloride and the like. Plasticizers may be one or more of propylene glycol, castor oil, glycerin, polyethylene glycol, polysorbates, and the like.
Reference is made to the Handbook of Excipients 6th Edition, Eds. Rowe, Sheskey & Quinn (Pharmaceutical Press), which provides non-limiting examples of excipients which may be useful according to the invention.
It will be appreciated that the choice of pharmaceutically acceptable carriers, diluents and/or excipients will, at least in part, be dependent upon the mode of administration of the formulation. By way of example only, the composition may be in the form of a tablet, capsule, caplet, powder, an injectable liquid, a suppository, a slow release formulation, an osmotic pump formulation or any other form that is effective and safe for administration.
Suitably, the pharmaceutical composition is for the treatment of pain.
In another aspect, the invention provides a method of treating or preventing pain in a subject including the step of administering a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of the invention, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, stereoisomer, solvate or prodrug thereof, or the pharmaceutical composition comprising a compound of the invention, to the subject to thereby treat or prevent pain.
In a further aspect, the invention provides a use of a compound of the invention, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, stereoisomer, solvate or prodrug thereof, in the manufacture of a medicament for the treatment or prevention of pain.
In a yet a further aspect, the invention provides a compound the invention, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, stereoisomer, solvate or prodrug thereof, or the pharmaceutical composition comprising a compound of the invention, for use in the treatment or prevention of pain.
As generally used herein, the terms “administering” or “administration”, and the like, describe the introduction of the compound or composition to a subject such as by a particular route or vehicle. Routes of administration may include topical, parenteral and enteral which include oral, buccal, sub-lingual, nasal, anal, gastrointestinal, subcutaneous, intramuscular, intravenous and intradermal routes of administration, although without limitation thereto.
By “treat”, “treatment” or treating” is meant administration of the compound or composition to a subject to at least alleviate, reduce or suppress pain experienced by the subject.
By “prevent”, “preventing” or “preventative” is meant prophylactically administering the formulation to a subject who does not exhibit experience pain, but who is expected or anticipated to likely experience pain in the absence of prevention.
An “effective amount” means an amount necessary at least partly to attain the desired response, or to alleviate, decrease or remove the pain, delay the onset or inhibit progression of the pain, or inhibit the onset of the pain being treated. The amount varies depending upon the health and physical condition of the individual to be treated, the taxonomic group of individual to be treated, the degree of alleviation desired, the formulation of the composition, the assessment of the medical situation, and other relevant factors. It is expected that the amount will fall in a relatively broad range that can be determined through routine trials. An effective amount in relation to a human patient, for example, may lie in the range of about 0.1 ng per kg of body weight to 1 g per kg of body weight per dosage. The dosage is preferably in the range of 1 μg to 1 g per kg of body weight per dosage, such as is in the range of 1 mg to 1 g per kg of body weight per dosage. In one embodiment, the dosage is in the range of 1 mg to 500 mg per kg of body weight per dosage. In another embodiment, the dosage is in the range of 1 mg to 250 mg per kg of body weight per dosage. In yet another embodiment, the dosage is in the range of 1 mg to 100 mg per kg of body weight per dosage, such as up to 50 mg per kg of body weight per dosage. In yet another embodiment, the dosage is in the range of 1 μg to 1 mg per kg of body weight per dosage. Dosage regimes may be adjusted to provide the optimum therapeutic response. For example, several divided doses may be administered daily, weekly, monthly or other suitable time intervals, or the dose may be proportionally reduced as indicated by the exigencies of the situation. The effective amount and appropriate dosage regimen may be ascertained through routine trial.
As used herein, the terms “subject” or “individual” or “patient” may refer to any subject, particularly a vertebrate subject, and even more particularly a mammalian subject, for whom treatment is desired. Suitable vertebrate animals include, but are not restricted to, primates, avians, livestock animals (e.g., sheep, cows, horses, donkeys, pigs), laboratory test animals (e.g., rabbits, mice, rats, guinea pigs, hamsters), companion animals (e.g., cats, dogs) and captive wild animals (e.g., foxes, deer, dingoes). In a particular embodiment, the subject is a human.
Suitably, the pain being treated is selected from the group consisting of nociceptive pain, inflammatory pain and neuropathic pain, for example, somatic pain, visceral pain, pain syndrome, diabetic neuropathy, trigeminal neuralgia, postherpetic neuralgia, post-stroke pain, complex regional pain syndrome, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, causalgias, cancer pain, surgical pain and psychogenic pain. In some embodiments, the pain is acute pain. In other embodiments, the pain is chronic pain. Any condition for which dynorphin is considered an appropriate treatment or co-treatment may be considered suitable for treatment using a compound of the invention or the composition comprising a compound of the invention.
Rink amide AM resin (0.6 mmol/gm original loading) was used as the solid support and Fmoc-protected amino acids were coupled in 4-5 equivalents (relative to original loading) using a coupling reagent cocktail of diisopropylcarbodiimide (DIC) and ethyl (hydroxyamino)cyanoacetate (Oxyma Pure) in 0.5 M concentration in dimethylformamine (DMF). Fmoc deprotection was achieved using 20% piperidine in DMF (60 equivalents) with a 20 minute incubation time. Capping was performed after each amino acid coupling using acetic anhydride (5 M in DMF, 8 eq.) and diisopropyl ethylamine (DIPEA, 2 M in NMP, 8 eq.). After completion of the couplings, the peptide was cleaved from the resin using ≈1.5 mL TFA:TIPS:H2O cocktail (88:8:4).
SEQ ID NO. 28 was synthesised using the same protocol as above except the first coupling reaction, was performed by tethering to Wang resin (0.38 mmol/gm loading). Wang resin (1 g) was suspended in 9:1 v/v CH2Cl2:DMF (≈15 mL). Separately, amino acid and hydroxybenzotriazole (HOBt, 2 eq. of each) were dissolved in a minimum amount of DMF and added to the resin. To this dimethyl aminopyridine (DMAP, 0.1 eq.) and DIC (1 eq.) was added to the resin mixture. The mixture was stirred gently for 3 hours under an inert atmosphere at room temperature. Acetic anhydride (2 eq. and pyridine (2 eq.) was added to the reaction flask and stirred for an additional 30 minutes at room temperature to ‘cap’ any unreacted hydroxyl groups on the resin. The resin was filtered and washed with DMF and dichloromethane (DCM). After synthesis was complete, the peptide was cleaved from the resin using a mixture of DCM:trifluoroacetic acid (TFA):tirisopropylsilane (TIPS) (1:1:0.1; 21 mL), with a cleavage time of 4 hours.
Crude peptides were collected and further purified by preparative HPLC. All peptides were purified using preparative HPLC, Agilent 1200 Chem Station equipped with of binary pump and auto-fraction collector. A Jupiter C18, 10 μm, Proteo 90 Å LC column 250×21.2 mm was used with a flow rate of 10 mL/min. The mobile phase employed was Solvent A: MilliQ water, Solvent B: acetonitrile, both containing 0.1% v/v TFA with a gradient flow 0% to 100% B over 60 min. The peptide purity was determined by using a Shimadzu LC-2040C Nexera-i high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system. The mobile phase employed was Solvent A: MilliQ water, Solvent B: acetonitrile, both containing 0.1% v/v TFA with a gradient flow 0% to 100% B over 35 min. Peptide mass was confirmed by Agilent 1290 ultra-high performance liquid chromatography system coupled with a 6520 accurate mass quadrupole time of flight (Q-TOF) LCMS system.
The peptides synthesized are shown in Table 3:
Cyclic AMP (cAMP) production occurs as a biological consequence of pain and inflammation, opioid agonists inhibit this production through a receptor specific mechanism and as such is viewed as the industry ‘gold-standard’ for assessment of opioid potency. It is a surrogate measure for the analgesic properties of opioids in cell-based assays. Highly potent compounds, like morphine or fentanyl, for example, have strong inhibitory effects on cAMP production at low nanomolar (nM) concentrations. Thus, cAMP assays serve as a measure of the analgesic potential of test compounds, as compared to control/reference compounds of high potency and selectivity.
The cAMP assay was performed according to the manufacturer's instruction (ALPHAScreen cAMP kit, Perkin Elmer). HEK 293 cells that stably overexpress Kappa opioid receptor (KOR), Delta opioid receptor (DOR) and Mu opioid receptor (MOR) were grown to approximately 90% confluence in a 75 mm2 flask using standard culture techniques (DMEM, 10% foetal bovine serum). Cells were harvested using EDTA solution and diluted to 4 million cells per mL in HBSS buffer containing 0.1% bovine serum albumin (BSA), 5 mM HEPES buffer and 0.5 mM 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (iBMX), as per manufacturer's instruction. In a white 96 well ½ volume plate, cells (20 μL, 80K cells containing acceptor beads 0.25%) were added to 20 μL forskolin (50 μM, in above HBSS buffer) containing the test compound at the given concentration (final 10 μM-1 pM) and incubated at 37° C. for 1 hour. CR845 (SEQ ID NO. 35) was used as a positive control with high potency, selectivity and stability as reported in Menzaghi et al., 2015, The Journal of Pain, 16(4), S81.
Cell reactions were stopped using lysis buffer, as per manufacturer's instructions (0.1% BSA, 5 mM HEPES, 0.3% Tween-20™ in water, pH 7.4 containing 0.25% donor beads and 0.5% cAMP tracer, 60 μL). Plates were left at room temperature in a dark humidity box on a rotary shaker table overnight and on a fluorimeter (Perkin Elmer EnSight) using ALPHAScreen relevant filters.
The results are shown in Table 4:
The assay of Example 2 was repeated at 8 concentrations with peptide derivatives of higher potency as well as further positive and negative controls. The peptide derivatives tested were SEQ ID Nos. 2 to 4, 11 to 20, 24, 25 and 28 to 31 and Dyn 1-17. CR845, referred to as SEQ ID NO. 35 (DPhe-DPhe-DLeu-DLys-Cap-CO2H), was used for a positive control selective for KOR. SP12 (SEQ ID NO. 36: 2-NH2-Phe-Phe-Leu-Gly-Arg-Arg) was selected as a negative control, having no measurable potency at 1 μM in any opioid-receptor cell type. Small molecule agonist compounds U50488H (KOR selective, Von Voigtlander and Lewis, Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 1982, 6(4), 467-470), SNC80 (DOR selective, Metcalf et al., ACS Chemical Neuroscience, 2012, 3(7), 505-509) and fentanyl (MOR selective, Suzuki and El-Haddad, Drug and Alcohol Dependence 2017, 171, 107-116) and endogenous dynorphin 1-17 (Dyn1-17, SEQ ID NO. 37: Tyr-Gly-Gly-Phe-Leu-Arg-Arg-Ile-Arg-Pro-Lys-Leu-Lys-Trp-Asp-Asn-Gln) were used as positive controls for KOR, DOR and MOR cells. The compounds were assessed over 8 concentrations ranging from 10 μM to 1 pm (10-fold serial dilution) in 96 well plate format. All three cell types were assessed simultaneously and each plate included Dyn1-17 (SEQ ID NO. 37) and the respective small molecule agonist. The concentration response curves were constructed in two ways, with low efficacy derivatives being examined on 2 independent occasions and all others being assessed on at least 3 independent occasions. The results being an average of two or more independent experiments.
The results for SEQ ID Nos 2, 3 and 4 together with SEQ ID NO. 35 (CR845) and positive controls are shown in
SEQ ID Nos. 2, as well as Dyn1-17 (SEQ ID NO. 37) and the respective small molecule agonists U50488H and CR845 (SEQ ID NO. 35), were tested against non-selective opioid antagonist naloxone (100 μM) to establish whether the cAMP modulatory effect was specifically induced by the respective opioid receptors. The results are shown in
This experiment was repeated with SEQ ID Nos. 4, 7, 11 and 16. The results are shown in
Naloxone was found to abolish all activity of all compounds assessed in all cell lines, definitively confirming the specificity of the peptides at each opioid receptor in KOR, MOR and DOR cell lines.
The stability of the peptides was analysed in typsin, plasma and water. Stability of linear peptides is generally low due to rapid degradation by endogenous peptidases and proteases. While stability in bodily fluids is important, absolute stability may not be prudent or desirable due to potential build-up in vivo leading to adverse side effects, and/or hazards to the environment and recirculation of exceptionally stable compounds in waterways. Thus, compounds that are extremely stable in either plasma or typsin are not generally considered “drug-like”.
Stability in bovine trypsin was analysed for SEQ ID Nos. 2 to 7 and 11 to 17. Peptides were added to trypsin solution (bovine pancreatic trypsin 2.5 μg/mL in NH4HCO3 buffer, pH approximately 8-8.5, 37° C.) in a water bath with final concentrations of 100 μM peptide. A 50 μL sample was taken immediately and precipitated in 150 μL of cold acetonitrile (9:1 acetonitrile:water) This sample became the baseline, or t=0 min sample. The trypsin peptide mixture was immediately returned to the water bath and subsequent 50 μL samples were taken at 5, 10, 15, 30, 60 and 120 min. At each time point, the 50 μL sample was collected and immediately added to cold acetonitrile (ACN). Each sample was vortexed for 30 sec and then centrifuged at room temperature (RT) (13K rpm, 5 min). 150 μL of the supernatant was taken and directly place in a glass HPLC vial for LCMS analysis.
Stability in plasma was assessed in rat plasma. Plasma was collected in-house from adult mixed-gender Wistar rats, prepared using 2% EDTA as per standard practice. Peptides were added to the rat plasma samples at 37° C. in a water bath with final concentrations of 100 μM (1:9 peptide in water:plasma). The assay was then carried out in the same manner as the assay in bovine trypsin.
Stability in water was carried out by incubating each candidate in ultra-pure, Milli-Q water (Millipore Corporation). Again, volumes, times and preparation protocols were exactly as described above in plasma stability method above.
The results are shown in Table 6:
Binding efficiency was determined using a commercial Homogenous Time-Resolved Fluorescence (HTRF) assay specific for KOR-binding studies (Tag-Lite® Opioid KOP Receptor Ligand Binding Assay, CisBio). Experimental protocols were as according to the manufacturer's instruction. Plates were read on a Tecan Spark Fluorimeter. Data was analysed using a combination of Microsoft Excel and Graphpad Prism software packages. The Kd, IC50 and Ki were determined in Prism.
Methods are similar to previously described by Koch et al (J. Biol. Chem., 2001, 276(3): 31408-14). Two 25 cm2 flasks of HEK293-KOPr cells per compound to be tested were grown to confluence (DMEM/10% FBS). Media was replaced with fresh warmed sterile media (DMEM/10% FBS) in both flasks, one containing the test peptide or reference/control compound (1 μM) the other acting as control (untreated). Flasks were returned to the incubator for 6 hours, following which cells were harvested and tested for cAMP modulation using the same kit and protocol as in Example 3. Cells were treated with the same peptide/compound to which they were pre-treated in a concentration curve manner, as described above. Data was compared for EC50 with and without pre-treatment.
SEQ ID NOs 4, 7, 11 and 16 along with U50488H, Dyn1-7 (SEQ ID NO. 38: Tyr-Gly-Gly-Phe-Leu-Arg-Arg) and Dyn1-17 were (SEQ ID NO. 37) screened for binding affinity to KOR (Ki relative to Kd of naltrindole) using a commercial Homogenous Time Resolved Fluorescence (HTRF) assays. Morphine was used as a negative control for KOR binding. The Kd of the reference ligand (Naltrindole; supplied in HTRF kit) was determined to be 0.8 nM (n=3). Test compounds were assayed for competitive binding against naltrindole (8 nM) in order to determine their Ki values. Calculated Ki values relative to naltrindole are shown in Table 7. All test peptides assayed had Ki values in the low-to-mid nanomolar range comparable to Dyn1-17 (SEQ ID NO. 37), Dyn1-7 (SEQ ID NO. 38) control peptides and U50488H with a similar rank order as the EC50. As expected, morphine displayed poor affinity for KOR.
Peptides were screened for KOPr desensitisation in HEK293-KOPr cells, similar to previously described in Koch, T.; Schulz, S.; Pfeiffer, M.; Klutzny, M.; Schroder, H.; Kahl, E.; Hollt, V., J Biol Chem 2001, 276 (33), 31408-14. Pretreatment of cells with reference compounds (1 μM) U50488H or CR845 compound for 6 hours resulted in a significant reduction maximal effect (cAMP % change; unpaired two tailed ttest p<0.0001) indicative of receptor desensitisation (
Protocols are as recommended by the pERK kit manufacturer's instruction (PerkinElmer AlphaLISA SureFire Ultra pERK1/2 assay kit) with minor modifications. Briefly, HEK293-KOPr cells were grown to confluence and prepared at 200K cells/mL using 0.25% EDTA. Cells were seeded in DMEM/10% FBS, 40 k/well, in sterile black, clear bottom, 96 well plates (one plate per compound). The outer most wells were omitted to avoid edge effects. Cells were returned to the incubator with the lid on the plate and left for 48 hours. Old media was replaced with 40 μL clear (indicator dye and FBS free) prewarmed HBSS and incubated for 20 min at 37° C. Serially diluted test peptide (6×10 fold dilutions; final concentration in well 1-10 μM in HBSS) was added (10 μL) to each respective well at various time points (30, 20, 10, 5 and 0 minutes). Assay was stopped using the provided lysis buffer, following which plates were placed on a shaker for 10 min at room temperature, the plate was centrifuged (3700 rpm, 10 min) and the supernatant was collected. 5 μL of lysate from each assay well was added to a well of a white 384 well plate, to which 2.5 uL of commercial ‘acceptor bead’ reaction media was added and the plate left in dark at room temp for 1 hour. 2.5 μL of commercial ‘donor bead’ reaction media was added to each well, and the plate left to incubate in a humidity box at room temperature. Plates were read for ALPHA signal using a PerkinElmer Ensight Fluorimetric Plate Reader running Kalaido software. Using this method, pERK1/2 production was recorded in a time and concentration dependent manner. Total ERK was not measured. A bias factor was calculated from the cAMP and pERK data, as previously reported by Rajagopal et al., (Mol. Pharmacol., 2011, 80(3): 367-77), using the following formulae;
where ε is the efficiency coefficient for reference (ref) OR test ligand (lig), σ is the relative response/pathway-specific signal factor and β is the pathway signal bias factor. Response 1 was cAMP, response 2 was pERK. Emax (maximal effect recorded per compound) and EC50 were derived from the concentration response curves of cAMP and pERK activity respectively.
Desensitisation has been linked to receptor/G-protein uncoupling and internalisation events, thus it is possible these peptides behave differently as agonists than other molecules such as U50488H. The activation of MAP kinases (such as phosphorylated extracellular regulated kinase 1 and 2 (pERK1/2)) by G-protein coupling are second messengers often linked to β-Arrestin recruitment, receptor internalisation, recycling and desensitisation. Furthermore, many studies have speculated an involvement for MAPKs like pERK1/2 in the development of tolerance. Thus, there is an intriguing possibility that the lack of acute desensitisation observed within our peptide library may involve a bias-signalling component at KOPr, whereby pERK1/2 activation is reduced, if not avoided.
SEQ ID Nos 4, 18, 19, 20 and 24 and control compounds U50488H, CR845 (SEQ ID NO. 35), Dyn 1-7 (SEQ ID NO. 38) and Dyn 1-17 (SEQ ID NO. 37) were tested in a quantitative pERK1/2 assay in a time and concentration dependent manner. U50488H, CR845 (SEQ ID NO. 35), Dyn1-7 (SEQ ID NO. 38) and SEQ ID NO. 20 all caused time and concentration dependent pERK expression in HEK293-KOPr cells. Expression of pERK was transient and short lived, indicative of early-phase pERK release. SEQ ID NO 24 showed some influence over pERK induction, however only at higher concentrations, not having a classical sigmoidal dose-response curve. SEQ ID Nos 4, 18 and 19, all failed to show any pERK activity. An EC50 and maximal response (Emax) for pERK was derived, and a bias agonist factor was calculated, using U50488H as a reference compound.
Ethical approval for all in vivo experimental protocols was obtained from the University of Queensland Health Sciences Ethics Committee. All procedures adhere to The Australian Code of Practice for Use Of Animals for Scientific Purposes (2013) and reported in accordance with the ARRIVE guidelines (Kilkenny et al., Br. J. Pharmacol., 2010, 160(7), 1577-1579). Wistar rats were obtained from the Australian Animal Resource Centre (Canning Vale, WA) and transported by Australian standard air and road methods. Animals were housed 3 per box at appropriate temperature/pressure environments in a 12 h light/dark cycle according to the standard of holding facility, with food and water provided ad libitum. At least 48 h habituation in the housing facility was provided prior to any experimental intervention. After experimentation, rats are euthanized by appropriate and approved means (CO2 inhalation).
Experiments are similar to those previously performed (Morgan et al., Peptides, 2017, 89: 9-16). On day 1, rats were weighed and health checked, and baseline paw withdrawal (Randall-Selitto apparatus) and paw volume (plethysmometer) measurements made of both the left and the right hind paws. Rats were then lightly anaesthetised using isoflurane inhalation, and 150 μL of Freund's Complete Adjuvant (FCA) injected subcutaneously to the left paw pad. The right paw received no treatment. Rats were returned to their home cages and allowed to recover. On day 5, both hind paws of each rat were measured for paw withdrawal and volume (t=0). Rats were again lightly anaesthetised, and test compound (0.01-10 mg/kg, 50 μL in sterile isotonic injectable saline) injected subcutaneously into the left affected paw pad. Rats were allowed to recover. Paw pressure measurements (force in grams) to illicit a withdrawal reaction were made by Randall-Selitto methods in both hind paws at t=15, 30, 60 and 120 minutes post compound administration. U50488H (0.17 mg/kg) was used as a KOR reference compound, and morphine (0.3 mg/kg) and fentanyl (0.001-0.003 mg/kg) were used as MOR-active clinically relevant reference compounds. Saline vehicle acted as a negative control. Paw volume measurements were made at t=0 and t=120 min using a plethysmometer (Ugo-Basile Italy). Data was analysed using a combination of Microsoft Excel and Graphpad Prism software packages.
An efficacy index (Ie) was calculated to represent efficacy relative to administered dose (in molar), as normalise to a comparator compound. The following formula was used;
where D is dose administered (in Molar), At is the area under curve of the test peptide and Ao is the area under the curve for the control/reference compound, morphine.
Naloxone methiodide was used in the FCA model to antagonise opioid receptor function. Naloxone was administered intraplantar (i.pl, 50 μL 1 mg/kg in saline, to the inflamed paw) following the baseline measurements, under isoflurane anaesthesia 15 minutes prior to i.pl peptide administration. The experimental procedure for the FCA model did not vary from that described above thereafter.
SEQ ID Nos 4, 18, 19, 20 and 24 all proved to have relevant drug-like attributes with respect to low nanomolar potency, high selectivity for KOR over other ORs, favourable metabolic stability in trypsin and plasma and low nanomolar KOR binding coefficients. With the exception of SEQ ID NO 20, all showed a relative bias towards cAMP modulation in HEK293-KOPr cells and very little potential for desensitisation in vitro. These peptides were considered the most promising drug-like candidates, and consequently selected for further testing in vivo in the Freund's Complete Adjuvant (FCA) model of inflammatory pain. FCA administration caused a significant oedema whereby the affected paw swells to around twice its original size (data not shown) which was associated with a predicted decrease in paw withdrawal threshold, indicative of hyperalgaesia. Administration of KOR agonist U50488H (0.17 mg/kg i.pl) directly to the affected paw caused an increase in paw withdrawal threshold (in grams) closer to baseline levels, characteristic of an opioid-like antinociceptive effect (
Interestingly, all three reference compounds morphine, fentanyl and U50488H showed effects in the contralateral (uninflamed and untreated) control paw by 120 minutes following its administration into the ipsilateral paw (indicated by the black arrow in
Area under the curve (AUC) of each compounds' effect in vivo was calculated as a surrogate measure for overall efficacy. Individual peptides were compared to control compounds (U50488H, morphine (0.3 mg/kg), and fentanyl (3.3 μg/kg)). SEQ ID Nos 4 and 19 (each 0.3 mg/kg, 2.0 mM and 2.07 mM, respectively) showed significantly better efficacy than U50488H. (0.17 mg/kg, 2.7 mM when AUC were compared using Mann-Whitney t-tests (p<0.05) at the given doses.
An Efficacy Index (Ie) was calculated for each peptide/compound giving a relative score of effectiveness per unit of molar dose. Fentanyl showed a very high Ie simply due to the exceptionally low dose administered (60 μM). SEQ ID Nos 19 and 24 showed statistically significantly greater Ie over morphine (Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA; morphine is reference therefore Ie is 0). All other compounds were not statistically different to morphine Ie. SEQ ID Nos 19 and 24 which showed significantly improved Ie over morphine were tested for opioid-receptor specificity in the FCA model.
Naloxone pre-treatment effectively blocked the activity of each peptide, clearly indicating the anti-nociceptive effects were opioid receptor-mediated.
Basic pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters and the potential for systemic delivery was determined for the most promising compounds demonstrating efficacy interrogated in the FCA model. Methods are as previously reported (Hill et al., ACS Med. Chem. Lett. 2014, 5(10), 1148-51; Lohman et al., Chem. Commun. (Camb), 2019, 55(89), 13362-13365; Neilsen et al., Org. Lett., 2012, 14(22), 5720-3; Neilsen et al, Chembiochem, 2015, 16(16), 2289-93; Justyna et al., Current Drug Targets, 2013, 14(7), 798-816)). Rats were surgically implanted with a jugular vein catheter (sterile polyethylene, o.d. 0.96 mm i.d. 0.58 mm, Microtube Extrusions, Aust.) and allowed to recover overnight. Baseline blood samples (t=0) were taken prior to peptide administration directly from the indwelling jugular vein catheter. Peptide was administered directly via the catheter (i.v route), followed by a 200 μL chaser volume of heparinised saline (20 U/mL) to flush the line. Further blood samples (200 μL/sample) were collected directly from the intravenous catheter at t=1, 5 15, 30, 60, 90 120 as 180 minutes post-administration. Volumes taken were replaced with heparinised saline to avoid hypovolaemia. Blood samples were immediately centrifuged (14 k rpm, 5 min) and plasma supernatant snap frozen on dry ice for later processing. Plasma samples were thawed and diluted 1 in 4 acetonitrile, vortexed, sonicated and centrifuged. Supernatants were transferred to HPLC vials for LCMS analysis.
A Triple Quad Mass-Spectrometer (model 6460, Agilent Technologies) coupled to a Bidentate C18 HPLC column (Cogent, 100 Å, 4 μM) was used to analyse all samples. Separations were carried out using a binary solvent gradient. A Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) protocol was developed for each individual peptide to maximise sensitivity of the Mass-spec and optimise the Limit of Detection (LOD) from a serially diluted standard curve, performed in both acetonitrile solvent and neat rat plasma.
Samples were analysed using MassHunter Software packages, and area under the curve (AUC) was measured for each peak of interest in the MRM, as a direct measure of concentration of compound ions in the sample. AUCs were converted to plasma concentrations (Cp; μg/mL and μM) using the standard curves generated in plasma. Data was analysed using MS Excel software. A two compartment model was adopted to determine the pharmacokinetic properties of each peptide in the rat. The first phase describes the distribution throughout the circulatory compartment, and the second phase describes the elimination/steady state concentration in plasma/tissue. Plasma half-life, volume of distribution and clearance were determined from the steady-state elimination phase.
The peptides tested were SEQ ID Nos 19 and 24. Plasma concentrations (Cp) were plotted against time and the PK parameters determined (Table 8). All three compounds had a predictably short half-life (t1/2<30 min) common to similar peptides. Initially the peptides were administered at the lowest maximal effective dose given in the FCA experiments (0.3 mg/kg), with the concern of KOR-mediated side effects/over dose posing risk to the experimental animals' welfare. However, SEQ ID NO 19 showed no sign of opioid-like adverse effects (e.g. respiratory depression, sedation) at this dose. Unfortunately, detection of the peptides in plasma samples at latter time point after administration was difficult since Cp was lower than the apparent LOD. Hence SEQ ID NO 24 was administered at 1 mg/kg i.v. with hope of increasing the potential to detect at latter time points whilst still avoiding potential adverse effects. No adverse effects were observed. Increasing dose did not improve the Cp as anticipated.
SEQ ID NO 24 also showed a rapid clearance (CLtotal). Although, here total clearance is measured, which is (among other effects) subject to tissue partitioning affecting the detectable plasma concentrations, and does not necessarily relate to excretion. SEQ ID NO 19 showed the lowest clearance. SEQ ID NO 24 was the shortest lived in plasma, both in half-life and clearance.
The volume of distribution (Vdss) of SEQ ID NO. 19 was relatively low, suggesting the peptide was confined to total body water. SEQ ID NO 24 has a Vdss of greater than 1.0, which suggests some degree of tissue distribution. The relatively large difference in Vdss between SEQ ID NO 19 (Vdss 0.4 L/kg) and SEQ ID NO 24 (Vdss 1.7 L/kg) is not surprising even though both are very similar linear peptides. SEQ ID NO 24 carries a lipidated component, which in theory will render it more membrane permeable and therefore gives it a greater propensity to partition to tissue compartments. The low extraction efficiency, the low LOD, the low Cp (even with increased dose of SEQ ID NO. 24), and the initial Vd (at t=0, not reported), all are crudely indicative of a high degree of plasma protein binding (PPB). Actual measurements of PPB were not made.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020902233 | Jul 2020 | AU | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/AU2021/050707 | 7/1/2021 | WO |
