Meryem Köse

• Dr.
• Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn at University of Bonn

V-ATPase has recently emerged as a promising novel anticancer target based on extensive in vitro and in vivo studies with the archazolids, complex polyketide macrolides which present the most potent V-ATPase inhibitors known to date. Herein, we report a biomimetic, one-step preparation of archazolid F, the most potent and least abundant archazolid,...

Annexin A6 (AnxA6), a member of the calcium (Ca²⁺) and membrane binding annexins, is known to stabilize and establish the formation of multifactorial signaling complexes. At the plasma membrane, AnxA6 is a scaffold for protein kinase Cα (PKCα) and GTPase‐activating protein p120GAP to promote downregulation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)...

The orphan G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) GPR84 is expressed on immune cells mediating proinflammatory and immunostimulatory effects. In this study, we prepared the fully efficacious, non-biased GPR84 agonist 6-hexylamino-2,4(1H,3H)-pyrimidinedione (6) in tritium-labeled form ([3H]PSB1584) by hydrogenation of a hexenyl-substituted precursor with...

Bacteria of the family Rhodobacteraceae are widespread in marine environments and known to colonize surfaces, such as those of e.g., oysters and shells. The marine bacterium Labrenzia sp. 011 is here investigated and it was found to produce two cyclopropane-containing medium-chain fatty acids (1, 2), which inhibit the growth of a range of bacteria...

The orphan receptor GPR17 may be a novel drug target for inflammatory diseases. 3-(2-Carboxyethyl)-4,6-dichloro-1H-indole-2-carboxylic acid (MDL29,951, 1) was previously identified as a moderately potent GPR17 agonist. In the present study we investigated the structure-activity relationships (SARs) of 1. Substitution of the indole 1-, 5-, or 7-posi...

Background: Communication within a protein complex is mediated by physical interactions made among the protomers. Evidence for both the allosteric regulation present among the protomers of the protein oligomer and of the direct effect of membrane composition on this regulation has made it essential to investigate the underlying molecular mechanism...

Fluorescent ligands represent powerful tools for biological studies and are considered as attractive alternatives to radioligands. In this study, we developed fluorescent antagonists for A2B adenosine receptors (A2BARs), which are targeted by anti-asthmatic xanthines and were proposed as novel targets in immuno-oncology. Our approach was to merge a...

GPR84, a Gi protein-coupled receptor that is activated by medium-chain (hydroxy)fatty acids, appears to play an important role in inflammation, immunity, and cancer. Recently, 6-octylaminouracil (4) has been reported to act as an agonist at GPR84. Here, we describe the synthesis of 69 derivatives and analogs of 4, 66 of which represent new compound...

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and receptor-tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are two important classes of cell surface receptors proven to be highly tractable as drug targets. Both receptor classes are involved in various complex (patho-) physiological processes in the human body including cellular growth and differentiation. More recently, accumulatin...

The Gi protein-coupled receptor GPR84, which is activated by (hydroxy)fatty acids, is highly expressed on immune cells. Recently 3,3'-diindolylmethane was identified as a heterocyclic, non-lipid-like GPR84 agonist. We synthesized a broad range of diindolylmethane derivatives by condensation of indoles with formaldehyde in water under microwave irra...

Antagonists for ATP-activated P2X4 ion channel receptors are currently in the focus as novel drug targets, in particular for the treatment of neuropathic and inflammatory pain. We stably expressed the human, rat and mouse P2X4 receptors in 1321N1 astrocytoma cells, which is devoid of functional nucleotide receptors, by retroviral transfection, and...

The back cover picture shows the structures of novel adenosine receptor antagonists. They compete with the natural agonist adenosine for its binding site at one or more of the four adenosine receptor subtypes. Compounds with specificity for the A3 receptor subtype were obtained. In addition, multitarget drugs were developed including dual A1/A3 ant...

Adenosine kinase (AdK) is a key player in controlling intra- and extracellular concentrations of the signaling molecule adenosine. Extensive evidence points to an important role of AdK in several diseases, and suggests that AdK inhibition might be a promising therapeutic strategy. The development of a new AdK assay and subsequent screening of part...

2-Amino[1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-c]quinazolines were identified as potent adenosine receptor (AR) antagonists. Synthetic strategies were devised to gain access to a broad range of derivatives including novel polyheterocyclic compounds. Potent and selective A3 AR antagonists were discovered, including 3,5-diphenyl[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-c]quinazoline (17, Ki...

A new series of 32 pyrimido- and 5 tetrahydropyrazino[2,1-f]purinediones was obtained and evaluated for their adenosine receptors (ARs) affinities. The 1,3-dibutyl derivative of 9-(4-(2-(dimethylamino)ethoxy)phenyl)-6,7,8,9-tetrahydropyrimido[1,2-f]purine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione was found to be the most potent A1 AR antagonist of the present series, showi...

Annexins are a family of proteins that bind to phospholipids in a calcium-dependent manner. Earlier studies implicated Annexin A6 (AnxA6) to inhibit secretion and participate in the organization of the extracellular matrix (ECM). We recently showed that elevated AnxA6 levels significantly reduced secretion of the ECM protein fibronectin (FN). Since...

A series of annelated derivatives of xanthine were synthesized and assayed as potential analgesic agents. All synthesized xanthine derivatives were tested in the writhing test and hot-plate test. The pharmacological assays demonstrated that all the compounds prepared, without exception, displayed a significant activity in the mouse writhing assay....

8-Benzyl-substituted tetrahydropyrazino[2,1-f]purinediones were designed as tricyclic xanthine derivatives containing a basic nitrogen atom in the tetrahydropyrazine ring to improve water solubility. A library of 69 derivatives was prepared and evaluated in radioligand binding studies at adenosine receptor (AR) subtypes and for their ability to inh...

The recently described synthetic GPR17 agonist 2-carboxy-4,6-dichloro-1H-indole-3-propionic acid (1) was prepared in tritium-labeled form by catalytic hydrogenation of the corresponding propenoic acid derivative 8 with tritium gas. The radioligand [(3)H]PSB-12150 (9) was obtained with a specific activity of 17 Ci/mmol (629 GBq/mmol). It showed spec...

A series of novel pyrido[3,2-e][1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-c]pyrimidine derivatives 5 was prepared from 2-amino-3-cyano-4-trifluoromethyl-6-phenylpyridine 1 in two steps via formation of iminoether 3 followed by reaction with different aroylhydrazides 4. Representative products 5 were evaluated for their affinity towards all four subtypes of human adenosin...

Syntheses and biological activities of imidazo-, pyrimido- and diazepino[2,1-f]purinediones containing N-alkyl substituents (with straight, branched or unsaturated chains) are described. Tricyclic derivatives were synthesized by the cyclization of 8-bromo-substituted 7-(2-bromoethyl)-, 7-(3-chloropropyl)- or 7-(4-bromobutyl)-theophylline with prima...

Endocytosis of activated growth factor receptors regulates spatio-temporal cellular signaling. In the case of the EGF receptor, sorting into multivesicular bodies (MVBs) controls signal termination and subsequently leads to receptor degradation in lysosomes. Annexin A1, a Ca(2+)-regulated membrane binding protein often deregulated in human cancers,...

Protein kinase Cα (PKCα) can phosphorylate the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) at threonine 654 (T654) to inhibit EGFR tyrosine phosphorylation (pY-EGFR) and the associated activation of downstream effectors. However, upregulation of PKCα in a large variety of cancers is not associated with EGFR inactivation, and factors determining the pot...

Syntheses and physicochemical properties of N-cycloalkyl-substituted imidazo-, pyrimido- and 1,3-diazepino[2,1-f]purinediones are described. These derivatives were synthesized by cyclization of 7-halogenoalkyl-8-bromo-1,3-dimethylxanthine derivatives with aminocycloalkanes. The obtained compounds (1–33) were evaluated for their affinity to rat aden...

Annexin A6 (AnxA6) belongs to a conserved family of Ca2+-dependent membrane-binding proteins. Like other annexins, the function of AnxA6 is linked to its ability to bind phospholipids in cellular membranes in a dynamic and reversible fashion, in particular during the regulation of endocytic and exocytic pathways. High amounts of AnxA6 sequester cho...

Ever since their discovery as cellular counterparts of viral oncogenes more than 25 years ago, much progress has been made in understanding the complex networks of signal transduction pathways activated by oncogenic Ras mutations in human cancers. The activity of Ras is regulated by nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) and GTPase activating proteins...

Annexin A6 (AnxA6) belongs to the highly conserved annexin protein family. Like other annexins, the function of AnxA6 is linked to its ability to bind phospholipids in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner, thereby interacting with cellular membranes in a dynamic, reversible and regulated fashion. Upon cell activation, AnxA6 is recruited to the plasma membrane...

Anthraquinone derivatives related to the moderately potent, nonselective P2Y(12) receptor antagonist reactive blue 2 (6) have been synthesized and optimized with respect to P2Y(12) receptor affinity. A radioligand binding assay utilizing human blood platelet membranes and the P2Y(12) receptor-selective antagonist radioligand [(3)H]2-propylthioadeno...

Nucleoside/nucleobase transporters have been investigated since the 1960s. In particular, equilibrative nucleoside transporters were thought to be valuable drug targets, since they are involved in various kinds of viral and parasitic diseases as well as cancers. In the postgenomic era multiple transporters, including different subtypes, have been c...

High blood levels of ammonium/ammonia (NH(4)(+)/NH(3)) are associated with severe neurotoxicity as observed in hepatic encephalopathy (HE). Astrocytes are the main targets of ammonium toxicity, while neuronal cells are less vulnerable. In the present study, an astrocytoma cell line 1321N1 and a neuroblastoma glioma hybrid cell line NG108-15 were us...