title: Cholinesterase inhibitors: SAR and enzyme inhibitory activity of 3-[omega-(benzylmethylamino)alkoxy]xanthen-9-ones.
abstract: In this work, we further investigated a previously introduced class of cholinesterase inhibitors. The removal of the carbamic function from the lead compound xanthostigmine led to a reversible cholinesterase inhibitors 3. Some new 3-[omega-(benzylmethylamino)alkoxy]xanthen-9-one analogs were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their inhibitory activity against both acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE). The length of the alkoxy chain of compound 3 was increased and different substituents were introduced. From the IC(50) values, it clearly appears that the carbamic residue is crucial to obtain highly potent AChE inhibitors. On the other hand, peculiarity of these compounds is the high selectivity toward BuChE with respect to AChE, being compound 12 the most selective one (6000-fold). The development of selective BuChE inhibitors may be of great interest to clarify the physiological role of this enzyme and to provide novel therapeutics for various diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Belmeloro 6, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Lorna
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Piazzi
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Belluti
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bisi
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gobbi
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rizzo
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bartolini
authors.forename: Vincenza
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Andrisano
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Recanatini
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rampa
mesh_terms: D000110:Acetylcholinesterase / Q000187:drug effects*; D002091:Butyrylcholinesterase / Q000187:drug effects*; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D015394:Molecular Structure; D013237:Stereoisomerism; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D044004:Xanthones / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D044004:Xanthones; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase; D002091:Butyrylcholinesterase