posted on 2023-06-19, 07:35authored bySimona Musella, Danilo D’Avino, Lukas Klaus Peltner, Veronica Di Sarno, Ida Cerqua, Fabrizio Merciai, Vincenzo Vestuto, Tania Ciaglia, Gerardina Smaldone, Francesca Di Matteo, Simone Di Micco, Valeria Napolitano, Giuseppe Bifulco, Giacomo Pepe, Eduardo Maria Sommella, Manuela Giovanna Basilicata, Giovanna Aquino, Isabel M. Gomez-Monterrey, Pietro Campiglia, Carmine Ostacolo, Fiorentina Roviezzo, Oliver Werz, Antonietta Rossi, Alessia Bertamino
Acute pancreatitis
(AP) is a potentially life-threatening
illness
characterized by an exacerbated inflammatory response with limited
options for pharmacological treatment. Here, we describe the rational
development of a library of soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) inhibitors
for the treatment of AP. Synthesized compounds were screened in vitro for their sEH inhibitory potency and selectivity,
and the results were rationalized by means of molecular modeling studies.
The most potent compounds were studied in vitro for
their pharmacokinetic profile, where compound 28 emerged
as a promising lead. In fact, compound 28 demonstrated
a remarkable in vivo efficacy in reducing the inflammatory
damage in cerulein-induced AP in mice. Targeted metabololipidomic
analysis further substantiated sEH inhibition as a molecular mechanism
of the compound underlying anti-AP activity in vivo. Finally, pharmacokinetic assessment demonstrated a suitable profile
of 28in vivo. Collectively, compound 28 displays strong effectiveness as sEH inhibitor with potential
for pharmacological AP treatment.