Evodenoson

Central neuropathic pain is a debilitating outcome of spinal cord injury (SCI) and current treatments to alleviate this pain condition are ineffective. A growing body of literature suggests that activating adenosine A_2A receptors (A_2ARs) decreases the production of proinflammatory cytokines and increases the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines. Here, the effect of administering intrathecal A_2AR agonists on central neuropathic pain was measured using hindpaw mechanical allodynia in a rat model of SCI termed spinal neuropathic avulsion pain (SNAP). Other models of SCI cause extensive damage to the spinal cord, resulting in paralysis and health problems. SNAP rats with unilateral low thoracic (T13)/high lumbar (L1) dorsal root avulsion develop below-level bilateral allodynia, without concomitant motor or health problems. A single intrathecal injection of the A_2AR agonist 2-p-(2-carboxyethyl)phenethylamino-5'-N-ethylcarboxamido adenosine HCl (CGS21680) reversed SCI-induced allodynia for at least 6 weeks. The reversal is likely in part mediated by interleukin (IL)-10, as intrathecally administering neutralizing IL-10 antibodies 1 week after CGS21680 abolished the anti-allodynic effect of CGS21680. Dorsal spinal cord tissue from the ipsilateral site of SCI (T13/L1) was assayed 1 and 6 weeks after CGS21680 for IL-10, CD11b, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) gene expression. CGS21680 treatment did not change IL-10 gene expression but did significantly decrease CD11b and TNF gene expression at both timepoints. A second A_2AR agonist, 4-(3-(6-amino-9-(5-cyclopropylcarbamoyl-3,4-dihydroxytetrahydrofuran-2-yl)-9H-purin-2-yl)prop-2-ynyl)piperidine-1-carboxylic acid methyl ester (ATL313), was also able to significantly prevent and reverse SCI-induced allodynia for several weeks after a single intrathecal injection, providing converging lines of evidence of A_2AR involvement. The enduring pain reversal after a single intrathecal injection of A_2AR agonists suggests that A_2AR agonists could be exciting new candidates for treating SCI-induced central neuropathic pain.

In an effort to develop potent antibacterial and anticancer agents, a series of C5'-N-cyclopropylcarboxamido-C6-amino-C2-alkynylated purine nucleoside analogues 11a-g were synthesized through a Sonogashira cross-coupling reaction. The nine-step synthesis is easy to perform, and employs commercially available reagents. 2-Iodo-5'-N-cyclopropylcarboxamidoadenosine (9) was used as the starting intermediate for the synthesis of title derivatives 11a-g. Synthetic intermediates (2-9) and final products (11a-g) were appropriately characterized by IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and mass spectroscopy. The synthesized purine nucleoside analogues (11a-g) were evaluated for their in vitro antibacterial activity against two gram-positive and two gram-negative bacteria. They were then tested for cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231 and Caco-2 cancer cell lines to determine their anti-cancer activity. Among the tested compounds, compounds 11c and 11g showed most potent antibacterial activity against S.aureus and P.aeruginosa bacterial strains. Compounds 11b and 11e displayed considerable IC₅₀^s of 7.9 and 6.8 µg/mL, respectively, vs MDA-MB-231 cell lines of 7.5 and 8.3 µg/mL, respectively, against the Caco-2 cell lines.