Ether compounds

Details Ether compounds Ether compounds

2002-07-26

2004-09-14

Keys, Rosalynd (Department: 1621)

Organic compounds -- part of the class 532-570 series

Organic compounds

Unsubstituted hydrocarbyl chain between the ring and the -c-...

C548S100000, C548S318500, C548S418000, C549S416000, C549S417000, C549S425000, C549S483000, C549S510000, C558S445000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06790953

ABSTRACT:

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to ether compounds and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof; methods for synthesizing the ether compounds; compositions comprising an ether compound or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof; and methods for treating or preventing a disease or disorder selected from the group consisting of a cardiovascular disease, dyslipidemia, dyslipoproteinemia, a disorder of glucose metabolism, Alzheimer's Disease, Syndrome X, a peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-associated disorder, septicemia, a thrombotic disorder, obesity, pancreatitis, hypertension, renal disease, cancer, inflammation, and impotence, comprising administering a therapeutically effective amount of a composition comprising an ether compound or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. The ether compounds and compositions of the invention may also be used to reduce the fat content of meat in livestock and reduce the cholesterol content of eggs.
2. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Obesity, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes have been shown to play a casual role in atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases, which currently account for a considerable proportion of morbidity in Western society. Further, one human disease, termed “Syndrome X” or “Metabolic Syndrome”, is manifested by defective glucose metabolism (insulin resistance), elevated blood pressure (hypertension), and a blood lipid imbalance (dyslipidemia). See e.g. Reaven, 1993
, Annu. Rev. Med.
44:121-131.
The evidence linking elevated serum cholesterol to coronary heart disease is overwhelming. Circulating cholesterol is carried by plasma lipoproteins, which are particles of complex lipid and protein composition that transport lipids in the blood. Low density lipoprotein (LDL) and high density lipoprotein (HDL) are the major cholesterol-carrier proteins. LDL are believed to be responsible for the delivery of cholesterol from the liver, where it is synthesized or obtained from dietary sources, to extrahepatic tissues in the body. The term “reverse cholesterol transport” describes the transport of cholesterol from extrahepatic tissues to the liver, where it is catabolized and eliminated. It is believed that plasma HDL particles play a major role in the reverse transport process, acting as scavengers of tissue cholesterol. HDL is also responsible for the removal non-cholesterol lipid, oxidized cholesterol and other oxidized products from the bloodstream.
Atherosclerosis, for example, is a slowly progressive disease characterized by the accumulation of cholesterol within the arterial wall. Compelling evidence supports the belief that lipids deposited in atherosclerotic lesions are derived primarily from plasma apolipoprotein B (apo B)-containing lipoproteins, which include chylomicrons, CLDL, IDL and LDL. The apo B-containing lipoprotein, and in particular LDL, has popularly become known as the “bad” cholesterol. In contrast, HDL serum levels correlate inversely with coronary heart disease. Indeed, high serum levels of HDL is regarded as a negative risk factor. It is hypothesized that high levels of plasma HDL is not only protective against coronary artery disease, but may actually induce regression of atherosclerotic plaque (e.g., see Badimon et al., 1992
, Circulation
86:(Suppl. III)86-94; Dansky and Fisher, 1999
, Circulation
100: 1762-3.). Thus, HDL has popularly become known as the “good” cholesterol.
2.1. Cholesterol Transport
The fat-transport system can be divided into two pathways: an exogenous one for cholesterol and triglycerides absorbed from the intestine and an endogenous one for cholesterol and triglycerides entering the bloodstream from the liver and other non-hepatic tissue.
In the exogenous pathway, dietary fats are packaged into lipoprotein particles called chylomicrons, which enter the bloodstream and deliver their triglycerides to adipose tissue for storage and to muscle for oxidation to supply energy. The remnant of the chylomicron, which contains cholesteryl esters, is removed from the circulation by a specific receptor found only on liver cells. This cholesterol then becomes available again for cellular metabolism or for recycling to extrahepatic tissues as plasma lipoproteins.
In the endogenous pathway, the liver secretes a large, very-low-density lipoprotein particle (VLDL) into the bloodstream. The core of VLDL consists mostly of triglycerides synthesized in the liver, with a smaller amount of cholesteryl esters either synthesized in the liver or recycled from chylomicrons. Two predominant proteins are displayed on the surface of VLDL, apolipoprotein B-100 (apo B-100) and apolipoprotein E (apo E), although other apolipoproteins are present, such as apolipoprotein CIII (apo CIII) and apolipoprotein CII (apo CII). When a VLDL reaches the capillaries of adipose tissue or of muscle, its triglyceride is extracted. This results in the formation of a new kind of particle called intermediate-density lipoprotein (IDL) or VLDL remnant, decreased in size and enriched in cholesteryl esters relative to a VLDL, but retaining its two apoproteins.
In human beings, about half of the IDL particles are removed from the circulation quickly, generally within two to six hours of their formation. This is because IDL particles bind tightly to liver cells, which extract IDL cholesterol to make new VLDL and bile acids. The IDL not taken up by the liver is catabolized by the hepatic lipase, an enzyme bound to the proteoglycan on liver cells. Apo E dissociates from IDL as it is transformed to LDL. Apo B-100 is the sole protein of LDL.
Primarily, the liver takes up and degrades circulating cholesterol to bile acids, which are the end products of cholesterol metabolism. The uptake of cholesterol-containing particles is mediated by LDL receptors, which are present in high concentrations on hepatocytes. The LDL receptor binds both apo E and apo B-100 and is responsible for binding and removing both LDL and LDL from the circulation. IN addition, remnant receptors are responsible for clearing chylomicrons and VLDL remnants i.e., IDL). However, the affinity of apo E for the LDL receptor is greater than that of apo B-100. As a result, the LDL particles have a much longer circulating life span than IDL particles; LDL circulates for an average of two and a half days before binding to the LDL receptors in the liver and other tissues. High serum levels of LDL, the “bad” cholesterol, are positively associated with coronary heart disease. For example, in atherosclerosis, cholesterol derived from circulating LDL accumulates in the walls of arteries. This accumulation forms bulky plaques that inhibit the flow of blood until a clot eventually forms, obstructing an artery and causing a heart attack or stroke.
Ultimately, the amount of intracellular cholesterol liberated from the LDL controls cellular cholesterol metabolism. The accumulation of cellular cholesterol derived from VLDL and LDL controls three processes. First, it reduces the cell's ability to make its own cholesterol by turning off the synthesis of HMGCoA reductase, a key enzyme in the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway. Second, the incoming LDL-derived cholesterol promotes storage of cholesterol by the action of ACAT, the cellular enzyme that converts cholesterol into cholesteryl esters that are deposited in storage droplets. Third, the accumulation of cholesterol within the cell drives a feedback mechanism that inhibits cellular synthesis of new LDL receptors. Cells, therefore, adjust their complement of LDL receptors so that enough cholesterol is brought in to meet their metabolic needs, without overloading (for a review, see Brown & Goldstein, In, The Pharmacological Basis Of Therapeutics, 8th Ed., Goodman & Gilman, Pergaman Press, NY, 1990, Ch. 36, pp. 874-896).
High levels of apo B-containing lipoproteins can be trapped in the subendothelial space of an artery and undergo oxidation. The oxidized lipoprotein is recognized by scavenger receptors on macrophages. Binding of oxidized lipoprotein to the scavenger receptors can enrich the macrophages wit

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