Synthetic antagonists of the myometrial response to vasopressin and oxytocin

Abstract

With the aim of developing inhibitors of vasopressin-and oxytocin-induced uterine activity, 17 analogues of 1-deamino-oxytocin were synthesized by the solid-phase method. Modifications were made at positions 2, O-methyltyrosine (Tyr(OMe)) and O-ethyltyrosine (Tyr(OEt)),d-Tyr,d-Tyr(OEt),d-Trp; 4, Val,Thr and 8, Orn,Cit,Arg,d-Arg. The analogues were tested for antiuterotonic activity in vitro and in vivo in the rat and in vitro on myometrial strips from non-pregnant women and pregnant women at term. Their selectivity was also investigated in blood pressure and antidiuretic bioassays in rats. Results were compared with those from an original antiuterotonic analogue 1-deamino-2-Tyr(OEt)-oxytocin (d(OEt)-oxytocin). In the rat in vitro and in vivo all analogues possessed higher antiuterotonic activity than d(OEt)-oxytocin. The negative logarithm of the molar concentration of the antagonist which reduced the effect of a dose of agonist to that of half the dose (pA₂) was between 7·6 and 8·9 for all the new inhibitors compared with 7·2 for d(OEt)-oxytocin. The highest pA₂ value was found for 1-deamino-2-Tyr(OMe)-8-Orn-oxytocin (8·9 ± 0·2, s.e.m.) and 1-deamino-2-Tyr(OEt)-4-Thr-8-Orn-oxytocin (8·9 ± 0·6). In myometrium from non-pregnant women the most potent peptide was 1-deamino-2-d-Tyr(OEt)-4-Th r-8-Orn-oxytocin (17·2 ± 2·0 times more potent that d(OEt)-oxytocin). In myometrium from pregnant women the inhibitory effects of the majority of the analogues were less pronounced. In the rat in vivo the most potent analogue 1-deamino-2-d-Trp-4-Val-8-Orn-oxytocin was 19·9 ± 2·5 times more active than d(OEt)-oxytocin. Exchanging l-tyrosine for the d form generally increased inhibitory activity as well as specificity of the analogues. Alkylation of the d-tyrosine residue did not appear to be necessary for inhibition. Substitution with d-tryptophan at position 2 gave analogues with high inhibitory potency in the rat in vitro and in vivo, but which exhibited weak effects in women in vitro. There was no correlation between the inhibitory effects on myometrium from non-pregnant and pregnant women nor between rat and human data. The high antiuterotonic activity of 1-deamino-2-d-Tyr(OEt)-4-Val-8-Orn-oxytocin and 1-deamino-2-d-Tyr(OEt)-4-Thr-8-Orn-oxytocin combined with low blood pressure and antidiuretic effects make these two analogues interesting for clinical studies. J. Endocr. (1986) 111, 125–131