Abstract:
The invention is a method of using Angiotensin (AII) Antagonists as inhibitors of the growth of adipose tissue, reducing adipocyte growth and body weight gain.

Description:
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/082,562 filed Jun. 28, 1993, abandoned. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to the use of Angiotensin (AII) Antagonists as inhibitors of the growth of adipose tissue, reducing adipocyte growth and body weight gain. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Angiotensin is a well characterized peptide involved in cardiovascular homeostasis. For decades, angiotensin has been known to be a potent vaso-constrictor with profound effects on blood pressure and electrolyte balance. The classic concept of control of angiotensin metabolism via renin release from the kidney has more recently been revised to include peripheral tissue sites. The observation of significant quantities of locally generated angiotensin II (AII) from peripheral tissues has also coincided with data indicating that AII can act as a growth factor in cell culture systems and stimulate angiogenesis in vivo. 
     Membrane receptors for angiotensin II have been identified in many tissues from diverse species and the gene encoding the receptor protein has recently been cloned. Two subtypes of receptor have been observed, the high affinity AT 1  subtype typically found in vascular cells, and the low affinity AT 2  subtype found in nervous tissue. The angiotensinogen gene has been identified by in situ hybridization in brown adipose tissue and whole body autoradiographic techniques have indicated that AII receptors decrease in specific tissues during fetal development. Presently, AII has been characterized as both a potent vasoconstrictor, and an effector of growth and differentiation. To date, however, the functions of AII in addition to those producing cardiovascular effects have been proposed, but remain largely unresolved. 
     Adipose tissue is highly vascularized, and is one of the few tissues that can continue to expand through most of adult life. Angiotensinogen mRNA has been observed in whole adipose tissue preparations containing vascular, connective and fat cells, and isolated adipocytes incubated in the presence of exogenous angiotensin II release prostacyclin in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, for the first time, the receptor for AII in the rat fat cells has recently been identified, characterized in isolated adipocyte membranes and reported (D. L. Crandall et al., Metabolism, 42, 511-515(1993). 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to the identification of the AII receptor in adipocyte membranes and the use of angiotensin II receptor blocking agents to inhibit adipocyte AII receptors thereby reducing adipocyte growth and body weight gain. Accordingly, the invention also relates to the use of angiotensin II receptor blocking agents in treating diseases associated with adipocyte growth including obesity and non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. 
     Suitable therapeutic agents for the practice of this invention are those compounds which are known to have activity as angiotensin II receptor blocking agents and include various compounds of Formula I: ##STR1## wherein: Ar is selected from the group consisting of ##STR2## R a  and R e  are each independently lower alkyl of 1 to 5 carbon atoms; 
     R b  is selected from: 
     (a) (C1-C6)alkyl optionally substituted with a substituent selected from the group consisting of hydroxy, (C1-C4)alkoxy, (C1-C4)alkyl, phenyl, substituted phenyl(substituent selected from (C1-C4)alkyl, CF 3 , nitro, --NH 2 , (C1-C4)alkoxy and halo), pyridine, thiophene, furan, --CHO, --COORf, --O--CORf, --CORf, --CON(Rf)2, and carboxymethylphenyl; 
     (b) a 5-15 membered monocyclic, bicyclic or tricyclic heterocyclic group wherein the heteroatom(s) are selected from 1-4 oxygen, sulfur or nitrogen atoms optionally substituted by (C1-C4)alkyl, (optionally substituted with --ORf, --CO 2  Rf, --CN, --NH 2 , --NHRf, --N(Rf) 2 , phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, F, Cl, or Br)), phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, F, Cl, or Br), pyridine, thiophene, furan, --ORf, --CO 2  Rf, --CN, --CF 3 , --CON(Rf) 2 , --SPh, --N(Rf) -- 
     R c  is hydrogen, halo or a pyrrole group attached at the nitrogen atom and unsubstituted or substituted by lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, Rd and Rf are independently selected from hydrogen and lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, a tautomer thereof and the pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof. 
     Particularly preferred are various compounds of the Formulae II and III: ##STR3## wherein: R is --CO 2  H, --NHSO 2  CF 3  or ##STR4## X is straight or branched alkyl of 3 to 5 carbon atoms; R 6  is selected from the following moieties: ##STR5## R 59  is selected from the following moieties: ##STR6## wherein: 
     (A) with reference to the moieties designated group (A) above: 
     R 1  is H, straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms), 2-pyridinyl, 4-pyridinyl, benzyl, substituted benzyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms); 
     R 2  is H, and straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms; 
     R 3  is H, triphenylmethyl, benzyl, substituted benzyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms), straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms; 
     R 4  is H, straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, ##STR7## R 11  is lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms), --OR 7 , benzyloxy, --NH 2 , --NHR 7 , --NR 7  R 8  ; R 7  is lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms; R 8  is lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, phenyl and the pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof; 
     (B) with reference to the moieties designated group (B) above: 
     R 9  is independently H, or straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms; 
     R 5  is ##STR8## n is 2,3 or 4; m is 3 or 4; 
     R 7  is straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and the pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof; 
     (C) with reference to the moieties designated group (C) above: 
     R 31  is H, straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms (optionally substituted with --OR 17 , --CO 2  R 17 , --CN, --NH 2 , --NHR 17 , --N(R 17 ) 2 , phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, F, Cl, or Br)), phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, F, Cl, or Br), pyridine, thiophene, furan, --OR 17 , --CO 2  R 17 , --CN, --CF 3 , --CON(R 17 ) 2 , --SPh, --N(R 17 ) 2  or ##STR9## R 32  is H, straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms (optionally substituted with --OR 17 , --CO 2  R 17 , --CN, --NH 2 , --NHR 17 , --N(R 17 ) 2 , phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, F, Cl, or Br)), phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, F, Cl, or Br), pyridine, thiophene, furan, --CO 2  R 17 , --CN, --CON(R 17 ) 2  or ##STR10## R 33  is H, straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, F, Cl, or Br), pyridine, thiophene or furan, --CO 2  R 17 , --CON(R 17 ) 2 , --CN, --NO 2 , or ##STR11## R 40  is H, --CO 2  R 17 , --SO 2  R 12 , lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, benzyl, substituted benzyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, F, Cl, or Br) phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, F, Cl, or Br), --CON(R 17 ) 2  or ##STR12## R 12  is phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, F, Cl, or Br); 
     R 15  is H, lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms; 
     R 17  is independently H, or straight or branched chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms; 
     R 38  is H, straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, F Cl, or Br), --CO 2  R 17 , --CH 2  OH, --CN, --CON(R 17 ) 2  or ##STR13## R 39  is H, lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, F, Cl, or Br); 
     R 10  is independently H, straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms (optionally substituted with --OR 17  --CO 2  R 17 , --CN, --NH 2 , --NHR 17 , or --N(R 17 ) 2 , phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, F, Cl, or Br)), phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, F, Cl, or Br), pyridine, thiophene, furan, --OR 17 , --CO 2  R 17 , --CN, --CF 3 , --CON(R 17 ) 2  or ##STR14## Q is a single bond, --(CR 10  R 10 ) p   or O; Q 1  is a single bond, --(CR 10  R 10 ) p  , O, ##STR15## p is 1 to 5; A is --(CR 10  R 10 ) q  --; 
     q is 2 to 5, provided that p+q is not greater than 6, and pharmaceutically acceptable salts; 
     (D) with reference to the moieties designated group (D) above: 
     R 41  is H, straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , --CN, ##STR16## phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selection from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms), pyridine, thiophene or furan; 
     R 43  is --CO 2  R 19 , ##STR17## phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selection from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms), pyridine, CN, alkyl(C 1  -C 6 ) straight or branched, ##STR18## R 36  is H, straight chain or branched lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms; 
     R 14  and R 16  are hydrogen, straight or branched chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, --CO 2  R 19 , --CN, phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms), pyridine, thiophene or furan, ##STR19## R 19  is straight or branched chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and pharmaceutically acceptable salts; 
     (E) with reference to the moieties designated group (E) above: 
     R 21 , R 29  and R 25  can be the same or different; R 21  is H, straight or branched alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , nitro, --NH 2 , O-alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, F, Cl, Br), pyridine, thiophene or furan; 
     R 29  is H, straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , nitro, --NH 2 , O-alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, F, Cl, Br), pyridine, thiophene or furan; 
     R 28  is phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , F, Cl, Br, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms); 
     R 25  is straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, F, Cl, Br), pyridine, thiophene or furan; 
     v is 0 to 3, and pharmaceutically acceptable salts: 
     (F) with reference to the moieties designated group (F) above: 
     A is --(CH 2 ) u  ; 
     u is 1, 2, 3 or 4; 
     W is --CH 2  --or ##STR20## or A and W are each ##STR21## and are connected by a --(CH 2 ) r  -- bridge, wherein r is 1, 2 or 3; 
     Q is --O--, --CH 2  -- or ##STR22## D is --(CH 2 ) f  ; f is 3 or 4; 
     R 18  is H, lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms (optionally substituted with --OR 35 , --CO 2  R 35 , --CN, phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, F, Cl, or Br)), pyridine, thiophene, furan, CHO, CO 2  R 35 , --CN, ##STR23## R 27  is H, straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms (optionally substituted with OR 35 , --CO 2  R 35 , --CN, phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, 
     F, Cl, or Br)), pyridine, thiophene or furan, --CO 2  R 35  CHO, CO 2  R 35 , --CN, or ##STR24## R 37  is H, straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, F, Cl, or Br), pyridine, thiophene or furan, --O--R 35 , --N(R 35 ) 2 , --CO 2  R 35 , --CH 2  OR 35 , --CN, --CHO ##STR25## R 35  is independently H, lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms; R 13  is H, straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, cycloalkyl of 5 or 6 carbon atoms, phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, F, Cl, or Br), pyridine, thiophene or furan, benzyl, substituted benzyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, F, Cl, or Br), --CO 2  R 35 , --SO 2  R 30  ##STR26## R 27  is H, straight or branched chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms; 
     R 34  is H, --CO 2  R 35 , --SO 2  R 30  ##STR27## R 30  is straight or branched chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, F, Cl, or Br), and pharmaceutically acceptable salts: 
     (G) with reference to the moieties designated (G) above: 
     R 42  is H, straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , --CN, ##STR28## phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selection from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms), pyridine, thiophene or furan; 
     R 44  is straight or branched chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, cycloalkyl (rings of 3 to 8 carbon atoms), phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms), pyridine, thiophene, furan, benzyl, substituted benzyl(substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms); 
     R 45  is H, straight or branched chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms), pyridine, thiophene, furan, --CHO, --CO 2  R 53 , --OR 53  or ##STR29## R 46  is H, straight or branched chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms), pyridine, thiophene, furan, --CHO, --OR 53 , --CO 2  R 53  or ##STR30## R 52  is hydrogen, straight chain or branched lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms; 
     R 47  is H, straight or branched chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms), pyridine, thiophene or furan; 
     R 48  is H, straight or branched chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms), pyridine, thiophene, furan, benzyl, subsituted benzyl(substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms), --OR 52 , O-phenyl, O-substituted phenyl(substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms), O-pyridine, O-thiophene, O-furan, --NH 2 , --NHR 53 , --NR 53  R 53 , --CO 2  R 53 , or --CONR 52  R 52  ; 
     R 49  is H, straight or branched chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , phenyl, substituted phenyl(substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms), pyridine, thiophene, furan, benzyl, substituted benzyl(substitution selected from monolower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms), --OR 52 , O-phenyl, O-substituted phenyl(substitution selected from mono lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , nitro, O-- alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms), O-pyridine, O-thiophene, O-furan, --NH 2 , --NHR 53 , --NR 53  R 53 , --CO 2  R 53 , or --CONR 52  R 52 . 
     R 50  is H, straight or branched chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , phenyl, substituted phenyl(substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms), pyridine, thiophene, furan, benzyl, substituted benzyl(substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, --OR 52 , O-phenyl, O-substituted phenyl(substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms), O-pyridine, O-thiophene, O-furan, --NH 2 , --NHR 53 , --NR 53  R 53 , --CO 2  R 53 , or --CONR 52  R 52  ; 
     R 53  is straight or branched chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms; 
     R 51  is --CHO, --OR 53 , --CO 2  R 53  or ##STR31## and pharmaceutically acceptable salts; 
     (H) with reference to the moieties designated group (H) above: 
     s is 1 or 2; 
     R 54  is straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms (optionally substituted with --OR 56 , --CO 2  R 56 , --CN, phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, F, Cl, Br)), phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, F, Cl, Br), --CN, --CO 2  R 56 , --CHO, --CON(R 56 ) 2 , Br, thiophene (optionally substituted with straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms), furan (optionally substituted with straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms); 
     R 55  is H, straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms (optionally substituted with --OR 56 , --CO 2  R 56 , --CN, phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, F, Cl, or Br)), benzyl, substituted benzyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, F, Cl, Br), --CO 2  R 56 , --SO 2  R 58 , ##STR32## R 56  is independently H, or straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms; 
     R 57  is H, straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms; 
     R 58  is phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, F, Cl, Br)), benzyl, substituted benzyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, F, Cl, Br), and pharmaceutically acceptable salts; 
     (I) with reference to the moieties designated group (I) above: 
     R 20  is H, straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms), benzyl, substituted benzyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms); 
     R 24  is H, straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms), benzyl, substituted benzyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms); 
     R 22  is H, straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms), benzyl, substituted benzyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms); 
     R 23  is H, straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms), benzyl, substituted benzyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, trifluoromethyl, nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms); 
     t is 1 or 2, and pharmaceutically acceptable salts; 
     (J) with reference to the moieties designated group (J) above: 
     R 60  is H, straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, phenyl, substituted phenyl(substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, OR, --NH 2 ), pyridine, thiophene, or furan; 
     R 61  is H, straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, OR, --NH 2 ), pyridine, thiophene, or furan; provided, however, that R 60  and R 61  cannot be H; 
     R 62  is H, straight chain or branched lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms; 
     R 63  is straight chain lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, phenyl, substituted phenyl (substitution selected from mono-lower alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, --CF 3 , nitro, O-alkyl of 1 to 3 carbon atoms, OR, --NH 2 ), pyridine, thiophene, or furan; 
     R 64  is straight or branched lower alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms; 
     w is 1 to 3, and pharmaceutically acceptable salts. 
     Pharmaceutically acceptable salts include both the metallic (inorganic) salts and organic salts; a list of which is given in Remington&#39;s Pharmaceutical Sciences, 17th Edition, pg. 1418 (1985). 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows the time course of  125  I-AII association to epididymal adipocyte membranes. 
     FIG. 2 shows the saturation of  125  I-AII binding to adipocyte membranes. 
     FIG. 3 shows the dissociation of  125  I-AII binding from adipocyte membranes following preincubation with radiolabeled AII and addition of 10 μmol/L unlabeled AII at time=0. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Adipose tissue possesses considerable growth potential, and has recently been described as a significant source of angiotensinogen, a precursor molecule for the growth promoting decapeptide angiotensin II. To determine whether angiotensin antagonists are involved in adipose tissue expansion, both in vitro and in vivo assays are performed. 
     For in vitro testing, angiotensin II receptor binding assays are performed in rat adipocytes at different stages of growth. Fat cells are isolated by collagenase digestion, and plasma membranes prepared from either the epididymal or retroperitoneal fat depots of animals 40, 70 or 100 days of age. While epididymal depot weight is initially greater than retroperitoneal, during the course of the study epididymal mass increased 15 fold while retroperitoneal mass increased 25-fold. Morphologic analysis indicates that retroperitoneal adipocytes have greater volume at each age examined, and comparative differences to epididymal increased with age. Binding of  125  I- Sar 1 ,Ile 8  !AII is rapid, saturable and specific in membranes for each site, identifying a receptor with a similar affinity of approximately 1.5 nM in both depots, and at all ages examined. Significant differences in Bmax are observed, however, which varied with the depot and the age of the animal. Epididymal fat cell membranes exhibit consistently greater numbers of AII receptors when compared to retroperitoneal adipocytes when data is expressed as binding per unit of membrane protein. The number of receptor sites per cell remain constant in retroperitoneal adipocytes at each age, which is significantly less than epididymal as cells enlarge. Relative inhibitory constants for several peptide and non-peptide AII antagonists indicate significant differences between epididymal and retroperitoneal fat cells. These data indicate significant differences in several All binding parameters in anatomically distinct adipose tissue depots exhibiting different patterns of growth. 
     Measurement of the rate of association of  125  I-AII to its binding site is used to calculate the time period required to achieve equilibrium. Approximately 35 μg membrane protein in 80 μL of diluted sample is placed in 96-well plates containing 10 μL BSA buffer or unlabeled AII (10 μmol/L) and 10 μL 1.0 mmol/L  125  I-AII (300,000 cpm). The samples are then incubated at 22° C. for varying time periods (1, 5, 10, 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes) in a shaking water bath. At the appropriate times, the incubations are terminated by placing the tubes in an ice bath. Each plate is then filtered according to the procedure used for the Scatchard analysis. Filters are placed into 12×75-mm glass tubes and radioactivity is measured. 
     The dissociation of bound  125  I-AII is measured by incubating 80 μL (35 μg) freshly prepared adipocyte membranes and 10 μL  125  I-AII (1.0 nmol/L, 300,000 cpm) for 30 minutes at 22° C. in a shaking water bath. At the end of the preincubation period, 10 μL unlabeled AII (10 μmol/L) is added and the membranes are subjected to a second incubation at 22° C. with gentle shaking for increasing time periods (15, 30, 75, 90, and 120 minutes). At the appropriate time intervals, plates are removed and filtered with cold 0.9% saline as previously described. Percent of binding is calculated as counts per minute of radioactivity at the aforementioned time intervals divided by the amount bound before the addition of unlabeled AII. 
     Binding of  125  I-AII to adipocyte membranes is saturable, reversible, and displaced by known agonists and antagonists. At 22° C., binding is rapid, reaching equilibrium in approximately 15 minutes, and remained stable throughout 1 hour (FIG. 1). Temperature dependency is assessed by determining binding in three preparations at 37° C., during which specific binding reaches equilibrium in 7 to 10 minutes, a faster rate than that observed at 22° C. Linearity of the binding to increasing amounts of membrane protein is assessed by determining specific binding between 5 and 50 μg protein at 5 μg intervals. Specific binding is linear in this range, and the midpoint of 25 to 35 μg is chosen to perform all subsequent binding experiments. 
     Specific binding of  125  I-AII to fat cell membranes is greater than 90% of total binding. At 1 nmol/L, approximately 0.5% of total radioactivity added is bound to the membrane preparation following a 30 minute incubation and filtering. Tissue-free blanks are always incubated in parallel with the membrane to determine nonspecific binding to the filter. With the Durapore filters used in these experiments, nonspecific radioactivity is 15%±1% following incubation and six rinsings each with 200 μL cold saline; additional rinsing does not decrease nonspecific filter binding below this value. Together, nonspecific filter and nonspecific fat cell membrane binding in the presence of 10 μmol/L AII accounts for approximately 20% of total binding. 
     Saturation of the AII receptor is shown in FIG. 2. Using equivalent quantities of membrane protein, saturation is reached at 3.5 nmol/L. Scatchard analysis of specific binding in the presence of 10 μmol/L unlabeled AII indicated a B max  of 53.7±10.1 fmol/mg protein for epididymal adipocyte membranes; the K d  value is 0.90±0.21 nmol/L. The plasma membrane-bound enzyme, 5&#39;-nucleotidase, is also identified in the membrane preparation at a concentration of 2.01±0.24 U/μg protein. Dissociation of  125  I-AII is shown in FIG. 3; approximately 50% dissociation is attained within 40 minutes and continued dissociation occurs throughout the chosen time periods. 
     The experimental design for determining AII binding characteristics in adipocyte membranes from growing rats is shown in Table 1. Three different groups of rats are used exhibiting different ages, body weights and fat depot weights. Body weights are significantly different between groups. When comparing individual paired depot weights between small and large rats, epididymal weight increased from 0.82 g to 12.55 g (15×), and retroperitoneal weight increased from 0.57 to 13.72 g (25×). Table 2 contains the cellular composition of the two adipose tissue depots, indicating that at each stage of growth, retroperitoneal fat cells are significantly larger in volume than the epididymal cells, although the quantitative mean difference in the small rats is less than 20 pl. As the adipocytes enlarge the number of cells per mg of membrane protein necessarily decrease. 
     Results of Scatchard analysis for identification of the number and affinity of AII binding sites on fat cell membranes is shown in Table 3, indicating similar affinities for all 6 groups. Significant differences are observed in  B  max, however, and the pattern of binding varied between depots. When expressed as fmole/mg protein, epididymal adipocytes exhibited a similar B max  in small and medium rats, which is significantly decreased in the older animals. A similar pattern is observed in retroperitoneal depots, suggesting an age associated decrease in receptor concentration in both sites. When comparing interdepot differences in rats of the same age, significant differences in binding is also apparent. Statistically significant differences are apparent when comparing the B max  between retroperitoneal and epididymal adipocytes for each age. Without exception, the retroperitoneal fat cells exhibit fewer receptor sites at every age examined, even in 40 day old rats (Table 4). 
     Because the adipocytes are actively increasing in cell volume and number, the binding data is corrected for cell size, allowing estimation of binding sites per cell. Using this unit of expression, epididymal fat cell binding increases significantly at 70 days of age to approximately 6400 receptor sites per cell. Conversely, retroperitoneal cells exhibit minimal variability in the number of receptor sites, regardless of age or cell size. Again, retroperitoneal fat cells have significantly fewer binding sites for AII than the epididymal cells at 70 and 100 days of age. 
     Relative affinities of the membrane receptors for different peptide and non-peptide antagonists is shown in Table 5. For both depots, the rank order of potency for the antagonists assayed is  Sar 1 ,Ala 8  !AII&gt;2-n-butyl-4-chloro-5-hydroxymethyl-1- (2&#39;-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)biphenyl-4-yl)methyl!imidazole&gt;((S)-)-  4-(di-methylamino)-3-methylphenyl!methyl-5-(diphenylacetyl)-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-imidazo 4,5-c!-pyridine-6-carboxylic acid. 
     
                       TABLE 1______________________________________Rat MorphologyBody      Age       #Rats/  Total Depot WeightGroup Weight  (days)    Prep  Epididymal                                 Retroperitoneal______________________________________Small 149.sup.a         40        12    9.75    6.78  ±6                  ±0.94                                 ±0.20Medium 390.sup.a         70        3     7.75    7.71 ±11                  ±0.40                                 ±0.65Large 620.sup.a         100       1     12.55   13.72 ±17                  ±1.62                                 ±3.07______________________________________ *Depot weight per animal is equivalent to total weight divided by the number of rats/preparation .sup.a Significantly different from other group body weights at p &lt; 0.001 
    
     
                       TABLE 2______________________________________Adipocyte MorphologyEpididymal         Retroperitoneal Cell                   Cell Dia-    Cell    Cells/mg.sup.a                        Dia-  Cell  Cells/mg.sup.aCELL  meter   Volume  membrane                        meter Volume                                    membraneSIZE  (μm) (pl)    protein                        (μm)                              (pl)  protein______________________________________Small 50.0    82      7.78   51.9   98*  6.84 ±0.8 ±4   ±0.44                        ±0.2                               ±4                                    ±0.48Medium 67.8    192     4.49    75.7*                               276* 3.72 ±1.7 ±13  ±0.33                        ±1.8                              ±20                                    ±0.30Large 95.1    508     2.76   98.3   603* 2.63 ±5.2 ±80  ±0.50                        ±4.0                              ±68                                    ±0.26______________________________________ *Significantly greater than epididymal value at p &lt; 0.01. No significant differences between cells/mg protein for epididymal vs. retroperitoneal at any size. .sup.a Values represent cells × 10.sup.6. Cell volume, diameter, an membrane protein values are always significantly different (p &lt; 0.01) fro the next age group within each depot. 
    
     
                       TABLE 3______________________________________Scatchard Analysis of Fat Cell Membranes  Epididymal        Retroperitoneal    .sup.B max          .sup.B maxCELL     (fmole/    K.sub.D  (fmole/  K.sub.DSIZE     mg protein)               (nM)     mg protein)                                 (nM)______________________________________Small    46.4       1.44     30.0*    1.84    (6.8)      (0.20)   (4.6)    (0.31)    n = 8               n = 8Medium   57.2       1.73     24.6*    1.82    (7.2)      (0.65)   (7.1)    (0.71)    n = 5               n = 5Large    26.0.sup.a 1.68     11.2.sup.b,*                                 1.76    (3.9)      (0.26)   (3.2)    (0.51)    n = 3               n = 3______________________________________ .sup.a Significantly different from medium sized epididymal membranes at &lt; 0.05 .sup.b Significantly different from small and medium sized retroperitonea membranes at p &lt; 0.05 *Significantly different from corresponding epididymal value at p &lt; 0.05 All values are mean with SEM in parenthesis of &#34;n&#34; experiments 
    
     
                       TABLE 4______________________________________Angiotensin Receptor Sites Per CellCell Size    Epididymal (E)                     Retroperitoneal (R)______________________________________Small (S)    2695         2493        ±392      ±378Medium (M)   6379.sup.a   3371*        ±195      ±881Large (L)    5672.sup.a   2561*        ±845      ±730______________________________________ .sup.a Significantly different from small epididymal membranes (ES) at p 0.005 *Significantly different from corresponding epididymal value at p &lt; 0.05 
    
     
                       TABLE 5______________________________________Inhibitory Constants (IC.sub.50) of Ligandsfor Displacement of .sup.125 I Sar,Ile! AIIBinding in Rat Fat Cell MembranesCompound     Epididymal Retroperitoneal______________________________________**           1.09 × 10.sup.-8 M                   7.36 × 10.sup.-9 M        (0.32)     (2.17)Sar.sup.1- Ala.sup.8 AII        4.31 × 10.sup.-9 M                   2.63 × 10.sup.-9 M        (0.61)     (0.26)***          1.73 × 10.sup.-4 M                   2.42 × 10.sup.-4 M        (0.23)     (0.36)AII          3.34 × 10.sup.-9 M                   3.71 × 10.sup.-9 M        (0.25)     (0.45)AIII         2.23 × 10.sup.-8 M                   1.85 × 10.sup.-8 M        (0.69)     (0.43)Sar.sup.1 -Leu.sup.8 AII        4.41 × 10.sup.-9 M                   2.66 × 10.sup.-9 M        (0.72)______________________________________ Values are calculated IC.sub.50 &#39;s from 1-4 different assays for each treatment. **2n-butyl-4-chloro-5-hydroxymethyl-1- (2(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)biphenyl-4-yl)methyl!imidazole. ***((S))-  4(dimethylamino)-3-methylphenyl!methyl5-(diphenylacetyl)-4,5,67-tetrahydro-1H-imidazo 4,5c!pyridine6-carboxylic acid. 
    
     Synthetic compounds which are known to possess angiotensin II(AII) receptor blocking activity are given to rats to determine the effects of AII antagonists on adipose tissue over a two week period. Male rats received either distilled water (control), 2-n-butyl-4-chloro-5-hydroxymethyl-1- (2&#39;-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)biphenyl-4-yl)methyl!imidazole or cis-(±)-2-butyl-6-(hexahydro-2-methylpyrrolo 1,2-b!isoxazol-2-yl)-3-  2&#39;-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl) 1,1&#39;-biphenyl!-4-yl!-methyl-4(3H)-quinazolinone sodium salt (15 mg/kg each) formulated in distilled water once a day by gavage. Body weight and food intake are monitored daily. At the end of two weeks, the rats are sacrificed and tissues are weighed. Adipocyte membranes are prepared by collagenase digestion, homogenization and centrfugation. The cell volume is determined by sizing the diameter of 200 adipocytes and binding to the adipocyte AII receptor is determined using a radioligand binding assay. As shown in Table 6, those rats given the AII receptor antagonists exhibited both a lower final body weight and body weight gain. Of the organs sampled, the combined largest relative and quantitative change in weight was in the adipose tissue. Table 7 indicates that rats receiving orally the AII antagonists exhibited smaller epididymal cell volume and reduced capacity for binding. 
     
                                           TABLE 6__________________________________________________________________________In vivo Effects of AII Receptor Antagonists on RatBody and Tissue Weights                % Change    % Change                From        From    Control          *     Control                      **    Control__________________________________________________________________________Initial  399   399         396Body Weight (g)    (9.2) (9.2)       (7.0)Final    455   424   -7    431   -5Body Weight (g)    (11.4)          (11.5)      (11.2)Avg. Weight    56    25    -55   35    -38Gain (g) (4.1) (6.8)       (6.2)Avg. Daily    32.8  30.4  -7    30.1  -8Food Intake (g)    (.82) (.92)       (.78)Epididymal    5.20  4.33  -17   4.10  -21Fat Weight (g)    (.39) (.31)       (.19)Retroperitoneal    4.87  4.35  -11   4.10  -16Fat Weight (g)    (.42) (.47)       (.46)Heart Weight (g)    1.49  1.41  -5    1.39  -7    (.03) (.06)       (.07)Liver Weight (g)    17.5  15.8  -10   16.5  -6    (.74) (1.0)       (.49)Testes Weight (g)    3.4   3.5   +5    3.3   -1    (.09) (.13)       (.16)Kidney Weight (g)    3.8   3.5   -7    3.6   -4    (.19) (.13)       (.15)Spleen Weight (g)    .96   .71   -25   .78   -20    (.06) (.05)       (.03)__________________________________________________________________________ Values are mean with (SEM) of n = 6 rats per group. *cis(+/-)2-butyl-6-(hexahydro-2-methylpyrrolo 1,2b!-isoxazol2-yl)-3-  2&#39;-1Htetrazol-5-yl)  1,1&#39;-biphenyl!-4yl!methyl4(3H)-quinazolinone sodium salt **2n-butyl-4-chloro-5-hydroxymethyl-1- (2&#39;-(1Htetrazol-5-yl)biphenyl-4-ylmethyl!imidazole. 
    
     
                       TABLE 7______________________________________Epididymal Adipocyte AII Receptor Binding andAdipocyte Volume        Control     *       **______________________________________.sup.B max   48.6        31.8    24.7(fmole/mg protein)        (15.7)      (8.5)   (3.4)Adipocyte    256         187     163Cell Volume (p1)        (30.3)      (22.1)  (4.9)______________________________________ Values are mean (SEM) of 4 rats/group orally receiving water (Control) or an AII antagonist once daily for 2 weeks. *cis(+/-)2-butyl-6-(hexahydro-2-methylpyrrolo 1,2b!isoxazol2-yl)-3-  2(1Htetrazol-5-yl) 1,1bi-phenyl4-yl!methyl4(3H)-quinazolinone sodium salt. **2n-butyl-4-chloro-5-hydroxymethyl-1- (2(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)biphenyl-4-yl)ethyl!imidazole. 
    
     Method for Screening Adipocyte Membranes for Angiotensin II Receptor Binding 
     The experimental design involves determining the binding characteristics of adipocyte membranes harvested from two different anatomic sites at three different ages. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (Charles River Laboratories, Wilmington, Mass.) are used at 40, 70 and 100 days of age. 
     Rats are killed by carbon dioxide inhalation on the morning of the experiment, and adipose tissue from the epididymal and retroperitoneal depots is quickly excised and placed in cold saline. The spermatic artery and vein are removed from the epididymal fat, and brown fat deposits are dissected away from the retroperitoneal depot. The adipose tissue is weighed, minced into small pieces, and approximately 10 g each transferred to a flask containing 25 ml of Krebs-Ringer-bicarbonate buffer (KRB), 6 mM glucose and 50 mg of collagenase, pH 7.4. The flask containing the minced adipose tissue is shaken vigorously (150 strokes/min) for 30 minutes, followed by passing of the contents through 150 um nylon mesh. Intact adipocytes dissociated from the tissue pass freely into waiting tubes, while the undigested tissue is trapped on the screen. The tubes containing the adipocytes are washed an additional 4× with 20 ml each of cold Tris buffer (10 mM Tris HCl, pH 8.0) by first allowing the adipocytes to separate from the digestion medium by flotation, removing the infranatant through polyethylene tubing attached to a syringe, resuspending the cells in the Tris buffer, and repeating this procedure. 
     Adipocyte membranes used for binding studies are prepared as follows. Using a Brinkmann polytron with a small, blunt probe, adipocytes are homogenized for 20 second at a medium speed setting, and the resulting homogenate centrifuged at 40,000×g for 35 minutes and 4° C. Following centrifugation, the fat cake and supernatant are carefully removed, and the pellet resuspended in 1 ml of Tris buffer. Protein content of the high speed pellet is determined, the resuspended protein is either assayed immediately or stored at -75° before binding assays are performed. 
     Binding is initiated by suspending the adipocyte membranes in 0.25% BSA buffer (bovine serum albumin, 50 mM Tris HCl, 5 mM MgCl 2 ,pH 7.4) to a final concentration of 5 ug protein/10 ul buffer. For Scatchard analysis, membranes are incubated with 12 different concentrations of  125  I Sar 1 ,Ile 8  !AII(NEN, Boston, Mass.) ranging from 0.15 to 5.0 nM. A typical incubation tube contains 160 ul(80 ug) fat cell membrane protein, 20 ul of isotope and 20 ul of 1 uM 2-n-butyl-4-(chloro-5-hydroxymethyl-1- (2&#39;-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)biphenyl-4-yl)methyl!imidazole as appropriately required for determination of nonspecific binding. The assay is initiated by the addition of the membrane protein, followed by incubation at 22° C. for 30 minutes in a slowly shaking water bath. Separation of bound from free radioactivity is achieved using any appropriate filtration apparatus. We use either a Millipore or Brandel model harvesting apparatus containing a Durapore or Whatman GF/B filter, followed by 6 additional rinses with 5 ml each of cold saline. The filters are placed in tubes, and radioactivity measured in a gamma scintillation counter programmed to correct for the half-life of the isotope. Using this experimental protocol, both the affinity (K D ) and number of binding sites (B max ) for angiotensin II on the adipocyte membrane can be calculated. 
     The relative affinities of different anatomically distinct adipocyte membranes for a variety of peptide and nonpeptide antagonists can also be determined. Fat cell membranes are incubated in the presence of 1 nM 125  I- Sar 1 , Ile 8  !AII together with varying concentrations of antagonists ranging from 10 -6  to 10 -13  M, and in increasing graduations of one-third log unit. Concentration ranges can be altered dependent upon the affinity of the particular antagonist for the fat cell membrane receptor. Relative inhibitory constants required to displace 50% of bound ligand (IC 50&#39;s ) are calculated based upon comparative specific binding of the radioligand in the presence of antagonists. 
     The inhibitory constants (IC 50 ) of various compounds tested for displacement of  125  I Sar,Ile!AII binding in rat epididymal fat cell membranes is shown in Table 8. 
     
                       TABLE 8______________________________________Inhibitory Constants (IC.sub.50) of Test Compounds forDisplacement of .sup.125 I Sar, Ile!AII Binding in RatEpididymal Fat Cell Membranes                  EpididymalCompound               IC.sub.50______________________________________(3S-trans)-2-butyl-6- 5-(hydroxymethyl)-                  1.86 × 10.sup.-82-methyl-3-isoxazolidinyl!-3-   2&#39;-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)  1,1&#39;-biphenyl!-4-yl!-methyl!-4(3H)-quinazolinone(3R-cis)-2-butyl-6- 5-(hydroxymethyl)-                  8.20 × 10.sup.-92-methyl-3-isoxazolidinyl!-3-  2&#39;-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)  1,1&#39;-biphenyl-4-yl!-methyl!-4(3H)-quinazolinone2-butyl-6-(phenoxymethyl)-3-  2&#39;-(1H-                  1.63 × 10.sup.-7tetrazol-5-yl)  1,1&#39;-biphenyl!-4-yl!-methyl!-4(3H)-quinazolinone2-butyl-6- (2-pyridinyloxy)methyl!-3-                  1.72 × 10.sup.-8  2&#39;-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)  1,1&#39;-biphenyl!-4-yl!methyl!-4(3H)-quinazolinonehydrochloride2-butyl-6-(3,3a,4,5,6,7-hexahydropyra-                  8.67 × 10.sup.-8zolo 1,5-a!pyridin-2-yl)-3-  2&#39;-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)  1,1&#39;-biphenyl!-4-yl!-methyl!-4(3H)-quinazolinone(3aα,6aα)-3- 2-butyl-3,4-dihydro-4-                  5.50 × 10.sup.-7oxo-3-  2&#39;-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)  1,1&#39;-biphenyl!-4-yl!methyl!-6-quinazolinyl!-2,3,3a,6a-tetrahydro-3,5-dimethylpyrrolo 3,4-c!pyrazole-4,6-(1H,5H)-dione2-butyl-6- 4,5-dihydro-3-(4-methyl-                  1.26 × 10.sup.-7phenyl)-5-isoxazolyl!-3-  2&#39;-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)  1,1&#39;-biphenyl!-4-yl!methyl!-4(3H)-quinazolinone5- 2-butyl-3,4-dihydro-4-oxo-3-                  3.57 × 10.sup.-8  2&#39;-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)  1,1&#39;-biphenyl!-4-yl!methyl!-6-quinazolinyl!-4,5-dihyrdro-5-methyl-3-isoxazolecar-boxylic acid ethyl ester 2S-(2α,3aα,3bβ,8aα)!-2-butyl-6-(6,6&#39;-                  1.41 × 10.sup.-8dimethyloctahydrofuro 3,2-d!pyrrolo- 1,2-d!isoxazol-2-yl)-3-  2&#39;-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)  1,1&#39;-biphenyl!-4-yl!-methyl!-4(3H)-quinazolinone2-butyl-6- hydroxy(tetrahydro-2-thienyl)                  1.68 × 10.sup.-9methyl!-3-  2&#39;-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)  1,1&#39;-biphenyl!-4-yl!methyl!-4(3H)-quinazoli-none S,S-dioxide isomer 12-butyl-6- hydroxy(tetrahydro-2-thienyl)                  3.14 × 10.sup.-9methyl!-3-  2&#39;-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)  1,1&#39;-biphenyl!-4-yl!methyl!-4(3H)-quinazoli-none S,S-dioxide isomer 22-butyl-6- 1-hydroxy-1-(1-methyl-2-oxo-                  7.90 × 10.sup.-93-pyrrolidinyl)ethyl!-3-  2&#39;-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)  1,1&#39;-biphenyl!-4-yl!-methyl!-4(3H)-quinazolinone isomer 1trans-(+/-)-2- 2-butyl-3,4-dihydro-4-                  2.35 × 10.sup.-8oxo-3-  2&#39;-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)  1,1&#39;-biphenyl!-4-yl!methyl!-6-quinazolinyl!-hexahydropyrrolo 1,2-b!isoxazole-2-carboxylic acid methyl ester monohydrocis-(+/-)-2-butyl-6-(hexahydro-2-methyl-                  1.46 × 10.sup.-8pyrrolo 1,2-b!isoxazol-2-yl)-3-  2&#39;-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)  1,1-biphenyl!-4-yl!-methyl!-4(3H)-quinazolinone sodium salt2-butyl-3,5,7,8-tetrahydro-3-  2&#39;-(1H-                  1.79 × 10.sup.-8tetrazol-5-yl)  1,1&#39;-biphenyl!-4-yl!-methyl!-pyrido 4,3-d!pyrimidin-6(4H)-carboxylic acid phenylmethyl ester2-butyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-6-(2-                  1.36 × 10.sup.-9hydroxy-2-methyl-1-oxopropyl)-3-  2&#39;-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)  1,1&#39;-biphenyl!-4-yl!-methyl!-4(3H)-quinazolinone2-ethyl-5,7-dimethyl-3-  2&#39;-(1H-tetra-                  2.44 × 10.sup.-9zol-5-yl)  1,1-biphenyl!-4-yl!methyl!-3H-imidazo 4,5-b!pyridine5-methyl-7-propyl-8- (2&#39;-(1H-tetrazol-                  5.63 × 10.sup.-95-yl)biphenyl-4-yl)methyl!-1,2,4-tri-azolo 1,5-c!pyrimidin-2(3H)-one______________________________________ 
    
     Additional Calculations 
     The number of AII receptor binding sites per cell can be estimated by initially determining the amount of membrane protein and the number of adipocytes in each preparation. This information allows an estimate of the amount of membrane protein per cell, which together with B max  expressed as fmole/mg protein, results in calculations of sites per cell. 
     Human Adipocyte Membrane Preparations 
     Human adipose tissue is obtained from surgical biopsy and placed immediately in cold saline. Within 1 hour of receiving the sample, it is weighed and minced into small pieces and placed into a solution of Krebs&#39;s Ringer bicarbonate buffer (pH 7.4), containing 6 mM glucose and collagenase at 2 mg/ml. The tissue is shaken at 150 strokes/min at 37° C., and at 10 minute intervals the solution is passed through nylon mesh to separate the free adipocytes from the remainder of the tissue. The procedure differs from rat adipose tissue, as human cells are more fragile and require shorter periods of digestion before separation from the digestion medium. The undigested tissue is minced again before adding back to the collagenase-Krebs buffer, and digested at 10 minute intervals until completely digested. The adipocytes are rinsed with cold Tris buffer, and the procedure for membrane preparation, and determination of angiotensin II binding to the adipocyte membrane proceeds as with the rat adipocyte. 
     Human adipocytes exhibit displacement of  125  I-Sar Ile with high affinity by the AII antagonist 2-n-butyl-4-(chloro-5-hydroxymethyl-1- (2&#39;-(1 H-tetrazol-5-yl)biphenyl-4-yl)methyl!imidazole (Table 9). 
     
                       TABLE 9______________________________________Angiotensin II Antagonist Displacement of.sup.125 I-Sar-Isoleucine Angiotensin II inHuman Adipocytes       Site of Adipose Tissue         Omental  Subcutaneous*             (nM)     (nM)______________________________________MEAN IC.sub.50         9.26     16.11SEM           3.39     4.51______________________________________ *2-n-butyl-4-(chloro-5-hydroxymethyl-1- (2(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)biphenyl-4-ylmethyl!imidazole.