Discovery of Highly Potent and Selective α4β2-Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor (nAChR) Partial Agonists Containing an Isoxazolylpyridine Ether Scaffold that Demonstrate Antidepressant-like Activity. Part II
作者:Li-Fang Yu、J. Brek Eaton、Allison Fedolak、Han-Kun Zhang、Taleen Hanania、Dani Brunner、Ronald J. Lukas、Alan P. Kozikowski
DOI:10.1021/jm301177j
日期:2012.11.26
In our continued efforts to develop alpha 4 beta 2-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) partial agonists as novel antidepressants having a unique mechanism of action, structure-activity relationship (SAR) exploration of certam isoxazolylpyridine ethers is presented. In particular, modifications to both the azetidine ring present in the starting structure 4 and its metabolically liable hydroxyl side chain substituent have been explored to improve compound druggability. The pharmacological characterization of all new compounds has been carried out using [H-3]epibatidine binding studies together with functional assays based on Rb-86(+) ion flux measurements. We found that the deletion of the metabolically liable hydroxyl group or its replacement by a fluoromethyl group not only maintained potency and selectivity but also resulted in compounds showing antidepressant-like properties in the mouse forced swim test. These isoxazolylpyridine ethers appear to represent lead candidates in the design of innovative chemical tools containing reporter groups for imaging purposes and of possible therapeutics.