Novel potent (dihydro)benzofuranyl piperazines as human histamine receptor ligands - Functional characterization and modeling studies on H3 and H4 receptors.

Histamine acts through four different receptors (H1R-H4R), the H3R and H4R being the most explored in the last years as drug targets. The H3R is a potential target to treat narcolepsy, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, schizophrenia and several other CNS-related conditions, while H4R blockade leads to anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects. Our group has been exploring the dihydrobenzofuranyl-piperazines (LINS01 series) as human H3R/H4R ligands as potential drug candidates. In the present study, a set of 12 compounds were synthesized from adequate (dihydro)benzofuran synthons through simple reactions with corresponding piperazines, giving moderate to high yields. Four compounds (1b, 1f, 1g and 1h) showed high hH3R affinity (pKi > 7), compound 1h being the most potent (pKi 8.4), and compound 1f showed the best efficiency (pKi 8.2, LE 0.53, LLE 5.85). BRET-based assays monitoring Gαi activity indicated that the compounds are potent antagonists. Only one compound (2c, pKi 7.1) presented high affinity for hH4R. In contrast to what was observed for hH3R, it showed partial agonist activity. Docking experiments indicated that bulky substituents occupy a hydrophobic pocket in hH3R, while the N-allyl group forms favorable interactions with hydrophobic residues in the TM2, 3 and 7, increasing the selectivity towards hH3R. Additionally, the importance of the indole NH in the interaction with Glu5.46 from hH4R was confirmed by the modeling results, explaining the affinity and agonistic activity of compound 2c. The data reported in this work represent important findings for the rational design of future compounds for hH3R and hH4R.

Design and synthesis of new chacones substituted with azide/triazole groups and analysis of their cytotoxicity towards HeLa cells.

A series of new chalcones substituted with azide/triazole groups were designed and synthesized, and their cytotoxic activity was evaluated in vitro against the HeLa cell line. O-Alkylation, Claisen-Schmidt condensation and Cu(I)-catalyzed cycloaddition of azides with terminal alkynes were applied in key steps. Fifteen compounds were tested against HeLa cells. Compound 8c was the most active molecule, with an IC50 value of 13.03 µM, similar to the value of cisplatin (7.37 µM).

Signal Transduction Profiling of Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor With Mutations Associated to Atrial Fibrillation in Humans.

The AT1 receptor (AT1R) has a major role in the Renin-Angiotensin System, being involved in several physiological events including blood pressure control and electrolyte balance. The AT1R is a member of the G protein coupled receptors (GPCR) family, classically known to couple Gαq and engage ß-arrestin recruitment. Both G protein and arrestin signaling pathways are involved in modulation of different downstream kinases. A previous study reported that mutations in the AT1R (A244S and I103T-A244S) were positively correlated with higher risk of atrial fibrillation in men. Based on that report, we aimed to investigate if these mutations, including I103T only, could affect AT1R signal transduction profile, and consequently, implicate in atrial fibrillation outcome. To address that, we engineered an AT1R carrying the above-mentioned mutations, and functionally evaluated different signaling pathways. Phosphokinase profiler array to assess the mutations downstream effects on kinases and kinase substrates phosphorylation levels was used. Our results show that the I103T-A244S mutant receptor presents decreased ß-arrestin 2 recruitment, which could lead to a harmful condition of sustained Gαq signaling. Moreover, the phosphokinase profiler array revealed that the same mutation led to downstream modulation of kinase pathways that are linked to physiological responses such as fibrous tissue formation, apoptosis and cell proliferation.

Functional selectivity profiling of the angiotensin II type 1 receptor using pathway-wide BRET signaling sensors.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are important therapeutic targets that exhibit functional selectivity (biased signaling), in which different ligands or receptor variants elicit distinct downstream signaling. Understanding all the signaling events and biases that contribute to both the beneficial and adverse effects of GPCR stimulation by given ligands is important for drug discovery. Here, we report the design, validation, and use of pathway-selective bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) biosensors that monitor the engagement and activation of signaling effectors downstream of G proteins, including protein kinase C (PKC), phospholipase C (PLC), p63RhoGEF, and Rho. Combined with G protein and ß-arrestin BRET biosensors, our sensors enabled real-time monitoring of GPCR signaling at different levels in downstream pathways in both native and engineered cells. Profiling of the responses to 14 angiotensin II (AngII) type 1 receptor (AT1R) ligands enabled the clustering of compounds into different subfamilies of biased ligands and showed that, in addition to the previously reported functional selectivity between Gαq and ß-arrestin, there are also biases among G protein subtypes. We also demonstrated that biases observed at the receptor and G protein levels propagated to downstream signaling pathways and that these biases could occur through the engagement of different G proteins to activate a common effector. We also used these tools to determine how naturally occurring AT1R variants affected signaling bias. This suite of BRET biosensors provides a useful resource for fingerprinting biased ligands and mutant receptors and for dissecting functional selectivity at various levels of GPCR signaling.

Pharmacological Characterization of 5-Substituted 1-[(2,3-dihydro-1-benzofuran-2-yl)methyl]piperazines: Novel Antagonists for the Histamine H3 and H4 Receptors with Anti-inflammatory Potential.

The histamine receptors (HRs) are traditional G protein-coupled receptors of extensive therapeutic interest. Recently, H3R and H4R subtypes have been targeted in drug discovery projects for inflammation, asthma, pain, cancer, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's diseases, which includes searches for dual acting H3R/H4R ligands. In the present work, nine 1-[(2,3-dihydro-1-benzofuran-2-yl)methyl]piperazine (LINS01 series) molecules were synthesized and evaluated as H3R and H4R ligands. Our data show that the N-allyl-substituted compound LINS01004 bears the highest affinity for H3R (pKi 6.40), while the chlorinated compound LINS01007 has moderate affinity for H4R (pKi 6.06). In addition, BRET assays to assess the functional activity of Gi1 coupling indicate that all compounds have no intrinsic activity and act as antagonists of these receptors. Drug-likeness assessment indicated these molecules are promising leads for further improvements. In vivo evaluation of compounds LINS01005 and LINS01007 in a mouse model of asthma showed a better anti-inflammatory activity of LINS01007 (3 g/kg) than the previously tested compound LINS01005. This is the first report with functional data of these compounds in HRs, and our results also show the potential of their applications as anti-inflammatory.

Ang-(1-7) is an endogenous ß-arrestin-biased agonist of the AT1 receptor with protective action in cardiac hypertrophy.

The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) plays a key role in the control of vasoconstriction as well as sodium and fluid retention mediated mainly by angiotensin (Ang) II acting at the AT1 receptor (AT1R). Ang-(1-7) is another RAS peptide, identified as the endogenous ligand of the Mas receptor and known to counterbalance many of the deleterious effects of AngII. AT1R signaling triggered by ß-arrestin-biased agonists has been associated to cardioprotection. Because position 8 in AngII is important for G protein activation, we hypothesized that Ang-(1-7) could be an endogenous ß-arrestin-biased agonist of the AT1R. Here we show that Ang-(1-7) binds to the AT1R without activating Gq, but triggering ß-arrestins 1 and 2 recruitment and activation. Using an in vivo model of cardiac hypertrophy, we show that Ang-(1-7) significantly attenuates heart hypertrophy by reducing both heart weight and ventricular wall thickness and the increased end-diastolic pressure. Whereas neither the single blockade of AT1 or Mas receptors with their respective antagonists prevented the cardioprotective action of Ang1-7, combination of the two antagonists partially impaired the effect of Ang-(1-7). Taken together, these data indicate that Ang-(1-7) mediates at least part of its cardioprotective effects by acting as an endogenous ß-arrestin-biased agonist at the AT1R.