Synthesis and biological analysis of benzazol-2-yl piperazine sulfonamides as 11ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 inhibitors.

In the last decade the inhibition of the enzyme 11ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 (11ß-HSD1) emerged as a promising new strategy to treat diabetes and several metabolic syndrome phenotypes. Using a molecular modeling approach and classical bioisosteric studies, we discovered a new class of 11ß-HSD1 inhibitors bearing an arylsulfonylpiperazine scaffold. Optimization of the initial lead resulted in compound 11 that selectively inhibits 11ß-HSD1 (IC50=0.7 µM).