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The serotonin 5-HT 2C receptor is a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) mainly expressed in the central nervous system. Besides regulating mood, appetite, and reproductive behavior, it has been identified as a potential target for cancer treatment. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of cancer patient-derived 5-HT 2C receptor mutations on ligand binding and receptor functionality. By filtering the sequencing data from the Genomic Data Commons data portal (GDC), we selected 12 mutations from multiple cancer types. We found that the affinity of the endogenous agonist serotonin (5-HT) and inverse agonist mesulergine were both drastically decreased by mutations L209H ECL2 and F328S 6.52 , which are located in the orthosteric binding pocket. In the calcium-flux assay, the potency of 5-HT was decreased at F328S 6.52 , while a trend of increased efficacy was observed. In contrast, 5-HT displayed higher affinity at E306K 6.30 and E306A 6.30 , while a trend of decreased efficacy was observed. These two mutations may disrupt the conserved ionic interaction between E 6.30 and R 3.50 , and thus increase the constitutive activity of the receptor. The inhibitory potency of mesulergine was increased at E306A 6.30 but not E306K 6.30 . Lastly, P365H 7.50 decreased the expression level of the receptor by more than ten-fold, which prevented further functional analyses. This study shows that cancer-associated mutations of 5-HT 2C receptor have diverse effects on ligand binding and function. Such mutations may affect serotonin-mediated signaling in tumor cells as well as treatment strategies targeting this receptor., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

CC chemokine receptor 2 and CCL2 are highly involved in cancer growth and metastasis, and immune escape. Raised sodium ion concentrations in solid tumours have also been correlated to metastasis and immune modulation. Sodium ions can modulate class A G protein-coupled receptors through the sodium ion binding site characterized by a highly conserved aspartic acid residue (D 2.50 ), also present in CCR2. Hence, we further explored this binding site in CCR2 by radioligand binding studies and mutagenesis. Modulation of three distinctly binding radioligands by sodium ions and amiloride derivates was investigated. Sodium ions were observed to be relatively weak modulators of antagonist binding, but substantially increased 125 I-CCL2 dissociation from CCR2. 6-Substituted Hexamethylene Amiloride (HMA) modulated all tested radioligands. Induced-fit docking of HMA in the presumed sodium ion binding site of CCR2 confirmed its binding site. Finally, investigation of (cancer-associated) mutations in the sodium ion binding site showed a markedly decreased expression compared to wild type. Only two mutants, G123A 3.35 and G127K 3.39 , were able to be bound by [ 3 H]INCB3344 and [ 3 H]CCR2-RA-[R]. Thus, mutagenesis showed that the sodium ion binding site residues, which are distinct from other class A GPCRs and related to chemokine receptor evolution, are crucial for receptor integrity. Moreover, the tested mutations appeared to have no effect on modulation observed by HMA or a minor effect on sodium chloride modulation on the tested radioligands. All in all, these results invite further exploration of the CCR2 sodium ion binding site in (cancer) biology, and potentially as a third druggable binding site., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. This research was funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) (#16573)., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Cannabinoid CB 2 receptor (CB 2 R) is a class A G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) involved in a broad spectrum of physiological processes and pathological conditions. For that reason, targeting CB 2 R might provide therapeutic opportunities in neurodegenerative disorders, neuropathic pain, inflammatory diseases, and cancer. The main components from Cannabis sativa, such as Δ 9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ 9 -THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), have been therapeutically exploited and synthetically-derived analogs have been generated. One example is cannabidiol-dimethylheptyl (CBD-DMH), which exhibits anti-inflammatory effects. Nevertheless, its pharmacological mechanism of action is not yet fully understood and is hypothesized for multiple targets, including CB 2 R. The aim of this study was to further investigate the molecular pharmacology of CBD-DMH on CB 2 R while CBD was taken along as control. These compounds were screened in equilibrium and kinetic radioligand binding studies and various functional assays, including G protein activation, inhibition of cAMP production and ß-arrestin-2 recruitment. In dissociation studies, CBD-DMH allosterically modulated the radioligand binding. Furthermore, CBD-DMH negatively modulated the G protein activation of reference agonists CP55,940, AEA and 2-AG, but not the agonist-induced ß-arrestin-2 recruitment. Nevertheless, CBD-DMH also displayed competitive binding to CB 2 R and partial agonism on G protein activation, inhibition of cAMP production and ß-arrestin-2 recruitment. CBD did not exhibit such allosteric behavior and only very weakly bound CB 2 R without activation. This study shows a dual binding mode of CBD-DMH, but not CBD, to CB 2 R with the suggestion of two different binding sites. Altogether, it encourages further research into this dual mechanism which might provide a new class of molecules targeting CB 2 R., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

A 2B adenosine receptor (A 2B AR) antagonists have therapeutic potential in inflammation-related diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cancer. However, no drug is currently clinically approved, creating a demand for research on novel antagonists. Over the last decade, the study of target binding kinetics, along with affinity and potency, has been proven valuable in early drug discovery stages, as it is associated with improved in vivo drug efficacy and safety. In this study, we report the synthesis and biological evaluation of a series of xanthine derivatives as A 2B AR antagonists, including an isothiocyanate derivative designed to bind covalently to the receptor. All 28 final compounds were assessed in radioligand binding experiments, to evaluate their affinity and for those qualifying, kinetic binding parameters. Both structure-affinity and structure-kinetic relationships were derived, providing a clear relationship between affinity and dissociation rate constants. Two structurally similar compounds, 17 and 18, were further evaluated in a label-free assay due to their divergent kinetic profiles. An extended cellular response was associated with long A 2B AR residence times. This link between a ligand's A 2B AR residence time and its functional effect highlights the importance of binding kinetics as a selection parameter in the early stages of drug discovery., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest class of membrane proteins with around 800 members in the human genome/proteome. Extracellular signals such as hormones and neurotransmitters regulate various biological processes via GPCRs, with GPCRs being the bodily target of 30-40% of current drugs on the market. Complete identification and understanding of GPCR functionality will provide opportunities for novel drug discovery. Yeast expresses three different endogenous GPCRs regulating pheromone and sugar sensing, with the pheromone pathway offering perspectives for the characterization of heterologous GPCR signaling. Moreover, yeast offers a ''null" background for studies on mammalian GPCRs, including GPCR activation and signaling, ligand identification, and characterization of disease-related mutations. This review focuses on modifications of the yeast pheromone signaling pathway for functional GPCR studies, and on opportunities and usage of the yeast system as a platform for human GPCR studies. Finally, this review discusses in some further detail studies of adenosine receptors heterologously expressed in yeast, and what Geoff Burnstock thought of this approach., (Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The chemokine signaling axes CCR2-CCL2 and CXCR3-CXCL11 participate in the inflammatory response by recruiting leukocytes to damaged tissue or sites of infection and are, therefore, potential pharmacological targets to treat inflammatory disorders. Although multiple CCR2 orthosteric and allosteric inhibitors have been developed, none of these compounds has been approved for clinical use, highlighting the need for a fast, simple and robust preclinical test system to determine the in vivo efficacy of CCR2 inhibitors. Herein we show that human CCL2 and CXCL11 drive macrophage recruitment in zebrafish larvae and that CCR2 inhibitors designed for humans also limit macrophage recruitment in this model organism due to the high conservation of the chemokine system. We demonstrated anti-inflammatory activities of three orthosteric and two allosteric CCR2 inhibitors using macrophage recruitment to injury as a functional read-out of their efficiency, while simultaneously evaluating toxicity. These results provide proof-of-principle for screening CCR2 inhibitors in the zebrafish model., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Partial agonists for G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) provide opportunities for novel pharmacotherapies with enhanced on-target safety compared to full agonists. For the human adenosine A 1 receptor (hA 1 AR) this has led to the discovery of capadenoson, which has been in phase IIa clinical trials for heart failure. Accordingly, the design and profiling of novel hA 1 AR partial agonists has become an important research focus. In this study, we report on LUF7746, a capadenoson derivative bearing an electrophilic fluorosulfonyl moiety, as an irreversibly binding hA 1 AR modulator. Meanwhile, a nonreactive ligand bearing a methylsulfonyl moiety, LUF7747, was designed as a control probe in our study. In a radioligand binding assay, LUF7746's apparent affinity increased to nanomolar range with longer pre-incubation time, suggesting an increasing level of covalent binding over time. Moreover, compared to the reference full agonist CPA, LUF7746 was a partial agonist in a hA 1 AR-mediated G protein activation assay and resistant to blockade with an antagonist/inverse agonist. An in silico structure-based docking study combined with site-directed mutagenesis of the hA 1 AR demonstrated that amino acid Y271 7.36 was the primary anchor point for the covalent interaction. Additionally, a label-free whole-cell assay was set up to identify LUF7746's irreversible activation of an A 1 receptor-mediated cell morphological response. These results led us to conclude that LUF7746 is a novel covalent hA 1 AR partial agonist and a valuable chemical probe for further mapping the receptor activation process. It may also serve as a prototype for a therapeutic approach in which a covalent partial agonist may cause less on-target side effects, conferring enhanced safety compared to a full agonist., (Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In cancer, G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are involved in tumor progression and metastasis. In this study we particularly examined one GPCR, the adenosine A 2B receptor. This receptor is activated by high concentrations of its endogenous ligand adenosine, which suppresses the immune response to fight tumor progression. A series of adenosine A 2B receptor mutations were retrieved from the Cancer Genome Atlas harboring data from patient samples with different cancer types. The main goal of this work was to investigate the pharmacology of these mutant receptors using a 'single-GPCR-one-G protein' yeast assay technology. Concentration-growth curves were obtained with the full agonist NECA for the wild-type receptor and 15 mutants. Compared to wild-type receptor, the constitutive activity levels in mutant receptors F141L 4.61 , Y202C 5.58 and L310P 8.63 were high, while the potency and efficacy of NECA and BAY 60-6583 on Y202C 5.58 was lower. A 33- and 26-fold higher constitutive activity on F141L 4.61 and L310P 8.63 was reduced to wild-type levels in response to the inverse agonist ZM241385. These constitutively active mutants may thus be tumor promoting. Mutant receptors F259S 6.60 and Y113F 34.53 showed a more than one log-unit decrease in potency. A complete loss of activation was observed in mutant receptors C29R 1.54 , W130C 4.50 and P249L 6.50 . All mutations were characterized at the structural level, generating hypotheses of their roles on modulating the receptor conformational equilibrium. Taken together, this study is the first to investigate the nature of adenosine A 2B receptor cancer mutations and may thus provide insights in mutant receptor function in cancer., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In the last decade it has been recapitulated that receptor-ligand binding kinetics is a relevant additional parameter in drug discovery to improve in vivo drug efficacy and safety. The equilibrative nucleoside transporter-1 (ENT1, SLC29A1) is an important drug target, as transporter inhibition is a potential treatment of ischemic heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Currently, two non-selective ENT1 inhibitors (dilazep and dipyridamole) are on the market as vasodilators. However, their binding kinetics are unknown; moreover, novel, more effective and selective inhibitors are still needed. Hence, this study focused on the incorporation of binding kinetics for finding new and improved ENT1 inhibitors. We developed a radioligand competition association assay to determine the binding kinetics of ENT1 inhibitors with four chemical scaffolds (including dilazep and dipyridamole). The kinetic parameters were compared to the affinities obtained from a radioligand displacement assay. Three of the scaffolds presented high affinities with relatively fast dissociation kinetics, yielding short to moderate residence times (RTs) at the protein (1-44 min). While compounds from the fourth scaffold, i.e. draflazine analogues, also had high affinity, they displayed significantly longer RTs, with one analogue (4) having a RT of over 10 h. Finally, a label-free assay was used to evaluate the impact of divergent ENT1 inhibitor binding kinetics in a functional assay. It was shown that the potency of compound 4 increased with longer incubation times, which was not observed for draflazine, supporting the importance of long RT for increased target-occupancy and effect. In conclusion, our research shows that high affinity ENT1 inhibitors show a large variation in residence times at this transport protein. As a consequence, incorporation of binding kinetic parameters adds to the design criteria and may thus result in a different lead compound selection. Taken together, this kinetic approach could inspire future drug discovery in the field of ENT1 and membrane transport proteins in general., (Copyright © 2019 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Elevated circulating free fatty acid (FFA) level is closely linked to the pathogenesis of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Activation of the adenosine A 1 receptor (A 1 R) inhibits lipolysis in adipocytes and hence reduces the concentration of FFA, which represents a potential target for the development of antilipolytic agents. We aimed to assess the binding affinity as well as target binding kinetics of A 1 R agonists and further delineate a possible relationship with their antilipolytic effect in adipocytes. Radioligand binding assays were performed to determine the affinity and kinetics of three representative A 1 R agonists, namely CPA, LUF6944 and LUF6941, on the rat A 1 R. Functional responses to these agonists were examined in both a recombinant cell system and physiologically relevant rat adipocytes. The three A 1 R agonists displayed similar affinity while divergent target binding kinetics on the rat A 1 R. Irrespective of equilibrium binding affinity, temporal analysis of receptor signaling demonstrated persistent functional responses for the long residence time agonist, despite removal of excess agonist, in both a recombinant cell system and in rat adipocytes. By contrast, such effect was less pronounced or even lost for agonists with medium or short receptor residence time, respectively. Our results indicate that ligand receptor binding kinetics rather than their affinity or potency play an essential role in regulating cellular responses. The long residence time A 1 R agonist produces a sustained wash-resistant antilipolytic effect in rat adipocytes and thus may represent a potential antilipolytic alternative for further investigation., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

While many orthosteric ligands have been developed for the mGlu 2 receptor, little is known about their target binding kinetics and how these relate to those of the endogenous agonist glutamate. Here, the kinetic rate constants, i.e. k on and k off , of glutamate were determined for the first time followed by those of the synthetic agonist LY354740 and antagonist LY341495. To increase the understanding of the binding mechanism and impact of allosteric modulation thereon, kinetic experiments were repeated in the presence of allosteric modulators. Functional assays were performed to further study the interplay between the orthosteric and allosteric binding sites, including an impedance-based morphology assay. We found that dissociation rate constants of orthosteric mGlu 2 ligands were all within a small 6-fold range, whereas association rate constants were ranging over more than three orders of magnitude and correlated to both affinity and potency. The latter showed that target engagement of orthosteric mGlu 2 ligands is k on -driven in vitro. Moreover, only the off-rates of the two agonists were decreased by a positive allosteric modulator (PAM), thereby increasing their affinity. Interestingly, a PAM increased the duration of a glutamate-induced cellular response. A negative allosteric modulator (NAM) increased both on- and off-rate of glutamate without changing its affinity, while it did not affect these parameters for LY354740, indicating probe-dependency. In conclusion, we found that affinity- or potency-based orthosteric ligand optimization primarily results in ligands with high k on values. Moreover, positive allosteric modulators alter the binding kinetics of orthosteric agonists mainly by decreasing k off , which we were able to correlate to a lengthened cellular response. Together, this study shows the importance of studying binding kinetics in early drug discovery, as this may provide important insights towards improved efficacy in vivo., (Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The human adenosine A 3 (hA 3 ) receptor has been suggested as a viable drug target in inflammatory diseases and in cancer. So far, a number of selective hA 3 receptor agonists (e.g. IB-MECA and 2-Cl-IB-MECA) inducing anti-inflammatory or anticancer effects are under clinical investigation. Drug-target binding kinetics is increasingly recognized as another pharmacological parameter, next to affinity, for compound triage in the early phases of drug discovery. However, such a kinetics-driven analysis has not yet been performed for the hA 3 receptor. In this study, we first validated a competition association assay for adenosine A 3 receptor agonists to determine the target interaction kinetics. Affinities and Kinetic Rate Index (KRI) values of 11 ribofurano and 10 methanocarba nucleosides were determined in radioligand binding assays. Afterwards, 15 analogues were further selected (KRI <0.70 or KRI >1.35) for full kinetics characterization. The structure-kinetics relationships (SKR) were derived and longer residence times were associated with methanocarba and enlarged adenine N 6 and C2 substitutions. In addition, from a k on -k off -K D kinetic map we divided the agonists into three subgroups. A residence time "cliff" was observed, which might be relevant to (N)-methanocarba derivatives' rigid C2-arylalkynyl substitutions. Our findings provide substantial evidence that, next to affinity, additional knowledge of binding kinetics is useful for developing and selecting new hA 3 R agonists in the early phase of the drug discovery process., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

A decade ago, the drug-target residence time model has been (re-)introduced, which describes the importance of binding kinetics of ligands on their protein targets. Since then, it has been applied successfully for multiple protein targets, including GPCRs, for the development of lead compounds with slow dissociation kinetics (i.e. long target residence time) to increase in vivo efficacy or with short residence time to prevent on-target associated side effects. To date, this model has not been applied in the design and pharmacological evaluation of novel selective ligands for the cannabinoid CB 2 receptor (CB 2 R), a GPCR with therapeutic potential in the treatment of tissue injury and inflammatory diseases. Here, we have investigated the relationships between physicochemical properties, binding kinetics and functional activity in two different signal transduction pathways, G protein activation and β-arrestin recruitment. We synthesized 24 analogues of 3-cyclopropyl-1-(4-(6-((1,1-dioxidothiomorpholino)methyl)-5-fluoropyridin-2-yl)benzyl)imidazoleidine-2,4-dione (LEI101), our previously reported in vivo active and CB 2 R-selective agonist, with varying basicity and lipophilicity. We identified a positive correlation between target residence time and functional potency due to an increase in lipophilicity on the alkyl substituents, which was not the case for the amine substituents. Basicity of the agonists did not show a relationship with affinity, residence time or functional activity. Our findings provide important insights about the effects of physicochemical properties of the specific substituents of this scaffold on the binding kinetics of agonists and their CB 2 R pharmacology. This work therefore shows how CB 2 R agonists can be designed to have optimal kinetic profiles, which could aid the lead optimization process in drug discovery for the study or treatment of inflammatory diseases., (Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Label-free cellular assays using a biosensor provide new opportunities for studying G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling. As opposed to conventional in vitro assays, integrated receptor-mediated cellular responses are determined in real-time rather than a single downstream signaling pathway. In this study, we examined the potential of a label-free whole cell impedance-based biosensor system (i.e. xCELLigence) to study the pharmacology of one GPCR in particular, the mGlu 2 receptor. This receptor is a target for the treatment of several psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia and depression. After optimization of assay conditions to prevent interference of endogenous glutamate in the culture medium, detailed pharmacological assessments were performed. Concentration-response curves showed a concentration-dependent increase in impedance for agonists and positive allosteric modulators, whereas receptor inhibition by an antagonist or negative allosteric modulator resulted in a concentration-dependent decrease in cellular impedance. Interestingly, constitutive receptor activity was observed that was decreased by LY341495, which therefore behaved as an inverse agonist here, a property that was heretofore unappreciated. This was confirmed by concentration-dependent modulation of LY341495 potency and efficacy by a allosteric modulators. In summary, the use of the xCELLigence system to study mGlu 2 receptor pharmacology was validated. This is the first class C GPCR to be characterized extensively by such method, opening new avenues to study receptor pharmacology including inverse agonism and demonstrating its value for future drug discovery efforts of mGlu receptors as well as other GPCRs., (Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

While equilibrium binding affinities and in vitro functional antagonism of CB1 receptor antagonists have been studied in detail, little is known on the kinetics of their receptor interaction. In this study, we therefore conducted kinetic assays for nine 1-(4,5-diarylthiophene-2-carbonyl)-4-phenylpiperidine-4-carboxamide derivatives and included the CB1 antagonist rimonabant as a comparison. For this we newly developed a dual-point competition association assay with [ 3 H]CP55940 as the radioligand. This assay yielded Kinetic Rate Index (KRI) values from which structure-kinetics relationships (SKR) of hCB1 receptor antagonists could be established. The fast dissociating antagonist 6 had a similar receptor residence time (RT) as rimonabant, i.e. 19 and 14 min, respectively, while the slowest dissociating antagonist (9) had a very long RT of 2222 min, i.e. pseudo-irreversible dissociation kinetics. In functional assays, 9 displayed insurmountable antagonism, while the effects of the shortest RT antagonist 6 and rimonabant were surmountable. Taken together, this study shows that hCB1 receptor antagonists can have very divergent RTs, which are not correlated to their equilibrium affinities. Furthermore, their RTs appear to define their mode of functional antagonism, i.e. surmountable vs. insurmountable. Finally, based on the recently resolved hCB1 receptor crystal structure, we propose that the differences in RT can be explained by a different binding mode of antagonist 9 from short RT antagonists that is able to displace unfavorable water molecules. Taken together, these findings are of importance for future design and evaluation of potent and safe hCB1 receptor antagonists., (Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The Cannabinoid Receptor 2 (CB 2 R) is a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) investigated intensively as therapeutic target, however no drug has reached the market yet. We investigated personal differences in CB 2 R drug responses using a label-free whole-cell assay (xCELLigence) combined with cell lines (Lymphoblastoid Cell Lines) from individuals with varying CB 2 R genotypes. Responses to agonists, partial agonists and antagonists of various chemical classes were characterized. Endogenous cannabinoids such as 2-AG induced cellular effects vastly different from all synthetic cannabinoids, especially in their time-profile. Secondly, the Q63R polymorphism affected CB 2 R responses in general. Agonists and especially partial agonists showed higher efficacy in a Q63R minor homozygote versus other genotypes. Non-classical cannabinoid CP55940 showed the most pronounced personal effects with highly reduced potency and efficacy in this genotype. Contrarily, aminoalkylindole compounds showed less individual differences. In conclusion, a label-free whole-cell assay combined with personal cell lines is a promising vehicle to investigate personal differences in drug response originating from genetic variation in GPCRs. Such phenotypic screening allows early identification of compounds prone to personal differences ('precision medicine') or more suited as drugs for the general population., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Classical evaluation of target selectivity is usually undertaken by measuring the binding affinity of lead compounds against a number of potential targets under equilibrium conditions, without considering the kinetics of the ligand-receptor interaction. In the present study we propose a combined strategy including both equilibrium- and kinetics-based selectivity profiling. The adenosine receptor (AR) was chosen as a prototypical drug target. Six in-house AR antagonists were evaluated in a radioligand displacement assay for their affinity and in a competition association assay for their binding kinetics on three AR subtypes. One of the compounds with a promising kinetic selectivity profile was also examined in a [(35)S]-GTPγS binding assay for functional activity. We found that XAC and LUF5964 were kinetically more selective for the A1R and A3R, respectively, although they are non-selective in terms of their affinity. In comparison, LUF5967 displayed a strong equilibrium-based selectivity for the A1R over the A2AR, yet its kinetic selectivity thereon was less pronounced. In a GTPγS assay, LUF5964 exhibited insurmountable antagonism on the A3R while having a surmountable effect on the A1R, consistent with its kinetic selectivity profile. This study provides evidence that equilibrium and kinetic selectivity profiling can both be important in the early phases of the drug discovery process. Our proposed combinational strategy could be considered for future medicinal chemistry efforts and aid the design and discovery of different or even better leads for clinical applications., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Activation of chemokine CC receptors subtype 2 (CCR2) plays an important role in chronic inflammatory processes such as atherosclerosis, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. A diverse set of spirocyclic butanamides 4 (N-benzyl-4-(3,4-dihydrospiro[[2]benzopyran-1,4'-piperidin]-1'-yl)butanamides) was prepared by different combination of spirocyclic piperidines 8 (3,4-dihydrospiro[[2]benzopyran-1,4'-piperidines]) and γ-halobutanamides 11. A key step in the synthesis of spirocyclic piperidines 8 was an Oxa-Pictet-Spengler reaction of β-phenylethanols 5 with piperidone acetal 6. The substituted γ-hydroxybutanamides 11c-e were prepared by hydroxyethylation of methyl acetates 13 with ethylene sulfate giving the γ-lactones 14c and 14e. Aminolysis of the γ-lactones 14c and 14e with benzylamines provided the γ-hydroxybutanamides 15c-e, which were converted into the bromides 11c-e by an Appel reaction using polymer-bound PPh3. In radioligand binding assays the spirocyclic butanamides 4 did not displace the iodinated radioligand (125)I-CCL2 from the human CCR2. However, in the Ca(2+)-flux assay using human CCR2 strong antagonistic activity of butanamides 4 was detected. Analysis of the IC50-values led to clear relationships between the structure and the inhibition of the Ca(2+)-flux. 4g (4-(3,4-dihydrospiro[[2]benzopyran-1,4'-piperidin]-1'-yl)-N-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethylbenzyl)]-2-(4-fluorophenyl)butanamide) and 4o (N-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzyl]-2-cyclopropyl-4-(3,4-dihydrospiro[[2]benzopyran-1,4'-piperidin]-1'-yl)butanamide) represent the most potent CCR2 antagonists with IC50-values of 89 and 17nM, respectively. Micromolar activities were found in the β-arrestin recruitment assay with murine CCR2, but the structure-activity-relationships detected in the Ca(2+)-flux assay were confirmed., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The fact that GPCRs might function in a dimeric fashion is currently well accepted. For GnRHR, a GPCR that regulates gonadotropin release, there is evidence that the receptor also functions as a dimer. We here describe the design and synthesis of a set of dimeric GnRHR antagonists in order to understand the interaction of dimeric ligands to the receptor and to address the question whether GnRHR dimerization is a prerequisite for signalling. Biological evaluation of the compounds shows no discrimination between monomeric and dimeric-ligands in respect to binding affinities, however, the dimeric ligands appear to have different functional properties.

G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are important drug targets in pharmaceutical research. Traditionally, most research efforts have been devoted towards the design of small molecule agonists and antagonists. An interesting, yet poorly investigated class of GPCR modulators comprise the bivalent ligands, in which two receptor pharmacophores are incorporated. Here, we set out to develop a general strategy for the synthesis of bivalent compounds that are projected to bind to the human gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor (GnRHR). Our results on the dimerisation of a known GnRHR antagonist, with as key step the Huisgen 1,3-cycloaddition, and their ability to bind to and antagonize GnRH-induced GnRHR stimulation, are presented here.