In silico study of carvone derivatives as potential neuraminidase inhibitors

Recent outbreaks of highly pathogenic influenza strains have highlighted the need to develop new anti-influenza drugs. Here, we report an in silico study of carvone derivatives to analyze their binding modes with neuraminidase (NA) active sites. Two proposed carvone analogues, CV(A) and CV(B), with 36 designed ligands were predicted to inhibit NA (PDB ID: 3TI6) using molecular docking. The design is based on structural resemblance with the commercial inhibitor, oseltamivir (OTV), ligand polarity, and amino acid residues in the NA active sites. Docking simulations revealed that ligand A18 has the lowest energy binding (?G_bind) value of ?8.30 kcal mol^-1, comparable to OTV with ?G_bind of ?8.72 kcal mol^-1. A18 formed seven hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) at residues Arg292, Arg371, Asp151, Trp178, Glu227, and Tyr406, while eight H-bonds were formed by OTV with amino acids Arg118, Arg292, Arg371, Glu119, Asp151, and Arg152. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was conducted to compare the stability between ligand A18 and OTV with NA. Our simulation study showed that the A18-NA complex is as stable as the OTV-NA complex during the MD simulation of 50 ns through the analysis of RMSD, RMSF, total energy, hydrogen bonding, and MM/PBSA free energy calculations.     

Aerobic oxygenation of organic sulfides using diruthenium activators

Diruthenium compounds supported by carboxylate or mixed carboxylate/carbonate bridging ligands were found to be active catalysts for aerobic oxygenation of organic sulfides. Ru₂(OAc)₃(CO₃) (A), Ru₂(O₂CCF₃)₃(CO₃) (B) and Ru₂(OAc)₄Cl (C) promote the conversion of organic sulfide to sulfoxide, and subsequently sulfone in an oxygen atmosphere at ca. 90 °C. The order of catalytic activity is A > B ? C. Catalytic reactions are operative in a number of 1:1 co-solvent-H₂O combinations, and the highest reactivity was found in aqueous media.     

Protonation and Zn(II) complexation with versatile valine and glycylglycine N-pyrimidines derivatives: crystal structures of layered {[Zn(HL1)2] · 2H2O}n and [Zn(HL2)2(H2O)4]

Protonation and Zn(II) complexation of N-substituted amino acids, valine (H₂L1) and glycylglycine (H₂L2), with 4-amino-1,6-dihydro-1-methyl-5-nitroso-6-oxopyrimidin-2-yl as substituent, were studied by potentiometric and UV-Vis measurements. Bianions L1 and L2 suffer three protonation steps in aqueous medium corresponding to the amide and carboxylate groups of the amino acidic moiety, and the nitrogen atom of the nitroso group of the pyrimidine fragment. Both ligands form mononuclear Zn(II) complexes in aqueous solutions. The binding donor groups are the nitroso and/or the oxo groups of the pyrimidinic moiety or the carboxylate group, depending on whether the ligands are neutral or anionic, respectively. Weak metal-to-ligand interactions were observed independently of the functionality used by the corresponding ligand on bonding to Zn(II). The reaction of ZnCl₂ with the monodeprotonated ligands (1:1) yields a polynuclear 2D {[Zn(HL1)₂] · 2H₂O}_n and a mononuclear [Zn(HL2)₂(H₂O)₄] complexes, showing the influence of the susbtituent on the amino acids fragment as well as the versatility of this class of compounds when acting as ligands.     

Discovery of acylguanidine oseltamivir carboxylate derivatives as potent neuraminidase inhibitors

In search of novel anti-influenza agents with higher potency, a series of acylguanidine oseltamivir carboxylate analogues were synthesized and evaluated against influenza viruses (H1N1 and H3N2) in vitro. The representative compounds with strong inhibitory activities (IC₅₀ <40 nM) against neuraminidase (NA) were further tested against the NA from oseltamivir-resistant strain (H259Y). Among them, compounds 9 and 17 were potent NA inhibitors that exhibited a 5 and 11-fold increase in activity comparing with oseltamivir carboxylate (2, OC) against the H259Y mutant, respectively. Furthermore, the effect against influenza virus H259Y mutant (H1N1) replication and cytotoxicity assays indicated that compounds 9 and 17 exhibited a 20 and 6-fold increase than the parent compound 2, and had no obvious cytotoxicity in vitro. Moreover, the molecular docking studies revealed that the docking modes of compounds 9 and 17 were different from that of oseltamivir, and the new hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interaction were formed in this case. This work provided unique insights in the discovery of potent inhibitors against NAs from wild-type and oseltamivir-resistant strains.     

Carboxyester hydrolysis promoted by Cu(II) complexes of pyridyl-amine carboxylate-pendant ligands

Multidentate ligands containing tripodal pyridyl-amine moieties tethered to a carboxylate group by alkyl linkers of varying lengths were synthesized to obtain a series of water-soluble ligands to elucidate the effects of the differing coordination environments on the properties of the resulting metal complexes. These new, water-soluble ligands, [bis-(2-pyridin-2-yl-ethyl)-amino]-acetic acid (L¹), 3-[bis-(2-pyridin-2-yl-ethyl)-amino]-propionic acid (L²), 4-[bis-(2-pyridin-2-yl-ethyl)-amino]-butyric acid (L³), and 6-[bis-(2-pyridin-2-yl-ethyl)-amino]-hexanoic acid (L⁴), were treated with copper(II) perchlorate hexahydrate to yield the corresponding Cu(II) complexes, which have all been characterized by X-ray crystallography. L¹ binds Cu(II) to form the tetrameric complex {[Cu(μ-¹)][ClO₄] · 4H₂O}₄ (1) in the solid state, whereas the Cu(II) complexes of ligands L²-L⁴ form long-chain one-dimensional polymeric complexes {[Cu(μ-L²)][ClO₄] · H₂O}_n (2), {[Cu(μ-L³)][ClO₄] · H₂O}_n (3), and {[Cu(μ-L²)][ClO₄]  · H₂O}_n (4), respectively, in the solid state. Complexes 1-4 dissolved in 10% (v/v) CH₃CN aqueous solution were tested for their ability to promote the hydrolysis of the activated ester compound 4-nitrophenylacetate (NA), with 3 being the most active complex and 1 being the least active, possibly due to differences in the ability of the carboxylate moiety to act as either a general base or a nucleophile in the hydrolysis of NA as dictated by the tether length. The pK_a values of the copper-bound aquo ligands in solution were measured by spectrophotometric titration.     

In vitro selection and characterization of influenza A (A/N9) virus variants resistant to a novel neuraminidase inhibitor, A-315675

With the recent introduction of neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors into clinical practice for the treatment of influenza virus infections, considerable attention has been focused on the potential for resistance development and cross-resistance between different agents from this class. A-315675 is a novel influenza virus NA inhibitor that has potent enzyme activity and is highly active in cell culture against a variety of strains of influenza A and B viruses. To further assess the therapeutic potential of this compound, in vitro resistance studies have been conducted and a comparative assessment has been made relative to oseltamivir carboxylate. The development of viral resistance to A-315675 was studied by in vitro serial passage of influenza A/N9 virus strains grown in MDCK cells in the presence of increasing concentrations of A-315675. Parallel passaging experiments were conducted with oseltamivir carboxylate, the active form of a currently marketed oral agent for the treatment of influenza virus infections. Passage experiments with A-315675 identified a variant at passage 8 that was 60-fold less susceptible to the compound. Sequencing of the viral population identified an E119D mutation in the NA gene, but no mutations were observed in the hemagglutinin (HA) gene. However, by passage 10 (2.56 microM A-315675), two mutations (R233K, S339P) in the HA gene appeared in addition to the E119D mutation in the NA gene, resulting in a 310-fold-lower susceptibility to A-315675. Further passaging at higher drug concentrations had no effect on the generation of further NA or HA mutations (20.5 microM A-315675). This P15 virus displayed 355-fold-lower susceptibility to A-315675 and >175-fold-lower susceptibility to zanamivir than did wild-type virus, but it retained a high degree of susceptibility to oseltamivir carboxylate. By comparison, virus variants recovered from passaging against oseltamivir carboxylate (passage 14) harbored an E119V mutation and displayed a 6,000-fold-lower susceptibility to oseltamivir carboxylate and a 175-fold-lower susceptibility to zanamivir than did wild-type virus. Interestingly, this mutant still retained susceptibility to A-315675 (42-fold loss). This suggests that cross-resistance between A-315675- and oseltamivir carboxylate-selected variants in vitro is minimal.     

Outside‐binding site mutations modify the active site's shapes in neuraminidase from influenza A H1N1

The recent occurrence of 2009 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic as well as others has raised concern of a far more dangerous outcome should this virus becomes resistant to current drug therapies. The number of clinical cases that are resistant to oseltamivir (Tamiflu®) is larger than the limited number of neuraminidase (NA) mutations (H275Y, N295S, and I223R) that have been identified at the active site and that are associated to oseltamivir resistance. In this study, we have performed a comparative analysis between a set of NAs that have the most representative mutations located outside the active site. The recently crystallized NA‐oseltamivir complex (PDB ID: 3NSS) was used as a wild‐type structure. After selecting the target NA sequences, their three‐dimensional (3D) structure was built using 3NSS as a template by homology modeling. The 3D NA models were refined by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The refined models were used to perform a docking study, using oseltamivir as a ligand. Furthermore, the docking results were refined by free‐energy analysis using the MM‐PBSA method. The analysis of the MD simulation results showed that the NA models reached convergence during the first 10 ns. Visual inspection and structural measures showed that the mutated NA active sites show structural variations. The docking and MM‐PBSA results from the complexes showed different binding modes and free energy values. These results suggest that distant mutations located outside the active site of NA affect its structure and could be considered to be a new source of resistance to oseltamivir, which agrees with reports in the clinical literature. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Rhodium paddlewheel dimers containing the π···π stacking, 1,8-naphthalimide supramolecular synthon

The bifunctional ligand 3-(1,8-naphthalimido)propanoate (L_C2⁻), which contains a carboxylate group linked to the robust π···π stacking 1,8-naphthalimide supramolecular synthon, has been used to prepare two new rhodium carboxylate dimer complexes, [Rh₂(L_C2)₄(DMF)₂] (1) and [Rh₂(L_C2)₄(py)₂]·3DMF (2). Both complexes have been structurally characterized and contain the Rh₂(O₂CR)₄ paddlewheel core, but have different axial ligands. The four naphthalimide side arms in the carboxylate ligands are arranged in the square shape imposed by the SBU in complex 1, but are bent in 2. In both cases, the supramolecular structure is organized into one-dimensional chains by strong π···π stacking interactions between only two of the 1,8-naphthalimide moieties on each dimeric unit. In 1, the other naphthalimide units do not interact strongly and in 2 they intramolecularly π···π stack with the adjacent axial pyridine molecules.     

Characterization of two distinct neuraminidases from avian-origin human-infecting H7N9 influenza viruses

An epidemic of an avian-origin H7N9 influenza virus has recently emerged in China, infecting 134 patients of which 45 have died. This is the first time that an influenza virus harboring an N9 serotype neuraminidase (NA) has been known to infect humans. H7N9 viruses are divergent and at least two distinct NAs and hemagglutinins (HAs) have been found, respectively, from clinical isolates. The prototypes of these viruses are A/Anhui/1/2013 and A/Shanghai/1/2013. NAs from these two viruses are distinct as the A/Shanghai/1/2013 NA has an R294K substitution that can confer NA inhibitor oseltamivir resistance. Oseltamivir is by far the most commonly used anti-influenza drug due to its potency and high bioavailability. In this study, we show that an R294K substitution results in multidrug resistance with extreme oseltamivir resistance (over 100 000-fold) using protein- and virus-based assays. To determine the molecular basis for the inhibitor resistance, we solved high-resolution crystal structures of NAs from A/Anhui/1/2013 N9 (R294-containing) and A/Shanghai/1/2013 N9 (K294-containing). R294K substitution results in an unfavorable E276 conformation for oseltamivir binding, and consequently loss of inhibitor carboxylate interactions, which compromises the binding of all classical NA ligands/inhibitors. Moreover, we found that R294K substitution results in reduced NA catalytic efficiency along with lower viral fitness. This helps to explain why K294 has predominantly been found in clinical cases of H7N9 infection under the selective pressure of oseltamivir treatment and not in the dominant human-infecting viruses. This implies that oseltamivir can still be efficiently used in the treatment of H7N9 infections.     

Nickel(II) and zinc(II) dimonensinates: Single crystal X-ray structure, spectral properties and bactericidal activity

Mononuclear transition metal complexes of the polyether ionophorous antibiotic monensin (monensic acid, MonH) with nickel(II) and zinc(II) were prepared and characterized using single crystal X-ray diffraction and spectral methods. Monensin complexes crystallize as [Ni(Mon)₂(H₂O)₂]·H₂O·5MeCN (1) and [Zn(Mon)₂(H₂O)₂]·H₂O·4.5MeCN (2), respectively, in the monoclinic space group P2₁. Compounds 1 and 2 consist of two monoanionic monensic acid ligands (monensinates) bound in a bidentate coordination mode to the transition metal ion. The metal center is placed in an octahedral environment with monensin anions occupying the equatorial plane of complexes via oxygens of carboxylate and hydroxyl groups located at the both ends of ionophore molecule. The strongly folded antibiotic anions are supported by intramolecular H-bonds, most of them originating from the two aqua ligands attached to the metal(II) ions in axial positions and completing their 6-fold coordination. The bioactivity assay reveals that the presence of divalent metal ion in the monensin complexes influences the biological properties of the ligand and should be taken into account when discussing its mode of action.     

Multivalent human blood group ABH and Lewis glycotopes are key recognition factors for a lFuc>Man binding lectin from phytopathogenic Ralstonia solanacearum

Ralstonia solanacearum lectin (RSL), that might be involved in phytopathogenicity, has been defined as lFuc?Man specific. However, the effects of polyvalency of glycotopes and mammalian structural units on binding have not been established. In this study, recognition factors of RSL were comprehensively examined with natural multivalent glycotopes and monomeric ligands using enzyme linked lectin-sorbent and inhibition assays. Among the glycans tested, RSL reacted strongly with multivalent blood group A_h (GalNAcα1–3[Fucα1–2]Gal) and H (Fucα1–2Gal) active glycotopes, followed by B_h (Galα1–3[Fucα1–2]Gal), Le^a (Galβ1–3[Fucα1–4]GlcNAc) and Le^b (Fucα1–2Galβ1–3[Fucα1–4]GlcNAc) active glycotopes. But weak or negligible binding was observed for blood group precursors having Galβ1–3/4GlcNAcβ1- (I_β/II_β) residues or Galβ1–3GalNAcα1- (T_α), GalNAcα1-Ser/Thr (Tn) bearing glycoproteins. These results indicate that the density and degree of exposure of multivalent ligands of α1–2 linked lFuc to Gal at the non-reducing end is the most critical factor for binding. An inhibition study with monomeric ligands revealed that the combining site of RSL should be of a groove type to fit trisaccharide binding with highest complementarity to blood group H trisaccharide (H_L; Fucα1–2Galβ1–4Glc). The outstandingly broad RSL saccharide-binding profile might be related to the unusually wide spectrum of plants that suffer from R. solanacearum pathogenicity and provide ideas for protective antiadhesion strategies.     

Design and synthesis of potent HIV-1 protease inhibitors incorporating hydroxyprolinamides as novel P2 ligands

A series of new HIV-1 protease inhibitors with the hydroxyethylamine core and different hydroxyprolinamide P2 ligands were designed and synthesized. Variation of substitutions at the P2 significantly affected the enzyme inhibitory potency of the inhibitors. Compounds 2a and 2d showed excellent enzyme inhibitory activity with IC₅₀ values in the nanomolar range. An active site binding model for inhibitors 2a and 2d was suggested based upon the computational-docking results of the ligand with HIV-1 protease. This model offers molecular insights regarding ligand-binding site interactions of the hydroxyprolinamide-derived novel P2-ligand.     

Hydrothermal synthesis, structural determination, and thermal properties of 2-D cobalt- and nickel-based coordination polymers incorporating pendant-arm 3-pyridinecarboxylate ligands

Hydrothermal synthesis has afforded a family of four coordination polymers containing divalent nickel or cobalt and pendant-arm pyridylcarboxylate ligands. Utilizing 3-pyridylacetic acid and appropriate metal precursors produced [M(3-pyrac)₂(H₂O)₂] phases (M = Co (1); M = Ni (2)), while 3-pyridylpropionic acid generated [M(3-pyrprop)₂(H₂O)₂] coordination polymers (M = Co (3); M = Ni (4)). Single crystal X-ray diffraction revealed that 1-4 all display discrete 2-D layers with (4,4)-topology, anchored via bridging 3-pyridylcarboxylate ligands bearing monodentate carboxylate termini. Intralamellar hydrogen bonding between the aquo ligands and unligated carboxylate oxygen atoms is observed within 1-4. The pseudo 3-D structures of 1-4 are further assembled via stacking of individual neutral layers by interlayer hydrogen bonding. Thermal properties are also discussed.     

Chalcones as novel influenza A (H1N1) neuraminidase inhibitors from Glycyrrhiza inflata

The emergence of highly pathogenic influenza A virus strains, such as the new H1N1 swine influenza (novel influenza), represents a serious threat to global human health. During our course of an anti-influenza screening program on natural products, one new licochalcone G (1) and seven known (2-8) chalcones were isolated as active principles from the acetone extract of Glycyrrhiza inflata. Compounds 3 and 6 without prenyl group showed strong inhibitory effects on various neuraminidases from influenza viral strains, H1N1, H9N2, novel H1N1 (WT), and oseltamivir-resistant novel H1N1 (H274Y) expressed in 293T cells. In addition, the efficacy of oseltamivir with the presence of compound 3 (5 μM) was increased against H274Y neuraminidase. This evidence of synergistic effect makes this inhibitor to have a potential possibility for control of pandemic infection by oseltamivir-resistant influenza virus.     

Synthesis and pharmacological characterization of novel xanthine carboxylate amides as A2A adenosine receptor ligands exhibiting bronchospasmolytic activity

The carboxylate amides of 8-phenyl-1,3-dimethylxanthine described herein represent a new series of selective ligands of the adenosine A_2A receptors exhibiting bronchospasmolytic activity. The effects of location of 8-phenyl substitutions on the adenosine receptor (AR) binding affinities of the newly synthesized xanthines have also been studied. The compounds displayed moderate to potent binding affinities toward various adenosine receptor subtypes when evaluated through radioligand binding studies. However, most of the compounds showed the maximum affinity for the A_2A subtype, some with high selectivity versus all other subtypes. Xanthine carboxylate amide 13b with a diethylaminoethylamino moiety at the para-position of the 8-phenylxanthine scaffold was identified as the most potent A_2A adenosine receptor ligand with K_i = 0.06 μM. Similarly potent and highly A_2A-selective are the isovanillin derivatives 16a and 16d. In addition, the newly synthesized xanthine derivatives showed good in vivo bronchospasmolytic activity when tested in guinea pigs.     

Preparation, characterization and biological relevance of calcium(II)/diethylmalonate(-1,-2) complexes

Reactions of Ca(NO₃)₂·4H₂O and diethylmalonic acid (Et₂malH₂, its anions represent functional side-chain analogs of γ-carboxyglutamic acid residues which are implicated as essential Ca²⁺-binding ligands in a variety of proteins) in aqueous media have afforded compounds [Ca(Et₂malH)₂(H₂O)₃]_n (1) and [Ca(Et₂mal)(H₂O)]_n (2) at pH 4 and 8, respectively. The structure of 1 was determined by single-crystal, X-ray crystallography, which revealed an 1D coordination polymer. The diethylmalonate ligands exist in their monoanionic form and present two different coordination modes. The Ca^II ion is 7-coordinate with a pentagonal bipyramidal geometry. IR data are discussed in terms of the known (1) and proposed (2) structures of the complexes. The role of the carboxylate binding modes in determining the affinity of Ca²⁺ for the various metal binding sites in proteins containing the γ-carboxyglutamate residue is discussed in the light of our and previous results.     

Synthesis, characterization, structures and DNA-binding properties of complexes [Ru(bpy)2(L)] (L = ptdb, ptda and ptdp) with asymmetric intercalative ligands

A series of Ru(II) polypyridyl complexes [Ru(bpy)₂(ptdb)](ClO₄)₂ (1), [Ru(bpy)₂(ptda)](ClO₄)₂ (2) and [Ru(bpy)₂(ptdp)](ClO₄)₂ (3) with asymmetric intercalative ligands have been synthesized and characterized by EA, mass spectra, ¹H NMR and cyclic voltammetry. The crystal structure of complex 1 has been determined. The DNA-binding properties of the complexes were investigated by absorption titration, luminescence spectroscopy and viscosity measurements. The experimental results suggest that all these complexes bind to DNA in an intercalation mode. The results also show that the order of DNA-binding affinities (A) of this series of complexes is A(1) < A(2) < A(3). It is further confirmed that a ligand planarity of the complexes is a very important factor in affecting the DNA-binding behaviors of such complexes. Theoretical studies for these complexes were also carried out with the density functional theory (DFT) method. The trend in the DNA-binding affinities of this series of complexes can be reasonably explained by the synthetical considerations of the calculated planarity of intercalative ligands, some frontier molecular orbital energies of the complexes and the planarity area (S) of the intercalative ligands.     

Thermodynamic models of binding ligands to nucleic acids

Models of adsorption were considered, which describe the binding of biologically active ligands on DNA templates. The binding is described most comprehensively and in greatest detail by the distribution function, which determines the probability of detecting the preset number of adsorbed ligands on the template. In the case of noncooperative binding, this function corresponds to the Gaussian distribution and is characterized by two quantities: the mean value of the occupation of the template by ligands and the dispersion of occupation. The accuracy of the occupation of the template by ligands is inversely proportional to dispersion. As the length of the template and the number of reaction sites covered by one ligand upon binding increase, the accuracy of the occupation of the template by ligands increases. An important characteristic of binding is the degree of coverage of the template by ligands. This characteristic represents the portion of template reaction sites covered by all ligands adsorbed on the template. If polycations are bound to nucleic acid molecules, the coverage of the template determines the transition of nucleic acids to a compact state. The degree of template coverage for extended ligands depends only slightly on the binding constant in a wide range of concentrations of a free ligand in solution. Different adsorption models are considered from the unified point of view. The classification of cooperative interactions for a wide class of systems is given, from situations when several ligands are bound on nucleic acid templates to a situation when templates change by the action of ligands and begin to interact with each other.     

Synthesis, characterization, and reactivity of zinc carboxylate complexes of 2,3-pyridine dicarboxylic acid and (3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-benzo[1,4]oxazin-4-yl)acetic acid

Ethylenediammonium tris-2,3-pyridine dicarboxylato zinc(II) trihydrate (enH₂)₂[ZnL₃]·2H₂O (1) (where H₂L = 2,3-pyridine dicarboxylic acid, en = ethylenediamine) and a mixed metal coordination polymer with composition [Na₂ZnL′₃(OAc)(H₂O)₃]_n (2) {where L′ = anion of (3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-benzo[1,4]oxazin-4-yl)acetic acid} are synthesized and characterized. The complex 1 is mono nuclear complex with three coordinating carboxylate anion along with nitrogen chelating zinc ion and there is three uncoordinated carboxylate group one each from three ligand molecules making a complex anion of zinc(II). The zinc(II) ion are in distorted octahedral coordination geometry. In this complex diprotonated ethylenediamines serve as cations. The complex 2 has a polymeric structure with one acetate and three carboxylate of L′ binding to zinc ion provides a tetrahedral environment and these ligands further hold dinuclear units of tri-aquated sodium ions; each dinuclear sodium units are bridged by one water molecule make the coordination polymer. The catalytic ability of these two complexes 1 and 2 towards carbon-carbon bond formation reaction between 3,4-dimethoxy benzaldehyde and acetone are studied. Both the complexes as well as sodium salt of L′ are found to be catalyst for such reactions.     

Allosteric modulators of human A2B adenosine receptor

Background

Among adenosine receptors (ARs) the A_2B subtype exhibits low affinity for the endogenous agonist compared with the A₁, A_2A, and A₃ subtypes and is therefore activated when concentrations of adenosine increase to a large extent following tissue damages (e.g. ischemia, inflammation). For this reason, A_2B AR represents an important pharmacological target.

Methods

We evaluated seven 1-benzyl-3-ketoindole derivatives (7–9) for their ability to act as positive or negative allosteric modulators of human A_2B AR through binding and functional assays using CHO cells expressing human A₁, A_2A, A_2B, and A₃ ARs.

Results

The investigated compounds behaved as specific positive or negative allosteric modulators of human A_2B AR depending on small differences in their structures. The positive allosteric modulators 7a,b and 8a increased agonist efficacy without any effect on agonist potency. The negative allosteric modulators 8b,c and 9a,b reduced agonist potency and efficacy.

Conclusions

A number of 1-benzyl-3-ketoindole derivatives were pharmacologically characterized as selective positive (7a,b) or negative (8c, 9a,b) allosteric modulators of human A_2B AR.

General significance

The 1-benzyl-3-ketoindole derivatives 7–9 acting as positive or negative allosteric modulators of human A_2B AR represent new pharmacological tools useful for the development of therapeutic agents to treat pathological conditions related to an altered functionality of A_2B AR.