(R)-11-Hydroxyaporphine (2) and (R)-11-hydroxy-10-methylaporphine (3) were synthesized from natural morphine by using new, short, and efficient synthetic sequences. The dopaminergic and serotonergic effects of 2 and 3 were evaluated by use of in vitro and in vivo test systems. The results indicate that 3 is a potent, selective, and efficacious 5-HT1A receptor agonist. In contrast, 2 is a partial 5-HT1A receptor agonist of low potency which has affinity also for central D1 and D2A receptors. The differences in pharmacological profiles were rationalized by modeling of ligand-receptor interactions using homology-based receptor models of the 5-HT1A and D2A receptor binding site. The selective and pronounced serotonergic effects of 3 appear to be due to the C10-methyl group, which is accommodated by a lipophilic pocket in the 5-HT1A receptor. In contrast, the C10-methyl group of 3 is not accommodated by the binding site model of the D2A receptor.

A model of the muscarinic m1 receptor has been constructed on the basis of the putative three-dimensional structural similarity between bacteriorhodopsin and G-protein coupled receptors. The homology-based m1 receptor model takes into account hydrophobicity and conserved amino acids and information from site-directed mutagenesis studies and from hydropathy plots. The resulting model was used in conjunction with an indirect model which describes a proposed active agonist conformation of acetylcholine and a number of related compounds. A receptor-excluded volume was constructed by superimposing these muscarinic agonists and calculating their combined van der Waals volume. The resulting m1 receptor excluded volume was used to define the agonist binding site, which consists of nine amino acids and which binds agonists primarily through interaction with Asp105 (ionic interaction). Thr192 and Asn382 (hydrogen bonds). The model is flexible since the conformation of the nine amino acids may change in response to the agonist structure. The combination of indirect and homology-based approaches is particularly attractive since it utilizes more experimental data than a purely homology-based model and since a binding-site model might be more realistic and general in terms of applicability than indirect models. Docking of the ligands was performed by optimizing attractive interactions and minimizing repulsive interactions. In addition to the agonists used to define the binding site, structurally different agonists are also accommodated by the binding-site model. Furthermore, the m1 receptor binding-site model is able to reproduce experimentally determined stereoselectivities.

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We have developed two parallel series, A and B, of CX3CR1 antagonists for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. By modifying the substituents on the 7-amino-5-thio-thiazolo[4,5-d]pyrimidine core structure, we were able to achieve compounds with high selectivity for CX3CR1 over the closely related CXCR2 receptor. The structure-activity relationships showed that a leucinol moiety attached to the core-structure in the 7-position together with α-methyl branched benzyl derivatives in the 5-position displayed promising affinity, and selectivity as well as physicochemical properties, as exemplified by compounds 18a and 24h. We show the preparation of the first potent and selective orally available CX3CR1 antagonists.

Derivatives of the selective serotonin 5-HT1A receptor agonist (R)-11-hydroxy-10-methylaporphine (2) having various substituents in the C10-position or at the nitrogen have been synthesized from natural morphine or 6-O-acetylcodeine, respectively. The C10-substituents were introduced using efficient Stille or Suzuki cross-coupling reactions. The compounds were evaluated for their affinities to 5-HT1A and dopamine (DA) D1 and D2A receptors in vitro. All compounds tested displayed low (micromolar) affinities to D1 and D2A receptors. In addition, changes in steric bulk and/or electronic properties of the C10-substituent as compared to a C10-methyl group, as well as substitution of the N-methyl group for a hydrogen or a larger N-alkyl group, produced a marked decrease in the affinities to 5-HT1A receptors. Selected compounds that displayed moderate to high affinities to 5-HT1A receptors were evaluated for their ability to stimulate 5-HT1A receptors in vivo. The evaluated compounds behaved as agonists at 5-HT1A receptors, except for the N-propyl analogue of 2, (R)-11-hydroxy-10-methyl-N-propylnoraporphine (23), which displayed weak DA receptor agonism at the doses tested. Hence, the substitution pattern of 2 (a C10-methyl, a C11-hydroxy, and an N-methyl group) appears to be optimal for potent interaction of 10,11-disubstituted (R)-aporphines with 5-HT1A receptors. Modeling of ligand-5-HT1A receptor interactions was performed in an attempt to rationalize the observed affinity data. The binding site model suggests the presence of a "methyl pocket" in the 5-HT1A receptor binding ste. The C11-methoxy-substituted aporphines appear to have a different binding mode compared to 2, implying a different accessibility of these compounds to the "methyl pocket".

In this study, a large number of receptor mutants were generated and several N-terminally modified galanin analogues synthesized to refine the previously proposed binding site model for galanin to its GTP-binding-protein-coupled receptor GalRl . In addition to ligand-binding studies, the functionality of mutant receptors was evaluated by assessing their ability to mediate galaninergic inhibition of isoproterenol-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity. The His264Ala and Phe282Ala receptor mutants, although deficient in binding in the concentration range of galanin used, remain functional albeit 20-fold less efficient than the wild-type receptor in mediating inhibition of stimulated CAMP production by galanin. The His267Ala mutant is, apart from being deficient in galanin binding, also severely impaired in functional coupling. While His264 and Phe282 seem to be important in forming the binding pocket for galanin, His267 might play a role in forming or stabilizing the active conformation of the GalRl receptor rather than directly participating in the formation of the binding pocket for galanin.N-terminal carboxylic acid analogues of galanin have low affinity to wild-type GalRl, but rubstantially increased affinity to the Glu27lLys receptor mutant. This, together with the finding that an alanine substitution of PhellS in TM 111 results in a tenfold decrease in affinity for galanin, suggests that the N-terminus of galanin interacts with PhellS. In contrast to the Phe282AIa mutation in TM VII, a conservative mutation of Phe282 to tyrosine did not alter the affinity for galanin. Thus, the interaction between Tyr9 of galanin and Phe282 is likely to be of an aromatic-aromatic nature.Keywords: galanin ; mutagenesis ; receptor ; binding ; peptide.The neuropeptide galanin plays important roles in physiological functions such as pain signalling, acquisition, feeding, and hormone release (for reviews, see [2, 31). The effects are mediated via 7-transmembrane (7-TM) spanning domain type receptors coupled via inhibitory GTP-binding proteins (GJG,) Structure/activity relationship studies using galanin fragments and analogues show that high-affinity binding as well as agonist action resides in the N-terminal part of galanin, which in its first 14 amino acids is fully conserved in all species studied. Studies of L-Ala substituted analogues of galanin demonstrate that Trp2 and Tyr9 as well as the free N-terminal amino group are the major pharmacophores [S].The ligand-binding sites of GTP-binding-protein-coupled receptors for small ligands such as monoamines [9] and low-molecular-mass, non-peptide antagonists to peptide receptors [ 101 have been delineated in recent years. These small ligands, with molecular masses of less than 500 Da, bind at sites in the TM domains (monoamines) or near the extracellular tops of these helices (non-peptide antagonists) [lo]. Recently, studies on the binding mode of intermediately sized peptides such as substance Neurotoxicology, Stockholm University, S-I 06 91 Stockholm Sweden P and angiotensin I1 h...

Galanin, a neuroendocrine peptide of 29 amino acids, binds to Gi/Go‐coupled receptors to trigger cellular responses. To determine which amino acids of the recently cloned seven‐transmembrane domain‐type human galanin receptor are involved in the high‐affinity binding of the endogenous peptide ligand, we performed a mutagenesis study. Mutation of the His264 or His267 of transmembrane domain VI to alanine, or of Phe282 of transmembrane domain VII to glycine, results in an apparent loss of galanin binding. The substitution of Glu271 to serine in the extracellular loop III of the receptor causes a 12‐fold loss in affinity for galanin. We combined the mutagenesis results with data on the pharmacophores (Trp2, Tyr9) of galanin and with molecular modelling of the receptor using bacteriorhodopsin as a model. Based on these studies, we propose a binding site model for the endogenous peptide ligand in the galanin receptor where the N‐terminus of galanin hydrogen bonds with Glu271 of the receptor, Trp2 of galanin interacts with the Zn2+ sensitive pair of His264 and His267 of transmembrane domain VI, and Tyr9 of galanin interacts with Phe282 of transmembrane domain VII, while the C‐terminus of galanin is pointing towards the N‐terminus of th

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