On the basis of the benz[d]indolo[2,3-g]azecine derivative 1 (LE300), structure-activity relations were investigated in order to identify the pharmacophore in this new class of ligands. Various structural modifications were performed and the inhibitory activities at human cloned D(1), D(2L), and D(5) receptors were measured by using a simple fluorescence microplate reader based calcium assay. Subsequently, the affinities of active compounds were estimated by radioligand binding experiments. Deleting one of the aromatic rings as well as replacing it by a phenyl moiety abolishes the inhibitory activities almost completely. Contraction of the 10-membered central ring decreases them significantly. The replacement of indole by thiophene or N-methylpyrrole reduces the inhibitory activity, whereas replacing the indole by benzene increases it. Finally, the hydroxylated dibenz[d,g]azecine derivative 11d (LE404) was found to be more active than the lead 1 in the functional calcium assay as well as in radioligand displacement experiments.

Hydroxylated, methoxylated, and/or chlorinated 7-methyl-5,6,7,8,9,14-hexahydrodibenz[d,g]azecines were generally synthesized out of substituted 2-phenylethylamines and isochromanones by Bischler-Napieralski cyclization of the resulting benzamides to dibenzoquinolizines and the quaternization and cleavage of the central C-N bond under Birch conditions. Chlorination of 2-phenylethylamines was useful for the site direction of cyclization, but chlorine atoms were removed under Birch conditions so that chlorination had to be repeated to get the respective chlorinated dibenz[d,g]azecines. The target compounds were tested for their affinity at the different human-cloned dopamine-receptor subtypes (D1 family, D2 family). Generally, hydroxylation and chlorination of the dibenz-azecines increased affinities significantly. 1-Chloro-2-hydroxy-hexahydro-dibenz[d,g]azecine was a subnanomolar antagonist at both subtype families. 4-Chloro-3-hydroxy-7-methyl-5,6,7,8,9,14-hexahydro-dibenz[d,g]azecine was identified as the most potent and selective dopamine D5 receptor ligand described to date with Ki(D1)=0.83, Ki(D2L)=4.0, Ki(D3)=24.6, Ki(D4)=5.2 nM, and Ki(D5)=57 pM (radioligand binding experiments), respectively.

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