“Photo‐Adrenalines”: Photoswitchable β₂‐Adrenergic Receptor Agonists as Molecular Probes for the Study of Spatiotemporal Adrenergic Signaling

Abstract

Abstractβ2‐adrenergic receptor (β2‐AR) agonists are used for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but also play a role in other complex disorders including cancer, diabetes and heart diseases. As the cellular and molecular mechanisms in various cells and tissues of the β2‐AR remain vastly elusive, we developed tools for this investigation with high temporal and spatial resolution. Several photoswitchable β2‐AR agonists with nanomolar activity were synthesized. The most potent agonist for β2‐AR with reasonable switching is a one‐digit nanomolar active, trans‐on arylazopyrazole‐based adrenaline derivative and comprises valuable photopharmacological properties for further biological studies with high structural accordance to the native ligand adrenaline.