Synthesis and α-adrenergic and I1-imidazoline activity of 3-phenylpiperidines dimethyl-substituted on the phenyl ring

A new D₂ dopamine receptor agonist allosterically modulates A(2A) adenosine receptor signalling by interacting with the A(2A)/D₂ receptor heteromer

The structural and functional interaction between D₂ dopamine receptor (DR) and A(2A) adenosine receptor (AR) has suggested these two receptors as a pharmacological target in pathologies associated with dopamine dysfunction, such as Parkinson's disease. In transfected cell lines it has been demonstrated the activation of D₂DR induces a significant negative regulation of A(2A)AR-mediated responses, whereas few data are at now available about the regulation of A(2A)AR by D₂DR agonists at receptor recognition site. In this work we confirmed that in A(2A)AR/D₂DR co-transfected cells, these receptors exist as homo- and hetero-dimers. The classical D₂DR agonists were able to negatively modulate both A(2A)AR affinity and functionality. These effects occurred even if any significant changes in A(2A)AR/D₂DR energy transfer interaction could be detected in BRET experiments. Since the development of new molecules able to target A(2A)/D₂ dimers may represent an attractive tool for innovative pharmacological therapy, we also identified a new small molecule, 3-(3,4-dimethylphenyl)-1-(2-piperidin-1-yl)ethyl)piperidine (compound 1), full agonist of D₂DR and modulator of A(2A)-D₂ receptor dimer. This compound was able to negatively modulate A(2A)AR binding properties and functional responsiveness in a manner comparable to classical D₂R agonists. In contrast to classical agonists, compound 1 led to conformational changes in the quaternary structure in D₂DR homomers and heteromers and induced A(2A)AR/D₂DR co-internalization. These results suggest that compound 1 exerts a high control of the function of heteromers and could represent a starting point for the development of new drugs targeting A(2A)AR/D₂ DR heteromers.

New N-n-propyl-substituted 3-aryl- and 3-cyclohexylpiperidines as partial agonists at the D4 dopamine receptor

We have previously reported that compounds dimethyl-substituted on the phenyl ring of N-n-propyl-3-phenylpiperidines (PPEs) have a high (nM) affinity and selectivity toward the D(4) dopamine receptor (D(4) DAR) with m,p-dimethyl PPE (1) having the highest affinity and selectivity. In the present paper we have investigated the role of the methyl substitution by the synthesis of monomethylated (2a-c) and nonmethylated (2d) PPEs followed by the characterization of their biological properties using receptor binding assays. Our findings reveal that the methyl substitution of the phenyl ring is not necessary for a high and selective binding affinity to the D(4) DAR. Moreover, we have also synthesized cyclohexylpiperidines (CHPEs, 3a-d), which all showed higher binding affinities for the D(4) DAR than their aromatic counterparts. These results indicate that a pi-pi type interaction of the phenyl ring of PPEs with the D(4) DAR might not be essential, whereas a simple hydrophobic attraction between the cyclohexyl substituent of CHPEs and a hypothesized lipophilic pocket of the receptor might be crucial. Furthermore, functional assays indicate that 3d, as well as 1, are partial agonist at the D(4) DAR and therefore might represent new pharmacological tools to investigate the role of D(4) DAR activation in the control of cognitive functions and emotional states in health and disease.

Conformationally restrained analogues of sympathomimetic catecholamines. Synthesis and adrenergic activity of 5,6- and 6,7-dihydroxy-3,4-dihydrospiro[naphthalen-1(2H)-2',5'-morpholines]

The 5,6- (10a) and 6,7-dihydroxy-3,4-dihydrospiro[naphthalen-1(2H)-)-2',5'-morpholine](11a) and their N-isopropyl derivatives (10b and 11b) (DDSNMs), which can be viewed as the result of the combination of the structure of the 2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)morpholine 5a or 5b (DPMs) with the structure of the corresponding 1-(aminomethyl)-5,6-dihydroxy- (8a or 8b) or 1-(aminomethyl)-6,7-dihydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1-naphthalen-ol (9a or 9b) (1-AMDTNs) were synthesised. The new compounds DDSNMs 10a,b and 11a,b were assayed for their alpha- and beta-adrenergic properties by means of binding experiments and functional tests and the results were compared with those obtained for catecholamines 1a, b and the previously described morpholine (5) and tetrahydronaphthalene (8, 9) derivatives. The affinity and activity indices thus obtained indicate in general a low ability of the new compounds 10 and 11 to interact with the alpha- and beta-adrenoceptors, which, in all cases, was lower than that of the corresponding morpholine (5) and tetrahydronaphthalene (8, 9) analogues.

N-n-Propyl-substituted 3-(dimethylphenyl)piperidines display novel discriminative properties between dopamine receptor subtypes: synthesis and receptor binding studies

3-Phenylpiperidines (PPEs) have been thoroughly investigated in view of their interesting dopaminergic activity, and the N-n-propyl substitution has been suggested as the most effective among several PPEs differently substituted on the phenyl ring. In previous studies, we found that the dimethyl substitution on the phenyl ring of N-unsubstituted PPEs provided compounds active toward alpha2-adrenergic receptors (alpha2-ARs), which proved to possess interesting selectivity properties. The high degree of homology between the binding domains of alpha2-ARs and D4-dopaminergic receptors (D4-DARs) prompted us to verify whether this kind of substitution on the aromatic ring might prove to be active against retinal DARs of the D4 subtype. On the basis of these premises, we synthesized the dimethylphenyl-substituted PPEs 4a-f, in which an n-propyl chain is present on the aminic nitrogen. Radioligand binding assays on bovine retina and striatum membranes for D1-like and D2-like DARs indicated that PPEs 4a, 4b, and 4f possess a high affinity and selectivity for the D4-DAR subtype of bovine retina.