2-Phenylcyclopropylmethylamine Derivatives as Dopamine D2 Receptor Partial Agonists: Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation

J Med Chem. 2021 Dec 9;64(23):17239-17258. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c01327. Epub 2021 Nov 19.

Abstract

Partial agonist activity at the dopamine D2 receptor (D2R) is the primary pharmacological feature of the third-generation antipsychotics─aripiprazole, brexpiprazole, and cariprazine. However, all these drugs share a common phenyl-piperazine moiety as the primary pharmacophore. In this study, we designed and synthesized a series of novel compounds based on the 2-phenylcyclopropylmethylamine (PCPMA) scaffold and studied their pharmacological activity at the D2R. A number of potent D2R partial agonists were identified through binding affinity screening and functional activity profiling in both G protein and β-arrestin assays. The structure-functional activity relationship results showed that the spacer group is crucial for fine-tuning the intrinsic activity of these compounds. Compounds (+)-14j and (+)-14l showed good pharmacokinetic properties and an unexpected selectivity against the serotonin 2A (5-HT2A) receptor. Preliminary suppressive effects in a mouse hyperlocomotion model proved that these PCPMA-derived D2R partial agonists are effective as potential novel antipsychotics.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Dopamine Agonists / chemical synthesis
  • Dopamine Agonists / chemistry*
  • Dopamine Agonists / pharmacokinetics
  • Dopamine Agonists / pharmacology*
  • Drug Design*
  • Drug Evaluation, Preclinical
  • Half-Life
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred ICR
  • Receptors, Dopamine D2 / agonists*
  • Stereoisomerism
  • Structure-Activity Relationship

Substances

  • Dopamine Agonists
  • Receptors, Dopamine D2