Discovery of quinazolines as histamine H4 receptor inverse agonists using a scaffold hopping approach

J Med Chem. 2008 Dec 25;51(24):7855-65. doi: 10.1021/jm800876b.

Abstract

From a series of small fragments that was designed to probe the histamine H(4) receptor (H(4)R), we previously described quinoxaline-containing fragments that were grown into high affinity H(4)R ligands in a process that was guided by pharmacophore modeling. With a scaffold hopping exercise and using the same in silico models, we now report the identification and optimization of a series of quinazoline-containing H(4)R compounds. This approach led to the discovery of 6-chloro-N-(furan-3-ylmethyl)2-(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)quinazolin-4-amine (VUF10499, 54) and 6-chloro-2-(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)-N-(thiophen-2-ylmethyl)quinazolin-4-amine (VUF10497, 55) as potent human H(4)R inverse agonists (pK(i) = 8.12 and 7.57, respectively). Interestingly, both compounds also possess considerable affinity for the human histamine H(1) receptor (H(1)R) and therefore represent a novel class of dual action H(1)R/H(4)R ligands, a profile that potentially leads to added therapeutic benefit. Compounds from this novel series of quinazolines are antagonists at the rat H(4)R and were found to possess anti-inflammatory properties in vivo in the rat.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents / chemistry
  • Chemistry, Pharmaceutical / methods
  • Drug Design
  • Histamine Agonists / chemistry*
  • Humans
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Inhibitory Concentration 50
  • Kinetics
  • Models, Chemical
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Conformation
  • Quinazolines / chemistry*
  • Rats
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / agonists*
  • Receptors, Histamine
  • Receptors, Histamine H4

Substances

  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents
  • HRH4 protein, human
  • Histamine Agonists
  • Quinazolines
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled
  • Receptors, Histamine
  • Receptors, Histamine H4