Discovery of a Series of 5-Amide-1<i>H</i>-pyrazole-3-carboxyl Derivatives as Potent P2Y<sub>14</sub>R Antagonists with Anti-Inflammatory Characters
Yuhang Wang, Mengze Zhou, Ye Tao, Pingping Wang, Ran Lu, Yilin Wang, Chunxiao Liu, Wen Xiao, Jiayi Li, Zibo Meng, Lili Xu, Qinghua Hu, Cheng Jiang
Abstract
UDPG/P2Y14R signaling pathway has been considered as a potential therapeutic target for innate immune system diseases. Based on the scaffold hopping strategy, a series of pyrazole analogues were designed and synthesized as novel P2Y14R antagonists with improved physicochemical properties, together with potential anti-inflammatory activities. Additionally, we designed and synthesized a fluorescent probe based on highly selective and potent PPTN to study the affinity of synthesized compounds. The optimized compound 16 (1-(4-fluorobenzyl)-5-(4-methylbenzamido)-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid, P2Y14R IC50 = 1.93 nM) showed strong binding ability to P2Y14R, high selectivity, notably improved solubility, and more favorable pharmacokinetic profiles. Moreover, compound 16 possessed extremely low cytotoxicity and anti-inflammatory effect in vitro. In an acute peritonitis model, compound 16 could effectively reduce the levels of inflammatory factor IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α of mice induced by LPS. Compound 16, with potent in vitro and in vivo efficacy and favorable druggability, can be a promising candidate for further research.