Azaflavones compared to flavones as ligands to the benzodiazepine binding site of brain GABA A receptors

Abstract

A series of azaflavone derivatives and analogues were prepared and evaluated for their affinity to the benzodiazepine binding site of the GABA A receptor, and compared to their flavone counterparts. Three of the compounds, the azaflavones 9 and 12 as well as the new flavone 13, were also assayed on GABA A receptor subtypes (α 1β 3γ 2s, α 2β 3γ 2s, α 4β 3γ 2s and α 5β 3γ 2s), displaying nanomolar affinities as well as selectivity for α1- versus α2- and α3-containing receptors by a factor of between 14 and 26.