Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of 2-hydrazinyladenosine derivatives as A2A adenosine receptor ligands

Abstract

To obtain potential A2A adenosine receptor agonists, a series of 2-hydrazinyladenosine derivatives were synthesized and assayed for adenosine receptors activity using radioligand binding activity assays. The binding activity of the subtypes was examined, and the structure-activity relationship of this class of compounds at the A2A receptor was investigated. A fragment-based computer-aided design method was used to modify the 2-position side chain structures with different structural fragments, and the newly generated molecules were docked to the A2A receptor to assess scoring and screening activity. To synthesize compounds with better scoring activity, the newly synthesized compounds were tested for in vitro receptor binding activity. 2-Hydrazinyladenosine derivatives of 32 new structural types were designed and synthesized, with the most potent adenosine derivative 23 exhibiting a Ki value of 1.8 nM for A2AAR and significant selectivity for the A2A receptor compared to the A1 receptor. In addition to, compound 23, 24, 30, 31, and 42 also exhibited potent A2A receptor selectivity, with Ki values for the A2A receptor of 6.4, 20, 67 and 6.3 nM, respectively. We also found that compound 35 has a high A1 receptor selectivity, with a Ki value for the A1 receptor of 4.5 nM. Further functional assays also demonstrated that these compounds have potent A2A receptor agonist activity. The study shows the applicability of an in silico fragment-based molecular design for rational lead optimization in A2AAR.