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Projekt Druckansicht

Entwicklung photochromer Cannabinoid-Rezeptor-Liganden zur Untersuchung der Aktivierung und Funktion G-Protein-gekoppelter Rezeptoren

Fachliche Zuordnung Pharmazie
Förderung Förderung von 2019 bis 2023
Projektkennung Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Projektnummer 422321523
 
Erstellungsjahr 2024

Zusammenfassung der Projektergebnisse

In the course of this project, we have developed photoswitchable ligands for both the human cannabinoid receptor subtype 1 and subtype 2 (hCB1R and hCB2R) to provide molecular probes, (pharmacological tool compounds) to investigate their receptor pharmacology. hCB1R stimulation leads to psychotropic effects upon activation by an agonist (the well-known cannabis effect), and has antiobesity effects upon blockade by an antagonist. We were able to obtain - based on the (former) antiobesity drug rimonabant - “photo-rimonabant”, which shows practically the same properties as rimonabant, but is >15fold more active in the light-activated (cis-)form. Furthermore, we also developed an agonist with higher potency in its cis-photoform. The second receptor subtype, the hCB2R, has great pharmacological relevance due to its anti- (neuro)inflammatory effects upon agonist stimulation. We were able to describe ligands for the hCB2R addressing both the ortho- and allosteric binding sites of the receptor (therefore termed “dualsteric”), and could - in a subsequent work - make such ligands photoswitchable. We finally developed another type of ligand, that is light-activated and only activates the β-arrestin signalling pathway, but not the G protein-coupled one. This compound represents the first class A G proteincoupled receptor (GPCR) photocontrollable ligand described to date with signal bias. To achieve this, we had used arylazobenzimidazole photoswitches as core for the novel molecules. We investigated this novel template by chemical, photophysical and quantumchemical means to make this molecular switch available for photopharmacology, since it is based on the “privileged structure” of benzimidazole, which is common in numerous biologically active molecules.

Projektbezogene Publikationen (Auswahl)

 
 

Zusatzinformationen

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