Methanocarba modification of uracil and adenine nucleotides:: High potency of northern ring conformation at P2Y1, P2Y2, P2Y4, and P2Y11 but not P2Y6 receptors

The potency of nucleotide antagonists at P2Y(1) receptors was enhanced by replacing the ribose moiety with a constrained carbocyclic ring (Nandanan, et al. J. Med. Chem. 2000, 43, 829842). We have now synthesized ring-constrained methanocarba analogues (in which a fused cyclopropane moiety constrains the pseudosugar ring) of adenine and uracil nucleotides, the endogenous activators of P2Y receptors. Methanocarba-adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) was fixed in either a Northern (N) or a Southern (S) conformation, as defined in the pseudorotational cycle. (N)-Methanocarba-uridine was prepared from the 1-amino-pseudosugar ring by treatment with beta-ethoxyacryloyl cyanate and cyclization to form the uracil ring. Phosphorylation was carried out at the 5'-hydroxyl group through a multistep process: Reaction with phosphoramidite followed by oxidation provided the 5'-monophosphates, which then were treated with 1,1'-carbonyldiimidazole for condensation with additional phosphate groups, The ability of the analogues to stimulate phospholipase C through activation of turkey P2Y(1) or human P2Y(1), P2Y(2), P2Y(4), P2Y(6), and P2Y(11) receptors stably expressed in astrocytoma cells was measured. At recombinant human P2Y(1) and P2Y(2) receptors, (N)-methanocarba-ATP was 138- and 41-fold, respectively, more potent than racemic (S)-methanocarba-ATP as an agonist. (N)methanocarba-ATP activated P2Y(11) receptors with a potency similar to ATP. (N)-Methanocarba-uridine 5'-triphosphate (UTP) was equipotent to UTP as an agonist at human P2Y2 receptors and also activated P2Y(4) receptors with an EC50 of 85 nM. (N)-Methanocarba-uridine 5'-diphosphate (UDP) was inactive at the hP2Y(6) receptor. The vascular effects of (N)-methanocarba-UTP and (N)-methanocarba-UDP were studied in a model of the rat mesenteric artery, The triphosphate was more potent than UTP in inducing a dilatory P2Y(4) response (pEC(50) = 6.1 +/- 0.2), while the diphosphate was inactive as either an agonist or antagonist in a P2Y(6) receptor-mediated contractile response. Our results suggest that new nucleotide agonists may be designed on the basis of the (N) conformation that favors selectivity for P2Y(1), P2Y(2), P2Y(4), and P2Y(11) receptors.