New indole derivatives as ACAT inhibitors: Synthesis and structure-activity relationships

A series of ureas containing the indole group were synthesized and assessed for their ability to inhibit arterial and intestinal ACAT and to lower plasma total cholesterol in a cholesterol-fed rat model. The structural modulations carried out in this series led to compounds which proved to be very active in both the inhibition of aortic ACAT in vitro and the inhibition of rat cholesterol intestinal absorption in vivo. Several compounds from this series exhibit a remarkable hypocholesterolaemic effect with ED(25) less than 0.1 mg/kg po.