In this structure-activity relationship study, the influence of aryl substituents at position 5 or 6 on the pharmacological profile of the partial PPARγ agonist 4'-((2-propyl-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-1-yl)methyl)-[1,1'-biphenyl]-2-carboxylic acid was investigated. This lead was previously identified as the essential part of telmisartan to induce PPARγ activation. Para-OCH3-phenyl substitution strongly increased potency and efficacy independent of the position. Both compounds represent full agonists because of strong hydrophobic contacts with the amino acid Phe363 in the ligand binding domain. Partial agonists with higher potency than telmisartan or the lead were obtained with OH or Cl substituents at the phenyl ring. Molecular modeling suggested additional hydrogen or halogen bonds with Phe360 located at helix 7. It is assumed that these interactions fix helix 7, thereby promoting a partial agonist conformation of the receptor. The theoretical considerations correlate very well with the results from the luciferase transactivation assay using hPPARγ-LBD as well as those from a time-resolved fluorescent resonance energy transfer (TR-FRET) assay in which the coactivator (TRAP220, PGC-1α) recruitment and corepressor (NCoR1) release pattern was investigated.
Keywords: Coactivator recruitment; Molecular modeling; Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ; Pharmacological profile; Transactivation assay.
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