Discovery of Novel and Selective GPR17 Antagonists as Pharmacological Tools for Developing New Therapeutic Strategies in Diabetes and Obesity

Abstract

G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are promising targets for diabetes and obesity therapy due to their roles in metabolism and excellent potential for pharmacological manipulation. We previously reported that Gpr17 ablation in the brain-gut axis leads to improved metabolic homeostasis, suggesting GPR17 antagonism could be developed for diabetes and obesity treatment. Here, we performed high throughput screening (HTS) and identified two new GPR17 antagonists (compound 978 and 527). Both compounds antagonized downstream Gi/o, Gq and {beta}-arrestin signaling with high selectivity for GPR17, but not the closely related purinergic and cysteinyl leukotriene receptors. The molecular mechanisms of antagonism were revealed through Schild analysis, structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies and homology modelling. Compound 978 and its analog (793) attenuated GPR17 signaling and promoted glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) secretion in enteroendocrine cells. In summary, we identified selective GPR17 antagonists through HTS, which represent promising pharmacological tools for developing new therapeutic strategies in diabetes and obesity. SignificanceOur work highlights the therapeutic potential of GPR17 antagonism in the treatment of diabetes and obesity by leveraging its role in metabolic regulation. In previous studies, we have shown that Gpr17 ablation improves metabolic homeostasis, and here we expanded our research by identifying two novel small molecule antagonists of GPR17 through high-throughput screening. The compounds inhibited multiple downstream signaling pathways of GPR17 with high selectivity over other closely related receptors. Of particular significance, compound 978 and its analogs not only attenuated GPR17 signaling but also increased glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) secretion, a critical hormone for glucose homeostasis and appetite regulation. These findings shed new light into the molecular mechanisms of GPR17 antagonism and introduce valuable pharmacological tools for further exploration of therapeutic strategies in diabetes and obesity.