Conversion of A3 adenosine receptor agonists into selective antagonists by modification of the 5'-ribofuran-uronamide moiety.

The highly selective agonists of the A(3) adenosine receptor (AR), Cl-IB-MECA (2-chloro-N(6)-(3-iodobenzyl)-5'-N-methylcarboxamidoadenosine), and its 4'-thio analogue, were successfully converted into selective antagonists simply by appending a second N-methyl group on the 5'-uronamide position. The 2-chloro-5'-(N,N-dimethyl)uronamido analogues bound to, but did not activate, the human A(3)AR, with K(i) values of 29 nM (4'-O) and 15 nM (4'-S), showing >100-fold selectivity over A(1), A(2A), and A(2B)ARs. Competitive antagonism was demonstrated by Schild analysis. The 2-(dimethylamino)-5'-(N,N-dimethyl)uronamido substitution also retained A(3)AR selectivity but lowered affinity.