Synthesis and structure-activity relationships of a series of 3-aryl-4-isoxazolecarboxamides as a new class of TGR5 agonists.

A series of 3-aryl-4-isoxazolecarboxamides identified from a high-throughput screening campaign as novel, potent agonists of the human TGR5 G-protein-coupled receptor is described. Many analogues were readily accessible via solution-phase synthesis which resulted in the rapid identification of key structure-activity relationships (SAR), and the discovery of potent exemplars (up to pEC50=9). Details of the SAR and optimization of this series are presented herein. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.