7-Alkyl-3-benzylcoumarins: a versatile scaffold for the development of potent and selective cannabinoid receptor agonists and antagonists.

A series of 7-alkyl-3-benzylcoumarins was designed, synthesized, and tested at cannabinoid CB(1) and CB(2) receptors in radioligand binding and cAMP accumulation studies. 7-Alkyl-3-benzylcoumarins were found to constitute a versatile scaffold for obtaining potent CB receptor ligands with high potency at either CB(1) or CB(2) and a broad spectrum of efficacies. Fine-tuning of compound properties was achieved by small modifications of the substitution pattern. The most potent compounds of the present series include 5-methoxy-3-(2-methylbenzyl)-7-pentyl-2H-chromen-2-one (19a, PSB-SB-1201), a selective CB(1)antagonist (K(i) CB(1) 0.022 μM), 5-methoxy-3-(2-methoxybenzyl)-7-pentyl-2H-chromen-2-one (21a, PSB-SB-1202), a dual CB(1)/CB(2)agonist (CB(1)K(i) 0.032 μM, EC(50) 0.056 μM; CB(2)K(i) 0.049 μM, EC(50) 0.014 μM), 5-hydroxy-3-(2-hydroxybenzyl)-7-(2-methyloct-2-yl)-2H-chromen-2-one (25b, PSB-SB-1203), a dual CB(1)/CB(2) ligand that blocks CB(1) but activates CB(2) receptors (CB(1)K(i) 0.244 μM; CB(2)K(i) 0.210 μM, EC(50) 0.054 μM), and 7-(1-butylcyclopentyl)-5-hydroxy-3-(2-hydroxybenzyl)-2H-chromen-2-one (27b, PSB-SB-1204), a selective CB(2) receptor agonist (CB(1)K(i) 1.59 μM; CB(2)K(i) 0.068 μM, EC(50) 0.048 μM).