7-Methylation of Chenodeoxycholic Acid Derivatives Yields a Substantial Increase in TGR5 Receptor Potency.

TGR5 agonists are potential therapeutics for a variety of conditions including type 2 diabetes, obesity, and inflammatory bowel disease. After screening a library of chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) derivatives, it was determined that a range of modifications could be made to the acid moiety of CDCA which significantly increased TGR5 agonist potency. Surprisingly, methylation of the 7-hydroxyl of CDCA led to a further dramatic increase in potency, allowing the identification of 5.6 nM TGR5 agonist 17.