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Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Methods for the Discovery of Novel Compounds Modulating a Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid Receptor Type A Neurotransmission
Published on: August 16, 2018
Novel piperazines: potent melanocortin-4 receptor antagonists with anxiolytic-like activity
Dai Nozawa1, Taketoshi Okubo, Takaaki Ishii
1Medicinal Research Laboratories, Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, 1-403 Yoshino-cho, Kita-ku, Saitama, Saitama 331-9530, Japan. dai.nozawa@po.rd.taisho.co.jp
Abstract:
In the present study, we found that a novel piperazine compound, 11a, showed a moderate affinity (IC(50)=333nM) for the MC4 receptor. We developed the new type of piperazine compounds and found that mono-piperazine 11b exhibited a high-affinity (IC(50)=40.3nM) for the MC4 receptor. We also found that a series of biphenyl analogues exhibited a high-affinity for the receptor, and in particular, compound 11j exhibited the highest affinity for the MC4 receptor with an IC(50) value of 14.5nM. Furthermore, some of these compounds, when administered orally, significantly reversed the stress-induced anxiety-like behavior in rats. In this paper, we report the synthesis, structure-activity relationships, and oral activity of the novel mono-piperazines as MC4 receptor antagonists.
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