Synthesis and thromboxane A2 antagonist activity of N-benzyltrimetoquinol analogues

It is currently believed that the platelet thromboxane A2 (TXA2/PGH2) receptor is different from the vascular TXA2/PGH2 receptor. While the majority of TXA2 receptor antagonists are structurally related to the prostaglandins, trimetoquinol (TMQ) represents a unique nonprostanoid antagonist. TMQ also possesses beta-adrenergic activity; however, an N-benzyl substituent on TMQ has been shown to impart some selectivity for platelet antiaggregatory activity versus beta-adrenergic activity. In this study, we examined the synthesis and TXA2 antagonist activity of a series of substituted N-benzyl analogues of TMQ. While these analogues showed an apparent direct correlation between platelet antiaggregatory activity and electron-donating ability of the N-benzyl substituents, no such correlation could be demonstrated for the inhibition of contractile responses. Thus, nonprostanoid TXA2 antagonists can be used to demonstrate differences between platelet and vascular TXA2/PGH2 responses.