Discovery of Irbesartan Derivatives as BLT2 Agonists by Virtual Screening

Leuktriene B4 receptor 2 (BLT2) is a G-protein coupled receptor modulation of which is discussed to be a therapeutic option for healing of intestinal lesions. In this work, new BLT2 agonists were identified by a virtual screening of a repurposing library and in vitro assay of the most promising compounds. Irbesartan, an approved type-1 angiotensin II receptor (AT1) antagonist, was identified as a moderate BLT2 agonist. An initial SAR study on the irbesartan scaffold was performed resulting in the discovery of a new potent BLT2 agonist (8f, EC₅₀ = 67.6 nM). Irbesartan and 8f were shown to promote proliferation of epithelial colon cells, an effect which was reversible by a BLT2 antagonist.