Development and structure-activity relationships of tanshinones as selective 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1...

11β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 (11β-HSD1) represents a promising drug target for metabolic syndrome, including obesity and type 2 diabetes. Our initial screen of a collection of natural products from Danshen led to the identification of tanshinones as the potent and selective 11β-HSD1 inhibitors. To improve the druggability and explore the structure-activity relationships (SARs), more than 40 derivatives have been designed and synthesized using tanshinone IIA and cryptotanshinone as the starting materials. More than 10 derivatives exhibited potent in vitro 11β-HSD1 inhibitory activity and good selectivity over 11β-HSD2 across human and mouse species. Based on the biological results, SARs were further discussed, which was also partially rationalized by a molecular docking model of 1 bound to the 11β-HSD1. Remarkably, compounds 1, 17 and 30 significantly inhibited 11β-HSD1 in 3T3-L1 adipocyte and in livers of ob/ob mice, which merits further investigations as anti-diabetic agents. This study not only provides a series of novel selective 11β-HSD1 inhibitors with promising therapeutic potentials in metabolic syndromes, but also expands the boundaries of the chemical and biological spaces of tanshinones.