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Updated: Mar 20, 2026

Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship, Activity Prediction, and Molecular Dynamics of Non-nucleotide Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors
Published on: May 9, 2025
Design and structural optimization of lappaconitine derivatives as Nav1.7 inhibitors with improved analgesic efficacy
Long Wang1, Jiaqi Zou2, Xiaolong Ma2
1State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201203, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China; Pharmacophenomics Laboratory, Human Phenome Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201203, China.
Abstract:
Lappaconitine (LA), a diterpenoid alkaloid with analgesic properties, is limited clinically by its narrow safety margin. To overcome this, we synthesized novel LA derivatives modified at the 20-N position to enhance Nav1.7 potency and reduce lethality. Systematic SAR studies identified representative compound 39 for further characterization. Compound 39 inhibited human Nav1.7 (IC50 = 2.87 ± 0.19 μM), exhibiting an 8.6-fold increase in potency over LA (IC50 = 24.71 ± 1.64 μM). This translated to superior suppression of sodium currents and action potential firing in DRG neurons. In a mouse postoperative pain model, intraplantar compound 39 (5-10 μg/site) provided more potent analgesia against mechanical allodynia than LA. Critically, compound 39 showed a >10-fold improved safety margin (LD50 = 47.5 mg/kg i.v. vs. LA's 4.6 mg/kg i.v.), positioning it as a promising analgesic with an improved acute safety profile for pain management.
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