DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.201000360
Pan-PPAR Agonists Based on the Resveratrol Scaffold: Biological Evaluation
and Docking Studies
Wei Li, Xinhua He, Weiguo Shi, Haoyan Jia, and Bohua Zhong*[a]
The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) belong
to the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily and consist of
three receptor isoforms, PPARa, PPARg, and PPARd, which play
important roles in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. PPARa
agonists such as fenofibrate, or the active metabolite fenofibric
acid (1), are effective at lowering serum triglycerides and rais-
ing high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.[1] PPARg has
been identified as a key regulator for insulin sensitivity, glucose
homeostasis, and fat storage.[2] PPARd activation appears to in-
crease fatty acid b-oxidation, insulin sensitivity, and HDL cho-
lesterol. PPARd agonists have been shown to increase plasma
HDL cholesterol levels while decreasing LDL cholesterol and tri-
glycerides in obese and dyslipidemic rhesus monkeys.[3]
Considering the aforementioned beneficial pharmacological
effects of the PPARs, the concept of simultaneously activating
all PPAR subtypes with a single compound, that is, a pan-PPAR
agonist is extremely attractive, especially for the treatment of
metabolic syndrome, which consists of an accumulation of
metabolic and cardiovascular risk factors that cause a predis-
position to heart attack, stroke, heart failure, sudden cardiac
death, and certain cancers.[4] Simultaneous activation of all
PPAR subtypes might also decrease the occurrence of adverse
side effects.[4]
sveratrol (trans-resveratrol; 2), the most widely studied stil-
bene, is a phytoalexin produced naturally by several plants
when under attack by pathogens such as bacteria or fungi. Re-
sveratrol is found in the skin of red grapes and is a constituent
of red wine; indeed a lower risk of cardiovascular disease has
been observed among wine-drinking populations.[6] In mouse
and rat experiments, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, blood-
sugar-lowering, and other beneficial cardiovascular effects of
resveratrol have been reported.[7] Resveratrol protects the
heart and blood vessels by directly scavenging oxidants that
can cause lipid oxidation and by preventing oxidative-stress-in-
duced apoptosis of endothelial cells.[8] It may also help to pre-
vent heart damage after cardiac arrest. Reduced platelet aggre-
gation by resveratrol can decrease the risk of atherosclerosis.[9]
Resveratrol has also been demonstrated to decrease blood
lipid levels in animals.[10] Some naturally occurring or synthetic
resveratrol analogues have been shown to significantly activate
PPARa or to lower plasma lipid levels when fed to hamsters.[11]
These beneficial effects of resveratrol have attracted much
attention, and this compound may provide a scaffold for the
development of novel therapeutic drugs, which would proba-
bly produce synergistic pharmacological effects. In previous
studies, simple functional groups were introduced at the 4’-po-
sition, and methoxy groups were introduced at the 3- and 5-
positions of resveratrol.[12] From ongoing studies in our re-
search group, a series of phenoxyalkylcarboxylic acid deriva-
tives based on the resveratrol scaffold appear to have good
hypolipidemic activity in vivo, and compound 3 was found to
be the most potent. It was predicted that the hypolipidemic
activity of 3 may be due to the activation of the PPARa, and
the results of these studies will be reported elsewhere. In con-
tinuation of our drug discovery program on agents for the
treatment of metabolic diseases, and in order to gain more in-
sight on the structure–activity relationships, we discovered the
pan-PPAR agonists 6 and 9 by combining the resveratrol scaf-
fold with the fibrate head group and methylating the remain-
ing phenolic hydroxy groups. Interestingly, compound 6, bear-
ing two fibrate head groups, was found incidentally as the by-
product of the reaction. Herein we describe the synthesis and
in vitro evaluation of these compounds for PPAR transactiva-
tion. We also evaluated their in vivo biological activity and car-
ried out docking studies.
Stilbene-based components, or stilbenoids, have been sug-
gested to have many health benefits including antioxidant,
anti-inflammatory, antileukemic, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-
platelet aggregation, vasodilator, and antitumor activities.[5] Re-
[a] Dr. W. Li,+ X. He, W. Shi, H. Jia, Prof. B. Zhong
Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology
27 Tai-Ping Road, 100850, Beijing (China)
Fax: (+86)1066931639
[+] Current address: CAS Key Laboratory of
The synthesis of the target compounds are shown in
Schemes 1 and 2. Compared with 3, the target compound 6
has two fibrate head groups and one methoxy group. The fi-
brate head group was introduced at the 3- and 4’-positions of
resveratrol by alkylation of the phenolic hydroxy groups with
isobutyl-5-chloro-2,2-dimethylvalerate; the remaining phenolic
hydroxy group was methylated by methyl iodide. Alkaline hy-
drolysis of ester 5 gave the target compound 6. The target
Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology (CASPMI)
Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
1 Beichen Xilu Road, Chaoyang District, 100101, Beijing (China)
Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW under
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