Fragment based design of new H4 receptor-ligands with anti-inflammatory properties in vivo.

Using a previously reported flexible alignment model we have designed, synthesized, and evaluated a series of compounds at the human histamine H 4 receptor (H 4R) from which 2-(4-methyl-piperazin-1-yl)-quinoxaline ( 3) was identified as a new lead structure for H 4R ligands. Exploration of the structure-activity relationship (SAR) of this scaffold led to the identification of 6,7-dichloro 3-(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)quinoxalin-2(1 H)-one (VUF 10214, 57) and 2-benzyl-3-(4-methyl-piperazin-1-yl)quinoxaline (VUF 10148, 20) as potent H 4R ligands with nanomolar affinities. In vivo studies in the rat reveal that compound 57 has significant anti-inflammatory properties in the carrageenan-induced paw-edema model.