The development of a novel series of (quinolin-2-ylmethoxy)phenyl-containing compounds as high-affinity leukotriene receptor antagonists. 3. Structural variation of the acidic side chain to give antagonists of enhanced potency.

This paper is the third in a series outlining the development of orally active sulfido peptide leukotriene antagonists containing a (quinolin-2-ylmethoxy)phenyl moiety. In this work the systematic variation of the acid side chain substituents led to dramatic and reproducible changes in the oral activity of these compounds, presumably due to alterations in their pharmacokinetic properties. The most potent compound identified, 5-[4-[4-(quinolin-2-yl-methoxy)phenyl]-3-methylbutyl]tetrazole (32), represents a convergence of good in vitro antagonist activity and a 3-10-fold improvement in oral potency over the current clinical candidate 2. The new findings from these optimization studies are as follows: oxygen substitution in the acid side chain was not necessary for antagonist activity, in vitro and in vivo activity was enhanced by alkyl or phenyl substitution on the gamma-carbon of the acid side chain of para-substituted (quinolin-2-ylmethoxy)phenyl derivatives, and free rotation about the side chain carbon atom adjacent to the (quinolin-2-ylmethoxy)phenyl ring was required for activity. The lead compound of this report (32) is a competitive inhibitor of [3H]LTD4 binding to receptor membrane purified from guinea pig lung (Ki = 12 +/- 3 nM) and of the spasmogenic activity of LTC4, LTD4, and LTE4 in guinea pig lung strip. Dosed orally in guinea pigs, this compound blocks LTD4-induced bronchoconstriction (ED50 0.8 mg/kg) and antigen-induced systemic anaphylaxis (ED50 = 1.2 mg/kg).