5-(Piperidin-4-yl)-3-hydroxypyrazole: A novel scaffold for probing the orthosteric γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptor binding site.

A series of bioisosteric N1- and N2 -substituted 5-(piperidin-4-yl)-3-hydroxypyrazole analogues of the partial GABAA R agonists 4-PIOL and 4-PHP have been designed, synthesized, and characterized pharmacologically. The unsubstituted 3-hydroxypyrazole analogue of 4-PIOL (2 a; IC50 ∼300 μM) is a weak antagonist at the α1 β2 γ2 GABAA R, whereas substituting the N1- or N2- position with alkyl or aryl substituents resulted in antagonists with binding affinities in the high nanomolar to low micromolar range at native rat GABAA Rs. Docking studies using a α1 β2 γ2 GABAA R homology model along with the obtained SAR indicate that the N1 -substituted analogues of 4-PIOL and 4-PHP, 2 a-k, and previously reported 3-substituted 4-PHP analogues share a common binding mode to the orthosteric binding site in the receptor. Interestingly, the core scaffold of the N2 -substituted analogues of 4-PIOL and 4-PHP, 3 b-k, are suggested to flip 180° thereby adapting to the binding pocket and addressing a cavity situated above the core scaffold.