3-(3-Azabicyclo[2, 2, 1]heptan-2-yl)-1,2,4-oxadiazoles as Novel Potent DPP-4 Inhibitors to Treat T2DM

Pharmaceuticals. 2025. Vol. 18. No. 5. Article 642.

Zinevich T., Maslov I., Kirichenko O., Shorshnev S., Maxim A. Gureev, Dolgushin F., Yuri B. Porozov, Trukhan V.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a prevalent metabolic disease with global implications, necessitating effective management strategies. Dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-4) inhibitors have shown promise as potent agents for T2DM treatment. Methods: This study combines chemical synthesis, molecular modelling, and inhibitory activity assays to characterise the structure–activity relationship of novel isomeric 1,2,4-oxadiazole-substituted derivatives of the 2-azabicyclo[2.2.1]heptane scaffold acylated with (R)-3-amino-4-(2,4,5-trifluorophenyl)butanoic acid. Results: In this article, we demonstrate the efficacy of new compounds as robust inhibitors of DPP-4. The attempts to further modify neogliptin (our lead compound described previously) resulted in a more potent DPP-4 inhibitor 9a (IC50 = 4.3 nM), which did not mediate any substantial inhibition of DPP-8 and DPP-9. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that pseudo peptides incorporating (R)-3-amino-4-(2,4,5-trifluorophenyl)butanoic acid, a 2-aza-bicyclo[2.2.1]heptane moiety, and 1,2,4-oxadiazole substituents act as potent and selective DPP-4 inhibitors. By the stereochemical refinement of oxadiazole derivatives of neogliptin, we discovered compound 9a, a strong candidate for further development in T2DM treatment.

Keywords: Molecular Docking, Oxadiazoles, Type 2 diabetes mellitus, DPP-4 inhibitors

Publication based on the results of: Molecular evolution, protein motions and computational molecular modeling (2024)