Novel Niacin Receptor Agonists: A Promising Strategy for the Treatment of Dyslipidemia

Background: Hyperlipidemia is characterized by high level of cholesterol and triglycerides in blood. Various classes of drugs like statins, fibrates, niacin etc. are used for treatment of hyperlipidaemia. Objective: Niacin, which is one of the beneficial anti-hyperlipidemic agents, helps decreasing LDL cholesterol by 20 to 40% and causes increase of HDL cholesterol by 20 to 35%. However cutaneous flushing, loss of glucose tolerance, liver toxicity are the reported side effects of niacin therapy responsible for decreased patient compliance. Very recently, the G protein coupled receptor (GPCR); GPR109A located on the adipocytes has been identified as the receptor for activation of niacin. Method: In-vitro studies have demonstrated that GPR109A receptor having high affinity for niacin. The present review attempts to provide a systematic presentation of the various chemical classes of compounds that have been reported as novel niacin receptor agonists including pyrazole-3-carboxylic acids, urea derivatives, anthranilic acids, biaryl anthranilides, tetrahydro anthranilic acid, xanthines, barbituric acid, bicyclic pyrazole carboxylic acids, pyrido pyrimidinones, pyrazolyl propionyl cyclohexenamides, pyrazole acids etc. Results: As the design of GPR109A receptor agonists offers a promising solution for treatment of dyslipidemia, this review will be beneficial for medicinal and drug discovery chemists to expediate the process of discovery of new class of anti-hyperlipidemic agent with favorable lipid lowering profile with increase in HDL levels. Conclusion: This review explains novel GPR109A receptor agonists for the treatment of dyslipidemia.

Automated summary

Hyperlipidemia is characterized by high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in blood. Various classes of drugs are used for treatment, but niacin therapy can lead to side effects like flushing, glucose intolerance, and liver toxicity. Recently, GPR109A receptor agonists have shown promise for treating dyslipidemia.