Synthesis and structure-activity relationships of N-{1-[(6-fluoro-2-naphthyl)methyllpiperidin-4-yl}benzamide derivatives as novel CCR3 antagonists

A novel class of potent CCR3 receptor antagonists were designed and synthesized starting from N-1-[(6-fluoro-2-naphthyl)methyl]piperidin-4-yl}benzamide (1),which was found by subjecting our chemical library to high throughput screening (HTS). The CCR3 inhibitory activity of the synthesized compounds against eotaxin-induced Ca2+ influx was evaluated using CCR3-expressing preB cells. Systematic chemical modifications of I revealed that the 6-fluoro-2-naphthylmethyl moiety was essential for CCR3 inhibitory activity in this new series of CCR3 antagonists. Further structural modifications of the benzamide and piperidine moieties of 1 led to the identification of N-{8-[(6-fluoro-2-naphthyl)methyl]-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]oct-3- yl} biphenyl-2-carboxamide (31) as a potent CCR3 antagonist with an IC50 value of 0.020 mu M. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.