Diverse of 1,2,3,9-tetrahydropyrrolo[2,1-b]quinazoline-1-carboxylic acid derivatives were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their neuroprotective activity against NMDA-induced cytotoxicity in vitro, and 5q exhibited excellent neuroprotective activity. The compound 5q was selected for further investigation. We found that 5q could attenuate Ca2+ influx induced by NMDA, meanwhile, 5q could suppress the NR2B up-regulation and increase p-ERK1/2 expression. The molecular docking results showed that 5q might fit well in the binding pocket of 4 and interact with some key residues in the binding pocket of 1 simultaneously. Besides, 5q exhibited acceptable metabolic stability. These results suggested that 5q was a promising lead for further development of new potent and orally bioavailable NR2B-selective NMDAR antagonists.
Keywords: Ca(2+) influx; NR2B-selective NMDAR antagonists; Neuroprotective activity; p-ERK1/2.
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