Structure–Activity Relationship Studies of the Cyclic Depsipeptide Natural Product YM‐254890, Targeting the Gq Protein

Extracellular signals perceived by G protein-coupled receptors are transmitted via G proteins, and subsequent intracellular signaling cascades result in a plethora of physiological responses. The natural product cyclic depsipeptides YM-254890 and FR900359 are the only known compounds that specifically inhibit signaling mediated by the Gq subfamily. In this study we exploit a newly developed synthetic strategy for this compound class in the design, synthesis, and pharmacological evaluation of eight new analogues of YM-254890. These structure–activity relationship studies led to the discovery of three new analogues, YM-13, YM-14, and YM-18, which displayed potent and selective Gq inhibitory activity. This provides pertinent information for the understanding of the Gq inhibitory mechanism by this class of compounds and importantly provides a pathway for the development of labeled YM-254890 analogues.