Conversion of A3 adenosine receptor agonists into selective antagonists by modification of the 5′-ribofuran-uronamide moiety

The highly selective agonists of the A3 adenosine receptor (AR), Cl-IB-MECA (2-chloro-N6-(3-iodobenzyl)-5′-N-methylcarboxamidoadenosine), and its 4′-thio analogue, were successfully converted into selective antagonists simply by appending a second N-methyl group on the 5′-uronamide position. The 2-chloro-5′-(N,N-dimethyl)uronamido analogues bound to, but did not activate, the human A3AR, with Ki values of 29 nM (4′-O) and 15 nM (4′-S), showing >100-fold selectivity over A1, A2A, and A2BARs. Competitive antagonism was demonstrated by Schild analysis. The 2-(dimethylamino)-5′-(N,N-dimethyl)uronamido substitution also retained A3AR selectivity but lowered affinity.