Synthesis and structure-affinity relationships of novel small molecule natural product derivatives capable of discriminating between serotonin 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A, 5-HT2C receptor subtypes.

Efforts to develop ligands that distinguish between clinically relevant 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C serotonin receptor subtypes have been challenging, because their sequences have high homology. Previous studies reported that a novel aplysinopsin belonging to a chemical class of natural products isolated from a marine sponge was selective for the 5-HT2C over the 5-HT2A receptor subtype. Our goal was to explore the 5-HT2A/2C receptor structure-affinity relationships of derivatives based on the aplysinopsin natural product pharmacophore.