Differences in sequence
homology between human (h), mouse (m),
and rat (r) histamine H4 receptors (H4R) cause
discrepancies regarding affinities, potencies, and/or efficacies of
ligands and therefore compromise translational animal models and the
applicability of radioligands. Aiming at a radioligand enabling robust
and comparative binding studies at the h/m/rH4Rs, 2,4-diaminopyrimidines
were synthesized and pharmacologically investigated. The most notable
compounds identified were two (partial) agonists with comparable potencies
at the h/m/rH4Rs: UR-DEBa148 (N-neopentyl-4-(1,4,6,7-tetrahydro-5H-imidazo[4,5-c]pyridin-5-yl)pyrimidin-2-amine
bis(2,2,2-trifluoroacetate), 43), the most potent [pEC50 (reporter gene assay) = 9.9/9.6/10.3] compound in the series
being slightly G-protein biased and UR-DEBa176 [(R)-4-[3-(dimethylamino)pyrrolidin-1-yl]-N-neopentylpyrimidin-2-amine
bis(2,2,2-trifluoroacetate), 46, pEC50 (reporter
gene assay) = 8.7/9.0/9.2], a potential “cold” form
of a tritiated H4R ligand. After radiolabeling, binding
studies with [3H]UR-DEBa176 ([3H]46) at the h/m/rH4Rs revealed comparable K
d values (41/17/22 nM), low nonspecific binding (11–17%,
∼K
d), and fast associations/dissociations
(25–30 min) and disclosed [3H]UR-DEBa176 as useful
molecular tool to determine h/m/rH4R binding affinities
for H4R ligands.