Selective novel inverse agonists for human GPR43 augment GLP-1 secretion

GPR43/Free Fatty Acid Receptor 2 (FFAR2) is known to be activated by short-chain fatty acids and be coupled to G_i and G_q family of heterotrimeric G proteins. GPR43 is mainly expressed in neutrophils, adipocytes and enteroendocrine cells, implicated to be involved in inflammation, obesity and type 2 diabetes. However, several groups have reported the contradictory data about the physiological functions of GPR43, so that its roles in vivo remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate that a novel compound of pyrimidinecarboxamide class named as BTI-A-404 is a selective and potent competitive inverse agonist of human GPR43, but not the murine ortholog. Through structure-activity relationship (SAR), we also found active compound named as BTI-A-292. These regulators increased the cyclic AMP level and reduced acetate-induced cytoplasmic Ca²⁺ level. Furthermore, we show that they modulated the downstream signaling pathways of GPR43, such as ERK, p38 MAPK, and NF-κB. It was surprising that two compounds augmented the secretion of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) in NCI-H716 cell line. Collectively, these novel and specific competitive inhibitors regulate all aspects of GPR43 signaling and the results underscore the therapeutic potential of them.