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The voltage-gated potassium channel Kv1.3 constitutes an attractive pharmacological target for the treatment of effector memory T cell-mediated autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and psoriasis. Using 5-methoxypsoralen (5-MOP, 1), a compound isolated from Ruta graveolens, as a template we previously synthesized 5-(4-phenoxybutoxy)psoralen (PAP-1, 2) which inhibits Kv1.3 with an IC50 of 2 nM. Since PAP-1 is more than 1000-fold more potent than 5-MOP, we here investigated whether attaching a 4-phenoxybutoxy side chain to other heterocyclic systems would also produce potent Kv1.3 blockers. While 4-phenoxybutoxy-substituted quinolines, quinazolines and phenanthrenes were inactive, 4-phenoxybutoxy-substituted quinolinones, furoquinolines, coumarins or furochromones inhibited Kv1.3 with IC50s of 150 nM to 10 μM in whole-cell patch-clamp experiments. Our most potent new compound is 4-(4-phenoxybutoxy)-7H-furo[3,2-g]chromene-7-thione (73, IC50 17 nM), in which the carbonyl oxygen of PAP-1 is replaced by sulfur. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the psoralen system is a crucial part of the pharmacophore of phenoxyalkoxypsoralen-type Kv1.3 blockers.

Chalcone derivatives of the natural product khellinone were synthesised and screened for bioactivity against the voltage-gated potassium channel Kv1.3. X-ray crystallography was employed to investigate relationships between the structure and function of a

The voltage-gated potassium channel Kv1.3 constitutes an attractive target for the selective suppression of effector memory T cells in autoimmune diseases. We have previously reported the natural product khellinone, 1a, as a versatile lead molecule and id

The invention relates to compounds of Formula (I) for use in modulating potassium channel activity in cells.

Photolysis at 365 nm of khellin in various solvents was studied: the degradation rate strongly depends on solvent but not on polarity, since it is related to the singlet oxygen lifetime in each solvent.Eight products were isolated and characterized, some of which had previously been described as coming from chemical oxidation of khellin.Both facts support an oxic pathway for photolysis involving singlet oxygen and leading to unstable intermediates.These are rapidly decomposed by nucleophiles, suggesting possible interference - if they are also formed in vivo - with physiological processes during photochemotherapeutic treatment with khellin.

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