Abstract
5-Aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide riboside (AICAR) has an important role in the regulation of the cellular metabolism showing a broad spectrum of therapeutic activities against different metabolic processes. Due to these proven AICAR properties, we have designed, synthesized and tested the biological activity of two ribose-modified AICAR derivatives, named A3 and A4, in comparison to native AICAR and its 5′-phosphorylated counterpart ZMP. Our findings have shown that A3 and A4 derivatives induce the phosphorylation of 5′-AMP activated protein kinase α (AMPKα), which leads to the inhibition of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), and down-regulate the activity of the extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK1/2). Cytotoxicity tests demonstrated that A3 and A4 do not significantly reduce cell viability up to 24 h. Taken together our results indicate that A3 and A4 have a comparable activity to AICAR and ZMP at 0.5 and 1 mM suggesting their potential use in future pharmacological strategies relating to metabolic diseases.
Declaration of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.