Development of Novel Xanthine-based Compounds as Adenosine A2A Receptor Antagonists

Adenosine receptors (also known as P1 receptors) are a family of G-protein coupled receptors with adenosine as the endogenous ligand. There are four subtypes of adenosine receptors; A1, A2A, A2B, and A3. Adenosine A2A receptors (A2AR) are found in high density in certain brain regions, such as striatum, nucleus accumbens, and olfactory tubercle. Evidence suggests that antagonists of the adenosine A2A receptor may be neuroprotective and may help to alleviate the symptoms of Parkinson?s disease as well as other neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease. Adenosine A2A receptor antagonist may also be active as cognition enhancers, neuroprotective, anti-depressive, and analgesic drugs. Novel xanthine derivatives will be designed, synthesized and characterized applying a wide range of physicochemical techniques. The novel compounds are expected to antagonize the A2AR with high affinity and selectivity and furthermore exhibit suitable pharmacokinetic properties.