Methyl Substitution of a Rexinoid Agonist Improves Potency and Reveals Site of Lipid Toxicity

[Image: see text] (2E,4E,6Z,8E)-8-(3′,4′-Dihydro-1′(2′H)-naphthalen-1′-ylidene)-3,7-dimethyl-2,4,6-octatrienoic acid, 9cUAB30, is a selective rexinoid that displays substantial chemopreventive capacity with little toxicity. 4-Methyl-UAB30, an analogue of 9cUAB30, is a potent RXR agonist but caused increased lipid biosynthesis unlike 9cUAB30. To evaluate how methyl substitution influenced potency and lipid biosynthesis, we synthesized four 9cUAB30 homologues with methyl substitutions at the 5-, 6-, 7-, or 8-position of the tetralone ring. The syntheses and biological evaluations of these new analogues are reported here along with the X-ray crystal structures of each homologue bound to the ligand binding domain of hRXRα. We demonstrate that each homologue of 9cUAB30 is a more potent agonist, but only the 7-methyl-9cUAB30 caused severe hyperlipidemia in rats. On the basis of the X-ray crystal structures of these new rexinoids and bexarotene (Targretin) bound to hRXRα-LBD, we reveal that each rexinoid, which induced hyperlipidemia, had methyl groups that interacted with helix 7 residues of the LBD.