Structural Modification and Pharmacological Evaluation of (Thiadiazol-2-yl)pyrazines as Novel Piezo1 Agonists for the Intervention of Disuse Osteoporosis

Piezo1 plays a pivotal role in regulating bone remodeling and homeostasis and has emerged as a promising target for chemical intervention in disuse osteoporosis. Nevertheless, the development of small-molecule Piezo1 agonists is still in its infancy, and highly efficacious Piezo1 agonists are urgently required. In this study, by shedding light on the structural novelty of the canonical Piezo1 agonist Yoda1, we initiated a structural optimization campaign based on the (thiadiazol-2-yl)pyrazine scaffold. A deuterated compound 12a was identified to be the most potent candidate against Piezo1 with an EC₅₀ value of 2.21 μM, which was over 20-fold more potent than the reference Yoda1. This compound effectively activated Piezo1 and initiated Ca²⁺ influx in MSCs and promoted MSC osteogenesis via activating the Ca²⁺-related Erk signaling pathway. Furthermore, compound 12a was found to alleviate disuse osteoporosis with a desirable safety profile in a HU (hindlimb-unloading) rat model, thus warranting it as a potential probe for further investigation.