Efficacy, Mechanism, and Structure–Activity Relationship of 6-Methoxy Benzofuran Derivatives as a Useful Tool for Senile Osteoporosis

Abstract

Most patients with senile osteoporosis (SOP) are severely deficient in bone mass, and treatments using bone resorption inhibitors, such as bisphosphonates, have shown limited efficacy. Small-molecule osteogenesis-promoting drugs are required to improve the treatment for this disease. Previously, we demonstrated that a compound with a benzofuran-like structure promoted bone formation by upregulating BMP-2, and it exhibited a therapeutic effect in SAMP-6 mice, glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis rats, and ovariectomized rats. In this study, aged C57 and SAMP-6 mice models were used to investigate the therapeutic and preventive effects of compound <b>125</b> on SOP. scRNA-seq analysis showed that BMP-2 upregulation is the mechanism through which <b>125</b> accelerates bone turnover and increases the proportion of osteoblasts. We evaluated the structure-activity relationship of the candidate drugs and found that the derivative <b>I-9</b> showed significantly higher efficacy than <b>125</b> and teriparatide in the zebrafish osteoporosis model. This study provides a foundation for the development of SOP drugs.