4-Aryl-3-(hydroxyalkyl)quinolin-2-ones: Novel Maxi-K Channel Opening Relaxants of Corporal Smooth Muscle Targeted for Erectile Dysfunction

Novel 4-aryl-3-(hydroxyalkyl)quinoline-2-one derivatives were prepared and evaluated as openers of the cloned maxi-K channel hSlo expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes by utilizing electrophysiological methods. The effect of these maxi-K openers on corporal smooth muscle was studied in vitro using isolated rabbit corpus cavernosum. From this study, a potent maxi-K opener was identified as an effective relaxant of rabbit corporal smooth muscle and shown to be active in an in vivo animal model of male erectile function.