PHTPP is also termed as 4-[2–phenyl-5,7–bis (trifluoromethyl) pyrazolo [1,5-a]-pyrimidin-3-yl] phenol (PHTPP). It blocks hypoglycemic augmentation of norepinephrine (NE) in the hypothalamic arcuate (ARH).
PHTPP is a selective estrogen receptor β (ERβ) full antagonist with 36-fold selectivity for ERβ over ERα. PHTPP has been used to distinguish the various activites of the two estrogen receptors. Estrogen can have opposite effects in some tumors expressing ERα compared to Erβ, with Erα enhancing and Erβ suppressing tumor cell growth. PHTPP, a selective ERβ antagonist, significantly enhanced cell growth in ovarian cancer cell lines SKOV3 and OV2008 that express both receptors.