A novel glucosylceramide synthase inhibitor attenuates alpha synuclein pathology and lysosomal dysfunction in preclinical models of synucleinopathy.

Mutations in the lysosomal enzyme glucocerebrosidase (GCase, GBA1 gene) are the most common genetic risk factor for developing Parkinson's disease (PD). GCase metabolizes the glycosphingolipids glucosylceramide (GlcCer) and glucosylsphingosine (GlcSph). Mutations in GBA1 reduce enzyme activity and the resulting accumulation of glycosphingolipids may contribute to the underlying pathology of PD, possibly via altering lysosomal function. While reduction of GCase activity exacerbates α-synuclein (α-syn) aggregation, it has not been determined that this effect is the result of altered glycosphingolipid levels and lysosome function or some other effect of altering GCase. The glycosphingolipid GlcCer is synthesized by a single enzyme, glucosylceramide synthase (GCS), and small molecule inhibitors (GCSi) reduce cellular glycosphingolipid levels. In the present studies, we utilize a preformed fibril (PFF) rodent primary neuron in vitro model of α-syn pathology to investigate the relationship between glycosphingolipid levels, α-syn pathology, and lysosomal function. In primary cultures, pharmacological inhibition of GCase and D409V GBA1 mutation enhanced accumulation of glycosphingolipids and insoluble phosphorylated α-syn. Administration of a novel small molecule GCSi, benzoxazole 1 (BZ1), significantly decreased glycosphingolipid concentrations in rodent primary neurons and reduced α-syn pathology. BZ1 rescued lysosomal deficits associated with the D409V GBA1 mutation and α-syn PFF administration, and attenuated α-syn induced neurodegeneration of dopamine neurons. In vivo studies revealed BZ1 had pharmacological activity and reduced glycosphingolipids in the mouse brain to a similar extent observed in neuronal cultures. These data support the hypothesis that reduction of glycosphingolipids through GCS inhibition may impact progression of synucleinopathy and BZ1 is useful tool to further examine this important biology.

Selective activation of the M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor achieved by allosteric potentiation.

The forebrain cholinergic system promotes higher brain function in part by signaling through the M(1) muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR). During Alzheimer's disease (AD), these cholinergic neurons degenerate, therefore selectively activating M(1) receptors could improve cognitive function in these patients while avoiding unwanted peripheral responses associated with non-selective muscarinic agonists. We describe here benzyl quinolone carboxylic acid (BQCA), a highly selective allosteric potentiator of the M(1) mAChR. BQCA reduces the concentration of ACh required to activate M(1) up to 129-fold with an inflection point value of 845 nM. No potentiation, agonism, or antagonism activity on other mAChRs is observed up to 100 microM. Furthermore studies in M(1)(-/-) mice demonstrates that BQCA requires M(1) to promote inositol phosphate turnover in primary neurons and to increase c-fos and arc RNA expression and ERK phosphorylation in the brain. Radioligand-binding assays, molecular modeling, and site-directed mutagenesis experiments indicate that BQCA acts at an allosteric site involving residues Y179 and W400. BQCA reverses scopolamine-induced memory deficits in contextual fear conditioning, increases blood flow to the cerebral cortex, and increases wakefulness while reducing delta sleep. In contrast to M(1) allosteric agonists, which do not improve memory in scopolamine-challenged mice in contextual fear conditioning, BQCA induces beta-arrestin recruitment to M(1), suggesting a role for this signal transduction mechanism in the cholinergic modulation of memory. In summary, BQCA exploits an allosteric potentiation mechanism to provide selectivity for the M(1) receptor and represents a promising therapeutic strategy for cognitive disorders.

The mGluR7 allosteric agonist AMN082 produces antidepressant-like effects by modulating glutamatergic signaling.

Currently prescribed antidepressants affect the reuptake and/or metabolism of biogenic amines. Unfortunately for patients, these treatments require several weeks to produce significant symptom remission. However, recently it has been found that ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic agent that noncompetitively antagonizes NMDA (N-Methyl-d-aspartic acid) receptors, has rapid antidepressant effects at sub-anesthetic doses in clinically depressed patients. These findings indicate that modulation of the glutamatergic system could be an efficient way to achieve antidepressant activity. For this reason, other mechanisms influencing glutamatergic functioning have gained interest. For example, the metabotropic glutamate receptor 7 (mGluR7) allosteric agonist AMN082 (N,N'-dibenzyhydryl-ethane-1,2-diamine dihydrochloride) has been shown to be effective in the forced swim and tail-suspension test, behavioral assays sensitive to antidepressants. Here we extend the characterization of AMN082 by demonstrating its effects on differential reinforcement of low rates of responding (DRL)-30, another assay sensitive to antidepressants. Furthermore, we show the engagement of glutamatergic signaling by demonstrating the ability of the selective AMPA (2-amino-3-(5-methyl-3-oxo-1,2-oxazol-4-yl)propanoic acid) receptor antagonist NBQX (2,3-dihydroxy-6-nitro-7-sulfamoyl-benzo[f]quinoxaline-2,3-dione) to reverse the effects of AMN082 in the tail suspension test. In contrast, NBQX failed to reverse the effects of imipramine in the same behavioral test. Finally, we report that behaviorally efficacious doses of AMN082 modulate phosphorylation of AMPA and NMDA receptor subunits in the hippocampus. These results suggest that the antidepressant-like effects of AMN082 are, at least in part, due to modulation of AMPA and NMDA receptor activity. Therefore, our findings confirm the hypothesis that mGluR7 could represent a novel target for treating depression.