Synthesis, characterization, and monkey PET studies of [¹8F]MK-1312, a PET tracer for quantification of mGluR1 receptor occupancy by MK-5435.

Two moderately lipophilic, high affinity ligands for metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 1 (mGluR1) were radiolabeled with a positron-emitting radioisotope and evaluated in rhesus monkey as potential PET tracers. Both ligands were radiolabeled with fluorine-18 via nucleophilic displacement of the corresponding 2-chloropyridine precursor with [¹8F]potassium fluoride. [¹8F]MK-1312 was found to have a suitable signal for quantification of mGluR1 receptors in nonhuman primates and was more thoroughly characterized. In vitro autoradiographic studies with [¹8F]MK-1312 in rhesus monkey and human brain tissue slices revealed an uptake distribution consistent with the known distribution of mGluR1, with the highest uptake in the cerebellum, moderate uptake in the hippocampus, thalamus, and cortical regions, and lowest uptake in the caudate and putamen. In vitro saturation binding studies in rhesus monkey and human cerebellum homogenates confirmed that [¹8F]MK-1312 binds to a single site with a B(max) /K(d) ratio of 132 and 98, respectively. PET studies in rhesus monkey with [¹8F]MK-1312 showed high brain uptake and a regional distribution consistent with in vitro autoradiography results. Blockade of [¹8F]MK-1312 uptake with mGluR1 allosteric antagonist MK-5435 dose-dependently reduced tracer uptake in all regions of gray matter to a similarly low level of tracer uptake. This revealed a large specific signal useful for determination of mGluR1 receptor occupancy in rhesus monkey. Taken together, these results are promising for clinical PET studies with [¹8F]MK-1312 to determine mGluR1 occupancy of MK-5435.

Isoxazolopyridone derivatives as allosteric metabotropic glutamate receptor 7 antagonists.

This Letter describes the synthesis and evaluation of mGluR7 antagonists in the isoxazolopyridone series. In the course of modification in this class, novel solid support synthesis of the isoxazolopyridone scaffold was developed. Subsequent chemical modification led to the identification of several potent derivatives with improved physicochemical properties compared to a hit compound 1. Among these, 2 showed good oral bioavailability and brain penetrability, suggesting that 2 may be useful for in vivo study to elucidate the role of mGluR7.

Development of a High-Throughput Screening-Compatible Assay for Discovery of GPR3 Inverse Agonists Using a cAMP Biosensor.

While G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) represent the largest class of cell surface proteins, there are ≥100 orphan GPCRs whose endogenous ligands are unknown. Accordingly, these could prove to be potential therapeutic targets for the pharmaceutical intervention of various diseases. Constitutively active orphan GPCRs are activated without ligands; thus, inverse agonists may be very useful pharmacological tools for inhibiting constitutive activity. However, in general, inverse agonist screening is considered more difficult to perform with high quality than antagonist screening, particularly due to the narrow assay window. We developed a high-throughput screening (HTS)-compatible assay to identify inverse agonists of GPR3. GPR3 is expressed in the central nervous system (CNS) and is known to be related to Alzheimer's disease and other CNS diseases. The GPR3 inducible cell line was established using T-REx 293 cells that stably expressed the tetracycline repressor protein, and the cAMP biosensor, GloSensor, was stably co-expressed. After optimization of the induction level of GPR3 and assay conditions, the GloSensor assay showed an approximately 20-fold signal-to-background ratio and high sensitivity. Using the HTS method, we successfully screened a library of hundreds of thousands of compounds for the inhibition of constitutive activity with good quality and excellent reproducibility. Finally, 35 compounds were identified as GPR3 selective inverse agonists. This inverse agonist screening approach using GloSensor in combination with the inducible expression of orphan GPCR indicates universal applicability to the search for inverse agonists of constitutively active orphan GPCRs.

Unique antipsychotic activities of the selective metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 allosteric antagonist 2-cyclopropyl-5-[1-(2-fluoro-3-pyridinyl)-5-methyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl]-2,3-dihydro-1H-isoindol-1-one.

A newly discovered metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) 1 allosteric antagonist, 2-cyclopropyl-5-[1-(2-fluoro-3-pyridinyl)-5-methyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl]-2,3-dihydro-1H-isoindol-1-one (CFMTI), was tested both in vitro and in vivo for its pharmacological effects. CFMTI demonstrated potent and selective antagonistic activity on mGluR1 in vitro and in vivo after oral administration. CFMTI inhibited L-glutamate-induced intracellular Ca(2+) mobilization in Chinese hamster ovary cells expressing human and rat mGluR1a, with IC(50) values of 2.6 and 2.3 nM, respectively. The selectivity of CFMTI to mGluR1 over mGluR5 was >2000-fold, and CFMTI at 10 microM showed no agonistic or antagonistic activities toward other mGluR subtypes and other receptors. It antagonized face-washing behavior in mice induced by (S)-3,5-dihidroxyphenylglycine at a dose range of 3 to 30 mg/kg, for which receptor occupancy was 73 to 94%. As with the classical neuroleptic haloperidol and an atypical antipsychotic, clozapine, orally administered CFMTI reduced methamphetamine-induced hyperlocomotion and disruption of prepulse inhibition (PPI) at the same dose range as required to antagonize the face-washing behavior. CFMTI and clozapine improved ketamine-induced hyperlocomotion, PPI disruption and (5S,10R)-(+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-5,10-imine maleate (MK-801)-induced social withdrawal without any cataleptogenic activities, whereas haloperidol only improved ketamine-induced hyperlocomotion. CFMTI, unlike clozapine, caused neither hypolocomotion nor motor incoordination at therapeutic doses. In c-fos expression studies, CFMTI and clozapine increased the number of fos-positive neurons in the nucleus accumbens and medial prefrontal cortex but not in the dorsolateral striatum. These results suggest that the antipsychotic activities of mGluR1 antagonists are more similar to those of atypical antipsychotics than those of typical antipsychotics.

Discovery and biological profile of isoindolinone derivatives as novel metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 antagonists: a potential treatment for psychotic disorders.

We describe here the discovery and biological profile of a series of isoindolinone derivatives as developed mGluR1 antagonists. Our combined strategy of rapid parallel synthesis and conventional medicinal optimization successfully led to N-cyclopropyl 22 and N-isopropyl isoindolinone analogs 21 and 23 with improved in vivo DMPK profiles. Moreover the most advanced analog 23 showed an oral antipsychotic-like effect at a dose of 1mg/kg in an animal model.

Discovery and in vitro and in vivo profiles of 4-fluoro-N-[4-[6-(isopropylamino)pyrimidin-4-yl]-1,3-thiazol-2-yl]-N-methylbenzamide as novel class of an orally active metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (mGluR1) antagonist.

We identified 4-fluoro-N-[4-[6-(isopropylamino)pyrimidin-4-yl]-1,3-thiazol-2-yl]-N-methylbenzamide 27 as a potent mGluR1 antagonist. The compound possessed excellent subtype selectivity and good PK profile in rats. It also demonstrated relatively potent antipsychotic-like effects in several animal models. Suitable for development as a PET tracer, compound 27 would have great potential for elucidation of mGluR1 functions in human.

Pharmacological effects of the metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 antagonist compared with those of the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 antagonist and metabotropic glutamate receptor 2/3 agonist in rodents: detailed investigations with a selective allosteric metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 antagonist, FTIDC [4-[1-(2-fluoropyridine-3-yl)-5-methyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl]-N-isopropyl-N-methyl-3,6-dihydropyridine-1(2H)-carboxamide].

The functional roles of metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) 1 in integrative brain functions were investigated using a potent and selective mGluR1 allosteric antagonist, FTIDC [4-[1-(2-fluoropyridine-3-yl)-5-methyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl]-N-isopropyl-N-methyl-3,6-dihydropyridine-1(2H)-carboxamide], in comparison with the mGluR5 allosteric antagonist and the mGluR2/3 orthosteric agonist in rodents. FTIDC reduced maternal separation-induced ultrasonic vocalization and stress-induced hyperthermia without affecting behaviors in the elevated plus maze. An mGluR5 antagonist, 2-methyl-6-(phenylethynyl)-pyridine (MPEP), and an mGluR2/3 agonist, LY379268 [(1R,4R,5S,6R)-4-amino-2-oxabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane-4,6-dicarboxylic acid], showed anxiolytic activities in these models, suggesting involvement of postsynaptic mGluR1 in stress-related responses comparable with mGluR5 and mGluR2/3. Analgesic effects of FTIDC were seen in the formalin test but not in the tail immersion test. FTIDC selectively blocked methamphetamine-induced hyperlocomotion and disruption of prepulse inhibition, whereas MPEP and LY379268 did not alter those behaviors, suggesting that pharmacological blockade of mGluR1 could result in antipsychotic-like effects. FTIDC did not elicit catalepsy or impair motor functions at 10 times higher dose than doses showing antipsychotic-like action. In conclusion, blockade of mGluR1 showed antipsychotic-like effects without impairing motor functions, whereas blockade of mGluR5 and activation of mGluR2/3 did not display such activities.

Discovery and biological profile of 4-(1-aryltriazol-4-yl)-tetrahydropyridines as an orally active new class of metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 antagonist.

We describe here the discovery and the structure-activity relationship (SAR) of a series of 4-(1-Aryltriazol-4-yl)-tetrahydropyridines as novel mGluR1 antagonists. Our extensive chemical modification of lead compound 2 successfully led to fluoropyridine analogs 7j and 1 with improved in vivo antagonistic activities. Among the evaluated compounds, chemically stable urea analog 1 showed oral antagonistic activity at dose ranges of 10-30mg/kg in an animal model.

Genomic organization of the gene that encodes the precursor to EGF-related peptides, exogastrula-inducing peptides, of the sea urchin Anthocidaris crassispina.

Exogastrula-inducing peptides (EGIPs) were identified in embryos of the sea urchin Anthocidaris crassispina as polypeptides with structural similarity to epidermal growth factor (EGF) that severely affect gastrulation of sea urchin embryos to induce exogastrulation. Here we have obtained genomic clones for the EGIP precursor gene (EGIP) and determined its genomic organization. The EGIP gene spans the length of 9 kb in the genome and is composed of seven exons and six introns. Each of the four EGF motifs in the precursor protein is encoded by a single exon, and all the exon boundaries are in phase 1, suggesting that EGIP have been generated during evolution by duplication of an exon encoding a single ancient EGIP sequence. The 5'-flanking sequence of EGIP from -4372 to +194 revealed the presence of multiple repeat sequences including direct and inverted repeats as well as two clusters of GGGG/CCCC elements. The function of the upstream flanking region of EGIP was examined by introducing the gene constructs into embryos in which different regions from the flanking DNA were placed upstream to the GFP reporter gene. Systematic deletion of the upstream DNA revealed the presence of potent enhancer activity between -372 and -210.

Characterization of the upstream region that regulates the transcription of the gene for the precursor to EGF-related peptides, exogastrula-inducing peptides, of the sea urchin Anthocidaris crassispina.

The EGIP gene for exogastrula-inducing peptides (EGIPs) of the sea urchin Anthocidaris crassispina, which are structurally related to the epidermal growth factor, is activated at the onset of gastrulation in subdomains of the embryonic ectoderm. We showed in our previous study that the spatial and temporal regulation of EGIP is conducted by the upstream region from -372 to +194, and that there is an enhancer element between -372 and -210. In this study, we introduced into sea urchin embryos PCR-amplified DNA containing differently truncated EGIP flanking region that was ligated to the GFP reporter gene, and examined the transient expression of the reporter gene, showing that both the -270/-238 and -249/-210 regions were essential for the enhancer activity. We further showed that there is another activating element between -65 and -21, and that even the region between -65 and +194 is sufficient for ectoderm-specific expression of the EGIP gene. The electrophoretic mobility shift assay showed that the -270/-210 enhancer region and the proximal -61/+30 region include specific binding sites for nuclear proteins of sea urchin embryos. Besides these unique sites, the presence of multiple binding sites for GCF1-like nuclear proteins have been revealed in the upstream DNA.

Development of a beta-lactamase reporter gene assay for metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 by using coexpression of glutamate transporter.

mGluR1 antagonists have been postulated to be novel CNS drugs, including antipsychotics. Toward this end, the authors developed a beta-lactamase reporter assay to identify mGluR1 antagonists. beta-Lactamase has several interesting features for high-throughput screening, including very high sensitivity and less well-to-well variation than other reporter enzymes. mGluR1-expressing Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells with the beta-lactamase gene under control of the nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) promoter (CHO-NFAT-bla-hmGluR1b) exhibited very high basal activity, resulting in an inadequate signal-to-basal (S/B) ratio. Coexpression of glutamate/aspartate transporter (GLAST) with mGluR1 in the cell line (CHO-NFAT-bla-hmGluR1b-GLAST) dramatically decreased basal activity and improved the S/B ratio (from 2- to 20-fold). The contribution of GLAST to lowering basal activity and increasing the S/B ratio was validated by the expression level of GLAST mRNA and by a GLAST inhibitor. Antagonistic activities of known mGluR1 antagonists in the beta-lactamase reporter assay were comparable with those in the conventional Ca(2+) mobilization assay. The Z' factor of the beta-lactamase reporter assay was 0.89 under optimized conditions. Taken together, the beta-lactamase reporter assay with CHO-NFAT-bla-hmGluR1b-GLAST could be a novel high-throughput assay for mGluR1 antagonist screening. This is the first description of a successful beta-lactamase reporter assay among all mGluR subtypes.

Effects of a novel metabotropic glutamate receptor 7 negative allosteric modulator, 6-(4-methoxyphenyl)-5-methyl-3-pyridin-4-ylisoxazonolo[4,5-c]pyridin-4(5H)-one (MMPIP), on the central nervous system in rodents.

We recently identified 6-(4-methoxyphenyl)-5-methyl-3-pyridin-4-ylisoxazolo[4,5-c]pyridin-4(5H)-one (MMPIP), the first allosteric metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) 7 receptor-selective negative allosteric modulator. In this study, we examined the in vivo pharmacological effects of MMPIP on the central nervous system. MMPIP was distributed into the brain after systemic administration in both mice and rats. Pharmacokinetic study revealed that the half-life of MMPIP in circulation was about 1h in rats. Results of various behavioral studies revealed that MMPIP impaired non-spatial and spatial cognitive performances in the object recognition test and the object location test in mice, respectively. In rats, MMPIP increased time to complete the task in the 8-arm radial maze test without increasing error. In addition to impairing cognition, MMPIP decreased social interaction with reduction of line crossing in rats, while MMPIP had no effects on locomotor activity in rats and mice, rota-rod performance in mice, prepulse inhibition in rats, maternal separation-induced ultrasonic vocalization in rat pups, stress-induced hyperthermia in mice, or the tail suspension test in mice. No analgesic effects of MMPIP were detected in either the tail immersion test or formalin test in mice. MMPIP did not alter the threshold for induction of seizures by electrical shock or pentylenetetrazole in mice. These findings suggest that blockade of mGlu(7) receptors by MMPIP may modulate both non-spatial and spatial cognitive functions without non-selective inhibitory effects on the central nervous system.

Identification of a novel transmembrane domain involved in the negative modulation of mGluR1 using a newly discovered allosteric mGluR1 antagonist, 3-cyclohexyl-5-fluoro-6-methyl-7-(2-morpholin-4-ylethoxy)-4H-chromen-4-one.

Currently tested allosteric modulators for metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (mGluR1) are known to regulate the activity of mGluR1 mainly through transmembrane (TM) domain 6 and/or 7. We identified a novel interaction site, N760 in TM5, which negatively regulates activation of mGluR1 with a newly discovered selective mGluR1 antagonist, 3-cyclohexyl-5-fluoro-6-methyl-7-(2-morpholin-4-ylethoxy)-4H-chromen-4-one (CFMMC). CFMMC inhibited L-glutamate-induced intracellular Ca(2+) mobilization ([Ca(2+)]i) in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells expressing recombinant human mGluR1a with IC(50) value of 50 nM, whereas it did not inhibit [Ca(2+)]i in CHO cells expressing human mGluR5a (IC(50); >10 microM). To identify the amino acid residues critical for antagonism of CFMMC, we constructed various point mutants of human mGluR1 and evaluated them in [Ca(2+)]i assays. The inhibitory effects of CFMMC were significantly affected in point mutations of either I725 in TM4 or N760 in TM5, as well as mutations of W798, F801 and Y805 in TM6 or T815 in TM7. Further studies revealed that antagonistic activities of not only CFMMC but also other, structurally unrelated, mGluR1 antagonists such as 6-amino-N-cyclohexyl-N,3-dimethylthiazolo[3,2-a]benzimidazole-2-carboxamide (YM-298198) and Compound 1 were reduced in N760 mutated mGluR1a. These results indicate that some mGluR1 allosteric antagonists require N760 in TM5 to demonstrate negative modulation of mGluR1 in addition to the reported amino acid residues in TM6 and TM7.

Correlation of receptor occupancy of metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 1 (mGluR1) in mouse brain with in vivo activity of allosteric mGluR1 antagonists.

The aim of this study was to clarify the relationship between receptor occupancy and in vivo pharmacological activity of mGluR1 antagonists. The tritiated mGluR1-selective allosteric antagonist [(3)H]FTIDC (4-[1-(2-fluoropyridin-3-yl)-5-methyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl]-N-isopropyl-N-methyl-3,6-dihydropyridine-1(2H)-carboxamide) was identified as a radioligand having high affinity for mGluR1-expressing CHO cells (K(D) = 2.1 nM) and mouse cerebellum (K(D) = 3.7 nM). [(3)H]FTIDC bound to mGluR1 was displaced by structurally unrelated allosteric antagonists, suggesting there is a mutual binding pocket shared with different allosteric antagonists. The binding specificity of [(3)H]FTIDC for mGluR1 in brain sections was demonstrated by the lack of significant binding to brain sections prepared from mGluR1-knockout mice. Ex vivo receptor occupancy with [(3)H]FTIDC revealed that the receptor occupancy level by FTIDC correlated well with FTIDC dosage and plasma concentration. Intracerebroventricular administration of (S)-3,5-dihydroxyphenylglycine is known to elicit face washing behavior that is mainly mediated by mGluR1. Inhibition of this behavioral change by FTIDC correlated with the receptor occupancy level of mGluR1 in the brain. A linear relationship between the receptor occupancy and in vivo activity was also demonstrated using structurally diverse mGluR1 antagonists. The receptor occupancy assays could help provide guidelines for selecting appropriate doses of allosteric mGluR1 antagonist for examining the function of mGluR1 in vivo.

In vitro pharmacological characterization of novel isoxazolopyridone derivatives as allosteric metabotropic glutamate receptor 7 antagonists.

Novel isoxazolopyridone derivatives that are metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) 7 antagonists were discovered and pharmacologically characterized. 5-Methyl-3,6-diphenylisoxazolo[4,5-c]pyridin-4(5H)-one (MDIP) was identified by random screening, and 6-(4-methoxyphenyl)-5-methyl-3-pyridin-4-ylisoxazolo[4,5-c]pyridin-4(5H)-one (MMPIP) was produced by chemical modification of MDIP. MDIP and MMPIP inhibited L-(+)-2-amino-4-phosphonobutyric acid (L-AP4)-induced intracellular Ca2+ mobilization in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells coexpressing rat mGluR7 with Galpha(15) (IC50 = 20 and 26 nM). The maximal response in agonist concentration-response curves was reduced in the presence of MMPIP, and its antagonism is reversible. MMPIP did not displace [3H](2S)-2-amino-2-[(1S,2S)-2-carboxycycloprop-1-yl]-3-(xanth-9-yl) propanoic acid (LY341495) bound to mGluR7. These results suggested that these isoxazolopyridone derivatives are allosteric antagonists. In CHO cells expressing rat mGluR7, MDIP and MMPIP inhibited l-AP4-induced inhibition of forskolin-stimulated cAMP accumulation (IC50 = 99 and 220 nM). In CHO cells coexpressing human mGluR7 with Galpha(15), MDIP and MMPIP also inhibited the l-AP4-induced cAMP response. The maximal degree of inhibition by MMPIP was higher than that by MDIP in a cAMP assay. MMPIP was able to antagonize an allosteric agonist, the N,N'-dibenzhydryl-ethane-1,2-diamine dihydrochloride (AMN082)-induced inhibition of cAMP accumulation. In the absence of these agonists, MMPIP caused a further increase in forskolin-stimulated cAMP levels in CHO cells expressing mGluR7, whereas a competitive antagonist, LY341495, did not. This result indicates that MMPIP has an inverse agonistic activity. The intrinsic activity of MMPIP was pertussis toxin-sensitive and mGluR7-dependent. MMPIP at concentrations of at least 1 microM had no significant effect on mGluR1, mGluR2, mGluR3, mGluR4, mGluR5, and mGluR8. MMPIP is the first allosteric mGluR7-selective antagonist that could potentially be useful as a pharmacological tool for elucidating the roles of mGluR7 on central nervous system functions.

Pharmacological characterization of a new, orally active and potent allosteric metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 antagonist, 4-[1-(2-fluoropyridin-3-yl)-5-methyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl]-N-isopropyl-N-methyl-3,6-dihydropyridine-1(2H)-carboxamide (FTIDC).

A highly potent and selective metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) 1 antagonist, 4-[1-(2-fluoropyridin-3-yl)-5-methyl-1H-1,2, 3-triazol-4-yl]-N-isopropyl-N-methyl-3,6-dihydropyridine-1(2H)-carboxamide (FTIDC), is described. FTIDC inhibits, with equal potency, l-glutamate-induced intracellular Ca(2+) mobilization in Chinese hamster ovary cells expressing human, rat, or mouse mGluR1a. The IC(50) value of FTIDC is 5.8 nM for human mGluR1a and 6200 nM for human mGluR5. The maximal response in agonist concentration-response curves was reduced in the presence of higher concentrations of FTIDC, suggesting the inhibition in a noncompetitive manner. FTIDC at 10 microM showed no agonistic, antagonistic, or positive allosteric modulatory activity toward mGluR2, mGluR4, mGluR6, mGluR7, or mGluR8. FTIDC did not displace [(3)H]l-quisqualate binding to human mGluR1a, indicating FTIDC is an allosteric antagonist. Studies using chimeric and mutant receptors of mGluR1 showed that transmembrane (TM) domains 4 to 7, especially Phe801 in TM6 and Thr815 in TM7, play pivotal roles in the antagonism of FTIDC. FTIDC inhibited the constitutive activity of mGluR1a, suggesting that FTIDC acts as an inverse agonist of mGluR1a. Intraperitoneally administered FTIDC inhibited face-washing behavior elicited by a group I mGluR agonist, (S)-3,5-dihydroxyphenylglycine in mice at doses that did not produce motor impairment. Oral administration of FTIDC also inhibited the face-washing behavior. FTIDC is a highly potent and selective allosteric mGluR1 antagonist and a compound having oral activity without species differences in its antagonistic activity on recombinant human, mouse, and rat mGluR1. FTIDC could therefore be a valuable tool for elucidating the functions of mGluR1 not only in rodents but also in humans.