Characterization of the novel positive allosteric modulator of the metabotropic glutamate receptor 4 ADX88178 in rodent models of neuropsychiatric disorders.

There is growing evidence that activation of metabotropic glutamate receptor 4 (mGlu4) leads to anxiolytic- and antipsychotic-like efficacy in rodent models, yet its relevance to depression-like reactivity remains unclear. Here, we present the pharmacological evaluation of ADX88178 [5-methyl-N-(4-methylpyrimidin-2-yl)-4-(1H-pyrazol-4-yl)thiazol-2-amine], a novel potent, selective, and brain-penetrant positive allosteric modulator of the mGlu4 receptor in rodent models of anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), fear, depression, and psychosis. ADX88178 dose-dependently reduced the number of buried marbles in the marble burying test and increased open-arm exploration in the elevated plus maze (EPM) test, indicative of anxiolytic-like efficacy. Target specificity of the effect in the EPM test was confirmed using male and female mGlu4 receptor knockout mice. In mice, ADX88178 reduced the likelihood of conditioned freezing in the acquisition phase of the fear conditioning test, yet had no carryover effect in the expression phase. Also, ADX88178 dose-dependently reduced duration of immobility in the forced swim test, indicative of antidepressant-like efficacy. ADX88178 reduced DOI (2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine)-mediated head twitches (albeit with no dose-dependency), and MK-801 [(5S,10R)-(+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-5,10-imine]-induced locomotor hyperactivity in mice, but was inactive in the conditioned avoidance response test in rats. The compound showed good specificity as it had no effect on locomotor activity in mice and rats at efficacious doses. Thus, allosteric activation of mGlu4 receptors can be a promising new therapeutic approach for treatment of anxiety, OCD, fear-related disorders, and psychosis.

Effect of the Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor Type 5 Negative Allosteric Modulator Dipraglurant on Motor and Non-Motor Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) patients suffer not only from the primary motor symptoms of the disease but also from a range of non-motor symptoms (NMS) that cause disability and low quality of life. Excessive glutamate activity in the basal ganglia resulting from degeneration of the nigrostriatal dopamine pathway has been implicated in the motor symptoms, NMS and dyskinesias in PD patients. In this study, we investigated the effects of a selective mGlu5 negative allosteric modulator (NAM), dipraglurant, in a rodent motor symptoms model of PD, but also in models of anxiety, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder, all of which are among the most prevalent NMS symptoms. Dipraglurant is rapidly absorbed after oral administration, readily crosses the blood-brain barrier, and exhibits a high correlation between plasma concentration and efficacy in behavioral models. In vivo, dipraglurant dose-dependently reduced haloperidol-induced catalepsy, increased punished licks in the Vogel conflict-drinking model, decreased immobility time in the forced swim test, decreased the number of buried marbles in the marble-burying test, but had no effect on rotarod performance or locomotor activity. These findings suggest that dipraglurant may have benefits to address some of the highly problematic comorbid non-motor symptoms of PD, in addition to its antidyskinetic effect demonstrated in PD-LID patients.

A potent and selective metabotropic glutamate receptor 4 positive allosteric modulator improves movement in rodent models of Parkinson's disease.

Positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) of metabotropic glutamate receptor 4 (mGluR4) have been proposed as a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. However, evaluation of this proposal has been limited by the availability of appropriate pharmacological tools to interrogate the target. In this study, we describe the properties of a novel mGluR4 PAM. 5-Methyl-N-(4-methylpyrimidin-2-yl)-4-(1H-pyrazol-4-yl)thiazol-2-amine (ADX88178) enhances glutamate-mediated activation of human and rat mGluR4 with EC(50) values of 4 and 9 nM, respectively. The compound is highly selective for mGluR4 with minimal activities at other mGluRs. Oral administration of ADX88178 in rats is associated with high bioavailability and results in cerebrospinal fluid exposure of >50-fold the in vitro EC(50) value. ADX88178 reverses haloperidol-induced catalepsy in rats at 3 and 10 mg/kg. It is noteworthy that this compound alone has no impact on forelimb akinesia resulting from a bilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesion in rats. However, coadministration of a low dose of L-DOPA (6 mg/kg) enabled a robust, dose-dependent reversal of the forelimb akinesia deficit. ADX88178 also increased the effects of quinpirole in lesioned rats and enhanced the effects of L-DOPA in MitoPark mice. It is noteworthy that the enhancement of the actions of L-DOPA was not associated with an exacerbation of L-DOPA-induced dyskinesias in rats. ADX88178 is a novel, potent, and selective mGluR4 PAM that is a valuable tool for exploring the therapeutic potential of mGluR4 modulation. The use of this novel tool molecule supports the proposal that activation of mGluR4 may be therapeutically useful in Parkinson's disease.

Analgesic effect of ADX71441, a positive allosteric modulator (PAM) of GABAB receptor in a rat model of bladder pain.

Therapeutic use of GABAB receptor agonists for conditions like chronic abdominal pain, overactive bladder (OAB) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is severely affected by poor blood-brain barrier permeability and potential side effects. ADX71441 is a novel positive allosteric modulator (PAM) of the GABAB receptor that has shown encouraging results in pre-clinical models of anxiety, pain, OAB and alcohol addiction. The present study investigates the analgesic effect of ADX71441 to noxious stimulation of the urinary bladder and colon in rats. In female Sprague-Dawley rats, systemic (i.p), but not intrathecal (i.t), administration of ADX71441 produced a dose-dependent decrease in viscero-motor response (VMR) to graded urinary bladder distension (UBD) and colorectal distension (CRD). Additionally, intra-cerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration of ADX71441 significantly decreased the VMRs to noxious UBD. In electrophysiology experiments, the drug did not attenuate the responses of UBD-sensitive pelvic nerve afferent (PNA) fibers to UBD. In contrast, ADX71441 significantly decreased the responses of UBD-responsive lumbosacral (LS) spinal neurons in spinal intact rats. However, ADX71441 did not attenuate these LS neurons in cervical (C1-C2) spinal transected rats. During cystometrogram (CMG) recordings, ADX71441 (i.p.) significantly decreased the VMR to slow infusion without affecting the number of voiding contraction. These results indicate that ADX71441 modulate bladder nociception via its effect at the supra-spinal sites without affecting the normal bladder motility and micturition reflex in naïve adult rats.

mGluR5 negative allosteric modulators overview: a medicinal chemistry approach towards a series of novel therapeutic agents.

Allosteric modulators of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR) subtypes 1-8 have been shown to offer a valid way to develop small molecule non aminoacid-like therapeutics that can be administered orally and that readily cross the blood-brain barrier. Allosteric modulators of glutamatergic receptors and in particular mGluR5 have emerged as a novel and highly desirable class of compounds for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders and peripheral disorders. This article provides medicinal chemistry highlights around the chemical classes of potent and highly selective mGluR5 negative allosteric modulators (NAMs) and their therapeutic potential. In addition, it describes the medicinal chemistry approach from the discovery to the clinical candidate selection of a new series of heteroaryl-butynylpyridines targeting mGluR5. The multiparametric optimization of the initial starting point which ended in the selection of potential clinical candidates combining the best pharmacophoric features is presented. The pharmacological properties are reported and support the interest of these agents for new therapeutic approaches. Furthermore, a summary of the diverse mGluR5 Positron Emission Tomography (PET) radioligands is reported.

Discovery of 1,5-disubstituted pyridones: a new class of positive allosteric modulators of the metabotropic glutamate 2 receptor.

A series of 1,5-disubstituted pyridones was identified as positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) of the metabotropic glutamate receptor 2 (mGluR2) via high throughput screening (HTS). Subsequent SAR exploration led to the identification of several compounds with improved in vitro activity. Lead compound 8 was further profiled and found to attenuate the increase in PCP induced locomotor activity in mice.

Development of new camphor based N,S chiral ligands and their application in transfer hydrogenation.

A new class of N,S-containing chiral compounds based on the camphor scaffold have been synthesised and evaluated as chiral catalysts in the transfer hydrogenation of acetophenone. The best results were achieved using compound 6a as the ligand and [Ir(COD)Cl](2) as the metal precursor.