Acute inhibition of 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type-1 improves memory in rodent models of cognition.

Mounting evidence suggests excessive glucocorticoid activity may contribute to Alzheimer's disease (AD) and age-associated memory impairment. 11ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type-1 (HSD1) regulates conversion of glucocorticoids from inactive to active forms. HSD1 knock-out mice have improved cognition, and the nonselective inhibitor carbenoxolone improved verbal memory in elderly men. Together, these data suggest that HSD1 inhibition may be a potential therapy for cognitive deficits, such as those associated with AD. To investigate this, we characterized two novel and selective HSD1 inhibitors, A-918446 and A-801195. Learning, memory consolidation, and recall were evaluated in mouse 24 h inhibitory avoidance. Inhibition of brain cortisol production and phosphorylation of cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB), a transcription factor involved in cognition, were also examined. Rats were tested in a short-term memory model, social recognition, and in a separate group cortical and hippocampal acetylcholine release was measured via in vivo microdialysis. Acute treatment with A-801195 (10-30 mg/kg) or A-918446 (3-30 mg/kg) inhibited cortisol production in the ex vivo assay by ∼ 35-90%. Acute treatment with A-918446 improved memory consolidation and recall in inhibitory avoidance and increased CREB phosphorylation in the cingulate cortex. Acute treatment with A-801195 significantly improved short-term memory in rat social recognition that was not likely due to alterations of the cholinergic system, as acetylcholine release was not increased in a separate set of rats. These studies suggest that selective HSD1 inhibitors work through a novel, noncholinergic mechanism to facilitate cognitive processing.

Role of cytochrome P450c17α in dibromoacetic acid-induced testicular toxicity in rats.

Dibromoacetic acid (DBAA), a by-product formed during disinfection of drinking water, alters spermatogenesis in rats through defective spermiation. The mechanism underlying this toxicity is not fully understood. In this study, gene expression data generated with microarrays from testes were used to generate a mechanistic understanding of DBAA-induced testicular toxicity. Testes were collected from male Sprague-Dawley rats dosed orally for 1 and 4 days with DBAA at 250 mg/kg/day. At both time points, DBAA administration induced delayed spermiation in Stage X tubules and regulated the expression of a small number of genes, including a mild but consistent downregulation of cytochrome P450c17α (CYP17) mRNA, an enzyme expressed by Leydig cells and essential for the production of testicular androgens. Downregulation of CYP17 was confirmed at the protein level and its biological significance was substantiated by demonstrating reduced testicular testosterone levels in DBAA-dosed rats. Furthermore, testosterone production by human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG)-stimulated rat primary Leydig cells was reduced following treatment with 100 µM DBAA. Collectively, these results indicate that DBAA can directly target rat Leydig cells and downregulate testicular CYP17 expression with a resulting decreased testicular testosterone production. This disruption of testicular steroidogenesis is likely to contribute to the mechanism of failed spermiation observed in rats following exposure to DBAA.

Rigidified 2-aminopyrimidines as histamine H4 receptor antagonists: effects of substitution about the rigidifying ring.

Three novel series of histamine H(4) receptor (H(4)R) antagonists containing the 2-aminopyrimidine motif are reported. The best of these compounds display good in vitro potency in both functional and binding assays. In addition, representative compounds are able to completely block itch responses when dosed ip in a mouse model of H(4)-agonist induced scratching, thus demonstrating their activities as H(4)R antagonists.

An 80-amino acid deletion in the third intracellular loop of a naturally occurring human histamine H3 isoform confers pharmacological differences and constitutive activity.

In this article, we pharmacologically characterized two naturally occurring human histamine H3 receptor (hH3R) isoforms, hH3R(445) and hH3R(365). These abundantly expressed splice variants differ by a deletion of 80 amino acids in the intracellular loop 3. In this report, we show that the hH3R(365) is differentially expressed compared with the hH3R(445) and has a higher affinity and potency for H3R agonists and conversely a lower potency and affinity for H3R inverse agonists. Furthermore, we show a higher constitutive signaling of the hH3R(365) compared with the hH3R(445) in both guanosine-5'-O-(3-[35S]thio) triphosphate binding and cAMP assays, likely explaining the observed differences in hH3R pharmacology of the two isoforms. Because H3R ligands are beneficial in animal models of obesity, epilepsy, and cognitive diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and currently entered clinical trails, these differences in H3R pharmacology of these two isoforms are of great importance for a detailed understanding of the action of H3R ligands.

Diaryldiamines with dual inhibition of the histamine H(3) receptor and the norepinephrine transporter and the efficacy of 4-(3-(methylamino)-1-phenylpropyl)-6-(2-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)ethoxy)naphthalen-1-ol in pain.

A series of compounds was designed as dual inhibitors of the H(3) receptor and the norepinephrine transporter. Compound 5 (rNET K(i) = 14 nM; rH(3)R K(i) = 37 nM) was found to be efficacious in a rat model of osteoarthritic pain.

Localization of histamine H4 receptors in the central nervous system of human and rat.

Existing data on the expression of H(4) histamine receptor in the CNS are conflicting and inconclusive. In this report, we present the results of experiments that were conducted in order to elucidate H(4) receptor expression and localization in the brain, spinal cord, and dorsal root ganglia (DRG). Here we show that transcripts of H(4) receptor are present in all analyzed regions of the human CNS, including spinal cord, hippocampus, cortex, thalamus and amygdala, with the highest levels of H(4) mRNA detected in the spinal cord. In rat, H(4) mRNA was detected in cortex, cerebellum, brainstem, amygdala, thalamus and striatum. Very low levels of H(4) mRNA were detected in hypothalamus, and no H(4) signal was detected in the rat hippocampus. Fairly low levels of H(4) mRNA were detected in examined peripheral tissues including spleen and liver. Interestingly, strong expression of H(4) mRNA was detected in the rat DRG and spinal cord. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed expression of H(4) receptors on neurons in the rat lumbar DRG and in the lumbar spinal cord. Our observations provide evidence of the H(4) presence in both human and rodent CNS and offer some insight into possible role of H(4) in itch and pain.

Cloning and characterization of the monkey histamine H3 receptor isoforms.

We have recently identified three splice isoforms of the histamine H(3) receptor in multiple brain regions of cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis). Two of the novel isoforms displayed a deletion in the third intracellular loop (H(3)(413) and H(3)(410)), the third isoform H(3)(335) displayed a deletion in the i3 intracellular loop and a complete deletion of the putative fifth transmembrane domain TM5. We have confirmed by RT-PCR the expression of full-length H(3)(445) mRNA as well as H(3)(413), H(3)(410), and H(3)(335) splice isoform mRNA in multiple monkey brain regions including the frontal, parietal and occipital cortex, parahippocampal gyrus, hippocampus, amygdala, caudate nucleus, putamen, thalamus, hypothalamus, and cerebellum. The full-length isoform H(3)(445) was predominant in all of the regions tested, followed by H(3)(335), with the H(3)(413) and H(3)(410) being of low abundance. When expressed in C6 cells, H(3)(445), H(3)(413), and H(3)(410) exhibit high affinity binding to the agonist ligand [(3)H]-(N)-alpha-methylhistamine with respective pK(D) values of 9.7, 9.7, and 9.6. As expected, the H(3)(335) isoform did not display any saturable binding with [(3)H]-(N)-alpha-methylhistamine. The histamine H(3) receptor agonists histamine, (R)-alpha-methylhistamine, imetit and proxyfan were able to activate calcium mobilization responses through H(3)(445), H(3)(413) and H(3)(410) receptors when they were co-expressed with the chimeric G alpha(qi5)-protein in HEK293 cells, while no response was elicited in cells expressing the H(3)(335) isoform. The existence of multiple H(3) receptor splice isoforms across species raises the possibility that isoform specific properties including ligand affinity, signal transduction coupling, and brain localization may differentially contribute to observed in vivo effects of histamine H(3) receptor antagonists.

cis-4-(Piperazin-1-yl)-5,6,7a,8,9,10,11,11a-octahydrobenzofuro[2,3-h]quinazolin-2-amine (A-987306), a new histamine H4R antagonist that blocks pain responses against carrageenan-induced hyperalgesia.

cis-4-(Piperazin-1-yl)-5,6,7a,8,9,10,11,11a-octahydrobenzofuro[2,3-h]quinazolin-2-amine, 4 (A-987306) is a new histamine H(4) antagonist. The compound is potent in H(4) receptor binding assays (rat H(4), K(i) = 3.4 nM, human H(4) K(i) = 5.8 nM) and demonstrated potent functional antagonism in vitro at human, rat, and mouse H(4) receptors in cell-based FLIPR assays. Compound 4 also demonstrated H(4) antagonism in vivo in mice, blocking H(4)-agonist induced scratch responses, and showed anti-inflammatory activity in mice in a peritonitis model. Most interesting was the high potency and efficacy of this compound in blocking pain responses, where it showed an ED(50) of 42 mumol/kg (ip) in a rat post-carrageenan thermal hyperalgesia model of inflammatory pain.