A combined α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist and monoamine reuptake inhibitor, NS9775, represents a novel profile with potential benefits in emotional and cognitive disturbances.

As affective and cognitive disturbances frequently co-occur in psychiatric disorders, research into opportunities to simultaneously target both entities is warranted. These disorders are typically treated with monoamine reuptake inhibitors (MRIs), whereas ongoing research suggests that symptoms also improve by nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) activation. Preclinical studies have corroborated this and also demonstrated a synergistic antidepressant-like action when nAChR agonists and MRIs are combined. Here, we present the in vitro and in vivo profile of NS9775, a combined full α7 nAChR agonist and triple MRI. NS9775 potently inhibited [(3)H]α-bungarotoxin binding in vitro (Ki: 1.8 nM), and ex vivo (ED50: 3.6 mg/kg), showing negligible activity at α4ß2-(Ki: 1720 nM) or α1-containing nAChRs (Ki: 12,200 nM). In α7-expressing oocytes, NS9775 displayed an EC50 value of 280 nM, with a maximal response of 77% relative to a saturating acetylcholine concentration. Furthermore, NS9775 inhibited cortical [(3)H]5-HT, [(3)H]NA and [(3)H]DA uptake equipotently (14-43 nM), and inhibited striatal [(3)H]WIN35,428 binding (ED50: 9.1 mg/kg). Behaviourally in mice, NS9775 (0.3-3.0 mg/kg) reversed scopolamine-induced deficits in a modified Y-maze and MK-801-induced learning deficits in 5-trial inhibitory avoidance. Swim distance in the forced swim test was increased by 30 mg/kg NS9775, and 10 and 30 mg/kg NS9775 reduced digging behaviour in the marble burying paradigm and increased the number of punished crossings in the four plate test. This pro-cognitive, antidepressant-like and anxiolytic-like effect of NS9775 suggests that combining α7 nAChR agonism and triple monoamine reuptake inhibition could be a step in the evolution of pharmacological treatments of affective and/or cognitive disturbances.

Subtype-selective nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonists enhance the responsiveness to citalopram and reboxetine in the mouse forced swim test.

Nicotine increases serotonergic and noradrenergic neuronal activity and facilitates serotonin and noradrenaline release. Accordingly, nicotine enhances antidepressant-like actions of reuptake inhibitors selective for serotonin or noradrenaline in the mouse forced swim test and the mouse tail suspension test. Both high-affinity α4ß2 and low-affinity α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subtypes are implicated in nicotine-mediated release of serotonin and noradrenaline. The present study therefore investigated whether selective agonism of α4ß2 or α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors would affect the mouse forced swim test activity of two antidepressants with distinct mechanisms of action, namely the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor citalopram and the noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor reboxetine. Subthreshold and threshold doses of citalopram (3 and 10 mg/kg) or reboxetine (10 and 20 mg/kg) were tested alone and in combination with the novel α4ß2-selective partial nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist, NS3956 (0.3 and 1.0 mg/kg) or the α7-selective nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist, PNU-282987 (10 and 30 mg/kg). Alone, NS3956 and PNU-282987 were devoid of activity in the mouse forced swim test, but both 1.0 mg/kg NS3956 and 30 mg/kg PNU-282987 enhanced the effect of citalopram and also reboxetine. The data suggest that the activity of citalopram and reboxetine in the mouse forced swim test can be enhanced by agonists at either α4ß2 or α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, suggesting that both nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subtypes may be involved in the nicotine-enhanced action of antidepressants.

Role of channel activation in cognitive enhancement mediated by alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Several agonists of the alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) have been developed for treatment of cognitive deficits. However, agonist efficacy in vivo is difficult to reconcile with rapid alpha7 nAChR desensitization in vitro; and furthermore, the correlation between in vitro receptor efficacy and in vivo behavioural efficacy is not well delineated. The possibility that agonists of this receptor actually function in vivo as inhibitors via desensitization has not been finally resolved. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: Two structurally related alpha7 nAChR agonists were characterized and used to assess the degree of efficacy required in a behavioural paradigm. KEY RESULTS: NS6784 activated human and rat alpha7 nAChR with EC(50)s of 0.72 and 0.88 microM, and apparent efficacies of 77 and 97% respectively. NS6740, in contrast, displayed little efficacy at alpha7 nAChR (<2% in oocytes, < or =8% in GH4C1 cells), although its agonist-like properties were revealed by adding a positive allosteric modulator of alpha7 nAChRs or using the slowly desensitizing alpha7V274T receptor. In mouse inhibitory avoidance (IA) memory retention, NS6784 enhanced performance as did the 60% partial agonist A-582941. In contrast, NS6740 did not enhance performance, but blocked effects of A-582941. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Collectively, these findings suggest that a degree of alpha7 nAChR agonist efficacy is required for behavioural effects in the IA paradigm, and that such behavioural efficacy is not due to alpha7 nAChR desensitization. Also, a partial agonist of very low efficacy for this receptor could be used as an inhibitor, in the absence of alpha7 nAChR antagonists with favourable CNS penetration.

Alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor activation ameliorates scopolamine-induced behavioural changes in a modified continuous Y-maze task in mice.

The alpha7 (alpha7) nicotinic acetylcholine receptor may represent a drug target for the treatment of disorders associated with working memory/attentional dysfunction. We investigated the effects of three distinct alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonists: 2-methyl-5-(6-phenyl-pyridazin-3-yl)-octahydro-pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole (A-582941; 0.01-0.1 mg/kg), 4-bromophenyl 1,4-diazabicyclo(3.2.2) nonane-4-carboxylate (SSR180711; 0.3-3 mg/kg) and N-[(3R)-1-azabicyclo[2.2.2]oct-3-yl]-4-chlorobenzamide (PNU-282987; 1-10 mg/kg), on scopolamine-induced deficits in a modified Y-maze procedure. Mice were forced to choose one of two visually distinct arms, and were confined there for a 5 min exploration period before being allowed to explore both arms for a 2 min test session, immediately thereafter. The time spent in each arm, entries and total distance travelled were recorded using an automated system. Characterisation experiments showed that scopolamine-treated (1 mg/kg) mice spent less time exploring the unfamiliar arm, when compared with vehicle-treated animals. Combination experiments showed that all three alpha7 agonists ameliorated scopolamine-induced changes in unfamiliar arm exploration. In conclusion, the present data support the idea that alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors may represent an interesting target for the treatment of conditions associated with attentional/working memory dysfunction.

An allosteric modulator of the alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor possessing cognition-enhancing properties in vivo.

Augmentation of nicotinic alpha7 receptor function is considered to be a potential therapeutic strategy aimed at ameliorating cognitive and mnemonic dysfunction in relation to debilitating pathological conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. In the present report, a novel positive allosteric modulator of the alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR), 1-(5-chloro-2-hydroxy-phenyl)-3-(2-chloro-5-trifluoromethyl-phenyl)-urea (NS1738), is described. NS1738 was unable to displace or affect radioligand binding to the agonist binding site of nicotinic receptors, and it was devoid of effect when applied alone in electrophysiological paradigms. However, when applied in the presence of acetylcholine (ACh), NS1738 produced a marked increase in the current flowing through alpha7 nAChRs, as determined in both oocyte electrophysiology and patch-clamp recordings from mammalian cells. NS1738 acted by increasing the peak amplitude of ACh-evoked currents at all concentrations; thus, it increased the maximal efficacy of ACh. Oocyte experiments indicated an increase in ACh potency as well. NS1738 had only marginal effects on the desensitization kinetics of alpha7 nAChRs, as determined from patch-clamp studies of both transfected cells and cultured hippocampal neurons. NS1738 was modestly brain-penetrant, and it was demonstrated to counteract a (-)-scopolamine-induced deficit in acquisition of a water-maze learning task in rats. Moreover, NS1738 improved performance in the rat social recognition test to the same extent as (-)-nicotine, demonstrating that NS1738 is capable of producing cognitive enhancement in vivo. These data support the notion that alpha7 nAChR allosteric modulation may constitute a novel pharmacological principle for the treatment of cognitive dysfunction.

New ligands with affinity for the alpha4beta2 subtype of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Synthesis, receptor binding, and 3D-QSAR modeling.

A new series of piperazines, diazepanes, diazocanes, diazabicyclononanes, and diazabicyclodecanes with affinity for the alpha4beta2 subtype of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors were synthesized on the basis of results from a previous computational study. A predictive 3D-QSAR model was developed using the GRID/GOLPE approach (R2 = 0.94, Q2 = 0.83, SDEP = 0.34). The SAR was interpreted in terms of contour maps of the PLS coefficients and in terms of a homology model of the alpha4beta2 subtype of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. The results reveal that hydrogen bonding from both hydrogens on the protonated amine and from the pyridine nitrogen to a water molecule as well as van der Waals interactions between the substituent bearing the protonated amine and the receptor is of importance for ligand affinity. The combination of 3D-QSAR and homology modeling proved successful for the interpretation of structure-affinity relationships as well as the validation of the individual modeling approaches.

[11C]-NS 4194 versus [11C]-DASB for PET imaging of serotonin transporters in living porcine brain.

In vitro, the novel diazabicyclononane NS 4194 has several thousand-fold selectivity for blocking the transport into rat brain synaptosomes of [(3)H]-serotonin in comparison to [(3)H]-dopamine or [(3)H]-noradrenaline. We have prepared [(11)C]-NS 4194 in order to test its properties for PET imaging of brain serotonin transporters in comparison with the well-documented tracer [(11)C]-DASB. Both compounds had rapid clearance from blood to brain of living pigs. The apparent equilibrium distribution volumes in cerebellum were 35 ml g(-1) for [(11)C]-NS 4194 and 11 ml g(-1) for [(11)C]-DASB. Pretreatment of pigs with citalopram did not reduce the uptake of either tracer in cerebellum, validating the use of that tissue as a nonbinding reference tissue for kinetic analysis of specific binding. The binding potential (pB) calculated for [(11)C]-NS 4194 using arterial input models was close to 0.5 in the telencephalon, and was 60% displaced by citalopram. However, the reference tissue method of Lammertsma was unsuited to calculate pB for this tracer, apparently due to its excessive nonspecific binding. In contrast to the relatively homogeneous binding of [(11)C]-NS 4194, the pB of [(11)C]-DASB ranged from 0.6 in frontal cortex to 2 in the mesencephalon when calculated by the method of Lammertsma. Parametric maps of the pB of [(11)C]-DASB showed a pattern consistent with the known distribution of serotonin transporters in pig brain in vitro, and there was a uniform displacement of 80% of the specific binding after citalopram treatment in vivo. In conclusion, [(11)C]-DASB is in several respects superior to [(11)C]-NS 4194 for the detection of serotonin uptake sites by PET.