Tau-tubulin kinase 1 phosphorylates TDP-43 at disease-relevant sites and exacerbates TDP-43 pathology.

TDP-43 pathology is a hallmark of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). Namely, both diseases feature aggregated and phosphorylated TDP-43 containing inclusions in the cytoplasm and a loss of nuclear TDP-43 in affected neurons. It has been reported that tau tubulin kinase (TTBK)1/2 phosphorylate TDP-43 and TTBK1/2 overexpression induced neuronal loss and behavioral deficits in a C. elegans model of ALS. Here we aimed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of TTBK1 in TDP-43 pathology. TTBK1 levels were observed to be elevated in ALS patients' post-mortem motor cortex. Also, TTBK1 was found to phosphorylate TDP-43 at disease-relevant sites in vitro directly, and this phosphorylation accelerated TDP-43 formation of high molecular species. Overexpression of TTBK1 in mammalian cells induced TDP-43 phosphorylation and the construction of high molecular species, concurrent with TDP-43 mis-localization and cytoplasmic inclusions. In addition, when TTBK1 was knocked down or pharmacologically inhibited, TDP-43 phosphorylation and aggregation were significantly alleviated. Functionally, TTBK1 knockdown could rescue TDP-43 overexpression-induced neurite and neuronal loss in iPSC-derived GABAergic neurons. These findings suggest that phosphorylation plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of TDP-43 pathology and that TTBK1 inhibition may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of ALS and FTLD.

Pharmacological Characterization of the Novel and Selective α7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor-Positive Allosteric Modulator BNC375.

Treatments for cognitive deficits associated with central nervous system (CNS) disorders such as Alzheimer disease and schizophrenia remain significant unmet medical needs that incur substantial pressure on the health care system. The α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) has garnered substantial attention as a target for cognitive deficits based on receptor localization, robust preclinical effects, genetics implicating its involvement in cognitive disorders, and encouraging, albeit mixed, clinical data with α7 nAChR orthosteric agonists. Importantly, previous orthosteric agonists at this receptor suffered from off-target activity, receptor desensitization, and an inverted U-shaped dose-effect curve in preclinical assays that limit their clinical utility. To overcome the challenges with orthosteric agonists, we have identified a novel selective α7 positive allosteric modulator (PAM), BNC375. This compound is selective over related receptors and potentiates acetylcholine-evoked α7 currents with only marginal effect on the receptor desensitization kinetics. In addition, BNC375 enhances long-term potentiation of electrically evoked synaptic responses in rat hippocampal slices and in vivo. Systemic administration of BNC375 reverses scopolamine-induced cognitive deficits in rat novel object recognition and rhesus monkey object retrieval detour (ORD) task over a wide range of exposures, showing no evidence of an inverted U-shaped dose-effect curve. The compound also improves performance in the ORD task in aged African green monkeys. Moreover, ex vivo 13C-NMR analysis indicates that BNC375 treatment can enhance neurotransmitter release in rat medial prefrontal cortex. These findings suggest that α7 nAChR PAMs have multiple advantages over orthosteric α7 nAChR agonists for the treatment of cognitive dysfunction associated with CNS diseases. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: BNC375 is a novel and selective α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) positive allosteric modulator (PAM) that potentiates acetylcholine-evoked α7 currents in in vitro assays with little to no effect on the desensitization kinetics. In vivo, BNC375 demonstrated robust procognitive effects in multiple preclinical models across a wide exposure range. These results suggest that α7 nAChR PAMs have therapeutic potential in central nervous system diseases with cognitive impairments.

MK-8719, a Novel and Selective O-GlcNAcase Inhibitor That Reduces the Formation of Pathological Tau and Ameliorates Neurodegeneration in a Mouse Model of Tauopathy.

Deposition of hyperphosphorylated and aggregated tau protein in the central nervous system is characteristic of Alzheimer disease and other tauopathies. Tau is subject to O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) modification, and O-GlcNAcylation of tau has been shown to influence tau phosphorylation and aggregation. Inhibition of O-GlcNAcase (OGA), the enzyme that removes O-GlcNAc moieties, is a novel strategy to attenuate the formation of pathologic tau. Here we described the in vitro and in vivo pharmacological properties of a novel and selective OGA inhibitor, MK-8719. In vitro, this compound is a potent inhibitor of the human OGA enzyme with comparable activity against the corresponding enzymes from mouse, rat, and dog. In vivo, oral administration of MK-8719 elevates brain and peripheral blood mononuclear cell O-GlcNAc levels in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, positron emission tomography imaging studies demonstrate robust target engagement of MK-8719 in the brains of rats and rTg4510 mice. In the rTg4510 mouse model of human tauopathy, MK-8719 significantly increases brain O-GlcNAc levels and reduces pathologic tau. The reduction in tau pathology in rTg4510 mice is accompanied by attenuation of brain atrophy, including reduction of forebrain volume loss as revealed by volumetric magnetic resonance imaging analysis. These findings suggest that OGA inhibition may reduce tau pathology in tauopathies. However, since hundreds of O-GlcNAcylated proteins may be influenced by OGA inhibition, it will be critical to understand the physiologic and toxicological consequences of chronic O-GlcNAc elevation in vivo. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: MK-8719 is a novel, selective, and potent O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc)-ase (OGA) inhibitor that inhibits OGA enzyme activity across multiple species with comparable in vitro potency. In vivo, MK-8719 elevates brain O-GlcNAc levels, reduces pathological tau, and ameliorates brain atrophy in the rTg4510 mouse model of tauopathy. These findings indicate that OGA inhibition may be a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of Alzheimer disease and other tauopathies.

Discovery of 4-arylquinoline-2-carboxamides, highly potent and selective class of mGluR2 negative allosteric modulators: From HTS to activity in animal models.

Antagonism of the mGluR2 receptor has the potential to provide therapeutic benefit to cognitive disorders by elevating synaptic glutamate, the primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain. Selective antagonism of the mGluR2 receptor, however, has so far been elusive, given the very high homology of this receptor with mGluR3, particularly at the orthosteric binding site. Given that inhibition of mGluR3 has been implicated in undesired effects, we sought to identify selective mGluR2 negative allosteric modulators. Herein we describe the discovery of the highly potent and selective class of mGluR2 negative allosteric modulators, 4-arylquinoline-2-carboxamides, following a successful HTS campaign and medicinal chemistry optimization, showing potent in vivo efficacy in rodent.

Preclinical to Human Translational Pharmacology of the Novel M1 Positive Allosteric Modulator MK-7622.

The current standard of care for treating Alzheimer's disease is acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, which nonselectively increase cholinergic signaling by indirectly enhancing activity of nicotinic and muscarinic receptors. These drugs improve cognitive function in patients, but also produce unwanted side effects that limit their efficacy. In an effort to selectively improve cognition and avoid the cholinergic side effects associated with the standard of care, various efforts have been aimed at developing selective M1 muscarinic receptor activators. In this work, we describe the preclinical and clinical pharmacodynamic effects of the M1 muscarinic receptor-positive allosteric modulator, MK-7622. MK-7622 attenuated the cognitive-impairing effects of the muscarinic receptor antagonist scopolamine and altered quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) in both rhesus macaque and human. For both scopolamine reversal and qEEG, the effective exposures were similar between species. However, across species the minimum effective exposures to attenuate the scopolamine impairment were lower than for qEEG. Additionally, there were differences in the spectral power changes produced by MK-7622 in rhesus versus human. In sum, these results are the first to demonstrate translation of preclinical cognition and target modulation to clinical effects in humans for a selective M1 muscarinic receptor-positive allosteric modulator.

Indole acids as a novel PDE2 inhibitor chemotype that demonstrate pro-cognitive activity in multiple species.

An internal HTS effort identified a novel PDE2 inhibitor series that was subsequently optimized for improved PDE2 activity and off-target selectivity. The optimized lead, compound 4, improved cognitive performance in a rodent novel object recognition task as well as a non-human primate object retrieval task. In addition, co-crystallization studies of close analog of 4 in the PDE2 active site revealed unique binding interactions influencing the high PDE isoform selectivity.

fMRI study of the role of glutamate NMDA receptor in the olfactory adaptation in rats: Insights into cellular and molecular mechanisms of olfactory adaptation.

Olfactory adaptation, characterized by attenuation of response to repeated odor stimulations or continuous odor exposure, is an intrinsic feature of olfactory processing. Adaptation can be induced by either "synaptic depression" due to depletion of neurotransmitters, or "enhanced inhibition" onto principle neurons by local inhibitory interneurons in olfactory structures. It is not clear which mechanism plays a major role in olfactory adaptation. More importantly, molecular sources of enhanced inhibition have not been identified. In this study, olfactory responses to either repeated 40-s stimulations with interstimulus intervals (ISI) of 140-s or 30-min, or a single prolonged 200-s stimulus were measured by fMRI in different naïve rats. Olfactory adaptations in the olfactory bulb (OB), anterior olfactory nucleus (AON), and piriform cortex (PC) were observed only with repeated 40-s odor stimulations, and no olfactory adaptations were detected during the prolonged 200-s stimulation. Interestingly, in responses to repeated 40-s odor stimulations in the PC, the first odor stimulation induced positive activations, and odor stimulations under adapted condition induced negative activations. The negative activations suggest that "sparse coding" and "global inhibition" are the characteristics of olfactory processing in PC, and the global inhibition manifests only under an adapted condition, not a naïve condition. Further, we found that these adaptations were NMDA receptor dependent; an NMDA receptor antagonist (MK801) blocked the adaptations. Based on the mechanism that glutamate NMDA receptor plays a role in the inhibition onto principle neurons by interneurons, our data suggest that the olfactory adaptations are caused by enhanced inhibition from interneurons. Combined with the necessity of the interruption of odor stimulation to observe the adaptations, the molecular source for the enhanced inhibition is most likely an increased glutamate release from presynaptic terminals due to glutamate over-replenishment during the interruption of odor stimulation. Furthermore, with blockage of the adaptations, the data reveal that orbital, medial & prefrontal, and cingulate cortices (OmPFC) are involved in the olfactory processing.

The dual orexin receptor antagonist, DORA-22, lowers histamine levels in the lateral hypothalamus and prefrontal cortex without lowering hippocampal acetylcholine.

Chronic insomnia is defined as a persistent difficulty with sleep initiation maintenance or non-restorative sleep. The therapeutic standard of care for this condition is treatment with gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)A receptor modulators, which promote sleep but are associated with a panoply of side effects, including cognitive and memory impairment. Dual orexin receptor antagonists (DORAs) have recently emerged as an alternative therapeutic approach that acts via a distinct and more selective wake-attenuating mechanism with the potential to be associated with milder side effects. Given their distinct mechanism of action, the current work tested the hypothesis that DORAs and GABAA receptor modulators differentially regulate neurochemical pathways associated with differences in sleep architecture and cognitive performance induced by these pharmacological mechanisms. Our findings showed that DORA-22 suppresses the release of the wake neurotransmitter histamine in the lateral hypothalamus, prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus with no significant alterations in acetylcholine levels. In contrast, eszopiclone, commonly used as a GABAA modulator, inhibited acetylcholine secretion across brain regions with variable effects on histamine release depending on the extent of wakefulness induction. In normal waking rats, eszopiclone only transiently suppressed histamine secretion, whereas this suppression was more obvious under caffeine-induced wakefulness. Compared with the GABAA modulator eszopiclone, DORA-22 elicits a neurotransmitter profile consistent with wake reduction that does not impinge on neurotransmitter levels associated with cognition and rapid eye movement sleep.

fMRI study of olfaction in the olfactory bulb and high olfactory structures of rats: Insight into their roles in habituation.

Cerebral blood volume (CBV) fMRI with ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide particles (USPIO) as a contrast agent was used to investigate olfactory processing in rats. fMRI data were acquired in sixteen 0.75-mm coronal slices covering the olfactory bulb (OB) and higher olfactory regions (HOR), including the anterior olfactory nucleus and piriform cortex. For each animal, multiple consecutive fMRI measurements were made during a 3-h experiment session, with each measurement consisting of a baseline period, an odorant stimulation period, and a recovery period. Two different stimulation paradigms with a stimulation period of 40s or 80s, respectively, were used to study olfactory processing. Odorant-induced CBV increases were robustly observed in the OB and HOR of each individual animal. Olfactory adaptation, which is characterized by an attenuation of responses to continuous exposure or repeated stimulations, has different characteristics in the OB and HOR. For adaptation to repeated stimuli, while it was observed in both the OB and HOR, CBV responses in the HOR were attenuated more significantly than responses in the OB. In contrast, within each continuous 40-s or 80-s odor exposure, CBV responses in the OB were stable and did not show adaptation, but the CBV responses in the HOR were state dependent, with no adaptation during initial exposures, but significant adaptation during following exposures. These results support previous reports that HOR plays a more significant role than OB in olfactory habituation. The technical approach presented in this study should enable more extensive fMRI studies of olfactory processing in rats.

Discovery of 5-aryl-1,3-dihydro-2H-imidazo[4,5-b]pyridin-2-ones as positive allosteric modulators of metabotropic glutamate subtype-2 (mGlu2) receptors with efficacy in a preclinical model of psychosis.

Optimization of a benzimidazolone template for potency and physical properties revealed 5-aryl-1,3-dihydro-2H-imidazo[4,5-b]pyridin-2-ones as a key template on which to develop a new series of mGlu2 positive allosteric modulators (PAMs). Systematic investigation of aryl-SAR led to the identification of compound 27 as a potent and highly selective mGlu2 PAM with sufficient pharmacokinetics to advance to preclinical models of psychosis. Gratifyingly, compound 27 showed full efficacy in the PCP- and MK-801-induced hyperlocomotion assay in rats at CSF concentrations consistent with mGlu2 PAM potency.

Discovery of pyrazolopyrimidine phosphodiesterase 10A inhibitors for the treatment of schizophrenia.

Herein, we present the identification of a novel class of pyrazolopyrimidine phosphodiesterase 10A (PDE10A) inhibitors. Beginning with a lead molecule (1) identified through a fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) effort, lead optimization was enabled by rational design, X-ray crystallography, metabolic and off-target profiling, and fragment scaffold-hopping. We highlight the discovery of PyP-1, a potent, highly selective, and orally bioavailable pyrazolopyrimidine inhibitor of PDE10A. PyP-1 exhibits sub-nanomolar potency (PDE10A Ki=0.23nM), excellent pharmacokinetic (PK) and physicochemical properties, and a clean off-target profile. It displays dose-dependent efficacy in numerous pharmacodynamic (PD) assays that measure potential for anti-psychotic activity and cognitive improvement. PyP-1 also has a clean preclinical profile with respect to cataleptic potential in rats, prolactin secretion, and weight gain, common adverse events associated with currently marketed therapeutics. Further, PyP-1 displays in vivo preclinical target engagement as measured by PET enzyme occupancy in concert with [(11)C]MK-8193, a novel PDE10A PET tracer.

The M1 Muscarinic Positive Allosteric Modulator PQCA Improves Performance on Translatable Tests of Memory and Attention in Rhesus Monkeys.

Improved treatment of Alzheimer disease (AD) is a significant unmet medical need that is becoming even more critical given the rise in the number of patients and the substantial economic burden. The current standards of care, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs), are hindered by gastrointestinal side effects owing to their nonselective activation of muscarinic and nicotinic receptors. Recently, the highly selective M1 positive allosteric modulator PQCA (1-((4-cyano-4-(pyridine-2-yl)piperidin-1-yl)methyl-4-oxo-4 H-quinolizine-3-carboxylic acid) has been demonstrated to improve cognition in a variety of rodent and nonhuman primate cognition models without producing significant gastrointestinal side effects. Here we describe the effect of PQCA and the AChEI donepezil on two clinically relevant and highly translatable touchscreen cognition tasks in nonhuman primates: paired-associates learning (PAL) and the continuous-performance task (CPT). Blockade of muscarinic signaling by scopolamine produced significant impairments in both PAL and CPT. PQCA and donepezil attenuated the scopolamine deficits in both tasks, and the action of these two compounds was similar in magnitude. In addition, the combination of subeffective doses of PQCA and donepezil enhanced PAL performance. These results further suggest that M1-positive allosteric modulators, either as monotherapy or as an add-on to current standards of care, have potential to reduce the cognitive deficits associated with AD.

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.

Differential sleep-promoting effects of dual orexin receptor antagonists and GABAA receptor modulators.

BACKGROUND: The current standard of care for insomnia includes gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor A (GABAA) activators, which promote sleep as well as general central nervous system depression. Dual orexin receptor antagonists (DORAs) represent an alternative mechanism for insomnia treatment that induces somnolence by blocking the wake-promoting effects of orexin neuropeptides. The current study compares the role and interdependence of these two mechanisms on their ability to influence sleep architecture and quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) spectral profiles across preclinical species. RESULTS: Active-phase dosing of DORA-22 induced consistent effects on sleep architecture in mice, rats, dogs, and rhesus monkeys; attenuation of active wake was accompanied by increases in both non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Eszopiclone, a representative GABAA receptor modulator, promoted sleep in rats and rhesus monkeys that was marked by REM sleep suppression, but had inconsistent effects in mice and paradoxically promoted wakefulness in dogs. Active-phase treatment of rats with DORA-12 similarly promoted NREM and REM sleep to magnitudes nearly identical to those seen during normal resting-phase sleep following vehicle treatment, whereas eszopiclone suppressed REM even to levels below those seen during the active phase. The qEEG changes induced by DORA-12 in rats also resembled normal resting-phase patterns, whereas eszopiclone induced changes distinct from normal active- or inactive-phase spectra. Co-dosing experiments, as well as studies in transgenic rats lacking orexin neurons, indicated partial overlap in the mechanism of sleep promotion by orexin and GABA modulation with the exception of the REM suppression exclusive to GABAA receptor modulation. Following REM deprivation in mice, eszopiclone further suppressed REM sleep while DORA-22 facilitated recovery including increased REM sleep. CONCLUSION: DORAs promote NREM and importantly REM sleep that is similar in proportion and magnitude to that seen during the normal resting phase across mammalian animal models. While limited overlap exists between therapeutic mechanisms, orexin signaling does not appear involved in the REM suppression exhibited by GABAA receptor modulators. The ability of DORAs to promote proportional NREM and REM sleep following sleep deprivation suggests that this mechanism may be effective in alleviating recovery from sleep disturbance.

2-Aminopyridines as Potent and Selective Nav1.8 Inhibitors Exhibiting Efficacy in a Nonhuman Primate Pain Model.

Herein we describe the discovery of a 2-aminopyridine scaffold as a potent and isoform selective inhibitor of the Nav1.8 sodium channel. Parallel library synthesis, guided by in silico predictions, rapidly transformed initial hits into a novel 2-aminopyridine lead class possessing good ADME and pharmacokinetic profiles that were able to display activity in a clinically translatable nonhuman primate capsaicin-sensitized thermode pharmacodynamic assay. Progress toward the lead identification, optimization, and in vivo efficacy of these compounds will be discussed.

Analgesia and peripheral c-fiber modulation by selective Nav1.8 inhibition in rhesus.

ABSTRACT: Voltage-gated sodium (Nav) channels present untapped therapeutic value for better and safer pain medications. The Nav1.8 channel isoform is of particular interest because of its location on peripheral pain fibers and demonstrated role in rodent preclinical pain and neurophysiological assays. To-date, no inhibitors of this channel have been approved as drugs for treating painful conditions in human, possibly because of challenges in developing a sufficiently selective drug-like molecule with necessary potency not only in human but also across preclinical species critical to the preclinical development path of drug discovery. In addition, the relevance of rodent pain assays to the human condition is under increasing scrutiny as a number of mechanisms (or at the very least molecules) that are active in rodents have not translated to humans, and direct impact on pain fibers has not been confirmed in vivo. In this report, we have leveraged numerous physiological end points in nonhuman primates to evaluate the analgesic and pharmacodynamic activity of a novel, potent, and selective Nav1.8 inhibitor compound, MSD199. These pharmacodynamic biomarkers provide important confirmation of the in vivo impact of Nav1.8 inhibition on peripheral pain fibers in primates and have high translational potential to the clinical setting. These findings may thus greatly improve success of translational drug discovery efforts toward better and safer pain medications, as well as the understanding of primate biology of Nav1.8 inhibition broadly.

The duration of sleep promoting efficacy by dual orexin receptor antagonists is dependent upon receptor occupancy threshold.

BACKGROUND: Drugs targeting insomnia ideally promote sleep throughout the night, maintain normal sleep architecture, and are devoid of residual effects associated with morning sedation. These features of an ideal compound are not only dependent upon pharmacokinetics, receptor binding kinetics, potency and pharmacodynamic activity, but also upon a compound's mechanism of action. RESULTS: Dual orexin receptor antagonists (DORAs) block the arousal-promoting activity of orexin peptides and, as demonstrated in the current work, exhibit an efficacy signal window dependent upon oscillating levels of endogenous orexin neuropeptide. Sleep efficacy of structurally diverse DORAs in rat and dog was achieved at plasma exposures corresponding to orexin 2 receptor (OX2R) occupancies in the range of 65 to 80%. In rats, the time course of OX2R occupancy was dependent upon receptor binding kinetics and was tightly correlated with the timing of active wake reduction. In rhesus monkeys, direct comparison of DORA-22 with GABA-A modulators at similar sleep-inducing doses revealed that diazepam produced next-day residual sleep and both diazepam and eszopiclone induced next-day cognitive deficits. In stark contrast, DORA-22 did not produce residual effects. Furthermore, DORA-22 evoked only minimal changes in quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG) activity during the normal resting phase in contrast to GABA-A modulators which induced substantial qEEG changes. CONCLUSION: The higher levels of receptor occupancy necessary for DORA efficacy require a plasma concentration profile sufficient to maintain sleep for the duration of the resting period. DORAs, with a half-life exceeding 8 h in humans, are expected to fulfill this requirement as exposures drop to sub-threshold receptor occupancy levels prior to the wake period, potentially avoiding next-day residual effects at therapeutic doses.

Discovery of MK-8189, a Highly Potent and Selective PDE10A Inhibitor for the Treatment of Schizophrenia.

PDE10A is an important regulator of striatal signaling that, when inhibited, can normalize dysfunctional activity. Given the involvement of dysfunctional striatal activity with schizophrenia, PDE10A inhibition represents a potentially novel means for its treatment. With the goal of developing PDE10A inhibitors, early optimization of a fragment hit through rational design led to a series of potent pyrimidine PDE10A inhibitors that required further improvements in physicochemical properties, off-target activities, and pharmacokinetics. Herein we describe the discovery of an isomeric pyrimidine series that addresses the liabilities seen with earlier compounds and resulted in the invention of compound 18 (MK-8189), which is currently in Phase 2b clinical development for the treatment of schizophrenia.

Discovery of [11C]MK-8056: A Selective PET Imaging Agent for the Study of mGluR2 Negative Allosteric Modulators.

Modification of potent, selective metabotropic glutamate receptor 2 negative allosteric modulator (mGluR2 NAM) led to a series of analogues with excellent binding affinity, lipophilicity, and suitable physicochemical properties for a PET tracer with convenient chemical handles for incorporation of a 11C or 18F radiolabel. [11C]MK-8056 was synthesized and evaluated in vivo and demonstrated appropriate affinity, selectivity, and physicochemical properties to be used as a positron emission tomography tracer for mGluR2.

Discovery of MK-8768, a Potent and Selective mGluR2 Negative Allosteric Modulator.

Glutamate plays a key role in cognition and mood, and it has been shown that inhibiting ionotropic glutamate receptors disrupts cognition, while enhancing ionotropic receptor activity is pro-cognitive. One approach to elevating glutamatergic tone has been to antagonize presynaptic metabotropic glutamate receptor 2 (mGluR2). A desire for selectivity over the largely homologous mGluR3 motivated a strategy to achieve selectivity through the identification of mGluR2 negative allosteric modulators (NAMs). Extensive screening and optimization efforts led to the identification of a novel series of 4-arylquinoline-2-carboxamides. This series was optimized for mGluR2 NAM potency, clean off-target activity, and desirable physical properties, which resulted in the identification of improved C4 and C7 substituents. The initial lead compound from this series was Ames-positive in a single strain with metabolic activation, indicating that a reactive metabolite was likely responsible for the genetic toxicity. Metabolic profiling and Ames assessment across multiple analogs identified key structure-activity relationships associated with Ames positivity. Further optimization led to the Ames-negative mGluR2 negative allosteric modulator MK-8768.