Molecular pharmacology of the GABA receptors and GABA agonists.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to P Krogsgaard-Larsen.
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THIP (4,5,6,7-tetrahydroisoxazolo[5,4-c]pyridin-3-ol) is a potent and specific GABA receptor agonist which does not influence the GABA uptake system or GABA metabolizing enzymes. The specificity for the GABA receptor is also demonstrated by lack of action on monoaminergic, cholinergic, histaminergic or opiate receptors. Since in recent years GABA receptor stimulants-among others THIP--have become available many have speculated as to what clinical indication GABA-ergic stimulation might be an important element. The first suggestion was that GABA-ergic drugs by an inhibitory effect on the dopamine neurons would improve the antischizophrenic effect of neuroleptics and improve tardive dyskinesia. Furthermore, studies on brains of deceased Parkinson and Huntington's chorea patients have demonstrated a low level of GABA and its synthesizing enzyme glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) in the basal ganglia. Also in epilepsy and diseases with dementia a deficit in the GABA system has been proposed. Therefore a therapeutic strategy for these diseases may be supplementary treatment with drugs which increase GABA receptor activity. Furthermore, recent results in humans have shown that GABA agonists perhaps also could be of benefit in mania and depressions. When considering the neurophysiological elements of nociception and muscle tone it is also reasonable to suggest that GABA-ergic stimulation may reduce pain perception and muscle tone.
Microelectrophoretic techniques were used to study the effects of the optical isomers of the L-glutamic acid (GLUT) agonist AMPA on cat spinal neurones. Both enantiomers excited spinal interneurones, L-AMPA being more potent than D-AMPA, and, like GLUT, this excitation was blocked by L-glutamic acid diethyl ester but not by 2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid. ATPA and ABPA, in which the methyl group of AMPA was replaced by more bulky substituents, were also GLUT agonists, although weaker than AMPA. O-methyl-AMPA was inactive, suggesting that a necessary condition for GLUT agonist or antagonist actions of this class of compound is the presence of an acidic group in the position equivalent with the omega-position of GLUT.
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The syntheses of (3RS,4RS)-4-hydroxypiperidine-3-carboxylic acid (4), (3RS,5SR)-5-hydroxypiperidine-3-carboxylic acid (20), (3RS,4SR)-4-acetamidopiperidine-3-carboxylic acid (10), and (3RS,5SR)-5-acetamidopiperidine-3-carboxylic acid (18), related to the specific gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) uptake inhibitors (RS)-piperidine-3-carboxylic acid (nipecotic acid) and (3RS,4SR)-4-hydroxypiperidine-3-carboxylic acid (21), are described. Furthermore, (3RS,4SR)-3-hydroxypiperidine-4-carboxylic acid (14), related to the specific GABA agonist piperidine-4-carboxylic acid (isonipecotic acid), has been synthesized. The structures of 4, 10, 14, 18, and 20 have been established by 270-MHz 1H NMR spectroscopic analyses. The affinity of the compounds for the GABA receptors and for the neuronal (synaptosomal) GABA uptake system in vitro has been measured. Compound 14 interacts selectively with the GABA receptors but less effectively than isonipecotic acid and the cis-isomer 22. Compounds 4, 18, and 20 are inhibitors of the GABA uptake system, although much weaker than nipecotic acid and (3RS,4SR)-4-hydroxypiperidine-3-carboxylic acid (21). Compound 10 is inactive in both test systems.
THIP (4,5,6,7-tetrahydroisoxazolo[5,4-c]pyridin-3-ol) is a specific GABA agonist with potent analgesic properties. The binding of radioactive THIP to thoroughly washed, frozen, and thawed membranes isolated from rat brains has been studied at 2 degrees C under sodium ion-free conditions and compared with the binding of [3H]GABA and [3H]piperidine-4-sulphonic acid ([3H]P4S). The best computer fits to the experimental data were in all cases attained with a receptor model based on three independent binding sites, of which only the high- and medium-affinity sites could be characterised satisfactorily. While the KD values were found to be comparable for all three ligands employed, the density of the high-affinity binding site (BM1) was, with the exception of the membranes from the cerebellum, considerably lower for [3H]THIP than for [3H]GABA and [3H]P4S. The regional distribution of the GABA receptors, which bind [3H]THIP, was different from those recognizing [3H]GABA and [3H]P4S. A number of analogues, including asymmetric compounds with known configuration, were tested as inhibitors of the binding of [3H]GABA, [3H]muscimol, [3H]THIP, [3H]isoguvacine, and [3H]P4S. The concentrations of the asymmetric compounds required for the inhibition of [3H]P4S binding were much higher than those required for the displacement of [3H]GABA, [3H]muscimol, [3H]THIP, and [3H]isoguvacine. The comparable relative potencies of inhibitors do, however, indicate that all of the ligands bind to the GABA receptors.
Binding of [3H]AMPA to rat brain membranes was investigated. The binding was saturable and reversible at physiological pH. Computer-aided Scatchard analysis of the binding data, as determined by using L-glutamic acid (L-GLU) to define nonspecific binding, suggested the presence of two independent binding sites, with KDS of 9 and 2440 nM, respectively. Additional freezing, thawing and washing sequences gave membranes with only one binding site, with a KD of 278 nM. [3H]AMPA binding exhibited the highest level in striatal membranes. A series of analogues of GLU and aspartic acid (ASP) were tested as inhibitors of [3H]AMPA binding. L-ASP and compounds which interact predominantly with N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptor sites were inactive as inhibitors of [3H]AMPA binding, whereas L-GLU and compounds which interact predominantly with glutamic acid diethyl ester receptor sites were inhibitors with the same order of potency as that shown by the excitatory action in vivo. The result suggests that [3H]AMPA might represent binding to an excitatory GLU receptor.
Microelectrophoretic methods were used to study the effects on cat spinal neurones of a number of compounds structurally related to the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) agonists muscimol, THIP, and isoguvacine. While N-methylmuscimol was an agonist at bicuculline methochloride-sensitive GABA receptors, somewhat weaker than GABA and THIP, neither N,N-dimethylmuscimol nor N-methyl-THIP interfered significantly with GABA receptors in vivo or binding sites in vitro. Both N,N-dimethylmuscimol and N-methyl-THIP, however, reversibly antagonized the depressant action of glycine. The seven-membered ring analogues of THIP, namely THIA (5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-4H-isoxazolo[5,4-c]azepin-3-ol), THAZ (5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-4H-isoxazolo[4,5-d]azepin-3-ol) and iso-THAZ (5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-4H-isoxazolo[3,4-d]azepin-3-ol), also blocked neuronal inhibition by glycine, iso-THAZ being the most potent compound. The conformationally mobile isomer of THAZ and iso-THAZ, 3-PYOL (5-(3-pyrrolidinyl)-3-isoxazolol), was a much less selective glycine antagonist, being also an antagonist of GABA, 3,4-TAZA (2,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-azepine-4-carboxylic acid) and 4,5-TAZA (2,3,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-azepine-4-carboxylic acid), which are amino acid analogues of THIA and THAZ, respectively, and ring homologues of isoguvacine, were also shown to be glycine antagonists. The mechanism of action of the present class of zwitterionic glycine antagonists is unknown. The compounds are much less potent than strychnine.
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This mini-review describes a noval class of excitatory heterocyclic amino acid. The selective interactions of these synthetic amino acids with the central glutamic acid (GLU) and aspartic acid (ASP) receptors have been established on the basis of microelectrophoretic techniques using glutamic acid diethyl ester (GDEE) and alpha-aminoadipic acid (alpha-AA) as selective antagonists for GLU and ASP, respectively. The parent compound, ibotenic acid (IBO) preferentially activates ASP receptors, but elongation of the side chain of IBO afforded homoibotenic acid (homo-IBO), a GLU agonist. The introduction of bulky substituents into the heterocyclic ring of homo-IBO resulted in a dramatic increase in potency. Alteration of the position of the side chain in IBO to give alpha-amino-5-methyl-3-hydroxy-4-isoxazoleacetic acid (AMAA), preserved the ASP agonism. However, elongation of the side chain of AMAA gave alpha-amino-5-methyl-3-hydroxy-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA), which is a very powerful neuronal excitant with selective interaction with the GLU receptors. None of the new compounds are inhibitors of the binding of 3H-kainic acid (3H-KAIN) to rat brain membranes, indicating that the mechanism of action of these compounds is different from that of the neurotoxic compound KAIN. The described compounds may be important tools in future investigations of the physiological role and the mechanism of action of ASP and GLU in the central nervous system.
This review describes the development of GABA receptor agonists with no detectable affinity for other recognition sites in GABA-mediated synapses. The key compounds are THIP, isoguvacine, and piperidine-4-sulphonic acid (P4S), developed via extensive structural modifications of the potent but not strictly specific GABA agonist muscimol. The structural parameters, which have to be considered in the design of GABA agonists are discussed on the basis of the structures and biological activities of these GABA agonists and a number of related compounds. A model, which summarizes our present knowledge of the structure of the postsynaptic GABA receptors complex, is presented, and the interaction of GABA agonists with various sites in this complex is discussed. Of particular interest are the effects of GABA agonists on the binding of diazepam to the benzodiazepine binding site, assumed to be a structural unit of the GABA receptor complex. While rigid molecules like THIP are capable of activating the GABA receptors, a certain degree of conformational mobility of GABA agonists apparently is a prerequisite for stimulation of diazepam binding in vitro at 0 degree C. The findings suggest that GABA receptor functions involve conformational changes of certain elements, including the attempts to develop GABA agonists with desirable pharmacokinetic and toxicological characteristics. While muscimol is a toxic compound, THIP is well tolerated by animals, and in contrast to isoguvacine, THIP penetrates into the brain after systemic administration to animals, a difference which can be explained on the basis of their protolytic properties. The attempts to develop pro-drugs of isoguvacine capable of penetrating the blood-brain barrier with subsequent decomposition in the brain tissue to isoguvacine are described.
The syntheses of the methyl ester, butyl ester, (ethoxycarbonyl)methyl ester, and 11 (acyloxy)methyl esters of the potent gamma-aminobutyric acid agonist isoguvacine (1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine-4-carboxylic acid) and described. The chemical stability of the esters and their in vitro rates of hydrolysis under approximately physiological conditions by nonspecific esterases from human serum were examined. A selected number of the esters were tested for antagonism of convulsions induced by bicuculline, isoniazide, and by electroschock. While in the compounds showed only weak activities in the bicuculline and isoniazide tests, a good correlation between in vitro rates of enzymatic hydrolysis and the time of onset of the antagonism of the electroschock-induced convulsions could be found.
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The binding of radioactive piperidine-4-sulphonic acid ([3H]P4S) to thoroughly washed, frozen, and thawed membranes isolated from cow and rat brains has been studied. Quantitative computer analysis of the binding curves for four regions of bovine brain revealed the general presence of two binding sites. In these brain regions less satisfactory computer fits were obtained for receptor models showing one or three binding sites or negative cooperativity. With the use of Tris-citrate buffer at 0 degree C the two affinity classes for P4S in bovine cortex membranes revealed the following binding parameters: KD = 17 +/- 7 nM (Bmax = 0.15 +/- 0.07 pmol/mg protein) and KD = 237 +/- 100 nM (Bmax = 0.80 +/- 0.20 pmol/mg protein). Heterogeneity was also observed for association and dissociation rates of [3H]P4S. The slow binding component (kon = 5.6 X 10(7) or 8.8 X 10(7) M-1 min-1, koff = 0.83 min-1, and KD = 14.7 or 9.4 nM, determined by two different methods in phosphate buffer containing postassium chloride) corresponds to the high-affinity component of the equilibrium binding curve (KD = 11 nM, Bmax = 0.12 pmol/mg protein in the same buffer system). The association and dissociation rates for the subpopulation of rapidly of dissociating sites, apparently corresponding to the low-affinity sites, were too rapid to be measured accurately. The binding of [3H]P4S appears to involve the same two populations of sites with Bmax values similar to those for [3H]GABA binding to the same tissue, although the kinetic parameters for the two ligands are somewhat different. Furthermore, comparative studies on the inhibition of [3H]P4S and [3H]GABA binding by various GABA analogues, strongly suggest that P4S binds to the GABA receptors. The different effects of P4S and GABA on benzodiazepine binding are discussed.
The L-[3H]glutamic acid binding capability of rat cerebellar membranes prepared with or without preincubation at 37 degrees C followed by washing was investigated. The two preparations (KD = 820 nM, Bmax = 54.5 pmol/mg protein; KD = 509 nM, Bmax = 13.0 pmol/mg protein) showed no difference in specificity of the binding of the ibotenic acid analogues, consistent with the removal of an endogenous inhibitor by the preincubation at 37 degrees C followed by washing. The order of potency of the ibotenic acid analogues as inhibitors of L-[3H]glutamic acid binding is different from the order of potency in vivo, suggesting that the binding sites found are different from the physiological glutamic acid receptor.
Two groups of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) analogues, one comprising derivatives of beta-proline and the other compounds structurally related to nipecotic acid, were investigated as potential inhibitors of high-affinity GABA transport in neurons and glial cells, as well as displacers of GABA receptor binding. In addition to cis-4-hydroxynipecotic acid, which is known as a potent inhibitor of GABA uptake, homo-beta-proline was the only compound which proved to be a potent inhibitor of glial as well as neuronal GABA uptake. IC50 values for GABA uptake into glial cells and brain cortex "prisms" were 20 and 75 micro M, respectively, and the IC50 value obtained for GABA uptake into cultured neurons was 10 micro M. A kinetic analysis of the action of homo-beta-proline on GABA uptake into cultured astrocytes and neurons showed that this compound acts as a competitive inhibitor of GABA uptake in both cell types. From the apparent Km values, Ki values for homo-beta-proline of 16 and 6 micro M could be calculated for glial and neuronal uptake, respectively. This mechanism of action strongly suggests that homo-beta-proline interacts with the GABA carriers. Furthermore, homo-beta-proline also displaced GABA from its receptor with an IC50 value of 0.3 micro M. The cis-4-hydroxynipecotic acid analogues, cis- and trans-4-mercaptonipecotic acid, had no inhibitory effect on glial or neuronal GABA uptake. Other SH reagents, PCMB, NEM and DTNB, were shown to be relatively weak inhibitors of GABA uptake into cultured astrocytes, suggesting that SH groups are not directly involved in the interaction between GABA and its transport carrier.
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