cx-614 and aniracetam

AMPA receptors (AMPARs) are an important therapeutic target in the CNS. A series of substituted benzoxazinone derivatives with good to very good in vitro activity as positive allosteric AMPAR modulators was synthesized and evaluated. The appropriate substituent choice on the benzoxazinone fragment improved the affinity towards the AMPA receptor significantly in comparison to our lead molecule CX614.

Topics: Allosteric Regulation; Animals; Benzoxazines; Molecular Structure; Prosencephalon; Pyrrolidinones; Rats; Receptors, AMPA; Structure-Activity Relationship

AMPA receptors (AMPARs) are an increasingly important therapeutic target in the CNS. Aniracetam, the first identified potentiator of AMPARs, led to the rigid and more potent CX614. This lead molecule was optimized in order to increase affinity towards the AMPA receptor. The substitution of the dioxine with a benzoxazinone ring system increased the activity and allowed further investigation of the sidechain SAR.

Topics: Allosteric Regulation; Animals; Benzoxazines; Molecular Structure; Nootropic Agents; Prosencephalon; Pyrrolidinones; Rats; Receptors, AMPA; Structure-Activity Relationship

Glutamate receptors are the most prevalent excitatory neurotransmitter receptors in the vertebrate central nervous system and are important potential drug targets for cognitive enhancement and the treatment of schizophrenia. Allosteric modulators of AMPA receptors promote dimerization by binding to a dimer interface and reducing desensitization and deactivation. The pyrrolidine allosteric modulators, piracetam and aniracetam, were among the first of this class of drugs to be discovered. We have determined the structure of the ligand binding domain of the AMPA receptor subtypes GluA2 and GluA3 with piracetam and a corresponding structure of GluA3 with aniracetam. Both drugs bind to GluA2 and GluA3 in a very similar manner, suggesting little subunit specificity. However, the binding sites for piracetam and aniracetam differ considerably. Aniracetam binds to a symmetrical site at the center of the dimer interface. Piracetam binds to multiple sites along the dimer interface with low occupation, one of which is a unique binding site for potential allosteric modulators. This new site may be of importance in the design of new allosteric regulators.

Topics: Allosteric Regulation; Binding Sites; Humans; Mutagenesis, Insertional; Nootropic Agents; Piracetam; Pyrrolidinones; Receptors, AMPA; X-Ray Diffraction

Crystal structures of three different allosteric modulators co-crystallized with the iGluR2 ligand-binding domain are currently available. The modulators, cyclothiazide, aniracetam and CX614, bind at overlapping binding sites in the dimer interface between two iGluR2 subunits. However, pharmacological data indicate that there are one or more additional binding sites for this class of compounds. Based on differences in structure-activity relationship data we show that 5-alkyl-benzothiadiazide (5ABTD) modulators and a series of close analogs of cyclothiazide, despite having a common core structure, do not have the same binding site. In the present work, a new potential binding site for allosteric modulators has been identified in the dimer interface of the iGluR2 ligand-binding domain. By comparing different iGluR2 crystal structures including different co-crystallized agonists, this cavity is shown to be a structurally conserved part of the dimer interface. The cavity is characterized with respect to shape and potential favorable interactions with ligands and docking is used to find a reasonable binding mode for the core structure of the 5ABTDs. The extensive structure-activity data available for this series of compounds are in agreement with the proposed binding mode, supporting the conclusion that the identified cavity most likely is the binding site for the 5ABTDs.

Topics: Allosteric Site; Animals; Benzothiadiazines; Computer Simulation; Dimerization; In Vitro Techniques; Mice; Models, Molecular; Oxazines; Protein Structure, Quaternary; Pyrrolidinones; Receptors, AMPA; Structure-Activity Relationship

Ligand-gated ion channels involved in the modulation of synaptic strength are the AMPA, kainate, and NMDA glutamate receptors. Small molecules that potentiate AMPA receptor currents relieve cognitive deficits caused by neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and show promise in the treatment of depression. Previously, there has been limited understanding of the molecular mechanism of action for AMPA receptor potentiators. Here we present cocrystal structures of the glutamate receptor GluR2 S1S2 ligand-binding domain in complex with aniracetam [1-(4-methoxybenzoyl)-2-pyrrolidinone] or CX614 (pyrrolidino-1,3-oxazino benzo-1,4-dioxan-10-one), two AMPA receptor potentiators that preferentially slow AMPA receptor deactivation. Both potentiators bind within the dimer interface of the nondesensitized receptor at a common site located on the twofold axis of molecular symmetry. Importantly, the potentiator binding site is adjacent to the "hinge" in the ligand-binding core "clamshell" that undergoes conformational rearrangement after glutamate binding. Using rapid solution exchange, patch-clamp electrophysiology experiments, we show that point mutations of residues that interact with potentiators in the cocrystal disrupt potentiator function. We suggest that the potentiators slow deactivation by stabilizing the clamshell in its closed-cleft, glutamate-bound conformation.

Topics: Allosteric Regulation; Benzothiadiazines; Binding Sites; Cell Line; Crystallography; Dimerization; Drug Synergism; Electric Conductivity; Humans; Ligands; Molecular Conformation; Oxazines; Patch-Clamp Techniques; Protein Structure, Tertiary; Pyrrolidinones; Receptors, AMPA; Time Factors