dizocilpine-maleate and ethylcholine-aziridinium

Neuroprotective and biobehavioral properties of a series of novel open chain MK-801 analogs, as well as their structure-activity relationships have been investigated. Three groups of compounds were synthesized: monobenzylamino, benzhydrylamino, and dibenzylamino (DBA) analogs of MK-801. It was revealed that DBA analogs exhibit pronounced glutamate-induced calcium uptake blocking properties and anti-NMDA activity. The hit compound of DBA series, NT-1505, was investigated for its ability to improve cognition functions in animal model of Alzheimer's disease type dementia, simulated by treating animals with cholinotoxin AF64A. The results from an active avoidance test and a Morris water maze test showed that experimental animals, treated additionally with NT-1505, exhibited much better learning ability and memory than the control group (AF64A treated) and close to that of the vehicle group of animals (treated with physiological solution). Study of NT-1505 influence on locomotor activity revealed that it is characterized by a spectrum of behavioral activity radically different from that of MK-801, and in contrast to the latter one does not produce any psychotomimetic side effects in the therapeutically significant dose interval. The computed docking of MK-801 and its flexible analogs on the NMDA receptor elucidated the crucial role of the hydrogen bond formed between these compounds and the asparagine residue for magnesium binding in the NMDA receptor. It was suggested that strong hydrophobic interaction between MK-801 and the hydrophobic pocket in the NMDA receptor-channel complex determines much higher irreversibility of this adduct compared to the intermediates formed between this site and Mg ions or flexible DBA derivatives, which might explain the absence of PCP-like side effects of the latter compounds.

Topics: Animals; Aziridines; Choline; Dizocilpine Maleate; Learning; Male; Mice; Motor Activity; Neuroprotective Agents; Nootropic Agents; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Reaction Time; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; Structure-Activity Relationship

The aziridinium ion of ethylcholine (AF64A), a cholinergic neurotoxin, was injected into the right striatum of a rat. The unilateral injection of 10 nmol AF64A reduced the activity of choline acetyltransferase (CAT) and the tissue content of acetylcholine (ACh) in the striatum. The striatal contents of dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) were unchanged. These results suggest that the cholinospecificity in the striatal lesion was induced by the 10 nmol dose of AF64A. The number of N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptors in the striatum treated with 10 nmol AF64A was determined by a specific binding assay using [3H](+/-)-3-(2-carboxypiperazin-4-yl)propyl-1-phosphonic acid ([3H]CPP), a selective ligand for NMDA receptors. The number of the NMDA receptors decreased significantly in the injected area. On the other hand, in a microdialysis using normal rats, the perfusion of 50 microM NMDA into the striatum increased ACh release. The perfusion of 100 microM MK801 which is the specific and non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist, decreased the basal levels of ACh release and blocked NMDA-elicited ACh release. Taken together, the present results strongly suggest that a population of NMDA receptors exists on cholinergic interneurons within the striatum, and it directly regulates ACh release.

Topics: Acetylcholine; Animals; Aziridines; Choline; Choline O-Acetyltransferase; Cholinergic Fibers; Corpus Striatum; Dizocilpine Maleate; Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists; Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; Interneurons; Male; N-Methylaspartate; Neuromuscular Blocking Agents; Piperazines; Radioligand Assay; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; Tritium

The reaction of the glutamatergic systems in the rat hippocampus to the withdrawal of cholinergic function after cholinergic degeneration induced by ethylcholine aziridinium (AF64A) was investigated. Furthermore, the question whether blockade of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors by MK-801 has an impact on the extent of the cholinergic lesion was addressed. After bilateral intracerebroventricular injection of AF64A (2 nmol/ventricle) the activity of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) started to decline in the hippocampus within 24 h. The reduction of ChAT activity reached its maximum within 4 days (65%) and persisted during the observation period of 65 days. The loss of ChAT activity was accompanied by a transient decline in the level of glutamate, which was most pronounced 1 to 2 days after AF64A (25% reduction). Within 65 days the glutamate level returned to normal. A detailed subdissection of the hippocampus revealed that the cholinergic system was most affected in the ventral part of the hippocampus and the CA3 subfield. On the other hand, the transient reduction in glutamate was restricted to the CA1 and CA3 area. In the dentate gyrus the marked loss of cholinergic function was not accompanied by any reduction in glutamate level. Treatment of the AF64A-injected rats with the muscarinic agonist pilocarpine prevented the decline in glutamate levels. The transient nature of the decline in glutamate as well as its reversal by treatment with pilocarpine are suggestive of an increased release of glutamate in response to the withdrawal of cholinergic function.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Topics: Animals; Aziridines; Choline; Choline O-Acetyltransferase; Dizocilpine Maleate; Glutamates; Glutamic Acid; Hippocampus; Male; Neuromuscular Blocking Agents; Parasympathetic Nervous System; Pilocarpine; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Receptors, Glutamate; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; Receptors, Neurotransmitter; Toxins, Biological