ergoline and phenethylamine

A series of substituted racemic naphthofurans were synthesized as "hybrid" molecules of the two major prototypical hallucinogenic drug classes, the phenethylamines and the tryptamines/ergolines. Although it was hypothesized that these new agents might possess high affinity for the serotonin 5-HT2A/2C receptor subtypes, unexpected affinity for muscarinic receptors was observed. The compounds initially synthesized for this study were (+/-)-anti- and syn-4-amino-6-methoxy-2a,3,4,5-tetrahydro-2H-naphtho[1,8-bc]furan (4a,b), respectively, and their 8-bromo derivatives 4c,d, respectively. The brominated primary amines 4c,d were assayed initially for activity in the two-lever drug discrimination (DD) paradigm in rats trained to discriminate saline from LSD tartrate (0. 08 mg/kg). Also, 4c,d were evaluated for their ability to compete against agonist and antagonist radioligands at cloned human 5-HT2A, 5-HT2B, and 5-HT2C receptors. After the syn diastereomers were found to have the highest activity in these preliminary assays, the N-alkylated analogues syn-N,N-dimethyl-4-amino-6-methoxy-2a,3,4, 5-tetrahydro-2H-naphtho[1,8-bc]furan (4e) and syn-N, N-dipropyl-4-amino-6-methoxy-2a,3,4,5-tetrahydro-2H-naphtho[1, 8-bc]furan (4f) were prepared and assayed for their affinities at [3H]ketanserin-labeled 5-HT2A and [3H]-8-OH-DPAT-labeled 5-HT1A sites. All of the molecules tested had relatively low affinity for serotonin receptors, yet a preliminary screen indicated that compound 4d had affinity for muscarinic receptors. Thus, 4b,d,e were evaluated for their affinity at muscarinic M1-M5 receptors and also assessed for their functional characteristics at the M1 and M2 isoforms. Compound 4d had affinities of 12-33 nM at all of the muscarinic sites, with 4b,e having much lower affinity. All three compounds fully antagonized the effects of carbachol at the M1 receptor, while only 4d completely antagonized carbachol at the M2 receptor. The fact that the naphthofurans lack LSD-like activity suggests that they do not bind to the serotonin receptor in a way such that the tricyclic naphthofuran nucleus is bioisosteric with, and directly superimposable upon, the A, B, and C rings of LSD. This also implies, therefore, that the hallucinogenic phenethylamines cannot be directly superimposed on LSD in a common binding orientation for these two chemical classes, contrary to previous hypotheses.

Topics: Animals; Binding, Competitive; Brain; Cell Line; Cricetinae; Discrimination Learning; Ergolines; Furans; Hallucinogens; Humans; Lysergic Acid Diethylamide; Male; Mice; Muscarinic Antagonists; Phenethylamines; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Receptors, Muscarinic; Receptors, Serotonin; Recombinant Proteins; Stereoisomerism; Structure-Activity Relationship; Tetrahydronaphthalenes

Systemic administration of direct and indirect dopamine agonists resulted in increased extracellular ascorbic acid levels in the striatum and, to a lesser degree, in the nucleus accumbens as measured by in vivo voltammetry. Intraperitoneal d-amphetamine sulfate (5mg/kg) increased ascorbate concentrations in striatal extracellular fluid. Amphetamine also increased extracellular ascorbate levels in the nucleus accumbens although more gradually and to a lesser extent. Intraperitoneal phenethylamine hydrochloride (20 mg/kg) following pargyline hydrochloride pretreatment (20 mg/kg) increased extracellular ascorbate levels in the striatum significantly above the small increase seen in the nucleus accumbens. The direct acting dopamine agonists Ly-141865 and Ly-163502 when given i.p. at 1 mg/kg, resulted in increased extracellular ascorbate concentrations in both brain areas, again with a significantly greater effect in the striatum. These results indicate that brain extracellular ascorbate levels can be modulated by dopaminergic neuro-transmission and that this modulation is quantitatively different in different dopamine-containing brain structures.

Topics: Animals; Ascorbic Acid; Corpus Striatum; Dextroamphetamine; Dopamine Agents; Ergolines; Extracellular Space; Male; Nucleus Accumbens; Phenethylamines; Quinolines; Quinpirole; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains