Abstract
Development of 5-HT2C agonists for treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders, including psychoses, substance abuse, and obesity, has been fraught with difficulties, because the vast majority of reported 5-HT2C selective agonists also activate 5-HT2A and/or 5-HT2B receptors, potentially causing hallucinations and/or cardiac valvulopathy. Herein is described a novel, potent, and efficacious human 5-HT2C receptor agonist, (−)-trans-(2S,4R)-4-(3′[meta]-bromophenyl)-N,N-dimethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalen-2-amine (−)-MBP), that is a competitive antagonist and inverse agonist at human 5-HT2A and 5-HT2B receptors, respectively. (−)-MBP has efficacy comparable to the prototypical second-generation antipsychotic drug clozapine in three C57Bl/6 mouse models of drug-induced psychoses: the head-twitch response elicited by [2,5]-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine; hyperlocomotion induced by MK-801 [(5R,10S)-(+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-5,10-imine hydrogen maleate (dizocilpine maleate)]; and hyperlocomotion induced by amphetamine. (−)-MBP, however, does not alter locomotion when administered alone, distinguishing it from clozapine, which suppresses locomotion. Finally, consumption of highly palatable food by mice was not increased by (−)-MBP at a dose that produced at least 50% maximal efficacy in the psychoses models. Compared with (−)-MBP, the enantiomer (+)-MBP was much less active across in vitro affinity and functional assays using mouse and human receptors and also translated in vivo with comparably lower potency and efficacy. Results indicate a 5-HT2C receptor-specific agonist, such as (−)-MBP, may be pharmacotherapeutic for psychoses, without liability for obesity, hallucinations, heart disease, sedation, or motoric disorders.
Footnotes
- Received December 16, 2013.
- Accepted February 19, 2014.
↵1 Current affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts.
↵2 Current affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani, Rajasthan, India.
This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental Health [Grant R01-MH081193]; and National Institutes of Health National Institute on Drug Abuse [Grants R01-DA023928, R01-DA030989] (to R.G.B. and D.M.).
- Copyright © 2014 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
JPET articles become freely available 12 months after publication, and remain freely available for 5 years.Non-open access articles that fall outside this five year window are available only to institutional subscribers and current ASPET members, or through the article purchase feature at the bottom of the page.
|