Abstract
JTP-4819 ((S)-2-[[(S)-2-(hydroxyacetyl)-1-pyrrolidinyl]carbonyl]-N- phenylmethyl)-1-pyrrolidinecarboxamide) is a potent (IC50: 0.83 +/- 0.09 nM in rat brain supernatant; 5.43 +/- 0.81 nM in Flavobacterium meningosepticum) and specific inhibitor of prolyl endopeptidase (PEP). JTP-4819 (3 mg/kg p.o.) exhibited a strong and durable ex vivo inhibitory effect on PEP in various regions of the rat brain. In addition, JTP-4819 inhibited the degradation of substance P, arginine-vasopressin, thyrotropin-releasing hormone, neurotensin, oxytocin, bradykinin, and angiotensin II by purified PEP with IC50 values of 9.6, 13.9, 10.7, 14.0, 4.5, 7.6 and 10.6 nM, respectively. In the one-trial passive avoidance test in rats with scopolamine-induced amnesia, JTP-4819 significantly prolonged the retention time when administered orally at doses of 1 and 3 mg/kg 1 hr before acquisition or at 3 and 10 mg/kg 1 hr before retention. In addition, coadministration of JTP-4819 and substance P, arginine-vasopressin or thyrotropin-releasing hormone (at doses at which each drug alone did not prolong the retention time) improved the retention time of rats with scopolamine-induced amnesia. Microdialysis studies demonstrated that JTP-4819 caused a significant increase in ACh release in the frontal cortex and hippocampus of young rats at oral doses of 1 and 3 mg/kg, as well as in both brain regions of aged rats at a dose of 3 mg/kg. These results indicate that JTP-4819 potentiates neuropeptide functions inhibiting PEP, that it activates cholinergic transmission and that it enhances learning and memory.
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.
|