Dopamine (DA), as one of the major neurotransmitters in the central nervous system (CNS) and periphery, exerts its actions through five types of receptors which belong to two major subfamilies such as D1-like (i.e., D1 and D5 receptors) and D2-like (i.e., D2, D3 and D4) receptors. Dopamine D3 receptor (D3R) was cloned 30 years ago, and its distribution in the CNS and in the periphery, molecular structure, cellular signaling mechanisms have been largely explored. Involvement of D3Rs has been recognized in several CNS functions such as movement control, cognition, learning, reward, emotional regulation and social behavior. D3Rs have become a promising target of drug research and great efforts have been made to obtain high affinity ligands (selective agonists, partial agonists and antagonists) in order to elucidate D3R functions. There has been a strong drive behind the efforts to find drug-like compounds with high affinity and selectivity and various functionality for D3Rs in the hope that they would have potential treatment options in CNS diseases such as schizophrenia, drug abuse, Parkinson’s disease, depression, and restless leg syndrome. In this review, we provide an overview and update of the major aspects of research related to D3Rs: distribution in the CNS and periphery, signaling and molecular properties, the status of ligands available for D3R research (agonists, antagonists and partial agonists), behavioral functions of D3Rs, the role in neural networks, and we provide a summary on how the D3R-related drug research has been translated to human therapy.
In vitro binding characteristics of the dopamine D₃/D₂ antagonist [³H]raclopride were compared to the D₃/D₂ agonist [³H](+)-PHNO in membrane preparations from rat striatum, cerebellum Lobules 9 and 10 (CB L9,10), and other cerebellar regions. In striatum, both radioligands labeled a single binding site. [³H](+)-PHNO showed higher affinity, though lower B(max) , compared with [³H]raclopride and was sensitive to inhibition by Gpp(NH)p. [³H](+)-PHNO showed significant specific binding to CB L9,10 membranes with higher affinity compared to striatal membranes. [³H](+)-PHNO binds to a high- and a low-affinity binding site in CB L9,10 membranes; the high-affinity site was not Gpp(NH)p-sensitive. [³H](+)-PHNO did not significantly bind cerebellum left hemisphere membranes. Very low specific binding of [³H]raclopride was found in CB L9,10. The selective dopamine D₃ antagonist SB-277011 did not displace the binding of either ligand to striatal membranes but potently inhibited the binding of [³H](+)-PHNO in CB L9,10 membranes. The highly selective D₂ antagonist SV-156 showed the opposite profile. In vivo experiments were consistent with and supported by in vitro results. In summary, [³H](+)-PHNO and [³H]raclopride mainly label dopamine D₂ receptors in rat striatum, with [³H](+)-PHNO labeling a D₂(High) population. In vitro and in vivo, [³H](+)-PHNO labels CB L9,10 dopamine D₃ receptors that are apparently in a high affinity state whereas [³H]raclopride gave only very low signal in this region. The present approaches appear useful for selectively labeling dopamine D₃ and D₂ receptors in different rat brain regions and offer the possibility to demonstrate D₃ versus D₂ receptor selectivity of compounds using native rat brain tissue.
Negative allosteric modulators (NAM) of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) have been implicated as a potential pharmacotherapy for a number of psychiatric diseases, including anxiety and depression. Most of the mGluR5 NAM clinical candidates can be characterized by the central acetylenic moiety that connects the terminal pharmacophores. Identification of a sulfoquinoline hit via high throughput screening (HTS) followed by optimization provided a 4-phenyl-3-aryl-sulfoquinoline lead compound with the minimal pharmacophore. Optimization of the core and aryl appendages was performed by scanning and matrix libraries synthesized by the multiple parallel synthesis approach. Biological evaluation of matrix libraries provided a number of potent, metabolically stable, and in vivo active compounds. One of these compounds, 25 showed high efficacy and safety in preclinical in vivo models; this allowed its nomination as a novel, nonacetylenic mGluR5 NAM clinical candidate. Compound 25 was advanced to first-in-man trials for the treatment of psychiatric conditions.
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