Low-grade neuroepithelial tumors (LGNTs) are diverse CNS tumors presenting in children and young adults, often with a history of epilepsy. While the genetic profiles of common LGNTs, such as the pilocytic astrocytoma and ‘adult-type’ diffuse gliomas, are largely established, those of uncommon LGNTs remain to be defined. In this study, we have used massively parallel sequencing and various targeted molecular genetic approaches to study alterations in 91 LGNTs, mostly from children but including young adult patients. These tumors comprise dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumors (DNETs; n=22), diffuse oligodendroglial tumors (d-OTs; n=20), diffuse astrocytomas (DAs; n=17), angiocentric gliomas (n=15), and gangliogliomas (n=17). Most LGNTs (84%) analyzed by whole-genome sequencing (WGS) were characterized by a single driver genetic alteration. Alterations of FGFR1 occurred frequently in LGNTs composed of oligodendrocyte-like cells, being present in 82% of DNETs and 40% of d-OTs. In contrast, a MYB-QKI fusion characterized almost all angiocentric gliomas (87%), and MYB fusion genes were the most common genetic alteration in DAs (41%). A BRAF:p.V600E mutation was present in 35% of gangliogliomas and 18% of DAs. Pathogenic alterations in FGFR1/2/3, BRAF, or MYB/MYBL1 occurred in 78% of the series. Adult-type d-OTs with an IDH1/2 mutation occurred in four adolescents, the youngest aged 15 years at biopsy. Despite a detailed analysis, novel genetic alterations were limited to two fusion genes, EWSR1-PATZ1 and SLMAP-NTRK2, both in gangliogliomas. Alterations in BRAF, FGFR1, or MYB account for most pathogenic alterations in LGNTs, including pilocytic astrocytomas, and alignment of these genetic alterations and cytologic features across LGNTs has diagnostic implications. Additionally, therapeutic options based upon targeting the effects of these alterations are already in clinical trials.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) modulate diverse physiological and behavioral signaling pathways by virtue of changes in receptor activation and inactivation states. Functional changes in receptor properties include dynamic interactions with regulatory molecules and trafficking to various cellular compartments at various stages of the life cycle of a GPCR. This review focuses on trafficking of GPCRs to the cell surface, stabilization there, and agonist-regulated turnover. GPCR interactions with a variety of newly revealed partners also are reviewed with the intention of provoking further analysis of the relevance of these interactions in GPCR trafficking, signaling, or both. The disease consequences of mislocalization of GPCRs also are described.

The discovery of allosteric modulators of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) provides a promising new strategy with potential for developing novel treatments for a variety of central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Traditional drug discovery efforts targeting GPCRs have focused on developing ligands for orthosteric sites which bind endogenous ligands. Allosteric modulators target a site separate from the orthosteric site to modulate receptor function. These allosteric agents can either potentiate (positive allosteric modulator, PAM) or inhibit (negative allosteric modulator, NAM) the receptor response and often provide much greater subtype selectivity than do orthosteric ligands for the same receptors. Experimental evidence has revealed more nuanced pharmacological modes of action of allosteric modulators, with some PAMs showing allosteric agonism in combination with positive allosteric modulation in response to endogenous ligand (ago-potentiators) as well as “bitopic” ligands that interact with both the allosteric and orthosteric sites. Drugs targeting the allosteric site allow for increased drug selectivity and potentially decreased adverse side effects. Promising evidence has demonstrated potential utility of a number of allosteric modulators of GPCRs in multiple CNS disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Huntington’s disease, as well as psychiatric or neurobehavioral diseases such as anxiety, schizophrenia, and addiction.

To understand the mechanisms of G protein-coupled receptor delivery and steady state localization, we examined the trafficking itineraries of wild type (WT) and mutant V2 vasopressin receptors (V2Rs) in polarized Madin-Darby canine kidney II (MDCK II) cells and in COS M6 cells; the mutant V2Rs represent selected alleles responsible for X-linked nephrogenic diabetes insipidus. The WT V2R is localized on the plasma membrane and mediates arginine vasopressin (AVP)-stimulated cAMP accumulation, whereas the clinically relevant V2R mutants, L292P V2R, Delta V278 V2R, and R337X V2R, are retained intracellularly, are insensitive to extracellularly added AVP, and are not processed beyond initial immature glycosylation, manifest by their endoglycosidase H sensitivity. Reduced temperature and pharmacological, but not chemical, strategies rescue mutant V2Rs to the cell surface of COS M6 cells; surface rescue of L292P V2R and R337X V2R, but not of Delta V278 V2R, parallels acquisition of AVP-stimulated cAMP production. Pharmacological rescue of the L292P or R337X V2R by incubation with the membrane-permeant V2R antagonist, SR121463B, leads to a mature glycosylated form of the receptor that achieves localization on the basolateral surface of polarized MDCK II cells indistinguishable from that of the WT V2R. Surprisingly, however, the immature form of the mutant L292P V2R escapes to the apical, but not basolateral, surface of polarized MDCK II cells, even in the absence of SR121463B. These findings are consistent with the interpretation that the receptor conformation that allows appropriate processing through the N-linked glycosylation pathway is also essential for V2R targeting to the appropriate surface of polarized epithelial cells.

The modification of 3′-((2-cyclopentyl-6,7-dimethyl-1-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-5-yloxy)methyl)biphenyl-4-carboxylic acid (BINA, 1) by incorporating heteroatoms into the structure and replacing the cyclopentyl moiety led to the development of new mGluR2 positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) with optimized potency and superior drug-like properties. These analogues are more potent than 1 in vitro, and are highly selective for mGluR2 vs. other mGluR subtypes. They have significantly improved pharmacokinetic (PK) properties, with excellent oral bioavailability and brain penetration. The benzisothiazol-3-one derivative 14 decreased cocaine self-administration in rats, providing proof-of-concept for the use of mGluR2 PAMs for the treatment of cocaine dependence. KeywordsMetabotropic glutamate receptors; agonist; positive allosteric modulators; BINA; cocaine selfadministration Cocaine addiction is a chronic relapsing disorder affecting more than 1.6 million Americans. 1 Relapse rates among cocaine users is in the range of 94-99%, the highest among all commonly abused drugs. 2 Chronic cocaine abuse can lead to severe neurotoxicity, psychosis, lethargy, depression, or potentially death through a fatal overdose. Currently there is no effective treatment for cocaine dependence, and therefore cocaine addiction constitutes a major public health problem. Consequently, there is a significant need to identify new therapeutic agents for the treatment of cocaine and other psychomotor stimulant addictions. Recent findings suggest that neuroadaptations in glutamatergic * Corresponding Author: To whom correspondence should be addressed. ncosford@sanfordburnham.org. † These authors contributed equally to this work. NIH Public AccessAuthor Manuscript J Med Chem. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2012 January 13. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript transmission produced by repeated exposure to cocaine or other drugs of abuse are likely to contribute to the maintenance of addictive behaviors including drug use, craving and relapse to drug taking in humans. 3 Specifically, it has been shown that repeated cocaine exposure alters the function of Group II metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs). 4a The Group II mGluRs include the mGluR2 and mGluR3 subtypes, which couple to G i/o proteins to negatively regulate the activity of adenylyl cyclase. 4b Brain regions implicated in different aspects of drug abuse and drug dependence, including the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, striatum, amygdala, frontal cortex and nucleus accumbens display high levels of mGluR2 and mGluR3 binding, 5 suggesting a role for the mGluR2/3 subtypes in the development of cocaine dependence and as potential targets for therapeutic agents. 3a,3e,3f,6 Orthosteric (glutamate site) mGluR2/3 agonists such as LY379268 6g are constrained amino acid analogues that do not exhibit selectivity for mGluR2 versus mGluR3, presumably because of the high degree of sequence homology at the glutamate binding site for these two recept...

Cocaine abuse remains a public health concern for which pharmacotherapies are largely ineffective. Comorbidities between cocaine abuse, depression, and anxiety support the development of novel treatments targeting multiple symptom clusters. Selective negative allosteric modulators (NAMs) targeting the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGlu 5 ) subtype are currently in clinical trials for the treatment of multiple neuropsychiatric disorders and have shown promise in preclinical models of substance abuse. However, complete blockade or inverse agonist activity by some full mGlu 5 NAM chemotypes demonstrated adverse effects, including psychosis in humans and psychotomimetic-like effects in animals, suggesting a narrow therapeutic window. Development of partial mGlu 5 NAMs, characterized by their submaximal but saturable levels of blockade, may represent a novel approach to broaden the therapeutic window. To understand potential therapeutic vs adverse effects in preclinical behavioral assays, we examined the partial mGlu 5 NAMs, M-5MPEP and Br-5MPEPy, in comparison with the full mGlu 5 NAM MTEP across models of addiction and psychotomimetic-like activity. M-5MPEP, Br-5MPEPy, and MTEP dose-dependently decreased cocaine self-administration and attenuated the discriminative stimulus effects of cocaine. M-5MPEP and Br-5MPEPy also demonstrated antidepressant-and anxiolytic-like activity. Dose-dependent effects of partial and full mGlu 5 NAMs in these assays corresponded with increasing in vivo mGlu 5 occupancy, demonstrating an orderly occupancy-to-efficacy relationship. PCP-induced hyperlocomotion was potentiated by MTEP, but not by M-5MPEP and Br-5MPEPy. Further, MTEP, but not M-5MPEP, potentiated the discriminative-stimulus effects of PCP. The present data suggest that partial mGlu 5 NAM activity is sufficient to produce therapeutic effects similar to full mGlu 5 NAMs, but with a broader therapeutic index.

Negative allosteric modulators (NAMs) of metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 5 (mGlu 5 ) have potential applications in the treatment of fragile X syndrome, levodopa-induced dyskinesia in Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease, addiction, and anxiety; however, clinical and preclinical studies raise concerns that complete blockade of mGlu 5 and inverse agonist activity of current mGlu 5 NAMs contribute to adverse effects that limit the therapeutic use of these compounds. We report the discovery and characterization of a novel mGlu 5 NAM, N,N-diethyl-5-((3-fluorophenyl)ethynyl)picolinamide (VU0477573) that binds to the same allosteric site as the prototypical mGlu 5 NAM MPEP but displays weak negative cooperativity. Because of this weak cooperativity, VU0477573 acts as a "partial NAM" so that full occupancy of the MPEP site does not completely inhibit maximal effects of mGlu 5 agonists on intracellular calcium mobilization, inositol phosphate (IP) accumulation, or inhibition of synaptic transmission at the hippocampal Schaffer collateral-CA1 synapse. Unlike previous mGlu 5 NAMs, VU0477573 displays no inverse agonist activity assessed using measures of effects on basal [3 H]inositol phosphate (IP) accumulation. VU0477573 acts as a full NAM when measuring effects on mGlu 5 -mediated extracellular signal-related kinases 1/2 phosphorylation, which may indicate functional bias. VU0477573 exhibits an excellent pharmacokinetic profile and good brain penetration in rodents and provides dose-dependent full mGlu 5 occupancy in the central nervous system (CNS) with systemic administration. Interestingly, VU0477573 shows robust efficacy, comparable to the mGlu 5 NAM MTEP, in models of anxiolytic activity at doses that provide full CNS occupancy of mGlu 5 and demonstrate an excellent CNS occupancy-efficacy relationship. VU0477573 provides an exciting new tool to investigate the efficacy of partial NAMs in animal models.

Compounds that modulate metabotropic glutamate subtype 2 (mGlu2) receptors have the potential to treat several disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) including drug dependence. Herein we describe the synthesis and structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies around a series of mGlu2 receptor positive allosteric modulators (PAMs). The effects of N-substitution (R1) and substitutions on the aryl ring (R2) were identified as key areas for SAR exploration (Figure 3). Investigation of the effects of varying substituents in both the isoindolinone (2) and benzisothiazolone (3) series led to compounds with improved in vitro potency and/or efficacy. In addition, several analogues exhibited promising pharmacokinetic (PK) properties. Furthermore, compound 2 was shown to dose-dependently decrease nicotine self-administration in rats following oral administration. Our data, showing for the first time efficacy of an mGlu2 receptor PAM in this in vivo model, suggest potential utility for the treatment of nicotine dependence in humans.