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Durairaja A, Fendt M. Orexin deficiency modulates cognitive flexibility in a sex-dependent manner. GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2020; 20:e12707. [PMID: 33070452 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Revised: 10/01/2020] [Accepted: 10/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive flexibility is an important executive function and refers to the ability to adapt behaviors in response to changes in the environment. Of note, many brain disorders are associated with impairments in cognitive flexibility. Several classical neurotransmitter systems including dopamine, acetylcholine and noradrenaline are shown to be important for cognitive flexibility, however, there is not much known about the role of neuropeptides. The neuropeptide orexin, which is brain-widely released by neurons in the lateral hypothalamus, is a major player in maintaining sleep/wake cycle, feeding behavior, arousal, and motivational behavior. Recent studies showed a role of orexin in attention, cognition and stress-induced attenuation of cognitive flexibility by disrupting orexin signaling locally or systemically. However, it is not known so far whether brain-wide reduction or loss of orexin affects cognitive flexibility. We investigated this question by testing male and female orexin-deficient mice in the attentional set shifting task (ASST), an established paradigm of cognitive flexibility. We found that orexin deficiency impaired the intra-dimensional shift phase of the ASST selectively in female homozygous orexin-deficient mice and improved the first reversal learning phase selectively in male homozygous orexin-deficient mice. We also found that these orexin-mediated sex-based modulations of cognitive flexibility were not correlated with trait anxiety, narcoleptic episodes, and reward consumption. Our findings highlight a sexually dimorphic role of orexin in regulating cognitive flexibility and the need for further investigations of sex-specific functions of the orexin circuitry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Archana Durairaja
- Institute for Pharmacology and Toxicology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Markus Fendt
- Institute for Pharmacology and Toxicology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany.,Center of Behavioral Brain Sciences, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
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Troxler T, Feuerbach D, Zhang X, Yang CR, Lagu B, Perrone M, Wang TL, Briner K, Bock MG, Auberson YP. The Discovery of LML134, a Histamine H3 Receptor Inverse Agonist for the Clinical Treatment of Excessive Sleep Disorders. ChemMedChem 2019; 14:1238-1247. [PMID: 30957954 DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.201900176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Histamine H3 receptor (H3R) inverse agonists that have been in clinical trials for the treatment of excessive sleep disorders, have been plagued with insomnia as a mechanism-based side effect. We focused on the identification of compounds that achieve high receptor occupancy within a short time, followed by rapid disengagement from the receptor, a target profile that could provide therapeutic benefits without the undesired side effect of insomnia. This article describes the optimization work that led to the discovery of 1-(1-methyl-6-oxo-1,6-dihydropyridazin-3-yl)piperidin-4-yl 4-cyclobutylpiperazine-1-carboxylate (18 b, LML134).
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Troxler
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Novartis Pharma AG, Klybeckstrasse 141, 4057, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Dominik Feuerbach
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Novartis Pharma AG, Klybeckstrasse 141, 4057, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Xuechun Zhang
- ChemPartner, 998 Halei Road, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park Pudong New Area, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Charles R Yang
- ShangPharma Innovation Inc., 280 Utah Avenue, South San Francisco, CA, 94080, USA
| | - Bharat Lagu
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Novartis Pharma AG, 250 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Mark Perrone
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Novartis Pharma AG, 250 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Tie-Lin Wang
- ChemPartner, 998 Halei Road, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park Pudong New Area, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Karin Briner
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Novartis Pharma AG, 250 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Mark G Bock
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Novartis Pharma AG, 250 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Yves P Auberson
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Novartis Pharma AG, Klybeckstrasse 141, 4057, Basel, Switzerland
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Abstract
Chemokines and their receptors are known to play important roles in disease. More than 40 chemokine ligands and 20 chemokine receptors have been identified, but, to date, only two small molecule chemokine receptor antagonists have been approved by the FDA. The chemokine receptor CXCR3 was identified in 1996, and nearly 20 years later, new areas of CXCR3 disease biology continue to emerge. Several classes of small molecule CXCR3 antagonists have been developed, and two have shown efficacy in preclinical models of inflammatory disease. However, only one CXCR3 antagonist has been evaluated in clinical trials, and there remain many opportunities to further investigate known classes of CXCR3 antagonists and to identify new chemotypes. This Perspective reviews the known CXCR3 antagonists and considers future opportunities for the development of small molecules for clinical evaluation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen P Andrews
- Heptares Therapeutics , BioPark, Broadwater Road, Welwyn Garden City, AL7 3AX, United Kingdom
| | - Rhona J Cox
- Respiratory, Inflammation & Autoimmunity iMed, AstraZeneca, Respiratory, Inflammation & Autoimmunity IMED , Pepparedsleden, 431 83 Mölndal, Sweden
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