PD 142676 (CI 1002), a novel anticholinesterase and muscarinic antagonist

Delay-dependent cholinergic modulation of visual short-term memory in rhesus macaques

Cholinergic neuromodulation is known to play a key role in visual working memory (VWM) - keeping relevant stimulus representations available for cognitive processes for short time periods (up to a few minutes). Despite the growing body of evidence on how the neural and cognitive mechanisms of VWM dynamically change over retention time, there is mixed evidence available on cholinergic effects as a function of VWM delay period in non-human primates. Using the delayed matching to sample VWM task in rhesus macaques (N = 6), we aimed to characterize VWM maintenance in terms of performance changes as a function of delay duration (across a wide range of delays from 1 to 76 s). Then, we studied how cholinergic neuromodulation influences VWM maintenance using the muscarinic receptor antagonist scopolamine administered alone as transient amnestic treatment, and in combination with two doses of the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor donepezil, a widely used Alzheimer's medication probing for the reversal of scopolamine-induced impairments. Results indicate that scopolamine-induced impairments of VWM maintenance are delay-dependent and specifically affect the 15-33 s time range, suggesting that scopolamine worsens the normal decay of VWM with the passage of time. Donepezil partially rescued the observed scopolamine-induced impairments of VWM performance. These results provide strong behavioral evidence for the role of increased cholinergic tone and muscarinic neuromodulation in the maintenance of VWM beyond a few seconds, in line with our current knowledge on the role of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in sustained neural activity during VWM delay periods.

Acetylcholinesterase immobilization and characterization, and comparison of the activity of the porous silicon-immobilized enzyme with its free counterpart

The physically adsorbed acetylcholinesterase on mesoporous silicon surface is presented. The catalytic behavior of immobilized enzyme was assessed by spectrophotometric bioassay. The immobilization enhanced the reusability, shelf life and thermal as well as pH stability

A successful prescription is presented for acetylcholinesterase physically adsorbed on to a mesoporous silicon surface, with a promising hydrolytic response towards acetylthiocholine iodide. The catalytic behaviour of the immobilized enzyme was assessed by spectrophotometric bioassay using neostigmine methyl sulfate as a standard acetycholinesterase inhibitor. The surface modification was studied through field emission SEM, Fourier transform IR spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, cathode luminescence and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis, photoluminescence measurement and spectrophotometric bioassay. The porous silicon-immobilized enzyme not only yielded greater enzyme stability, but also significantly improved the native photoluminescence at room temperature of the bare porous silicon architecture. The results indicated the promising catalytic behaviour of immobilized enzyme compared with that of its free counterpart, with a greater stability, and that it aided reusability and easy separation from the reaction mixture. The porous silicon-immobilized enzyme was found to retain 50% of its activity, promising thermal stability up to 90°C, reusability for up to three cycles, pH stability over a broad pH of 4–9 and a shelf-life of 44 days, with an optimal hydrolytic response towards acetylthiocholine iodide at variable drug concentrations. On the basis of these findings, it was believed that the porous silicon-immobilized enzyme could be exploited as a reusable biocatalyst and for screening of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors from crude plant extracts and synthesized organic compounds. Moreover, the immobilized enzyme could offer a great deal as a viable biocatalyst in bioprocessing for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, and bioremediation to enhance productivity and robustness.

In vivo brain microdialysis: advances in neuropsychopharmacology and drug discovery

INTRODUCTION: Microdialysis is an important in vivo sampling technique, useful in the assay of extracellular tissue fluid. The technique has both pre-clinical and clinical applications but is most widely used in neuroscience. The in vivo microdialysis technique allows measurement of neurotransmitters such as acetycholine (ACh), the biogenic amines including dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE) and serotonin (5-HT), amino acids such as glutamate (Glu) and gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA), as well as the metabolites of the aforementioned neurotransmitters, and neuropeptides in neuronal extracellular fluid in discrete brain regions of laboratory animals such as rodents and non-human primates. AREAS COVERED: In this review we present a brief overview of the principles and procedures related to in vivo microdialysis and detail the use of this technique in the pre-clinical measurement of drugs designed to be used in the treatment of chemical addiction, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD) and as well as psychiatric disorders such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and schizophrenia. This review offers insight into the tremendous utility and versatility of this technique in pursuing neuropharmacological investigations as well its significant potential in rational drug discovery. EXPERT OPINION: In vivo microdialysis is an extremely versatile technique, routinely used in the neuropharmacological investigation of drugs used for the treatment of neurological disorders. This technique has been a boon in the elucidation of the neurochemical profile and mechanism of action of several classes of drugs especially their effects on neurotransmitter systems. The exploitation and development of this technique for drug discovery in the near future will enable investigational new drug candidates to be rapidly moved into the clinical trial stages and to market thus providing new successful therapies for neurological diseases that are currently in demand.

The pharmacology of novel acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, (+/-)-huprines Y and X, on the Torpedo electric organ

The effects of the tacrine-huperzine A hybrid acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, (+/-)-12-amino-3-chloro-9-methyl-6,7,10,11-tetrahydro-7,11-methanocycloocta[b]quinoline hydrochloride ((+/-)-huprine Y) and (+/-)-12-amino-3-chloro-9-ethyl-6,7,10,11-tetrahydro-7,11-methanocycloocta[b]quinoline hydrochloride ((+/-)-huprine X), were tested on spontaneous synaptic activity by measuring the amplitude, the rise time, the rate of rise, the half-width and the area or the electrical charge of the miniature endplate potentials (m.e.p.ps) recorded extracellularly on Torpedo electric organ fragments. (+/-)-Huprine Y and (+/-)-huprine X at a concentration of 500 nM increased all the m.e.p.p. variables analyzed. The effect of (+/-)-huprine Y was smaller than that of (+/-)-huprine X for all the variables except for the rate of rise where there was no significant difference. The effects of these drugs were also tested on nicotinic receptors by analyzing the currents elicited by acetylcholine (100 microM) in Xenopus laevis oocytes, transplanted with membranes from Torpedo electric organ. Both drugs inhibited the currents in a reversible manner, (+/-)-huprine Y (IC(50)=452 nM) being more effective than (+/-)-huprine X (IC(50)=4865 nM). The Hill coefficient was 0.5 for both drugs. The inhibition of the nicotinic receptor was voltage-dependent and decreased at depolarizing potentials, and there was no significant difference in the effects between (+/-)-huprine Y and (+/-)-huprine X at concentrations near to their IC(50) values. At depolarizing potentials between -20 and +15 mV, these drugs did not have any detectable effect on the blockade of the nicotinic receptor. Both huprines increased the desensitization of the nicotinic receptors since the current closed quickly in the presence of the drugs, and there was no significant difference in this effect between (+/-)-huprine Y (500 nM) and (+/-)-huprine X (5 microM). We conclude that (+/-)-huprine Y and (+/-)-huprine X increase the level of acetylcholine in the synaptic cleft more effectively than tacrine. The interaction of (+/-)-huprine X with nicotinic receptors is weaker than that of (+/-)-huprine Y, suggesting that (+/-)-huprine X would be more specific to maintain the extracellular acetylcholine concentration.

Effects of CI-1002 and CI-1017 on spontaneous synaptic activity and on the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor of Torpedo electric organ

The effect of azepino[2,1-b]quinazoline 1,3-dichloro-6,7,8,9,10, 12-hexahydro-, mono-hydrochloride (CI-1002), a tacrine derivative, and 1-azabicyclo[2.2.1]heptan-3-one, O-[3-(methoxyphenyl)-2-propynyl]oxime [R-(Z)]-2-butenedioate (CI-1017), a muscarinic M(1) receptor agonist, on spontaneous synaptic activity was investigated by measuring amplitude, rise time, velocity of rising, half-width, and electrical charge of miniature endplate potentials (m.e.p.p.) recorded extracellularly in Torpedo electric organ fragments. The effect of CI-1002 and CI-1017 on the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor was investigated by measuring the current induced by acetylcholine in Xenopus laevis oocytes transplanted with membranes from Torpedo electric organ. CI-1002, at a concentration of 1 microM, altered the m.e.p.p. by increasing the amplitude (from 1.08+/-0.01 to 2.76+/-0.03 mV), rise time (from 0. 700+/-0.006 to 1.02+/-0.01 ms), rising rate (from 1.79+/-0.02 to 3. 45+/-0.05 mV/ms), half-width (from 0.990+/-0.008 to 2.40+/-0.02 ms), and electrical charge (from 304+/-4 to 784+/-11 mV s). CI-1017, at a concentration of 1 microM, altered the m.e.p.p. by decreasing the amplitude (from 1.08+/-0.01 to 0.650+/-0.007 mV), rise time (from 0. 700+/-0.006 to 0.530+/-0.007 ms), rising rate (from 1.79+/-0.02 to 1. 53+/-0.02 mV/ms), half-width (from 0.990+/-0.008 to 0.670+/-0.007 ms), and electrical charge (from 304+/-4 to 75+/-1 mV s). CI-1002 inhibited the acetylcholine-induced current of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors with an IC(50) of 3.4+/-0.3 microM. CI-1017 inhibited the acetylcholine-induced current of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors with an IC(50) of 0.8+/-0.1 microM. These results indicate that, although both drugs interacted negatively with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, CI-1002 overcame this inhibition by recruiting more acetylcholine to build a quantum.