PTC-174, a positive allosteric modulator of NMDA receptors containing GluN2C or GluN2D subunits

NMDA receptors are ionotropic glutamate receptors that mediate excitatory neurotransmission. The diverse functions of these receptors are tuned by deploying different combinations of GluN1 and GluN2 subunits (GluN2A-D) to form either diheteromeric NMDA receptors, which contain two GluN1 and two identical GluN2 subunits, or triheteromeric NMDA receptors, which contain two GluN1 and two distinct GluN2 subunits. Here, we characterize PTC-174, a novel positive allosteric modulator (PAM) of receptors containing GluN2C or GluN2D subunits. PTC-174 potentiates maximal current amplitudes by 1.8-fold for diheteromeric GluN1/2B receptors and by > 10-fold for GluN1/2C and GluN1/2D receptors. PTC-174 also potentiates responses from triheteromeric GluN1/2B/2D and GluN1/2A/2C receptors by 4.5-fold and 1.7-fold, respectively. By contrast, PTC-174 produces partial inhibition of responses from diheteromeric GluN1/2A and triheteromeric GluN1/2A/2B receptors. PTC-174 increases potencies of co-agonists glutamate and glycine by 2- to 5-fold at GluN1/2C and GluN1/2D receptors, and NMDA receptor activation facilitates allosteric modulation by PTC-174. At native NMDA receptors in GluN2D-expressing subthalamic nucleus neurons, PTC-174 increases the amplitude of responses to NMDA application and slows the decay of excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) evoked by internal capsule stimulation. Furthermore, PTC-174 increases the amplitude and slows the decay of EPSCs in hippocampal interneurons, but has not effect on the amplitudes of NMDA receptor-mediated EPSCs in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons. Thus, PTC-174 provides a useful new pharmacological tool to investigate the molecular pharmacology and physiology of GluN2C- and GluN2D-containing NMDA receptors.

Treatment with HC-070, a potent inhibitor of TRPC4 and TRPC5, leads to anxiolytic and antidepressant effects in mice

Background

Forty million adults in the US suffer from anxiety disorders, making these the most common forms of mental illness. Transient receptor potential channel canonical subfamily (TRPC) members 4 and 5 are non-selective cation channels highly expressed in regions of the cortex and amygdala, areas thought to be important in regulating anxiety. Previous work with null mice suggests that inhibition of TRPC4 and TRPC5 may have anxiolytic effects.

HC-070 in vitro

To assess the potential of TRPC4/5 inhibitors as an avenue for treatment, we invented a highly potent, small molecule antagonist of TRPC4 and TRPC5 which we call HC-070. HC-070 inhibits recombinant TRPC4 and TRPC5 homomultimers in heterologous expression systems with nanomolar potency. It also inhibits TRPC1/5 and TRPC1/4 heteromultimers with similar potency and reduces responses evoked by cholecystokinin tetrapeptide (CCK-4) in the amygdala. The compound is >400-fold selective over a wide range of molecular targets including ion channels, receptors, and kinases.

HC-070 in vivo

Upon oral dosing in mice, HC-070 achieves exposure levels in the brain and plasma deemed sufficient to test behavioral activity. Treatment with HC-070 attenuates the anxiogenic effect of CCK-4 in the elevated plus maze (EPM). The compound recapitulates the phenotype observed in both null TRPC4 and TRPC5 mice in a standard EPM. Anxiolytic and anti-depressant effects of HC-070 are also observed in pharmacological in vivo tests including marble burying, tail suspension and forced swim. Furthermore, HC-070 ameliorates the increased fear memory induced by chronic social stress. A careful evaluation of the pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic relationship reveals that substantial efficacy is observed at unbound brain levels similar to, or even lower than, the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) recorded in vitro, increasing confidence that the observed effects are indeed mediated by TRPC4 and/or TRPC5 inhibition. Together, this experimental data set introduces a novel, high quality, small molecule antagonist of TRPC4 and TRPC5 containing channels and supports the targeting of TRPC4 and TRPC5 channels as a new mechanism of action for the treatment of psychiatric symptoms.

MPX-004 and MPX-007: New Pharmacological Tools to Study the Physiology of NMDA Receptors Containing the GluN2A Subunit

GluN2A is the most abundant of the GluN2 NMDA receptor subunits in the mammalian CNS. Physiological and genetic evidence implicate GluN2A-containing receptors in susceptibility to autism, schizophrenia, childhood epilepsy and neurodevelopmental disorders such as Rett Syndrome. However, GluN2A-selective pharmacological probes to explore the therapeutic potential of targeting these receptors have been lacking. Here we disclose a novel series of pyrazine-containing GluN2A antagonists exemplified by MPX-004 (5-(((3-chloro-4-fluorophenyl)sulfonamido)methyl)-N-((2-methylthiazol-5-yl)methyl)pyrazine-2-carboxamide) and MPX-007 (5-(((3-fluoro-4-fluorophenyl)sulfonamido)methyl)-N-((2-methylthiazol-5-yl)methyl)methylpyrazine-2-carboxamide). MPX-004 and MPX-007 inhibit GluN2A-containing NMDA receptors expressed in HEK cells with IC50s of 79 nM and 27 nM, respectively. In contrast, at concentrations that completely inhibited GluN2A activity these compounds have no inhibitory effect on GluN2B or GluN2D receptor-mediated responses in similar HEK cell-based assays. Potency and selectivity were confirmed in electrophysiology assays in Xenopus oocytes expressing GluN2A-D receptor subtypes. Maximal concentrations of MPX-004 and MPX-007 inhibited ~30% of the whole-cell current in rat pyramidal neurons in primary culture and MPX-004 inhibited ~60% of the total NMDA receptor-mediated EPSP in rat hippocampal slices. GluN2A-selectivity at native receptors was confirmed by the finding that MPX-004 had no inhibitory effect on NMDA receptor mediated synaptic currents in cortical slices from GRIN2A knock out mice. Thus, MPX-004 and MPX-007 offer highly selective pharmacological tools to probe GluN2A physiology and involvement in neuropsychiatric and developmental disorders.

TRPA1 mediates formalin-induced pain

The formalin model is widely used for evaluating the effects of analgesic compounds in laboratory animals. Injection of formalin into the hind paw induces a biphasic pain response; the first phase is thought to result from direct activation of primary afferent sensory neurons, whereas the second phase has been proposed to reflect the combined effects of afferent input and central sensitization in the dorsal horn. Here we show that formalin excites sensory neurons by directly activating TRPA1, a cation channel that plays an important role in inflammatory pain. Formalin induced robust calcium influx in cells expressing cloned or native TRPA1 channels, and these responses were attenuated by a previously undescribed TRPA1-selective antagonist. Moreover, sensory neurons from TRPA1-deficient mice lacked formalin sensitivity. At the behavioral level, pharmacologic blockade or genetic ablation of TRPA1 produced marked attenuation of the characteristic flinching, licking, and lifting responses resulting from intraplantar injection of formalin. Our results show that TRPA1 is the principal site of formalin's pain-producing action in vivo, and that activation of this excitatory channel underlies the physiological and behavioral responses associated with this model of pain hypersensitivity.

Calcium-activated potassium channels sustain calcium signaling in T lymphocytes. Selective blockers and manipulated channel expression levels

To maintain Ca(2+) entry during T lymphocyte activation, a balancing efflux of cations is necessary. Using three approaches, we demonstrate that this cation efflux is mediated by Ca(2+)-activated K(+) (K(Ca)) channels, hSKCa2 in the human leukemic T cell line Jurkat and hIKCa1 in mitogen-activated human T cells. First, several recently developed, selective and potent pharmacological inhibitors of K(Ca) channels but not K(V) channels reduce Ca(2+) entry in Jurkat and in mitogen-activated human T cells. Second, dominant-negative suppression of the native K(Ca) channel in Jurkat T cells by overexpression of a truncated fragment of the cloned hSKCa2 channel decreases Ca(2+) influx. Finally, introduction of the hIKCa1 channel into Jurkat T cells maintains rapid Ca(2+) entry despite pharmacological inhibition of the native small conductance K(Ca) channel. Thus, K(Ca) channels play a vital role in T cell Ca(2+) signaling.

Single channel properties and regulated expression of Ca(2+) release-activated Ca(2+) (CRAC) channels in human T cells

Although the crucial role of Ca(2+) influx in lymphocyte activation has been well documented, little is known about the properties or expression levels of Ca(2+) channels in normal human T lymphocytes. The use of Na(+) as the permeant ion in divalent-free solution permitted Ca(2+) release-activated Ca(2+) (CRAC) channel activation, kinetic properties, and functional expression levels to be investigated with single channel resolution in resting and phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-activated human T cells. Passive Ca(2+) store depletion resulted in the opening of 41-pS CRAC channels characterized by high open probabilities, voltage-dependent block by extracellular Ca(2+) in the micromolar range, selective Ca(2+) permeation in the millimolar range, and inactivation that depended upon intracellular Mg(2+) ions. The number of CRAC channels per cell increased greatly from approximately 15 in resting T cells to approximately 140 in activated T cells. Treatment with the phorbol ester PMA also increased CRAC channel expression to approximately 60 channels per cell, whereas the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporin A (1 microM) suppressed the PHA-induced increase in functional channel expression. Capacitative Ca(2+) influx induced by thapsigargin was also significantly enhanced in activated T cells. We conclude that a surprisingly low number of CRAC channels are sufficient to mediate Ca(2+) influx in human resting T cells, and that the expression of CRAC channels increases approximately 10-fold during activation, resulting in enhanced Ca(2+) signaling.

Capacitative calcium entry deficits and elevated luminal calcium content in mutant presenilin-1 knockin mice

Dysregulation of calcium signaling has been causally implicated in brain aging and Alzheimer's disease. Mutations in the presenilin genes (PS1, PS2), the leading cause of autosomal dominant familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD), cause highly specific alterations in intracellular calcium signaling pathways that may contribute to the neurodegenerative and pathological lesions of the disease. To elucidate the cellular mechanisms underlying these disturbances, we studied calcium signaling in fibroblasts isolated from mutant PS1 knockin mice. Mutant PS1 knockin cells exhibited a marked potentiation in the amplitude of calcium transients evoked by agonist stimulation. These cells also showed significant impairments in capacitative calcium entry (CCE, also known as store-operated calcium entry), an important cellular signaling pathway wherein depletion of intracellular calcium stores triggers influx of extracellular calcium into the cytosol. Notably, deficits in CCE were evident after agonist stimulation, but not if intracellular calcium stores were completely depleted with thapsigargin. Treatment with ionomycin and thapsigargin revealed that calcium levels within the ER were significantly increased in mutant PS1 knockin cells. Collectively, our findings suggest that the overfilling of calcium stores represents the fundamental cellular defect underlying the alterations in calcium signaling conferred by presenilin mutations.

Differential Ca2+ influx, KCa channel activity, and Ca2+ clearance distinguish Th1 and Th2 lymphocytes

In Th1 and Th2 lymphocytes, activation begins with identical stimuli but results in the production of different cytokines. The expression of some cytokine genes is differentially induced according to the amplitude and pattern of Ca2+ signaling. Using fura- 2 Ca2+ imaging of murine Th1 and Th2 clones, we observed that the Ca2+ rise elicited following store depletion with thapsigargin is significantly lower in Th2 cells than in Th1 cells. Maximal Ca2+ influx rates and whole-cell Ca2+ currents showed that both Th1 and Th2 cells express indistinguishable Ca2+-release-activated Ca2+ channels. Therefore, we investigated other mechanisms controlling the concentration of intracellular Ca2+, including K+ channels and Ca2+ clearance from the cytosol. Whole-cell recording demonstrated that there is no distinction in the amplitudes of voltage-gated K+ currents in the two cell types. Ca2+-activated K+ (KCa) currents, however, were significantly smaller in Th2 cells than in Th1 cells. Pharmacological equalization of Ca2+-activated K+ currents in the two cell types reduced but did not completely eliminate the difference between Th1 and Th2 Ca2+ responses, suggesting divergence in an additional Ca2+ regulatory mechanism. Therefore, we analyzed Ca2+ clearance from the cytosol of both cell types and found that Th2 cells extrude Ca2+ more quickly than Th1 cells. The combination of a faster Ca2+ clearance mechanism and smaller Ca2+-activated K+ currents in Th2 cells accounts for the lower Ca2+ response of Th2 cells compared with Th1 cells.

Vanadate induces calcium signaling, Ca2+ release-activated Ca2+ channel activation, and gene expression in T lymphocytes and RBL-2H3 mast cells via thiol oxidation

Using ratiometric Ca2+ imaging and patch-clamp measurement of Ca2+ channel activity, we investigated Ca2+ signaling induced by vanadium compounds in Jurkat T lymphocytes and rat basophilic leukemia cells. In the presence of external Ca2+, vanadium compounds produced sustained or oscillatory Ca2+ elevations; in nominally Ca2+-free medium, a transient Ca2+ rise was generated. Vanadate-induced Ca2+ signaling was blocked by heparin, a competitive inhibitor of the 1,4, 5-inositol trisphosphate (IP3) receptor, suggesting that Ca2+ influx is secondary to depletion of IP3-sensitive Ca2+ stores. In Jurkat T cells, vanadate also activated the Ca2+-dependent transcription factor, NF-AT. Intracellular dialysis with vanadate activated Ca2+ influx through Ca2+ release-activated Ca2+ (CRAC) channels with kinetics comparable to those of dialysis with IP3. Neither phosphatase inhibitors nor nonhydrolyzable nucleotide analogues modified CRAC channel activation. The action of vanadate, but not IP3, was prevented by the thiol-reducing agent DTT. In addition, the activation of CRAC channels by vanadate was mimicked by the thiol-oxidizing agent chloramine T. These results suggest that vanadate enhances Ca2+ signaling via thiol oxidation of a proximal element in the signal transduction cascade.

Calmodulin mediates calcium-dependent activation of the intermediate conductance KCa channel, IKCa1

Small and intermediate conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels play a crucial role in hyperpolarizing the membrane potential of excitable and nonexcitable cells. These channels are exquisitely sensitive to cytoplasmic Ca2+, yet their protein-coding regions do not contain consensus Ca2+-binding motifs. We investigated the involvement of an accessory protein in the Ca2+-dependent gating of hIKCa1, a human intermediate conductance channel expressed in peripheral tissues. Cal- modulin was found to interact strongly with the cytoplasmic carboxyl (C)-tail of hIKCa1 in a yeast two-hybrid system. Deletion analyses defined a requirement for the first 62 amino acids of the C-tail, and the binding of calmodulin to this region did not require Ca2+. The C-tail of hSKCa3, a human neuronal small conductance channel, also bound calmodulin, whereas that of a voltage-gated K+ channel, mKv1.3, did not. Calmodulin co-precipitated with the channel in cell lines transfected with hIKCa1, but not with mKv1. 3-transfected lines. A mutant calmodulin, defective in Ca2+ sensing but retaining binding to the channel, dramatically reduced current amplitudes when co-expressed with hIKCa1 in mammalian cells. Co-expression with varying amounts of wild-type and mutant calmodulin resulted in a dominant-negative suppression of current, consistent with four calmodulin molecules being associated with the channel. Taken together, our results suggest that Ca2+-calmodulin-induced conformational changes in all four subunits are necessary for the channel to open.

A nongenomic mechanism for progesterone-mediated immunosuppression: inhibition of K+ channels, Ca2+ signaling, and gene expression in T lymphocytes

The mechanism by which progesterone causes localized suppression of the immune response during pregnancy has remained elusive. Using human T lymphocytes and T cell lines, we show that progesterone, at concentrations found in the placenta, rapidly and reversibly blocks voltage-gated and calcium-activated K+ channels (KV and KCa, respectively), resulting in depolarization of the membrane potential. As a result, Ca2+ signaling and nuclear factor of activated T cells (NF-AT)-driven gene expression are inhibited. Progesterone acts distally to the initial steps of T cell receptor (TCR)-mediated signal transduction, since it blocks sustained Ca2+ signals after thapsigargin stimulation, as well as oscillatory Ca2+ signals, but not the Ca2+ transient after TCR stimulation. K+ channel blockade by progesterone is specific; other steroid hormones had little or no effect, although the progesterone antagonist RU 486 also blocked KV and KCa channels. Progesterone effectively blocked a broad spectrum of K+ channels, reducing both Kv1.3 and charybdotoxin-resistant components of KV current and KCa current in T cells, as well as blocking several cloned KV channels expressed in cell lines. Progesterone had little or no effect on a cloned voltage-gated Na+ channel, an inward rectifier K+ channel, or on lymphocyte Ca2+ and Cl- channels. We propose that direct inhibition of K+ channels in T cells by progesterone contributes to progesterone-induced immunosuppression.

Mitochondrial regulation of store-operated calcium signaling in T lymphocytes

Mitochondria act as potent buffers of intracellular Ca2+ in many cells, but a more active role in modulating the generation of Ca2+ signals is not well established. We have investigated the ability of mitochondria to modulate store-operated or "capacitative" Ca2+ entry in Jurkat leukemic T cells and human T lymphocytes using fluorescence imaging techniques. Depletion of the ER Ca2+ store with thapsigargin (TG) activates Ca2+ release-activated Ca2+ (CRAC) channels in T cells, and the ensuing influx of Ca2+ loads a TG-insensitive intracellular store that by several criteria appears to be mitochondria. Loading of this store is prevented by carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone or by antimycin A1 + oligomycin, agents that are known to inhibit mitochondrial Ca2+ import by dissipating the mitochondrial membrane potential. Conversely, intracellular Na+ depletion, which inhibits Na+-dependent Ca2+ export from mitochondria, enhances store loading. In addition, we find that rhod-2 labels mitochondria in T cells, and it reports changes in Ca2+ levels that are consistent with its localization in the TG-insensitive store. Ca2+ uptake by the mitochondrial store is sensitive (threshold is <400 nM cytosolic Ca2+), rapid (detectable within 8 s), and does not readily saturate. The rate of mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake is sensitive to extracellular [Ca2+], indicating that mitochondria sense Ca2+ gradients near CRAC channels. Remarkably, mitochondrial uncouplers or Na+ depletion prevent the ability of T cells to maintain a high rate of capacitative Ca2+ entry over prolonged periods of >10 min. Under these conditions, the rate of Ca2+ influx in single cells undergoes abrupt transitions from a high influx to a low influx state. These results demonstrate that mitochondria not only buffer the Ca2+ that enters T cells via store-operated Ca2+ channels, but also play an active role in modulating the rate of capacitative Ca2+ entry.

Characterization of T cell mutants with defects in capacitative calcium entry: genetic evidence for the physiological roles of CRAC channels

Prolonged Ca2+ influx is an essential signal for the activation of T lymphocytes by antigen. This influx is thought to occur through highly selective Ca2+ release-activated Ca2+ (CRAC) channels that are activated by the depletion of intracellular Ca2+ stores. We have isolated mutants of the Jurkat human T cell line NZdipA to explore the molecular mechanisms that underlie capacitative Ca2+ entry and to allow a genetic test of the functions of CRAC channels in T cells. Five mutant cell lines (CJ-1 through CJ-5) were selected based on their failure to express a lethal diphtheria toxin A chain gene and a lacZ reporter gene driven by NF-AT, a Ca(2+)- and protein kinase C-dependent transcription factor. The rate of Ca2+ influx evoked by thapsigargin was reduced to varying degrees in the mutant cells whereas the dependence of NF-AT/lacZ gene transcription on [Ca2+]i was unaltered, suggesting that the transcriptional defect in these cells is caused by a reduced level of capacitative Ca2+ entry. We examined several factors that determine the rate of Ca2+ entry, including CRAC channel activity, K(+)-channel activity, and Ca2+ clearance mechanisms. The only parameter found to be dramatically altered in most of the mutant lines was the amplitude of the Ca2+ current (ICRAC), which ranged from 1 to 41% of that seen in parental control cells. In each case, the severity of the ICRAC defect was closely correlated with deficits in Ca2+ influx rate and Ca(2-)-dependent gene transcription. Behavior of the mutant cells provides genetic evidence for several roles of ICRAC in T cells. First, mitogenic doses of ionomycin appear to elevate [Ca2+]i primarily by activating CRAC channels. Second, ICRAC promotes the refilling of empty Ca2+ stores. Finally, CRAC channels are solely responsible for the Ca2+ influx that underlies antigen-mediated T cell activation. These mutant cell lines may provide a useful system for isolating, expressing, and exploring the functions of genes involved in capacitative Ca2+ entry.