The selective alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist PNU-282987 [N-[(3R)-1-Azabicyclo[2.2.2]oct-3-yl]-4-chlorobenzamide hydrochloride] enhances GABAergic synaptic activity in brain slices and restores auditory gating deficits in anesthetized rats.

Autor: Hajós, M, Hurst, R S, Hoffmann, W E, Krause, M, Wall, T M, Higdon, N R, Groppi, V E
Zdroj: The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics; March 2005, Vol. 312 Issue: 3 p1213-22, 10p
Abstrakt: Schizophrenic patients are thought to have an impaired ability to process sensory information. This deficit leads to disrupted auditory gating measured electrophysiologically as a reduced suppression of the second of paired auditoryevoked responses (P50) and is proposed to be associated with decreased function and/or expression of the homomeric alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR). Here, we provide evidence that N-[(3R)-1-azabicyclo[2.2.2]oct-3-yl]-4-chlorobenzamide hydrochloride (PNU-282987), a novel selective agonist of the alpha7 nAChR, evoked whole-cell currents from cultured rat hippocampal neurons that were sensitive to the selective alpha7 nAChR antagonist methyllycaconitine (MLA) and enhanced GABAergic synaptic activity when applied to hippocampal slices. Amphetamine-induced sensory gating deficit, determined by auditory-evoked potentials in hippocampal CA3 region, was restored by systemic administration of PNU-282987 in chloral hydrate-anesthetized rats. Auditory gating of rat reticular thalamic neurons was also disrupted by amphetamine; however, PNU-282987 normalized gating deficit only in a subset of tested neurons (6 of 11). Furthermore, PNU-282987 improved the inherent hippocampal gating deficit occurring in a subpopulation of anesthetized rats, and enhanced amphetamine-induced hippocampal oscillation. We propose that the alpha7 nAChR agonist PNU-282987, via modulating/enhancing hippocampal GABAergic neurotransmission, improves auditory gating and enhances hippocampal oscillatory activity. These results provide further support for the concept that drugs that selectively activate alpha7 nAChRs may offer a novel, potential pharmacotherapy in treatment of schizophrenia.
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