Negative Allosteric Modulators of mGlu ₇ Receptor as Putative Antipsychotic Drugs

The data concerning antipsychotic-like activity of negative allosteric modulators (NAMs)/antagonists of mGlu ₇ receptors are limited. The only available ligands for this receptor are MMPIP and ADX71743. In the present studies, we used stable cell line expressing mGlu ₇ receptor and it was shown that both compounds dose-dependently potentiated forskolin elevated cAMP concentration in the T-REx 293 cells, showing their inverse agonist properties. Subsequently, pharmacokinetic studies were performed. Both compounds were given intraperitoneally (i.p.) at the dose of 10 mg/kg and reached Cmax 0.25–0.5 h after administration, and then they declined rapidly, ADX71743 being almost undetectable 2 h after administration, while the concentration of MMPIP was still observed, suggesting that the concentration of MMPIP was more stable. Finally, we investigated the role of both mGlu ₇ receptor NAMs in animal models of schizophrenia. Behavioral tests commonly used in antipsychotic drug discovery were conducted. Both tested compounds dose-dependently inhibited MK-801-induced hyperactivity (MMPIP at 15 mg/kg; ADX at 5 and 15 mg/kg) and DOI-induced head twitches (MMPIP at 5, 10, 15 mg/kg; ADX at 2.5, 5, 10 mg/kg). Moreover, the same effects were noticed in novel object recognition test, where MMPIP (5, 10, 15 mg/kg) and ADX71743 (1, 5, 15 mg/kg) reversed MK-801-induced disturbances. In the social interaction test, antipsychotic activity was observed only for ADX71743 (5, 15 mg/kg). ADX71743 at the dose 2.5 mg/kg reversed MK-801-induced disruption in prepulse inhibition while MMPIP at 10 mg/kg reversed MK-801-induced disruption in spatial delayed alternation. The present studies showed that mGlu ₇ receptor may be considered as a putative target for antipsychotic drugs, though more studies are needed due to limited number of available ligands.