Recent reports indicate that α6β2/3γ2 GABAR selective ligands may be important for the treatment of trigeminal activation-related pain and neuropsychiatric disorders with sensori-motor gating deficits. Based on 3 functionally α6β2/3γ2 GABAR selective pyrazoloquinolinones, 42 novel analogs were synthesized, and their in vitro metabolic stability and cytotoxicity as well as their in vivo pharmacokinetics, basic behavioral pharmacology, and effects on locomotion were investigated. Incorporation of deuterium into the methoxy substituents of the ligands increased their duration of action via improved metabolic stability and bioavailability, while their selectivity for the GABAR α6 subtype was retained. 8b was identified as the lead compound with a substantially improved pharmacokinetic profile. The ligands allosterically modulated diazepam insensitive α6β2/3γ2 GABARs and were functionally silent at diazepam sensitive α1β2/3γ2 GABARs, thus no sedation was detected. In addition, these analogs were not cytotoxic, which render them interesting candidates for treatment of CNS disorders mediated by GABAR α6β2/3γ2 subtypes.

We report a 28‐day repeat dose immunotoxicity evaluation of investigational drug MIDD0301, a novel oral asthma drug candidate that targets gamma amino butyric acid type A receptors (GABAAR) in the lung. The study design employed oral administration of mice twice daily throughout the study period with 100 mg/kg MIDD0301 mixed in peanut butter. Compound dosing did not reveal signs of general toxicity as determined by animal weight, organ weight or haematology. Peanut butter plus test drug (in addition to ad libitum standard rodent chow) did not affect weight gain in the adult mice, in contrast to weight loss in 5 mg/kg prednisone‐treated mice. Spleen and thymus weights were unchanged in MIDD0301‐treated mice, but prednisone significantly reduced the weight of those organs over the 28‐day dosing. Similarly, no differences in spleen or thymus histology were observed following MIDD0301 treatment, but prednisone treatment induced morphological changes in the spleen. The number of small intestine Peyer's patches was not affected by MIDD0301 treatment, an important factor for orally administered drugs. Circulating lymphocyte, monocyte and granulocyte numbers were unchanged in the MIDD0301‐treated animals, whereas differential lymphocyte numbers were reduced in prednisone‐treated animals. MIDD0301 treatment did not alter IgG antibody responses to dinitrophenyl following dinitrophenyl‐keyhole limpet haemocyanin immunization, indicating that systemic humoral immune function was not affected. Taken together, these studies show that repeated daily administration of MIDD0301 is safe and not associated with adverse immunotoxicological effects in mice.

A series of novel imidazobenzodiazepine analogs of the lead chiral ligand SH-053-2'F-S-CH 3 (2), an α2/α3/α5 (Bz)GABA (A)ergic receptor subtype selective ligand, which reverses PCP-induced prepulse inhibition (PPI) of acoustic startle, were synthesized. These chiral (S)-CH 3 ligands are targeted for the treatment of schizophrenia and depression. These new ligands were designed by modifying the labile ester functionality in 2 to improve the metabolic stability, cytotoxicity, and activity as compared to 2. Based on the data to date, the most promising ligands are the N-cyclopropyl amide GL-I-55 (8c) and the methyl bioisostere GL-I-65 (9a). The in vitro metabolic stability, cytotoxicity and in vivo locomotor effects are described in this report. Based on these results, 8c and 9a are the most promising for further in vivo pharmacology.

Daily and annual changes in light are processed by central clock circuits that control the timing of behavior and physiology. The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the anterior hypothalamus processes daily photic inputs and encodes changes in day length (i.e., photoperiod), but the SCN circuits that regulate circadian and photoperiodic responses to light remain unclear. Somatostatin (SST) expression in the hypothalamus is modulated by photoperiod, but the role of SST in SCN responses to light has not been examined. Our results indicate that SST signaling regulates daily rhythms in behavior and SCN function in a manner influenced by sex. First, we use cell-fate mapping to provide evidence that SST in the SCN is regulated by light via de novo  Sst activation. Next, we demonstrate that Sst   -/-  mice display enhanced circadian responses to light, with increased behavioral plasticity to photoperiod, jetlag, and constant light conditions. Notably, lack of Sst   -/-  eliminated sex differences in photic responses due to increased plasticity in males, suggesting that SST interacts with clock circuits that process light differently in each sex. Sst   -/-  mice also displayed an increase in the number of retinorecipient neurons in the SCN core, which express a type of SST receptor capable of resetting the molecular clock. Last, we show that lack of SST signaling modulates central clock function by influencing SCN photoperiodic encoding, network after-effects, and intercellular synchrony in a sex-specific manner. Collectively, these results provide insight into peptide signaling mechanisms that regulate central clock function and its response to light.