Current antipsychotics provide symptomatic relief for patients suffering from schizophrenia and related psychoses; however, their effectiveness is variable and many patients discontinue treatment due to side effects. Although the etiology of schizophrenia is still unclear, a leading hypothesis implicates an imbalanced dopaminergic system. Muscarinic acetylcholine (

Clinical development of catechol-based orthosteric agonists of the dopamine D1 receptor has thus far been unsuccessful due to multiple challenges. To address these issues, we identified LY3154207 (3) as a novel, potent, and subtype selective human D1 positive allosteric modulator (PAM) with minimal allosteric agonist activity. Conformational studies showed LY3154207 adopts an unusual boat conformation, and a binding pose with the human D1 receptor was proposed based on this observation. In contrast to orthosteric agonists, LY3154207 showed a distinct pharmacological profile without a bell-shaped dose-response relationship or tachyphylaxis in preclinical models. Identification of a crystalline form of free LY3154207 from the discovery lots was not successful. Instead, a novel cocrystal form with superior solubility was discovered and determined to be suitable for development. This cocrystal form was advanced to clinical development as a potential first-in-class D1 PAM and is now in phase 2 studies for Lewy body dementia.

Ketamine is a rapidly acting antidepressant in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Although the mechanisms underlying these effects are not fully established, inquiry to date has focused on the triggering of synaptogenesis transduction pathways via glutamatergic mechanisms. Preclinical data suggest that blockade of metabotropic glutamate (mGlu2/3) receptors shares many overlapping features and mechanisms with ketamine and may also provide rapid efficacy for TRD patients. Central dopamine circuitry is recognized as an end target for mood regulation and hedonic valuation and yet has been largely neglected in mechanistic studies of antidepressant-relevant effects of ketamine. Herein, we evaluated the changes in dopaminergic neurotransmission after acute administration of ketamine and the mGlu2/3 receptor antagonist LY341495 [(2S)-2-amino-2-[(1S,2S)-2-carboxycycloprop-1-yl]-3-(xanth-9-yl) propanoic acid ] in preclinical models using electrophysiologic, neurochemical, and behavioral endpoints. When given acutely, both ketamine and LY341495, but not the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) citalopram, increased the number of spontaneously active dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), increased extracellular levels of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex, and enhanced the locomotor stimulatory effects of the dopamine D 2/3 receptor agonist quinpirole. Further, both ketamine and LY341495 reduced immobility time in the tail-suspension assay in CD1 mice, which are relatively resistant to SSRI antidepressants. Both the VTA neuronal activation and the antidepressant phenotype induced by ketamine and LY341495 were attenuated by the a-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor antagonist 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-6-nitro-2,3-dioxo-(9CI)-benzo[f]quinoxaline-7-sulfonamide, indicating AMPA-dependent effects. These findings provide another overlapping mechanism of action of ketamine and mGlu2/3 receptor antagonism that differentiates them from conventional antidepressants and thus support the potential rapidly acting antidepressant actions of mGlu2/3 receptor antagonism in patients.

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Background and purpose: Increased glutamatergic innervation of the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNpr) and pars compacta (SNpc) may contribute to the motor deficits and neurodegeneration, respectively, in Parkinson's disease (PD). This study aimed to establish whether activation of pre-synaptic group III metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptors reduced glutamate release in the SN, and provided symptomatic or neuroprotective relief in animal models of PD. Conclusions and implications:These findings highlight group III mGlu receptors in the SN as potential targets for providing both symptomatic and neuroprotective relief in PD, and indicate that inhibition of glutamate release in the SN may underlie these effects.