Background and purpose: M 1 muscarinic ACh receptors (mAChRs) represent an attractive drug target for the treatment of cognitive deficits associated with diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. However, the discovery of subtypeselective mAChR agonists has been hampered by the high degree of conservation of the orthosteric ACh-binding site among mAChR subtypes. The advent of functional screening assays has enabled the identification of agonists such as AC-42 (4-nbutyl-1-[4-(2-methylphenyl)-4-oxo-1-butyl]-piperidine), which bind to an allosteric site and selectively activate the M 1 mAChR subtype. However, studies with this compound have been limited to recombinantly expressed mAChRs. Experimental approach: In this study, we have compared the pharmacological profile of AC-42 and a close structural analogue, 77-LH-28-1 (1-[3-(4-butyl-1-piperidinyl)propyl]-3,4-dihydro-2(1H)-quinolinone) at human recombinant, and rat native, mAChRs by calcium mobilization, inositol phosphate accumulation and both in vitro and in vivo electrophysiology. Key results: Calcium mobilization and inositol phosphate accumulation assays revealed that both AC-42 and 77-LH-28-1 display high selectivity to activate the M 1 mAChR over other mAChR subtypes. Furthermore, 77-LH-28-1, but not AC-42, acted as an agonist at rat hippocampal M 1 receptors, as demonstrated by its ability to increase cell firing and initiate gamma frequency network oscillations. Finally, 77-LH-28-1 stimulated cell firing in the rat hippocampus in vivo following subcutaneous administration. Conclusions and implications: These data suggest that 77-LH-28-1 is a potent, selective, bioavailable and brain-penetrant agonist at the M 1 mAChR and therefore that it represents a better tool than AC-42, with which to study the pharmacology of the M 1 mAChR. (2008) 154, 1104-1115 doi:10.1038/bjp.2008 published online 5 May 2008 Keywords: muscarinic receptors; selective agonist; allosteric; AC-42; 77-LH-28-1; calcium mobilization; inositol phosphate; cell firing; network oscillations There is a wide array of pharmacological tools with which to study mAChRs. For example, N-methyl scopolamine, quinuclidinylbenzilate, pirenzepine and darifenacin are among numerous mAChR antagonists, and ACh and oxotremorine-M among mAChR agonists, which have been used in unlabelled and radiolabelled forms to characterize the localization, pharmacology and function of mAChRs. Unfortunately, most of these pharmacological tools exhibit poor selectivity between mAChR subtypes (Caulfield and Birdsall, 1998;Ellis, 2002). Those agents that do display high degrees of mAChR subtype selectivity are few in number and when discovered are often shown to interact with an allosteric, rather than the orthosteric, site as exemplified by the highly selective M 1 receptor peptide antagonist MT-7 (muscarinic toxin 7; Olianas et al., 2000). British Journal of PharmacologyTherefore, the identification of selective M 1 mAChR agonists would represent a significant advance in mAChR pharmacology and could offer t...

4-n-Butyl-1-[4-(2-methylphenyl)-4-oxo-1-butyl]-piperidine hydrogen chloride (AC-42) is a selective agonist of the muscarinic M 1 receptor previously suggested to interact with an "ectopic" site on this receptor. However, the pharmacological properties of this site (i.e., whether it overlaps to any extent with the classic orthosteric site or represents a novel allosteric site) remain undetermined. In the present study, atropine or pirenzepine significantly inhibited the ability of either carbachol or AC-42 to stimulate inositol phosphate accumulation or intracellular calcium mobilization in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells stably expressing the human M 1 receptor. However, the interaction between either of these antagonists and AC-42 was characterized by Schild slopes significantly less than unity. Increasing the concentrations of atropine revealed that the Schild regression was curvilinear, consistent with a negative allosteric interaction. More direct evidence for an allosteric mode of action of AC-42 was obtained in [3 H]N-methylscopolamine ([ 3 H]NMS) binding studies, in that both AC-42 and the prototypical modulator gallamine failed to fully inhibit specific [ 3 H]NMS binding in a manner that was quantitatively described by an allosteric model applied to both modulator data sets. Furthermore, AC-42 and gallamine significantly retarded the rate of [ 3 H]NMS dissociation from CHO-hM 1 cell membranes, conclusively demonstrating their ability to bind to a topographically distinct site to change M 1 receptor conformation. These data provide the first direct evidence that AC-42 is an allosteric agonist that activates M 1 receptors in the absence of the orthosteric agonist.

Microglia are present in an activated state in multiple sclerosis lesions. Incubation of primary cultured rat microglia with rat‐brain derived myelin (0.1–1 μg/mL) for 24 h induced microglial activation; cells displayed enhanced ED1 staining, expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase, production and release of the cytokine tumour necrosis factor‐α and glutamate release. Exposure of microglia to myelin induced the expression of neuronal caspases and ultimately neuronal death in cultured cerebellar granule cell neurons; neurotoxicity was directly because of microglial‐derived soluble toxins. Co‐incubation of microglia with agonists or antagonists of different metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) subtypes ameliorated microglial neurotoxicity by inhibiting soluble neurotoxin production. Activation of microglial mGluR2 exacerbated myelin‐evoked neurotoxicity whilst activation of mGluR3 was protective as was activation of group III mGluRs. These data show that myelin‐induced microglial neurotoxicity can be prevented by regulation of mGluRs and suggest these receptors on microglia may be promising targets for therapeutic intervention in multiple sclerosis.

J. Neurochem. (2009) 109, 694–705. Abstract Microglial activation by blood‐borne factors following blood–brain barrier damage may play a significant role in subsequent neuropathogenesis of several neurodegenerative diseases. Exposure of primary cultured rat brain microglia to pure, fatty acid‐ and lipid‐deficient rat serum albumin or fraction V, (fatty acid and lipid‐containing rat serum albumin), caused inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression, glutamate release, tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and transforming growth factor‐beta1 release. iNOS expression was attenuated by the MAPK/extracellular signal‐regulated kinase pathway inhibitor U0126 and the phosphorylated forms of extracellular signal‐regulated kinase 1 and 2 were detectable in microglia treated with albumin or fraction V. Glutamate release was prevented by l‐α‐aminoadipate and glutathione levels in microglia rose on exposure to albumin. Conditioned medium from microglia exposed to albumin or fraction V was neurotoxic. Peripheral macrophages were resistant to the effects of albumin but both microglia and macrophages responded to lipopolysaccharide, which induced interleukin‐1 beta and tumour necrosis factor alpha release, cyclooxygenase‐2 and iNOS expression in both cell types, indicating a discrete desensitised pathway in macrophages for albumin which was not desensitised in microglia. Thus, exposure of microglia in the brain to albumin may contribute to neuronal damage following blood–brain barrier breakdown and point to resident microglia rather than infiltrating macrophages as therapeutic targets.

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