Recent developments in structure-activity relationships for steroid modulators of GABA(A) receptors

Selective Antagonism of 5α-Reduced Neurosteroid Effects at GABAA Receptors

Although neurosteroids have rapid effects on GABA(A) receptors, study of steroid actions at GABA receptors has been hampered by a lack of pharmacological antagonists. In this study, we report the synthesis and characterization of a steroid analog, (3alpha,5alpha)-17-phenylandrost-16-en-3-ol (17PA), that selectively antagonized neurosteroid potentiation of GABA responses. We examined 17PA using the alpha1beta2gamma2 subunit combination expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes. 17PA had little or no effect on baseline GABA responses but antagonized both the response augmentation and the direct gating of GABA receptors by 5alpha-reduced potentiating steroids. The effect was selective for 5alpha-reduced potentiating steroids; 5beta-reduced potentiators were only weakly affected. Likewise, 17PA did not affect barbiturate and benzodiazepine potentiation. 17PA acted primarily by shifting the concentration response for steroid potentiation to the right, suggesting the possibility of a competitive component to the antagonism. 17PA also antagonized 5alpha-reduced steroid potentiation and gating in hippocampal neurons and inhibited anesthetic actions in X. laevis tadpoles. Analogous to benzodiazepine site antagonists, the development of neurosteroid antagonists may help clarify the role of GABA-potentiating neurosteroids in health and disease.

Inhibition of the activity of the native γ-aminobutyric acidA receptor by metabolites of thyroid hormones: correlations with molecular modeling studies

To characterize the direct effects of thyroid hormones on native gamma-aminobutyric acid(A) (GABA(A)) receptors, rapid (5 s) actions of a series of iodothyronines on muscimol-stimulated uptake of (36)Cl(-) were investigated in synaptoneurosomes prepared from rat brain. The results were correlated with molecular modeling of the active compounds. Dose-response curves for muscimol in the presence of 3,3', 5-L-triiodothyronine (L-T3) indicated a noncompetitive inhibition of muscimol-stimulated (36)Cl(-) uptake by the thyroid hormone. Synaptoneurosomes prepared from cerebellum were less sensitive to L-T3 than those from cerebral cortex, in terms of the potency of the hormone. The overall efficacy approached complete inhibition for both brain regions. Muscimol-stimulated (36)Cl(-) uptake was inhibited differentially by iodothyronine derivatives. One group of compounds with IC(50) values of 18-30 microM included L-thyroxine (L-T4), D-thyroxine (D-T4), 3,3', 5,5'-tetraiodothyroacetic acid (Tetrac), and 3,3', 5-triiodothyroacetic acid (Triac). A second group with values of 75-100 microM included 3,3', 5'-l-triiodothyronine (reverse T3; r-T3), 3,3'-diiodo-L-thyronine (3,3'-l-T2) and 3,5-diiodo-L-thyronine (3,5-D-T2). A final group of inactive compounds with IC(50) values greater than 100 microM included 3',5'-diiodo-L-thyronine (3',5'-l-T2), 3-iodo-L-thyronine (L-T1), 3'-iodo-L-thyronine (3'-L-T1), and L-thyronine (L-T0). Molecular modeling of the active iodothyronines using the Gaussian03 series of programs indicated close correspondences with models of the GABA-inhibitory neurosteroid pregnenolone sulfate (PREGS), suggesting common mechanisms of action at the GABA(A) receptor.

Enantioselectivity of alpha-benzyl-alpha-methyl-gamma-butyrolactone-mediated modulation of anticonvulsant activity and GABA(A) receptor function

Alkyl-substituted butyrolactones have both inhibitory and stimulatory effects on GABA(A) receptors. Lactones with small alkyl substitutions at the alpha-position positively modulate the channel, whereas beta-substituted lactones tend to inhibit the GABA(A) receptor. These compounds mediate inhibition through the picrotoxin site of the receptor. A distinct binding site that mediates the stimulatory actions of lactones is presumed to exist, although no definitive evidence to support this claim exists. In the present study, we used in vivo and in vitro assays to evaluate the effects of the enantiomers of a novel lactone, alpha-benzyl-alpha-methyl-gamma-butyrolactone (alpha-BnMeGBL), on the GABA(A) receptor. R-(-)-alpha-BnMeGBL was 2-fold more potent than the S-(+)-alpha-BnMeGBL in blocking pentylenetetrazol-induced seizures in CF-1 mice. The (+)-enantiomer inhibited binding of t-butylbicyclophosporothionate with a higher affinity than the (-)-enantiomer (IC(50) of 0.68 and 1.1 mM, respectively). Whole cell patch-clamp recordings from recombinant alpha1beta2gamma2 receptors stably expressed in HEK293 cells demonstrated that both compounds stimulated GABA-activated current. The maximal stimulation was approximately 2-fold greater with (+)-alpha-BnMeGBL than that seen with (-)-alpha-BnMeGBL. Both enantiomers of alpha-BnMeGBL directly gated the GABA(A) receptor at mM concentrations, in a nonstereoselective manner. Our data demonstrate the stimulatory actions of alpha-BnMeGBL on GABA(A) receptor function display enantioselectivity and provide strong evidence for the existence of a true "lactone site" on the receptor.

Immunocytochemical detection of progesterone receptor in the female rabbit forebrain: distribution and regulation by oestradiol and progesterone

There is no information on the neuroanatomical distribution of the progesterone receptor (PR) in the rabbit. Therefore, we mapped the distribution of PR-immunoreactive cells in the forebrain of ovariectomized female rabbits. Vehicle-injected ovariectomized rabbits showed PR-immunoreactive cells only in the infundibular nucleus (IN) and nucleus X (lateral to the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus). The injection of oestradiol benzoate (EB; 5 micro g/day for 5 days) increased the number of PR-immunoreactive cells in the IN and in three nuclei of the preoptic region (periventricular, medial, and principal). Abundant PR were also found in the paraventricular nucleus and nucleus X. Administration of progesterone (10 mg/day) for 3 days to EB-treated rabbits (a treatment that induces digging behaviour for the maternal nest and suppresses sexual receptivity and scent-marking) eliminated PR-immunoreactivity from all brain areas analysed except the IN. Thus, one-third of the number of cells seen in the ovariectomized + EB condition persisted in this region despite progesterone injections. Withdrawal of progesterone (and continuation of EB) for 5 (but not for 2) days (in a schedule similar to the one that induces straw-carrying and hair-pulling for the maternal nest) increased the number of PR-immunoreactive cells in all regions analysed. These results show that restricted regions of the female rabbit forebrain express abundant PR which are either: (i). up-regulated by oestradiol and down-regulated by progesterone; (ii). oestradiol-insensitive and down-regulated by progesterone; or (iii). insensitive to both oestradiol and progesterone.

Neurosteroid modulation of GABAA receptors

Certain metabolites of progesterone and deoxycorticosterone are established as potent and selective positive allosteric modulators of the gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABA(A)) receptor. Upon administration these steroids exhibit clear behavioural effects that include anxiolysis, sedation and analgesia, they are anticonvulsant and at high doses induce a state of general anaesthesia, a profile consistent with an action to enhance neuronal inhibition. Physiologically, peripherally synthesised pregnane steroids derived from endocrine glands such as the adrenals and ovaries function as hormones by crossing the blood brain barrier to influence neuronal signalling. However, the demonstration that certain neurons and glial cells within the central nervous system (CNS) can synthesize these steroids either de novo, or from peripherally derived progesterone, has led to the proposal that these steroids (neurosteroids) can additionally function in a paracrine manner, to locally influence GABAergic transmission. Steroid levels are known to change dynamically, for example in stress and during pregnancy. Given that GABA(A) receptors are ubiquitously expressed throughout the central nervous system, such changes in steroid levels would be predicted to cause a global enhancement of inhibitory neurotransmission throughout the brain, a scenario that would seem incompatible with a physiological role as a selective neuromodulator. Here, we will review emerging evidence that the GABA-modulatory actions of the pregnane steroids are highly selective, with their actions being brain region and indeed neuron dependent. Furthermore, the sensitivity of GABA(A) receptors is not static but can dynamically change. The molecular mechanisms underpinning this neuronal specificity will be discussed with particular emphasis being given to the role of GABA(A) receptor isoforms, protein phosphorylation and local steroid metabolism and synthesis.

Effects of neurosteroids on epileptiform activity induced by picrotoxin and 4-aminopyridine in the rat hippocampal slice

The neurosteroids allopregnanolone (5alpha-pregnan-3alpha-ol-20-one; 5alpha,3alpha-P) and its 5beta-epimer pregnanolone (5beta,3alpha-P), and pregnenolone sulfate (PS) were examined for effects on spontaneous epileptiform discharges induced by 100 microM picrotoxin (PTX) and 55 microM 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) in the CA3 region of the rat hippocampal slice. At a concentration of 10 microM, 5alpha,3alpha-P partially reduced PTX-induced bursting and at 30 and 90 microM completely suppressed bursting. In contrast, 100 microM 5beta,3alpha-P failed to alter the discharge frequency. 5alpha,3alpha-P depressed 4-AP-induced bursting with similar potency as in the PTX model; 100 microM 5beta,3alpha-P was also partially effective. In the 4-AP model, 5alpha,3alpha-P inhibited both the more frequent predominantly positive-going potentials as well as the less frequent negative-going potentials that may be generated by synchronous GABAergic interneuron firing. PS enhanced the PTX bursting frequency and, in the 4-AP model, increased the frequency of negative potentials but did not alter the frequency of positive potentials. By itself, PS did not induce bursting. The effects of the steroids in the in vitro seizure models largely correspond with their activities on GABA(A) receptors; suppression of discharges may occur as a result of direct activation of these receptors rather than modulation of GABA-mediated synaptic responses. PTX and 4-AP-induced bursting in the hippocampal slice are useful models for directly assessing neurosteroid effects on seizure susceptibility under conditions that eliminate the factor of brain bioavailability.

Putting chirality to work: the strategy of chiral switches

Most of the new drugs reaching the market today are single enantiomers, rather than the racemic mixtures that dominated up to ten years ago. Many of the new single-enantiomer drugs were developed as such, but there are also important examples of new single-enantiomer drugs derived from 'chiral switches' of established racemates. Indeed, a well-timed chiral switch can offer enhanced therapy and further profitability as a 'line extension' of a major racemic drug with patents that are expiring.

The nature of sites of general anaesthetic action

The molecular nature of the site of general anaesthesia has long been sought through the process of comparing the in vivo potencies of general anaesthetics with their physical properties, particularly their ability to dissolve in solvents of various polarities. This approach has led to the conclusion that the site of general anaesthesia is largely apolar but contains a strong polar component. However, there is growing evidence that several physiological targets underlie general anaesthesia, and that different agents may act selectively on subsets of these targets. Consequently research now focuses on the details of general-anaesthetic-protein interactions. There are large amounts of structural data that identify cavities where anaesthetics bind on soluble proteins that are readily crystallizable. These proteins serve as models, having no role in anaesthesia. Two problems make studies of the more likely targets--excitable membrane proteins--difficult. One is that they rarely crystallize and the other is that the sites have their highest affinity for general anaesthetics when the channels are in the open state. Such states rarely exist for more than tens of milliseconds. Crystallographers are making progress with the first problem, whilst anaesthesia researchers have developed a number of strategies for addressing the second. Some of these (kinetic analysis, site-directed mutagenesis) provide indirect evidence for sites and their nature, whilst others seek direct identification of sites by employing newly developed general anaesthetics that are photoaffinity labels. Such studies on acetylcholine, glycine and GABA receptors point to the existence of sites located within the plane of the membrane either within the ion channel lumen (acetylcholine receptor), or on the outer side of the alpha-helix lining that lumen (GABAA and glycine receptors). Bound anaesthetics generally exert their actions on ion channels by binding to allosteric sites whose topology varies from one conformation to another, but definitive proof for this mechanism remains elusive.

3beta -hydroxypregnane steroids are pregnenolone sulfate-like GABA(A) receptor antagonists

Endogenous neurosteroids have rapid actions on ion channels, particularly GABA(A) receptors, which are potentiated by nanomolar concentrations of 3alpha-hydroxypregnane neurosteroids. Previous evidence suggests that 3beta-hydroxypregnane steroids may competitively antagonize potentiation induced by their 3alpha diastereomers. Because of the potential importance of antagonists as experimental and clinical tools, we characterized the functional effect of 3beta-hydroxysteroids. Although 3beta-hydroxysteroids reduced the potentiation induced by 3alpha-hydroxysteroids, 3beta-hydroxysteroids acted noncompetitively with respect to potentiating steroids and inhibited the largest degrees of potentiation most effectively. Potentiation by high concentrations of barbiturates was also reduced by 3beta-hydroxysteroids. 3beta-Hydroxysteroids are also direct, noncompetitive GABA(A) receptor antagonists. 3beta-Hydroxysteroids coapplied with GABA significantly inhibited responses to > or =15 microm GABA. The profile of block was similar to that exhibited by sulfated steroids, known blockers of GABA(A) receptors. This direct, noncompetitive effect of 3beta-hydroxysteroids was sufficient to account for the apparent antagonism of potentiating steroids. Mutated receptors exhibiting decreased sensitivity to sulfated steroid block were insensitive to both the direct effects of 3beta-hydroxysteroids on GABA(A) responses and the reduction of potentiating steroid effects. At concentrations that had little effect on GABAergic synaptic currents, 3beta-hydroxysteroids and low concentrations of sulfated steroids significantly reversed the potentiation of synaptic currents induced by 3alpha-hydroxysteroids. We conclude that 3beta-hydroxypregnane steroids are not direct antagonists of potentiating steroids but rather are noncompetitive, likely state-dependent, blockers of GABA(A) receptors. Nevertheless, these steroids may be useful functional blockers of potentiating steroids when used at concentrations that do not affect baseline neurotransmission.