[3H]QNB displays in vivo selectivity for the m2 subtype

Pharmacokinetic computer simulations of the relationship between in vivo and in vitro neuroreceptor subtype selectivity of radioligands

Pharmacokinetic computer simulations reveal a discrepancy between the in vivo and in vitro neuroreceptor subtype selectivity of radioligands. For radioligands with an in vitro neuroreceptor subtype selectivity between 0.1 and 10.0, the in vivo neuroreceptor subtype selectivity appears to be constrained to be between 0.1 and 10.0, but, in general, is not equal to the in vitro selectivity. For example, if the in vitro selectivity is 1.0 (that is, the radioligand is nonselective in vitro) the in vivo selectivity may be thought of as a random variable having a significant nonzero probability for values as low as 0.1 or as high as 10.0, with a moderate peak at a value of 1.0. For a radioligand whose in vitro subtype selectivity is greater than 10.0, the in vivo selectivity is bounded above by the in vitro subtype selectivity, but may be several orders of magnitude lower than the in vitro subtype selectivity. Thus, in spite of the discrepancy between the in vivo and in vitro neuroreceptor subtype selectivity of radioligands, there are two useful inferences about the in vivo selectivity that might be drawn from knowledge of the in vitro selectivity: (1) If the in vitro selectivity is between 0.1 and 10.0, then, at best, the in vivo selectivity might be as high as 10.0. (2) If the in vitro selectivity is greater than 10.0, then, at best, the in vivo selectivity might be as high as the in vitro selectivity.

In vivo muscarinic binding selectivity of (R,S)- and (R,R)-[18F]-fluoromethyl QNB

We have developed a multistep radiochemical synthesis of two diastereomers of quinuclidinyl-4-[18F]-fluoromethyl-benzilate ([18F]-FMeQNB), a high-affinity ligand for muscarinic acetylcholine receptors. Previously, we have shown that the nonradioactive (R,R)-diastereomer displays an eightfold selectivity for M1 over M2 while the nonradioactive (R,S)-diastereomer displays a sevenfold selectivity for M2 over M1 in vitro. This paper reports the results of in vivo comparison studies. In the rat, uptake of (R,S)-[18F]-FMeQNB was nearly uniform in all brain regions following the concentration of M2 subtype. The uptake was reduced by 36-54% in all brain regions on coinjection with 50 nmol of unlabeled ligand. An injection of (R,S)-[18F]-FMeQNB followed at 60 min by injection of unlabeled ligand and subsequent sacrifice at 120 min displaced 30-50% of radioactivity in the pons, medulla, and cerebellum, which contain a high proportion of M2 subtype. The most dramatic displacement and inhibition of uptake on coinjection of (R,S)-[18F]-FMeQNB was observed in the heart. In rhesus monkey, the compound showed prolonged uptake and retention in the brain. In the blood, the parent compound degraded rapidly to a single radiolabeled polar metabolite believed to be fluoride. Within 30 min the parent compound represented less than 5% of the plasma activity. Displacement with (R)-QNB was generally slow, but was more rapid from those tissues which contain a higher proportion of M2 subtype. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that (R,S)-[18F]-FMeQNB is M2 selective in vivo. On the other hand, (R,R)-[18F]-FMeQNB showed higher uptake in those brain regions containing a higher concentration of M1 subtype. Uptake in the heart at 60 min was much lower than that observed with the (R,S)-diastereomer. Inhibition of uptake on coinjection with unlabeled (R,S)-FMeQNB is only significant in the heart, thalamus, and pons. Inhibition of uptake on coinjection with unlabeled (R,R)-FMeQNB is quite uniform in all brain regions. Displacement with (R)-QNB shows a more varying amount displaced. These results are consistent with (R,R)-[18F]-FMeQNB being M1 selective in vivo.

Autoradiographic evidence that (R)-3-quinuclidinyl (S)-4-fluoromethylbenzilate ((R,S)-FMeQNB) displays in vivo selectivity for the muscarinic m2 subtype

Alzheimer's disease (AD) involves selective loss of muscarinic m2, but not m1, subtype neuroreceptors in cortical and hippocampal regions of the human brain. Until recently, emission tomographic study of the loss of m2 receptors in AD has been limited by the absence of available m2-selective radioligands that can penetrate the blood-brain barrier. We now demonstrate the in vivo m2 selectivity of a fluorinated derivative of QNB, (R)-3-quinuclidinyl (S)-4-fluoromethylbenzilate ((R,S)-FMeQNB), by studying autoradiographically the in vivo inhibition of radioiodinated (R)-3-quinuclidinyl (S)-4-iodobenzilate ((R,S)-[125I]IQNB) binding by unlabelled (R,S)-FMeQNB. In the absence of (R,S)-FMeQNB, (R,S)-[125I]IQNB labels brain regions in proportion to the total muscarinic receptor concentration; in the presence of 75 nmol of (R,S)-FMeQNB, (R,S)-[125I]IQNB labelling in those brain regions containing predominantly m2 subtype is reduced to background levels. We conclude that (R,S)-FMeQNB is m2-selective in vivo, and that (R,S)-[18F]FMeQNB may be of potential use in positron emission tomographic (PET) study of the loss of m2 receptors in AD.

Evaluation of stereoisomers of 4-fluoroalkyl analogues of 3-quinuclidinyl benzilate in in vivo competition studies for the M1, M2, and M3 muscarinic receptor subtypes in brain

To develop a subtype selective muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) antagonist for PET, fluorine-19 labeled alkyl analogues of quinuclidinyl benzilate (QNB) were synthesized by stereoselective reactions. To investigate these analogues for tissue subtype specificity, in vivo competitive binding studies were performed in rat brain using (R)-3-quinuclidinyl (R)-4-[125I]iodobenzilate (IQNB). Five, fifty, or five-hundred nmol of the non-radioactive ligands were coinjected intravenously with 8 pmol of the radioligand, Cold (R,R)-IQNB blocked (R,R)-[125I]IQNB in a dose-dependent manner, without showing regional specificity. For the (R,S)-fluoromethyl, -fluoroethyl and -fluoropropyl derivatives, a higher percent blockade was seen at 5 and 50 mmol levels in M2 predominant tissues (medulla, pons, and cerebellum) than in M1 predominant tissues (cortex, striatum and hippocampus). The blockade pattern of the radioligand also correlated qualitatively with the percentage of M2 receptors in the region. The S-quinuclidinyl analogues showed M2 selectivity but less efficient blockade of the radioligand, indicating lower affinities. Radioligand bound to the medulla was inversely correlated to the M2 relative binding affinity of the fluoroalkyl analogues. These results indicate that the nonradioactive ligand blocks the radioligand based on the affinity of the nonradioactive ligand for a particular receptor subtype compared to the affinity of the radioligand for the same receptor subtype. Of the seven compounds evaluated, (R,S)-fluoromethyl-QNB appears to show the most selectivity for the M2 subtypes in competition studies in vivo.

Characterization of in vivo brain muscarinic acetylcholine receptor subtype selectivity by competition studies against (R,S)-[125I]IQNB

We have studied the in vivo rat brain muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) m2 subtype selectivities of three quinuclidine derivatives: (R)-3-quinuclidinyl benzilate (QNB), E-(+,+)-1-azabicyclo[2.2.2]oct-3-yl alpha-hydroxy-alpha-(1-iodo-1-propen-3-yl)-alpha-phenylacetate (E-(+,+)-IQNP), and E-(+,-)-1-azabicyclo[2.2.2]oct-3-yl alpha-hydroxy-alpha-(1-iodo-1-propen-3-yl)-alpha-phenylacetate (E-(+,-)-IQNP), and two tricyclic ring compounds: 5-[[4-[4-(diisobutylamino)butyl]-1-phenyl]-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenz o [b,e][1,4]diazepin-11-one [sequence: see text] (DIBD) and 11-[[4-[4-(diisobutylamino)butyl-1-phenyl]acetyl]-5,11-dihydro-6H- pyrido [2,3-b][1,4]benzodiazepin-6-one [sequence: see text] (PBID), by correlating the regional inhibition of (R,S)-[125I]IQNB with the regional composition of the m1-m4 subtypes. Subtle effects are demonstrated after reduction of the between-animal variability by normalization to corpus striatum. Substantial in vivo m2-selectivity is exhibited by QNB and DIBD, modest in vivo m2-selectivity is exhibited by E-(+,+)-IQNP, and little or no in vivo m2-selectivity is exhibited by PBID and E-(+,-)-IQNP. Surprisingly, the in vivo m2-selectivity is not correlated with the in vitro m2-selectivity. For example, QNB, which appears to be the most strongly in vivo m2-selective compound, exhibits negligible in vitro m2-selectivity. These examples indicate that a strategy which includes only preliminary in vitro screening may very well preclude the discovery of a novel compound which would prove useful in vivo.