A new pyrrolyl-quinoxalinedione series of non-NMDA glutamate receptor antagonists: pharmacological characterization and comparison with NBQX and valproate in the kindling model of epilepsy
W. Loscher et al., A new pyrrolyl-quinoxalinedione series of non-NMDA glutamate receptor antagonists: pharmacological characterization and comparison with NBQX and valproate in the kindling model of epilepsy, EUR J NEURO, 11(1), 1999, pp. 250-262
Antagonists at the ionotropic non-NMDA [AMPA (amino-methyl proprionic acid)
/kainate] type of glutamate receptors have been suggested to possess severa
l advantages compared to NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor antagonists,
particularly in terms of risk/benefit ratio, but the non-NMDA receptor anta
gonists available so far have not fulfilled this promise. From a large seri
es of pyrrolyl-quinoxalinedione derivatives, we selected six new competitiv
e non-NMDA receptor antagonists, The basis of selection was high potency an
d selectivity for AMPA and/or kainate receptors, high in vivo potency after
systemic administration, and an acceptable ratio between neuroprotective o
r anticonvulsant effects and adverse effects. Pharmacological characteristi
cs of these novel compounds are described in this study with special emphas
is on their effects in the kindling model of temporal lobe epilepsy, the mo
st common type of epilepsy in humans. In most experiments, NBQX and the maj
or antiepileptic drug valproate were used for comparison with the novel com
pounds. The novel non-NMDA receptor antagonists markedly differed in their
AMPA and kainate receptor affinities from NBQX. Thus, while NBQX essentiall
y did not bind to kainate receptors at relevant concentrations, several of
the novel compounds exhibited affinity to rat brain kainate receptors or re
combinant kainate receptor subtypes in addition to AMPA receptors. One comp
ound, LU 97175, bound to native high affinity kainate receptors and rat Glu
R5-GluR7 subunits, i.e. low affinity kainate binding sites, with much highe
r affinities than to AMPA receptors. All compounds potently blocked AMPA-in
duced cell death in vitro and, except LU 97175, AMPA-induced convulsions in
vivo. In the kindling model, compounds with a high affinity for GluR7 (LU
97175) or compounds (LU 115455, LU 136541) which potently bind to AMPA rece
ptors and low affinity kainate receptor subunits were potent anticonvulsant
s in the kindling model, whereas the AMPA receptor-selective LU 112313 was
the least selective compound in this model, indicating that non-NMDA antago
nists acting at both AMPA and kainate receptors are more effective in this
model than AMPA receptor-selective drugs. Three of the novel compounds, i.e
. LU 97175, LU 115455 and LU 136541, exerted potent anticonvulsant effects
without inducing motor impairment in the rotarod test. This combination of
actions is thought to be a prerequisite for selective anticonvulsant drug a
ction.