TL;DR: Neurophysiological studies in vitro, using a rat cortical-slice preparation, demonstrated a potent, selective, and noncompetitive antagonistic action of MK-801 on depolarizing responses to N-Me-D-Asp but not to kainate or quisqualate, providing an explanation for the mechanism of action ofMK-801 as an anticonvulsant.
Abstract: The compound MK-801 [(+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d] cyclohepten-5,10-imine maleate)] is a potent anticonvulsant that is active after oral administration and whose mechanism of action is unknown. We have detected high-affinity (Kd = 37.2 +/- 2.7 nM) binding sites for [3H]MK-801 in rat brain membranes. These sites are heat-labile, stereoselective, and regionally specific, with the hippocampus showing the highest density of sites, followed by cerebral cortex, corpus striatum, and medulla-pons. There was no detectable binding in the cerebellum. MK-801 binding sites exhibited a novel pharmacological profile, since none of the major neurotransmitter candidates were active at these sites. The only compounds that were able to compete for [3H]MK-801 binding sites were substances known to block the responses of excitatory amino acids mediated by the N-methyl-D-aspartate (N-Me-D-Asp) receptor subtype. These comprised the dissociative anesthetics phencyclidine and ketamine and the sigma-type opioid N-allylnormetazocine (SKF 10,047). Neurophysiological studies in vitro, using a rat cortical-slice preparation, demonstrated a potent, selective, and noncompetitive antagonistic action of MK-801 on depolarizing responses to N-Me-D-Asp but not to kainate or quisqualate. The potencies of phencyclidine, ketamine, SKF 10,047, and the enantiomers of MK-801 as N-Me-D-Asp antagonists correlated closely (r = 0.99) with their potencies as inhibitors of [3H]MK-801 binding. This suggests that the MK-801 binding sites are associated with N-Me-D-Asp receptors and provides an explanation for the mechanism of action of MK-801 as an anticonvulsant.
TL;DR: In voltage-clamped oocytes, neither perfusion nor rapid pressure application of NMDA onto messenger RNA-injected oocytes caused a distinct ionic current without added glycine, but when glycine was added, NMDA evoked large inward currents.
Abstract: Receptors for N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) are involved in many plastic and pathological processes in the brain. Glycine has been reported to potentiate NMDA responses in neurons and in Xenopus oocytes injected with rat brain messenger RNA. Glycine is now shown to be absolutely required for activation of NMDA receptors in oocytes. In voltage-clamped oocytes, neither perfusion nor rapid pressure application of NMDA onto messenger RNA-injected oocytes caused a distinct ionic current without added glycine. When glycine was added, however, NMDA evoked large inward currents. The concentration of glycine required to produce a half-maximal response was 670 nanomolar, and the glycine dose-response curve extrapolated to zero in the absence of glycine. Several analogs of glycine could substitute for glycine, among which D-serine and D-alanine were the most effective. The observation that D-amino acids are effective will be important in developing drugs targeted at the glycine site.
TL;DR: Findings indicate that the glycine modulatory site is functional in intact adult tissue and that 7-Cl KYNA should prove to be a selective tool for elucidating the involvement of this site in physiological and pathological events mediated by N-Me-D-Asp receptors.
Abstract: Glycine markedly potentiates N-methyl-D-aspartate (N-Me-D-Asp) responses in mammalian neurons by an action at a modulatory site on the N-Me-D-Asp receptor-ionophore complex. Here we present evidence that 7-chlorokynurenic acid (7-Cl KYNA) inhibits N-Me-D-Asp responses by a selective antagonism of glycine at this modulatory site. In rat cortical slices 7-Cl KYNA (10-100 microM) noncompetitively inhibited N-Me-D-Asp responses, and this effect could be reversed by the addition of glycine (100 microM) or D-serine (100 microM). Radioligand binding experiments showed that 7-Cl KYNA had a much higher affinity for the strychnine-insensitive [3H]glycine binding site (IC50 = 0.56 microM) than for the N-Me-D-Asp (IC50 169 microM), quisqualate (IC50 = 153 microM), or kainate (IC50 greater than 1000 microM) recognition sites. In whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from rat cortical neurones in culture, the inhibitory effects of 7-Cl KYNA on N-Me-D-Asp-induced currents could not be overcome by increasing the N-Me-D-Asp concentration but could be reversed by increasing the glycine concentration. 7-Cl KYNA could completely abolish N-Me-D-Asp responses, including basal responses in the absence of added glycine, suggesting that it may possess negative modulatory effects at the glycine site. These findings indicate that the glycine modulatory site is functional in intact adult tissue and that 7-Cl KYNA should prove to be a selective tool for elucidating the involvement of this site in physiological and pathological events mediated by N-Me-D-Asp receptors.
TL;DR: The glycine site on the NMDA receptor complex has generated an enormous amount of interest since it was first described five years ago and studies with prototype antagonists, and low-efficacy partial agonists that penetrate the brain, show that these compounds possess anticonvulsant and neuroprotective properties but lack some of the side-effects of other types of NMDA antagonists.
TL;DR: The extent to which compounds produce PCP-like behavioral effects might depend in part on the specific component of theNMDA receptor complex with which they interact: i.e., the NMDA receptor, the NMda receptor-associated ion channel or the glycine-sensitive modulatory site.
Abstract: Antagonism of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-induced convulsions by a variety of drugs was compared with their ability to produce phencyclidine (PCP)-like behavioral effects (locomotion and falling) in mice. Convulsions produced by i.c.v. administration of NMDA were antagonized, at doses that did not block kainate- and quisqualate-induced convulsions, by competitive NMDA antagonists (e.g., CPP and CGS 19755), noncompetitive antagonists (e.g., PCP and MK-801) and also by some putative glycine antagonists (7-chlorokynurenic acid and HA-966). Only the competitive and the noncompetitive NMDA antagonists produced locomotion and falling, and their potencies to do so correlated (r = 0.92) with their relative potencies to antagonize NMDA-induced convulsions. However, the PCP-like behavioral effects produced by the competitive antagonists were of a lesser magnitude than those of the noncompetitive antagonists, and occurred at doses higher than those needed to block NMDA-induced convulsions. The putative glycine antagonists 7-chlorokynurenic acid and HA-966 selectively blocked NMDA-induced convulsions, without producing PCP-like behavioral effects. The extent to which compounds produce PCP-like behavioral effects might depend in part on the specific component of the NMDA receptor complex with which they interact: i.e., the NMDA receptor, the NMDA receptor-associated ion channel or the glycine-sensitive modulatory site.