Pharmacological assessments of potent A2A receptor antagonist IDPU (1-(7-imino-3-propyl-2,3-dihydrothiazolo[4,5-d]pyrimidin-6(7H)-yl)urea) in rodent model of haloperidol induced Parkinson like symptoms.

A2A receptor antagonists emerged as potential candidate for management of Parkinson's disease. Earlier we had reported the therapeutic potential of 1-(7-imino-3-propyl-2,3-dihydrothiazolo[4,5-d]pyrimidin-6(7H)-yl) urea (IDPU) as A2A receptor antagonist. Herein, we have investigated the effect of IDPU in attenuation of haloperidol induced Parkinson like symptoms in rats. It has successfully restored hypo-locomotion induced by haloperidol and NECA. IDPU also displayed protective effect against oxidative stress induced by chronic haloperidol treatment in rats. The antidepressant activity of IDPU was determined in mice showed that it imperatively reduced depression like symptoms in well-established depression models viz. TST and FST. Additionally, IDPU was found to be a safe and non-toxic chemical entity in acute, sub-acute and neurotoxicity studies. In silico study of IDPU showed acceptable physicochemical parameters and in vitro screening exhibited satisfactory metabolic stability. This study clearly indicates that A2A receptor antagonist IDPU is able to ameliorate Parkinsonian symptoms without exerting any significant toxicity.

Adenosine A2A Receptors Modulate α-Synuclein Aggregation and Toxicity.

Abnormal accumulation of aggregated α-synuclein (aSyn) is a hallmark of sporadic and familial Parkinson's disease (PD) and related synucleinopathies. Recent studies suggest a neuroprotective role of adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR) antagonists in PD. Nevertheless, the precise molecular mechanisms underlying this neuroprotection remain unclear. We assessed the impact of A2AR blockade or genetic deletion (A2AR KO) on synaptic plasticity and neuronal cell death induced by aSyn oligomers. We found that impairment of LTP associated with aSyn exposure was rescued in A2AR KO mice or upon A2AR blockade, through an NMDA receptor-dependent mechanism. The mechanisms underlying these effects were evaluated in SH-SY5Y cells overexpressing aSyn and rat primary neuronal cultures exposed to aSyn. Cell death in both conditions was prevented by selective A2AR antagonists. Interestingly, blockade of these receptors did not interfere with aSyn oligomerization but, instead, reduced the percentage of cells displaying aSyn inclusions. Altogether, our data raise the possibility that the well-documented effects of A2AR antagonists involve the control of the latter stages of aSyn aggregation, thereby preventing the associated neurotoxicity. These findings suggest that A2AR represent an important target for the development of effective drugs for the treatment of PD and related synucleinopathies.

Adenosine A2A Receptors in the Amygdala Control Synaptic Plasticity and Contextual Fear Memory.

The consumption of caffeine modulates working and reference memory through the antagonism of adenosine A2A receptors (A2ARs) controlling synaptic plasticity processes in hippocampal excitatory synapses. Fear memory essentially involves plastic changes in amygdala circuits. However, it is unknown if A2ARs in the amygdala regulate synaptic plasticity and fear memory. We report that A2ARs in the amygdala are enriched in synapses and located to glutamatergic synapses, where they selectively control synaptic plasticity rather than synaptic transmission at a major afferent pathway to the amygdala. Notably, the downregulation of A2ARs selectively in the basolateral complex of the amygdala, using a lentivirus with a silencing shRNA (small hairpin RNA targeting A2AR (shA2AR)), impaired fear acquisition as well as Pavlovian fear retrieval. This is probably associated with the upregulation and gain of function of A2ARs in the amygdala after fear acquisition. The importance of A2ARs to control fear memory was further confirmed by the ability of SCH58261 (0.1 mg/kg; A2AR antagonist), caffeine (5 mg/kg), but not DPCPX (0.5 mg/kg; A1R antagonist), treatment for 7 days before fear conditioning onwards, to attenuate the retrieval of context fear after 24-48 h and after 7-8 days. These results demonstrate that amygdala A2ARs control fear memory and the underlying process of synaptic plasticity in this brain region. This provides a neurophysiological basis for the association between A2AR polymorphisms and phobia or panic attacks in humans and prompts a therapeutic interest in A2ARs to manage fear-related pathologies.

Overcoming the genotoxicity of a pyrrolidine substituted arylindenopyrimidine as a potent dual adenosine A(2A)/A(1) antagonist by minimizing bioactivation to an iminium ion reactive intermediate.

2-Amino-4-phenyl-8-pyrrolidin-1-ylmethyl-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one (1) is a novel and potent selective dual A(2A)/A(1) adenosine receptor antagonist from the arylindenopyrimidine series that was determined to be genotoxic in both the Ames and Mouse Lymphoma L5178Y assays only following metabolic activation. Compound 1 was identified as a frame-shift mutagen in Salmonella typhimurium tester strain TA1537 as indicated by a significant dose-dependent increase in revertant colonies as compared to the vehicle control. The metabolic activation-dependent irreversible covalent binding of radioactivity to DNA, recovery of 1 and its enamine metabolite from acid hydrolysis of covalently modified DNA, and protection of covalent binding to DNA by both cyanide ion and methoxylamine suggest that the frame-shift mutation in TA1537 strain involved covalent binding instead of simple intercalation to DNA. Compound 1 was bioactivated to endocyclic iminium ion, aldehyde, epoxide, and α,ß-unsaturated keto reactive intermediates from the detection of cyano, oxime, and glutathione conjugates by data-dependent high resolution accurate mass measurements. Collision-induced dissociation of these conjugates provided evidence for bioactivation of the pyrrolidine ring of 1. The epoxide and α,ß-unsaturated keto reactive intermediates were unlikely to cause the genotoxicity of 1 because the formation of their glutathione adducts did not ameliorate the binding of compound related material to DNA. Instead, the endocyclic iminium ions and amino aldehydes were likely candidates responsible for genotoxicity based on, first, the protection afforded by both cyanide ion and methoxylamine, which reduced the potential to form covalent adducts with DNA, and, second, analogues of 1 designed with low probability to form these reactive intermediates were not genotoxic. It was concluded that 1 also had the potential to be mutagenic in humans based on observing the endocyclic iminium ion following incubation with a human liver S9 preparation and the commensurate detection of DNA adducts. An understanding of this genotoxicity mechanism supported an evidence-based approach to selectively modify the structure of 1 which resulted in analogues being synthesized that were devoid of a genotoxic liability. In addition, potency and selectivity against both adenosine A(2A) and A(1) receptors were maintained.

An improved model to investigate the efficacy of antidyskinetic agents in hemiparkinsonian rats.

A number of experimental models of L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia have been proposed, but these models result in a low to medium rate of dyskinetic animals with mild to severe symptoms. The objective of this study was to combine a model of 6-OHDA-induced parkinsonism and of L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia in rats to establish a reliable preclinical model. Two stereotaxic injections of 6-OHDA were administered in the left striatum. This model led to 90-100% of rats with a marked contralateral circling behaviour, significant limb use asymmetry (20%), a decrease in ipsilateral striatal dopamine content (70%) and degeneration of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra (70%). Chronic treatment with L-DOPA was administered for 35 days and consisted of three phases with incremental daily doses. The third phase resulted in 83-90% of rats developing severe abnormal involuntary movements (AIMs) which included limb and locomotive dyskinesia, axial dystonia and orolingual dyskinesia. Reproducibility of the model, criteria of strict blinding, placebo-controlled design, randomization of study subjects and pretrial determination of sample size were used to measure efficacy of amantadine and istradefylline and to validate the protocol design. Acute or subchronic post-treatment with amantadine reduced the severity of dyskinesia while istradefylline punctually attenuated AIMs. Our experimental conditions using gradual development of dyskinesia induced by increasing doses of L-DOPA resulted in a reliable model of L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia with a high rate of dyskinetic rats.