Role in the selectivity of neonicotinoids of insect-specific basic residues in loop D of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist binding site.

The insecticide imidacloprid and structurally related neonicotinoids act selectively on insect nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). To investigate the mechanism of neonicotinoid selectivity, we have examined the effects of mutations to basic amino acid residues in loop D of the nAChR acetylcholine (ACh) binding site on the interactions with imidacloprid. The receptors investigated are the recombinant chicken alpha4beta2 nAChR and Drosophila melanogaster Dalpha2/chicken beta2 hybrid nAChR expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Although mutations of Thr77 in loop D of the beta2 subunit resulted in a barely detectable effect on the imidacloprid concentration-response curve for the alpha4beta2 nAChR, T77R;E79V double mutations shifted the curve dramatically to higher affinity binding of imidacloprid. Likewise, T77K;E79R and T77N;E79R double mutations in the Dalpha2beta2 nAChR also resulted in a shift to a higher affinity for imidacloprid, which exceeded that observed for a single mutation of Thr77 to basic residues. By contrast, these double mutations scarcely influenced the ACh concentration-response curve, suggesting selective interactions with imidacloprid of the newly introduced basic residues. Computational, homology models of the agonist binding domain of the wild-type and mutant alpha4beta2 and Dalpha2beta2 nAChRs with imidacloprid bound were generated based on the crystal structures of acetylcholine binding proteins of Lymnaea stagnalis and Aplysia californica. The models indicate that the nitro group of imidacloprid interacts directly with the introduced basic residues at position 77, whereas those at position 79 either prevent or permit such interactions depending on their electrostatic properties, thereby explaining the observed functional changes resulting from site-directed mutagenesis.

Structure-activity relationships of benzylidene anabaseines in nicotinic acetylcholine receptors of cockroach nerve cords.

Ten analogues of 6'-chloro-3-benzylideneanabaseine (CBA) bearing substituents at the ortho- and the para-positions of the phenyl group were synthesized, together with two related compounds. The affinity of the synthesized compounds for nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in the nerve cord of the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana L.) was examined by the radioligand binding assay using [(3)H]epibatidine (EPI), a nAChR agonist. All 12 tested compounds inhibited [(3)H]EPI binding, showing K(i) values ranging from 14.6 to 6830nM. The potency variation of para-substituted CBA analogues was explained by the steric (Delta B(1)) and electronic (sigma(p)) parameters of the para-substituents, or by the steric parameter and the charge of the N1 nitrogen atom (qN(1)). Among the CBA analogues, only two compounds containing a dimethylamino group and a methoxy group at the para-position showed high insecticidal activity against the German cockroach (Blattella germanica) when injected after pretreatment with metabolic inhibitors. High-affinity analogues of CBA might be suitable probes for use in classifying and characterizing insect nAChR subtypes.