The pharmacology of VA21B7: an atypical 5-HT3 receptor antagonist with anxiolytic-like properties in animal models.

VA21B7 (3-[2-(4'-piperonylpiperazinyl) indolyl] carboxaldehyde) was synthesized as a potential 5-HT3 receptor antagonist. Even though VA21B7 showed a higher affinity towards 5-HT3 receptors as compared to other receptors studied, it was not a potent 5-HT3 receptor antagonist either in the periphery or in the brain. In a simple animal model of anxiety such as the two-compartment box in mice, a remarkable anxiolytic-like effect was found at doses of 2-500 micrograms/kg IP and also at low oral doses, in the microgram range. These drug doses did not produce any significant effect on spontaneous motor activity of mice. The anxiolytic profile of VA21B7 was further explored using other models of anxiety in rats such as the elevated plus-maze and punished-drinking. VA21B7 was compared with standard 5-HT3 receptor antagonists such as ondansetron, tropisetron and granisetron, with the 5-HT1A agent buspirone and with diazepam. In the plus-maze, VA21B7 showed an anxiolytic-like profile after doses of 0.25-0.5 mg/kg IP or 2-4 mg/kg PO which did not modify the number of total entries into the open and closed arms of the maze. Diazepam, granisetron and tropisetron were also effective in this test but not ondansetron and buspirone. VA21B7 was also able to release suppressed behaviour in the punished-drinking test. The dose-response curve was bell-shaped with a peak at 2-4 mg/kg. At variance with other studies, 5-HT3 receptor antagonists also increased the number of shocks taken in this test and the dose-response curve was also bell-shaped. VA21B7 was not anticonvulsant like diazepam, its anxiolytic action in the light/dark test was not flumazenil-sensitive and there was no rebound anxiogenic effect on withdrawal from chronic VA21B7 treatment for 15 consecutive days. Moreover, VA21B7 was not amnesic like the benzodiazepines but low doses of 2-4 mg/kg reduced the memory deficits induced in rats by scopolamine. Much higher doses were necessary to decrease spontaneous motor activity in rats. Since VA21B7 appears to be well tolerated in rodents at high doses, we think that it is of potential interest as an anxiolytic in humans.

Synthesis of 2-piperazinylbenzothiazole and 2-piperazinylbenzoxazole derivatives with 5-HT3 antagonist and 5-HT4 agonist properties.

New 2-piperazinylbenzothiazole and 2-piperazinylbenzoxazole derivatives were prepared and tested as 5-HT3 receptor antagonists. Some of the new compounds antagonized the effect of 5-HT at the longitudinal muscle myenteric plexus (LMMP) preparation of the guinea pig ileum, and two benzothiazole derivatives, compounds 2e and 2f, were more potent than ondansetron in this regard. However, these two compounds were much weaker than the typical 5-HT3 receptor antagonist as displacers of [3H]BRL-43694 binding to rat cerebral cortex homogenates or as antagonists of the bradycardia response to 5-HT in the anaesthetized rat. Like the prokinetic agent cisapride, some of the new compounds enhanced gastric emptying in rats. Compound 2f not only markedly enhanced gastric emptying but was also a potent agonist at the isolated rat oesophageal tunica muscularis mucosae, a preparation sensitive to 5-HT4 receptor stimulation, and enhanced the twitch response in the LMMP preparation. The latter effect was blocked by a high concentration of tropisetron or by previous desensitization with 5-methoxytryptamine. Compound 2f appears to show a promising pharmacological profile as a potential gastrokinetic agent.

Novel antagonists of 5-HT3 receptors. Synthesis and biological evaluation of piperazinylquinoxaline derivatives.

A series of piperazinylquinoxalines has been synthesized and studied as 5-HT3 receptor antagonists in different preparations. Antagonism to 5-HT in the longitudinal muscle of the guinea pig ileum was particularly prominent in cyanoquinoxaline derivatives with an alkyl substitutuent on the piperazine moiety. The pA2 of some selected compounds against the 5-HT3 agonist 2-methyl-5HT in the guinea pig ileum was in the range of tropisetron or ondansetron, and one of them, 7e, was more potent than these reference compounds by approximately 2 or 3 orders of magnitude. However, these compounds were markedly less potent than either tropisetron or ondansetron as displacers of 3H-BRL 43694 binding to rat cortical membranes or as antagonists of the Bezold-Jarisch reflex in rats. Piperazinylcyanoquinoxalines represent a new class of 5-HT3 antagonists with a selective effect on guinea pig peripheral receptors.