The selective phosphodiesterase 9 (PDE9) inhibitor PF-04447943 (6-[(3S,4S)-4-methyl-1-(pyrimidin-2-ylmethyl)pyrrolidin-3-yl]-1-(tetrahydro-2H-pyran-4-yl)-1,5-dihydro-4H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidin-4-one) enhances synaptic plasticity and cognitive function in rodents.

Inhibition of phosphodiesterase 9 (PDE9) has been reported to enhance rodent cognitive function and may represent a potential novel approach to improving cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease. PF-04447943, (6-[(3S,4S)-4-methyl-1-(pyrimidin-2-ylmethyl)pyrrolidin-3-yl]-1-(tetrahydro-2H-pyran-4-yl)-1,5-dihydro-4H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidin-4-one), a recently described PDE9 inhibitor, was found to have high affinity (Ki of 2.8, 4.5 and 18 nM) for human, rhesus and rat recombinant PDE9 respectively and high selectivity for PDE9 versus PDEs1-8 and 10-11. PF-04447943 significantly increased neurite outgrowth and synapse formation (as indicated by increased synapsin 1 expression) in cultured hippocampal neurons at low (30-100 nM) but not high (300-1000 nM) concentrations. PF-04447943 significantly facilitated hippocampal slice LTP evoked by a weak tetanic stimulus at a concentration of 100 nM but failed to affect response to the weak tetanus at either 30 or 300 nM, or the LTP produced by a theta burst stimulus. Systemic administration of PF-04447943 (1-30 mg/kg p.o.) dose-dependently increased cGMP in the cerebrospinal fluid 30 min after administration indicating target engagement in the CNS of rats. PF-04447943 (1-3 mg/kg p.o.) significantly improved cognitive performance in three rodent cognition assays (mouse Y maze spatial recognition memory model of natural forgetting, mouse social recognition memory model of natural forgetting and rat novel object recognition with a scopolamine deficit). When administered at a dose of 3 mg/kg p.o., which improved performance in novel object recognition, PF-04447943 significantly increased phosphorylated but not total GluR1 expression in rat hippocampal membranes. Collectively these data indicate that PF-04447943 is a potent, selective brain penetrant PDE9 inhibitor that increased indicators of hippocampal synaptic plasticity and improved cognitive function in a variety of cognition models in both rats and mice. Results with PF-04447943 are consistent with previously published findings using a structurally diverse PDE9 inhibitor, BAY73-6199, and further support the suggestion that PDE9 inhibition may represent a novel approach to the palliative remediation of cognitive dysfunction.

Antagonism of metabotropic glutamate receptor 4 receptors by (RS)-alpha-cyclopropyl-4-phosphonophenylglycine alters the taste of amino acids in rats.

T1R1/T1R3, taste-metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) 4 and other taste receptors have been implicated in umami taste perceptionT1R1/T1R3 has also been identified as an L-amino acid receptor. We investigated the possibility that taste-mGluR4 receptors may also play a role in the taste of amino acids in Sprague-Dawley rats using conditioned taste aversion methods. Specifically, we examined whether a taste aversion generalized between L-monosodium glutamate (MSG) and one of three amino acids (glycine, L-serine, and L-arginine), and whether (RS)-alpha-cyclopropyl-4-phosphonophenylglycine (CPPG), a group III mGluR selective antagonist with a strong binding affinity for mGluR4 receptors, can impact stimulus generalization. Rats showed cross-generalization between MSG and all three amino acids (all mixed with amiloride to block the taste of sodium), although less so for L-arginine than the other two amino acids, suggesting that all of the amino acids shared at least some taste qualities with MSG. However, when 1 mM CPPG was mixed with these amino acids, the strength of the learned taste aversions and cross-generalization for all but glycine were either decreased or increased. The increase in generalization induced by CPPG indicated that the antagonist did not simply reduce the intensity of the stimulus experience but also changed the qualities of the sensory experience. These findings suggest that multiple receptors are involved in amino acid taste and that taste-mGluR4 receptors contribute to the taste of MSG and at least some l-amino acids.

Behavioral comparison of sucrose and l-2-amino-4-phosphonobutyrate (L-AP4) tastes in rats: does L-AP4 have a sweet taste?

Even though it is generally thought that umami stimuli such as monosodium glutamate (MSG) and sweet stimuli such as sucrose are detected by different taste receptors, these stimuli appear to share taste qualities when amiloride (a sodium channel blocker) is present to reduce the sodium taste. Single fiber recording studies of the facial and glossopharyngeal nerves have shown that encoding of L-2-amino-4-phosphonobutyrate (L-AP4), a potent mGluR4 agonist that elicits a taste quite similar to MSG, may occur in the same fibers that also encode sweet stimuli. This suggests that L-AP4 and sweet substances may activate common receptors or afferent signaling mechanisms. We report results of behavioral experiments that test this hypothesis. In the first study, rats conditioned to avoid sucrose or L-AP4 generalized the aversion to the opposite substance, indicating that both substances elicited similar tastes. However, two taste discrimination experiments showed that rats easily discriminated between sucrose and L-AP4 over a wide range of concentrations, even when the cue function of sodium associated with L-AP4 was reduced by amiloride and neutralized by adding equimolar concentrations of NaCl to sucrose. These data suggest that even though L-AP4 and sucrose elicit similar taste qualities, one or both substances also elicit other taste qualities not shared by the opposite substance. They also suggest that the taste-mGluR4 receptor and the signal pathway activated by L-AP4 are not the same as those activated by sucrose. These data, when combined with fiber recording data, suggest that there is convergence of L-AP4 and sucrose signals at some point early in the gustatory pathway.

Comparison of L-monosodium glutamate and L-amino acid taste in rats.

T1R2/T1R3 heterodimers are selectively responsive to sweet substances whereas T1R1/T1R3 receptors are selective for umami substances, represented by monosodium glutamate (MSG), and for L-amino acids. If a single receptor is responsible for detection of umami and L-amino acids, then it would be predicted that MSG and L-amino acids elicit similar tastes in rats. The present study compared the taste profile of MSG with four amino acids (glycine, L-proline, L-serine and L-arginine) using conditioned taste aversion, detection threshold, and taste discrimination methods. These experiments were designed to either reduce or neutralize the taste of sodium associated with MSG and the other amino acids. Detection threshold studies showed that rats were most sensitive to L-arginine and least sensitive to L-proline. Glycine and L-serine thresholds were similar to those previously reported for MSG. Like MSG, a conditioned taste aversion to each of the four amino acids generalized to sucrose in the presence of amiloride, a sodium channel blocker. Rats showed moderate generalization of aversion between MSG and L-arginine, suggesting that these two amino acids taste only moderately alike. However, the taste aversion experiments indicated that glycine, L-serine, and L-proline elicit taste sensations similar to MSG when amiloride is present. Discrimination experiments further compared the tastes of these three amino acids with MSG. When the sodium taste associated with MSG was reduced or neutralized, glycine and L-proline elicited tastes very similar but not identical to the taste of MSG. Low (but not higher) concentrations of L-serine were also difficult for rats to discriminate from MSG. While there are taste qualities common to all of these amino acids, the perceptual differences found in this study, combined with previous reports, suggest either multiple taste receptors and/or multiple signaling pathways may be involved in umami and amino acid taste perception in rats.