Oxotremorine sesquifumarate

A novel muscarinic receptor-independent mechanism of KCNQ2/3 potassium channel blockade by Oxotremorine-M.[Pubmed:27590358]

Eur J Pharmacol. 2016 Nov 15;791:221-228.

Inhibition of KCNQ (Kv7) potassium channels by activation of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors has been well established, and the ion currents through these channels have been long known as M-currents. We found that this cross-talk can be reconstituted in Xenopus oocytes by co-transfection of human recombinant muscarinic M1 receptors and KCNQ2/3 potassium channels. Application of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor agonist Oxotremorine-methiodide (Oxo-M) between voltage pulses to activate KCNQ2/3 channels caused inhibition of the subsequent KCNQ2/3 responses. This effect of Oxo-M was blocked by the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist atropine. We also found that KCNQ2/3 currents were inhibited when Oxo-M was applied during an ongoing KCNQ2/3 response, an effect that was not blocked by atropine, suggesting that Oxo-M inhibits KCNQ2/3 channels directly. Indeed, also in oocytes that were transfected with only KCNQ2/3 channels, but not with muscarinic M1 receptors, Oxo-M inhibited the KCNQ2/3 response. These results show that besides the usual muscarinic acetylcholine receptor-mediated inhibition, Oxo-M also inhibits KCNQ2/3 channels by a direct mechanism. We subsequently tested xanomeline, which is a chemically distinct muscarinic acetylcholine receptor agonist, and oxotremorine, which is a close analogue of Oxo-M. Both compounds inhibited KCNQ2/3 currents via activation of M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors but, in contrast to Oxo-M, they did not directly inhibit KCNQ2/3 channels. Xanomeline and oxotremorine do not contain a positively charged trimethylammonium moiety that is present in Oxo-M, suggesting that such a charged moiety could be a crucial component mediating this newly described direct inhibition of KCNQ2/3 channels.

Muscarinic acetylcholine M4 receptors play a critical role in oxotremorine-induced DARPP-32 phosphorylation at threonine 75 in isolated medium spiny neurons.[Pubmed:28257887]

Neuropharmacology. 2017 May 1;117:376-386.

Dopamine- and cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein of 32 kDa (DARPP-32) play essential roles in dopamine (DA) transmission in the striatum. It is suggested that a link exists between muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) and DA/DARPP-32 signaling, but the molecular mechanisms mediating this relationship have not been elucidated. The predominant mAChRs subtypes in the striatum are M1 and M4. In this study, we investigated the functions of these two receptors, particularly M4, in regulating cAMP production and DARPP-32 phosphorylation in rat striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs). We used time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer, immunofluorescence confocal microscopy, and western blot assays. In cultured intact MSNs, we confirmed that muscarinic M1 and M4 receptors were highly expressed. Notably, M4 receptors were co-expressed with D1 receptors in only a portion of the cultured MSNs. The nonselective muscarinic agonist oxotremorine M (OX) slightly enhanced cAMP production, but this effect was independent of M1 or M4 receptors. However, OX directly participated in DARPP-32 phosphorylation, phosphorylating DARPP-32 at Thr75 (the CDK5 site) and concomitantly de-phosphorylating DARPP-32 at Thr34 (the PKA site) in virtually cultured MSNs, whereas APO phosphorylated DARPP-32 at both Thr34 and Thr75. The OX-induced time-dependent increase in DARPP-32 phosphorylation at Thr75 was accompanied by increased p35 and CDK5 activity. Specifically, elevated immunoreactivity for phospho-DARPP-32-Thr75 and p35 was detected in M4 receptor-expressing MSNs. Both genetic knockdown and pharmacologic inhibition of M4 receptors with MT3, an M4 receptor-selective antagonist, decreased the OX-induced DARPP-32-Thr75 phosphorylation in MSNs. These results indicate that the M4 muscarinic receptor plays a critical role in modulating phosphorylation of DARPP-32-Thr75 in MSNs. The results suggest that M4 receptor activation acts antagonistically with dopamine D1-like receptors within the striatum, and indicate that M4 receptors may be a potential target for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and other relevant central nervous system disorders.

Anxiolytic effects of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors agonist oxotremorine in chronically stressed rats and related changes in BDNF and FGF2 levels in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex.[Pubmed:27957715]

Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2017 Feb;234(4):559-573.

RATIONALE: In depressive disorders, one of the mechanisms proposed for antidepressant drugs is the enhancement of synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. Previously, we showed that the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) agonist oxotremorine (Oxo) increases neuronal plasticity in hippocampal neurons via FGFR1 transactivation. OBJECTIVES: Here, we aimed to explore (a) whether Oxo exerts anxiolytic effect in the rat model of anxiety-depression-like behavior induced by chronic restraint stress (CRS), and (b) if the anxiolytic effect of Oxo is associated with the modulation of neurotrophic factors, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2), and phosphorylated Erk1/2 (p-Erk1/2) levels in the dorsal or ventral hippocampus and in the medial prefrontal cortex. METHODS: The rats were randomly divided into four groups: control unstressed, CRS group, CRS group treated with 0.2 mg/kg Oxo, and unstressed group treated with Oxo. After 21 days of CRS, the groups were treated for 10 days with Oxo or saline. The anxiolytic role of Oxo was tested by using the following: forced swimming test, novelty suppressed feeding test, elevated plus maze test, and light/dark box test. The hippocampi and prefrontal cortex were used to evaluate BDNF and FGF2 protein levels and p-Erk1/2 levels. RESULTS: Oxo treatment significantly attenuated anxiety induced by CRS. Moreover, Oxo treatment counteracted the CRS-induced reduction of BDNF and FGF2 levels in the ventral hippocampus and medial prefrontal cerebral cortex CONCLUSIONS: The present study showed that Oxo treatment ameliorates the stress-induced anxiety-like behavior and rescues FGF2 and BDNF levels in two brain regions involved in CRS-induced anxiety, ventral hippocampal formation, and medial prefrontal cortex.

Voltage-Independent Inhibition of the Tetrodotoxin-Sensitive Sodium Currents by Oxotremorine and Angiotensin II in Rat Sympathetic Neurons.[Pubmed:26869400]

Mol Pharmacol. 2016 Apr;89(4):476-83.

Tetrodotoxin-sensitive Na(+) currents have been extensively studied because they play a major role in neuronal firing and bursting. In this study, we showed that voltage-dependent Na(+) currents are regulated in a slow manner by oxotremorine (oxo-M) and angiotensin II in rat sympathetic neurons. We found that these currents can be readily inhibited through a signaling pathway mediated by G proteins and phospholipase C (PLC) beta1. This inhibition is slowly established, pertussis toxin-insensitive, partially reversed within tens of seconds after oxo-M washout, and not relieved by a strong depolarization, suggesting a voltage-insensitive mechanism of inhibition. Specificity of the M1 receptor was tested by the MT-7 toxin. Activation and inactivation curves showed no shift in the voltage dependency under the inhibition by oxo-M. This inhibition is blocked by a PLC inhibitor (U73122, 1-(6-{[(17beta)-3-Methoxyestra-1,3,5(10)-trien-17-yl]amino}hexyl)-1H-pyrrole-2,5- dione), and recovery from inhibition is prevented by wortmannin, a PI3/4 kinase inhibitor. Hence, the pathway involves Gq/11 and is mediated by a diffusible second messenger. Oxo-M inhibition is occluded by screening phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2)-negative charges with poly-l-lysine and prevented by intracellular dialysis with a PIP2 analog. In addition, bisindolylmaleimide I, a specific ATP-competitive protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor, rules out that this inhibition may be mediated by this protein kinase. Furthermore, oxo-M-induced suppression of Na(+) currents remains unchanged when neurons are treated with calphostin C, a PKC inhibitor that targets the diacylglycerol-binding site of the kinase. These results support a general mechanism of Na(+) current inhibition that is widely present in excitable cells through modulation of ion channels by specific G protein-coupled receptors.

Muscarinic receptor-mediated phosphoinositide hydrolysis in the rat retina.[Pubmed:2841451]

J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1988 Aug;246(2):553-7.

In this report, muscarinic receptor-mediated phosphoinositide (PI) hydrolysis is characterized pharmacologically in the rat retina. In the presence of eserine, acetylcholine (ACh) elicited a concentration-dependent increase in inositol monophosphate with a calculated EC50 of about 2.8 microM. Maximum increase was achieved with about 100 microM ACh. Cholinergic receptor agonists stimulated phospholipase C-mediated hydrolysis of PI with the following rank order of potency: ACh = oxotremorine greater than McN-A-343 greater than bethanechol greater than arecoline = carbachol greater than muscarine. Oxotremorine analogs stimulated PI hydrolysis with the following rank order of potency: ACh = oxotremorine = oxotremorine-2 greater than oxotremorine-M = oxotremorine-4. Carbachol-mediated Pl hydrolysis was blocked by atropine and by the putatively selective muscarinic type 1 (M1) receptor antagonist, pirenzepine, with apparent Ki values of 0.1 and 1.0 nM, respectively. In contrast, the selective muscarinic type 2 (M2) antagonists, gallamine and AF-DX 116, failed to inhibit the action of carbachol. These findings demonstrate that stimulation of muscarinic receptors in the rat retina leads to PI hydrolysis and that these receptors appear to be M1 cholinergic receptors.

Differential stimulation of inositol phospholipid turnover in brain by analogs of oxotremorine.[Pubmed:6088696]

J Neurochem. 1984 Oct;43(4):1171-9.

Structural analogs of oxotremorine have been employed to examine the relationship between the binding of agonists to muscarinic receptors in guinea pig cerebral cortex and the enhancement of inositol lipid turnover. Large differences were observed in the ability of the analogs to stimulate inositol phospholipid turnover, as measured both by the increase in labeling of phosphatidate and phosphatidylinositol from 32Pi in a nerve-ending fraction, and by the stimulated release of labeled inositol phosphates from slices of cerebral cortex, a direct measure of inositol lipid breakdown. The quaternary N+ analogs, oxotremorine-M and its N-methylacetamide derivative, were five to thirteen times as effective as oxotremorine. In contrast, methyl substitution of the pyrrolidone ring of oxotremorine resulted in a complete loss of agonist activity. Receptor occupancy data obtained from the displacement of labeled quinuclidinyl benzilate bound to receptors in a nerve-ending fraction indicated that the more efficacious agonists interacted with at least two affinity forms of the muscarinic receptor, whereas the less effective agonists bound to a single affinity form. Dose-response curves obtained in the presence of oxotremorine-M for inositol lipid turnover in both the nerve-ending fraction and slice preparation correlated with the occupancy of a single low-affinity form of the muscarinic receptor. The results suggest that the differential abilities of analogs of oxotremorine to enhance inositol lipid turnover in brain are closely related to the extent of agonist-induced conformational change in the muscarinic receptor.