Antidepressant-like activity and safety profile evaluation of 1H-imidazo[2,1-f]purine-2,4(3H,8H)-dione derivatives as 5-HT1A receptor partial agonists

PLoS One. 2020 Aug 7;15(8):e0237196. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237196. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Current antidepressant therapy has several disadvantages related to the properties of antidepressants. Considering their unfavourable features, the process of searching for new antidepressant drugs with better safety and tolerability requires consistent efforts and many complementary studies. Serotonin 5-HT1A receptor is considered as an interesting target of antidepressant therapy. In the present study, the intrinsic activity at different signaling pathways coupled to serotonin 5-HT1A receptor, antidepressant-like and pharmacokinetic properties, and the safety profile of two novel imidazopurine-2,4-dione derivatives, namely compounds AZ-853 (8-(4-(4-(2-fluorophenyl)piperazin-1-yl)butyl)-1,3-dimethyl-1H- imidazo[2,1-f]purine-2,4(3H,8H)-dione) and AZ-861 (1,3-dimethyl-8-(4-(4-(3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)piperazin-1-yl)butyl)-1H-imidazo[2,1-f]purine-2,4(3H,8H)-dione), were studied in animal models through in vitro and in vivo experiments. We demonstrated that AZ-853 and AZ-861, which structurally differ by one substituent and its placement in the phenyl ring, showed varied functional, pharmacological, and pharmacokinetic properties as well as side effect profiles. AZ-861 exhibited stronger agonistic action in all functional assays. After acute and repeated administration in mice, both compounds showed antidepressant-like activity in the forced swim test, which was partially mediated by 5-HT1A receptor activation. AZ-853 showed a more potent antidepressant-like effect, presumably due to its better penetration into brain structures. Both compounds did not show anticholinergic properties, but after repeated administration, they induced weak sedation and lipid metabolism disturbances without affecting serum glucose level. The stronger α1-adrenolytic effect of AZ-853 is responsible for decreased systolic blood pressure, and in contrast to AZ-861, AZ-853 induced weight gain in mice. The interesting comparative pharmacological profiles of AZ-853 and AZ-861 encourage to conduct further experiments to fully understand their mechanisms and differences in action.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antidepressive Agents / chemistry
  • Antidepressive Agents / pharmacology*
  • Behavior Observation Techniques
  • Behavior, Animal / drug effects
  • Blood Pressure / drug effects
  • Depression / diagnosis
  • Depression / drug therapy*
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Piperazines / chemistry
  • Piperazines / pharmacology
  • Piperazines / therapeutic use
  • Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT1A / metabolism*
  • Serotonin 5-HT1 Receptor Agonists / chemistry
  • Serotonin 5-HT1 Receptor Agonists / pharmacology*
  • Serotonin 5-HT1 Receptor Agonists / therapeutic use
  • Structure-Activity Relationship
  • Weight Gain / drug effects

Substances

  • Antidepressive Agents
  • Piperazines
  • Serotonin 5-HT1 Receptor Agonists
  • Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT1A

Grants and funding

This study was supported by Jagiellonian University Medical College grant number N42/DBS/000104. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.