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Updated: Jan 7, 2026

Drug Repurposing Hypothesis Generation Using the "RE:fine Drugs" System
Published on: December 11, 2016
Drug Development
Jingxin Chen1, Carla Elena Mezo-Gonzalez1, Michael D Marcotte1
1Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Positive allosteric modulation of alpha5-GABAARs by GL-II-73 improved cognitive function in a mouse model of Alzheimer's Disease. These findings confirm the drug's mechanism of action via the benzodiazepine-binding site.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Alzheimer's Disease (AD) lacks effective treatments.
- Alpha5-containing GABAA receptors (α5-GABAARs) are crucial for cognitive function and a therapeutic target.
- GL-II-73, an α5-GABAAR modulator, showed potential in preclinical models, but its precise mechanism required validation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate the necessity of positive allosteric modulation of α5-GABAARs by GL-II-73 for cognitive function regulation.
- To investigate GL-II-73's mechanism of action in a double transgenic mouse model of AD.
Main Methods:
- Generated double transgenic mice (5xFAD x α5-KI) exhibiting amyloid pathology and drug-insensitive α5-GABAARs.
- Administered GL-II-73 (30 mg/kg) for three weeks to double transgenic mice and wild-type littermates.
- Assessed working memory and spatial cognition using Y-maze and Morris Water Maze tasks.
Main Results:
- Drug-sensitive mice treated with GL-II-73 exhibited improved performance in both working memory and spatial cognition tasks.
- No cognitive improvements were observed in drug-insensitive mice treated with GL-II-73, despite similar amyloid pathology.
Conclusions:
- The cognitive-enhancing effects of GL-II-73 are mediated by allosteric modulation of the benzodiazepine-binding site of α5-GABAARs.
- This study confirms the therapeutic potential of targeting α5-GABAARs for improving cognitive deficits in Alzheimer's Disease.
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