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Published on: March 27, 2018
The preferential dopamine D3 receptor ligand, (+)-UH232, is a partial agonist
N Griffon1, C Pilon, J C Schwartz
1Unité de Neurobiologie et Pharmacologie de l'INSERM, Centre Paul Broca, Paris, France.
(+)-UH 232 acts as a partial agonist at dopamine D3 receptors, stimulating cell growth (mitogenesis) and inhibiting cAMP production. This selective D3 receptor ligand shows partial agonist activity with an intrinsic activity of 0.2-0.4.
Area of Science:
- Neuropharmacology
- Molecular Biology
- Cell Signaling
Background:
- Dopamine D3 receptors play a role in cellular processes.
- Understanding receptor ligand activity is crucial for drug development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the activity of (+)-UH 232 at the dopamine D3 receptor.
- To determine if (+)-UH 232 acts as an agonist, antagonist, or partial agonist.
Main Methods:
- Using a NG 108 15 hybrid cell line expressing recombinant dopamine D3 receptors.
- Measuring mitogenesis via [3H]thymidine incorporation.
- Assessing forskolin-induced cyclic AMP (cAMP) accumulation.
Main Results:
- (+)-UH 232 demonstrated partial agonism at the D3 receptor, stimulating mitogenesis with an EC50 of 7.6 nM.
- The maximal mitogenic response to (+)-UH 232 was 23% of that elicited by quinpirole.
- (+)-UH 232 antagonized quinpirole-induced mitogenesis (Ki = 9.4 nM) and inhibited cAMP accumulation by 22% (compared to 53% for quinpirole).
Conclusions:
- (+)-UH 232 functions as a partial agonist at the dopamine D3 receptor.
- The intrinsic activity of (+)-UH 232 was determined to be between 0.2 and 0.4.
- These findings contribute to understanding D3 receptor pharmacology and potential therapeutic applications.
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