The glycine site on the NMDA receptor: structure-activity relationships and possible therapeutic applications

L-glutamate is the most important fast excitatory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system. Glutamate receptors are classified into two main categories: ionotropic and metabotropic. The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, which is associated with an ion channel, seems to play an important role in glutamate excitotoxicity, a process thought to be involved in a number of neurodegenerative disorders such as focal cerebral ischaemia (stroke), Parkinsonís, Huntingtonís, Alzheimerís disease, schizophrenia and epilepsy. The unique glycine site on the NMDA receptor, discovered by Johnson and Ascher in 1987, represents an interesting target for the development of neuroprotective compounds. Glycine antagonists may offer advantages over other NMDA antagonists in terms of their side-effect profile, especially in the long-term treatment of chronical neurodegenerative disorders but also in the treatment of serious medical emergencies with a significant morbidity and mortality like status epilepticus or stroke. So far it is not clear whether NMDA receptor antagonists including glycine antagonists would be suitable for chronic administration because of their effects on cognition, learning and motor function. High-affinity, in vivo potent, glycine antagonists of great structural diversity (i. e. pyrido[2,3-b]pyrazine-N-oxides, indole-2-carboxylates, 4-substituted-3-phenylquinoline-2(1H)-ones and alkyl-substituted 1,4-dihydro-quinoxaline-2,3-diones) are now available and their suitability for long-term treatment of chronical neurodegenerative disorders has to be investigated in clinical trials.