A Natural Product with High Affinity to Sigma and 5-HT7 Receptors as Novel Therapeutic Drug for Negative and Cognitive Symptoms of Schizophrenia.

Abstract

Dehydrocorybulbine (DHCB), an alkaloid from Corydalis yanhusuo. W.T, has been identified as a dopamine receptor antagonist. We extended our assessment of its pharmacological profile and found that DHCB exhibits high to moderate binding affinities to sigma 1 and 2 receptors, serotonin 5-HT7 receptor, and histamine H2 receptors. This led us to evaluate DHCB properties in pharmacological (apomorphine and MK-801) animal models of schizophrenia in mice. The pharmacological profile of DHCB was screened through radioligand receptor binding assays. Single dose of DHCB reversed the locomotor hyperactivity, stereotypy, and prepulse inhibition deficits induced by the dopaminergic agonist apomorphine. DHCB also reversed the depressive-like behavior and memory deficit induced by the glutamatergic antagonist MK-801 in the forced swim and the novel object recognition assays, respectively. These results indicate that DHCB effectively improves schizophrenia-like behavioral deficits that are induced by the disruption of dopaminergic and glutamatergic systems. The effectiveness of DHCB in reversing responses that mimic negative and cognitive deficits of schizophrenia might suggest that its anti-schizophrenia effects are mediated through modulating the activities of several receptor particularly sigma 1, sigma 2, 5-HT7 and dopamine receptors. Our study casts DHCB as a promising lead for therapeutic treatment of schizophrenia.

• Authors: Lien Wang, Yan Zhang, Chaoran Wang, Xiuli Zhang, Zhiwei Wang, Xinmiao Liang, Amal Alachkar, Olivier Civelli
• Journal: Neurochemical research (Neurochem Res) Vol. 44 Issue 11 Pg. 2536-2545 (Nov 2019) ISSN: 1573-6903 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 31529334 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Antipsychotic Agents
• Isoquinolines
• Receptors, Histamine H2
• Receptors, Serotonin
• Receptors, sigma
• dehydrocorybulbine
• serotonin 7 receptor
• sigma-1 receptor
• sigma-2 receptor
• Dizocilpine Maleate
• Apomorphine

Topics

• Animals
• Antipsychotic Agents (therapeutic use)
• Apomorphine
• Dizocilpine Maleate
• Isoquinolines (therapeutic use)
• Male
• Mice
• Motor Activity (drug effects)
• Receptors, Histamine H2 (metabolism)
• Receptors, Serotonin (metabolism)
• Receptors, sigma (metabolism)
• Schizophrenia (chemically induced, drug therapy)