Abstact

As part of our ongoing efforts to identify novel ligands for the metabotropic glutamate 2 and 3 (mGlu2/3) receptors, we have incorporated substitution at the C3 and C4 positions of the (1S,2R,5R,6R)-2-amino-bicyclo[3.1.0]hexane-2,6-dicarboxylic acid scaffold to generate mGlu2/3 antagonists. Exploration of this structure-activity relationship (SAR) led to the identification of (1S,2R,3S,4S,5R,6R)-2-amino-3-[(3,4-difluorophenyl)sulfanylmethyl]-4-hydroxy-bicyclo[3.1.0]hexane-2,6-dicarboxylic acid hydrochloride (LY3020371·HCl, 19f), a potent, selective, and maximally efficacious mGlu2/3 antagonist. Further characterization of compound 19f binding to the human metabotropic 2 glutamate (hmGlu2) site was established by cocrystallization of this molecule with the amino terminal domain (ATD) of the hmGlu2 receptor protein. The resulting cocrystal structure revealed the specific ligand-protein interactions, which likely explain the high affinity of 19f for this site and support its functional mGlu2 antagonist pharmacology. Further characterization of 19f in vivo demonstrated an antidepressant-like signature in the mouse forced-swim test (mFST) assay when brain levels of this compound exceeded the cellular mGlu2 IC50 value.