Background: Multiple cognitive and psychiatric disorders are associated with an increased tonic inhibitory conductance that is generated by α5 subunit-containing γ-aminobutyric acid type A (α5 GABA) receptors. Negative allosteric modulators that inhibit α5 GABA receptors (α5-NAMs) are being developed as treatments for these disorders. The effects of α5-NAMs have been studied on recombinant GABA receptors expressed in non-neuronal cells; however, no study has compared drug effects on the tonic conductance generated by native GABA receptors in neurones, which was the goal of this study.
Methods: The effects of five α5-NAMs (basmisanil, Ono-160, L-655,708, α5IA, and MRK-016) on tonic current evoked by a low concentration of GABA were studied using whole-cell recordings in cultured mouse hippocampal neurones. Drug effects on current evoked by a saturating concentration of GABA and on miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs) were also examined.
Results: The α5-NAMs caused a concentration-dependent decrease in tonic current. The potencies varied as the inhibitory concentration for 50% inhibition (IC) of basmisanil (127 nM) was significantly higher than those of the other compounds (0.4-0.8 nM). In contrast, the maximal efficacies of the drugs were similar (35.5-51.3% inhibition). The α5-NAMs did not modify current evoked by a saturating GABA concentration or mIPSCs.
Conclusions: Basmisanil was markedly less potent than the other α5-NAMs, an unexpected result based on studies of recombinant α5 GABA receptors. Studying the effects of α5 GABA receptor-selective drugs on the tonic inhibitory current in neurones could inform the selection of compounds for future clinical trials.
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