Bali Zsolt Kristóf, Bruszt Nóra, Tadepalli Sai Ambika, Csurgyók Roland, Nagy Lili Veronika, Tompa Márton, Hernádi István
Department of Experimental Zoology and Neurobiology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.
János Szentágothai Research Center, Center for Neuroscience, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.
Front Pharmacol. 2019 Feb 5;10:73. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2019.00073. eCollection 2019.
Alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) play an important role in learning and memory and are promising targets for pharmacological cognitive enhancement. Memantine, an approved substance for Alzheimer's disease treatment, is an antagonist of the N-Methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) and also acts as an alpha7 nAChR antagonist. Here, we tested the interaction between an alpha7 nAChR agonist (PHA-543613) and memantine. Efficacy of memantine, PHA-543613, and their co-administration were investigated on the spatial working memory of rats using the spontaneous alternation paradigm in T-maze. Scopolamine-induced transient amnesia was used to model cognitive impairment. First, the dose-response relationship was assessed for memantine, and its lowest effective dose was found to be 0.1 mg/kg. Then, co-administration treatments with subeffective doses of the alpha7 nAChR agonist PHA-543613 and different doses of memantine were tested. The co-administration of subeffective drug doses significantly improved memory performance of the rats and reversed scopolamine-induced deficits. Interestingly, a higher than effective (0.3 mg/kg) dose of memantine did not increase performance in monotreatment, only in co-administration with PHA-543613. However, the co-administration of PHA-543613 did not further increase the efficacy of the previously effective monotreatment doses of memantine. Thus, the efficacy of memantine monotreatment and its co-administration with PHA-543613 converged to create a common ceiling effect, with an additive interaction found in the behavioral effects. These results suggest that memantine and PHA-543613 may exert their cognitive enhancer effects on the same target, possibly on the alpha7 nAChRs. Results also suggest possible benefits of a combination therapy with memantine and alpha7 nAChR agonists.
α7烟碱型乙酰胆碱受体(nAChRs)在学习和记忆中发挥重要作用,是药理学认知增强的有前景靶点。美金刚是一种已获批用于治疗阿尔茨海默病的药物,是N-甲基-D-天冬氨酸受体(NMDAR)的拮抗剂,也可作为α7 nAChR拮抗剂。在此,我们测试了α7 nAChR激动剂(PHA-543613)与美金刚之间的相互作用。使用T迷宫中的自发交替范式研究了美金刚、PHA-543613及其联合给药对大鼠空间工作记忆的疗效。以东莨菪碱诱导的短暂性失忆来模拟认知障碍。首先,评估了美金刚的剂量反应关系,发现其最低有效剂量为0.1mg/kg。然后,测试了亚有效剂量的α7 nAChR激动剂PHA-543613与不同剂量美金刚的联合给药治疗。亚有效药物剂量的联合给药显著改善了大鼠的记忆表现,并逆转了东莨菪碱诱导的缺陷。有趣的是,高于有效剂量(0.3mg/kg)的美金刚单独给药时并未提高表现,仅在与PHA-543613联合给药时才有效。然而,PHA-543613的联合给药并未进一步提高先前有效剂量的美金刚单独给药时的疗效。因此,美金刚单独给药及其与PHA-543613联合给药的疗效趋于一致,产生了共同的天花板效应,在行为效应中发现了相加相互作用。这些结果表明,美金刚和PHA-543613可能对同一靶点发挥认知增强作用,可能是对α7 nAChRs。结果还表明美金刚与α7 nAChR激动剂联合治疗可能有益。