Laboratory of Translational and Molecular Psychiatry and Unit of Treatment-Resistant Psychosis, Section of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Reproductive Sciences and Dentistry, University of Naples Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy.
Clinical Psychopharmacology Program, College of Pharmacy, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID 83209, USA.
Biomolecules. 2022 Jun 29;12(7):909. doi: 10.3390/biom12070909.
Schizophrenia has been conceptualized as a neurodevelopmental disorder with synaptic alterations and aberrant cortical-subcortical connections. Antipsychotics are the mainstay of schizophrenia treatment and nearly all share the common feature of dopamine D2 receptor occupancy, whereas glutamatergic abnormalities are not targeted by the presently available therapies. D-amino acids, acting as N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) modulators, have emerged in the last few years as a potential augmentation strategy in those cases of schizophrenia that do not respond well to antipsychotics, a condition defined as treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS), affecting almost 30-40% of patients, and characterized by serious cognitive deficits and functional impairment. In the present systematic review, we address with a direct and reverse translational perspective the efficacy of D-amino acids, including D-serine, D-aspartate, and D-alanine, in poor responders. The impact of these molecules on the synaptic architecture is also considered in the light of dendritic spine changes reported in schizophrenia and antipsychotics' effect on postsynaptic density proteins. Moreover, we describe compounds targeting D-amino acid oxidase and D-aspartate oxidase enzymes. Finally, other drugs acting at NMDAR and proxy of D-amino acids function, such as D-cycloserine, sarcosine, and glycine, are considered in the light of the clinical burden of TRS, together with other emerging molecules.
精神分裂症被认为是一种神经发育障碍,存在突触改变和皮质-皮质下连接异常。抗精神病药是精神分裂症治疗的主要手段,几乎所有药物都具有多巴胺 D2 受体占据的共同特征,而谷氨酸异常并不是目前可用疗法的靶点。在过去几年中,D-氨基酸作为 N-甲基-D-天冬氨酸受体 (NMDAR) 调节剂,已成为那些对抗精神病药反应不佳的精神分裂症病例(定义为治疗抵抗性精神分裂症,TRS)的潜在增效策略,影响近 30-40%的患者,其特征是严重的认知缺陷和功能障碍。在本系统评价中,我们从直接和反向转化的角度探讨了 D-氨基酸(包括 D-丝氨酸、D-天冬氨酸和 D-丙氨酸)在反应不佳者中的疗效。这些分子对突触结构的影响也考虑到了精神分裂症中树突棘变化以及抗精神病药对突触后密度蛋白的影响。此外,我们还描述了针对 D-氨基酸氧化酶和 D-天冬氨酸氧化酶的化合物。最后,根据 TRS 的临床负担以及其他新兴分子,还考虑了其他作用于 NMDAR 和 D-氨基酸功能的代理药物,如 D-环丝氨酸、肌氨酸和甘氨酸。