RLH-033, a novel, potent and selective ligand for the sigma 1 recognition site.

RLH-033 [2-(4-phenylpiperidinyl)ethyl 1-(4-nitrophenyl)cyclopentanecarboxylate HCl] is a rationally designed ligand that was synthesized and evaluated for its binding affinities at sigma 1 and sigma 2 sites in guinea pig brain. RLH-033 has high affinity (Ki = 50 pM) for sigma 1 sites labeled by 3H-pentazocine, while it was over 2000-fold less affinity at sigma 2 sites labeled by [3H]1,3-di(2-tolyl)guanidine (DTG) in the presence of 500 nM (+)-pentazocine (Ki = 105 nM). Unlike its potent sigma activity, the compound has little affinity for dopamine D1 (Ki = 2.9 microM), D2 (Ki = 0.35 microM), muscarinic M1 (Ki = 0.88 microM) or M2 (Ki = 1.7 microM) receptors, and none at all for N-methyl-D-aspartate, phencyclidine and opioid receptors. Thus, RLH-033 is the most potent sigma 1 ligand reported to date, and its very high affinity suggests it may be a useful radioligand to characterize the pharmacology of sigma 1 recognition sites.