Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
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Neuropsychopharmacology · Apr 2019
TAK-071, a novel M1 positive allosteric modulator with low cooperativity, improves cognitive function in rodents with few cholinergic side effects.
The muscarinic M1 receptor (M1R) is a promising target for treating cognitive impairment associated with cholinergic deficits in disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. We previously reported that cooperativity (α-value) was key to lowering the risk of diarrhea by M1R positive allosteric modulators (M1 PAMs). Based on this, we discovered a low α-value M1 PAM, TAK-071 (α-value: 199), and characterized TAK-071 using T-662 as a reference M1 PAM with high α-value of 1786. ⋯ T-662 induced all three processes, whereas TAK-071 selectively induced afterdepolarization. Combining sub-effective doses of TAK-071, but not T-662, with an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, significantly ameliorated scopolamine-induced cognitive deficits in rats. TAK-071 may therefore provide therapeutic opportunities for cognitive dysfunction related to cholinergic deficits or reduced M1R expression, while minimizing peripheral cholinergic side effects.