Acute pharmacological modulation of mGluR8 reduces measures of anxiety

  • Behav Brain Res. 2010 Oct 15;212(2):168-73. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2010.04.006.
Robert M Duvoisin  1 ,  Tim Pfankuch ,  Julie M Wilson ,  Julie Grabell ,  Vijay Chhajlani ,  Dean G Brown ,  Edwin Johnson ,  Jacob Raber
Affiliations
  • 1. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA.
PMID: 20385173 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2010.04.006
Abstract

Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors (mGluRs), which are coupled to second messenger pathways via G proteins, modulate glutamatergic and GABAergic neurotransmission. Because of their role in modulating neurotransmission, mGluRs are attractive therapeutic targets for anxiety disorders. Previously we showed that mGluR8(-/-) male mice showed higher measures of anxiety in the open field and elevated plus maze than age-matched wild-type mice. In this study, we assessed the potential effects of acute pharmacological modulation of mGluR8 on measures of avoidable and unavoidable anxiety. In addition to wild-type mice, we also tested Apolipoprotein E-deficient (apoE(-/-)) mice, as these mice show increased levels of anxiety-like behaviors and therefore might show an altered sensitivity to mGluR8 stimulation. mGluR8 stimulation with the specific agonist DCPG, or modulation with AZ12216052, a new, positive allosteric modulator of mGluR8 reduced measures of anxiety in both wild-type mice. The effects of mGluR8 positive allosteric modulators, which only affect neurotransmission in the presence of extracellular glutamate, seem particularly promising for patients with anxiety disorders showing benzodiazepine insensitivity.

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