Effects of nebracetam (WEB 1881 FU), a novel nootropic, as a M1-muscarinic agonist

We here investigated the effects of nebracetam (WEB 1881 FU 4-aminomethyl-1-benzylpyrrolidin-2-one-hemifumarate), a novel pyrrolidinone nootropic, on the rise of intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in Jurkat cells, a human leukemic T cell line. Nebracetam induced a rise of [Ca2+]i in the medium with 1 mM Ca2+ and without Ca2+ (plus 1 mM EGTA). The nebracetam-induced [Ca2+]i rise was blocked by atropine greater than pirenzepine greater than AF-DX 116. From these results, nebracetam seems to act as an agonist for human M1-muscarinic receptors.