Mechanism-based discovery of small molecules that prevent noncompetitive inhibition by cocaine and MK-801 mediated by two different sites on the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor.

The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) belongs to a group of five structurally related membrane proteins that play a major role in the communication between approximately 10(12) cells of the mammalian nervous system. The receptor is inhibited by both abused drugs and therapeutic agents. During the past two decades, many attempts have been made to find compounds that prevent cocaine inhibition of this protein. The use of newly developed transient kinetic techniques in investigations of the inhibition of the receptor by cocaine and MK-801 led to an inhibition mechanism not previously proposed. It was observed that the receptor contains two inhibitory sites: one that equilibrates with the tested noncompetitive inhibitors within approximately 50 ms, and a second site that equilibrates with inhibitors within approximately 1 s. The mechanism of inhibition of the rapidly equilibrating inhibitory site has been investigated, and based on that mechanism, the first evidence that small organic molecules exist that prevent inhibition of the rapidly equilibrating inhibitory site was obtained. These compounds did not prevent the inhibition due to the slowly equilibrating inhibitory site. Here, we present the first evidence that a compound (3-acetoxy ecgonine methyl ester) exists that prevents inhibition of the slowly equilibrating inhibitory site and that the mechanism of inhibition of this site differs from that of the rapidly equilibrating site. BC3H1 cells containing a fetal mouse muscle-type nAChR were used, and the receptor was activated by carbamoylcholine. The resulting whole-cell current due to the nondesensitized nAChR was determined. Because the nAChR desensitizes rapidly, the measurements required the use of a transient kinetic technique with a time resolution of 10 ms; the cell-flow technique was used. Inhibitors and compounds that alleviate inhibition were tested by determining their effects on the whole-cell current due to activation of the nAChR by carbamoylcholine.