(3-Aminocyclopentyl)methylphosphinic acids: novel GABA(C) receptor antagonists.

Our understanding of the role GABA(C) receptors play in the central nervous system is limited due to a lack of specific ligands. Here we describe the pharmacological effects of (+/-)-cis-3- and (+/-)-trans-3-(aminocyclopentyl)methylphosphinic acids ((+/-)-cis- and (+/-)-trans-3-ACPMPA) as novel ligands for the GABA(C) receptor showing little activity at GABA(A) or GABA(B) receptors. (+/-)-cis-3-ACPMPA has similar potency to (1,2,5,6-tetrahydropyridin-4-yl)methylphosphinic acid (TPMPA) at human recombinant rho1 (K(B)=1.0+/-0.2microM) and rat rho3 (K(B)=5.4+/-0.8microM) but is 15 times more potent than TPMPA on human recombinant rho2 (K(B)=1.0+/-0.3microM) GABA(C) receptors expressed in Xenopus oocytes. (+/-)-cis- and (+/-)-trans-3-ACPMPA are novel lead compounds for developing into more potent and selective GABA(C) receptor antagonists with increased lipophilicity for in vivo studies.