Selective activation of metabotropic G-protein-coupled glutamate 7 receptor elicits anxiolytic-like effects in mice by modulating GABAergic neurotransmission.

We describe the anxiolytic-like effects of the first, selective metabotropic G-protein-coupled glutamate 7 (mGlu7) receptor agonist, N,N'-dibenzyhydryl-ethane-1,2-diamine dihydrochloride (AMN082), as measured in the modified stress-induced hyperthermia (SIH) and the four-plate tests. Administration of AMN082 (3-6 mg/kg intraperitoneally) to Swiss mice produced anxiolytic-like effects in the modified SIH and four-plate tests. Moreover, it was ineffective as an anxiolytic in the SIH test in mGlu7 receptor knockout mice as compared with wild-type C57BL/6J littermate controls. In contrast, diazepam (1.25-5 mg/kg) significantly reduced SIH in both the wild-type and knockout animals. The anxiolytic-like effect of AMN082 in the SIH paradigm was abolished by pretreatment with flumazenil (10 mg/kg intraperitoneally). This indicates an involvement of gamma-aminobutyric acid-ergic neurotransmission in AMN's anxiolytic actions. The results indicate that activation of the mGlu7 receptor produces anxiolytic-like effects via the modulation of the gamma-aminobutyric acid system.