On a brain polypeptide functioning as a putative effector for the recognition sites of benzodiazepine and beta-carboline derivatives.

Stimulation of benzodiazepine recognition sites by various ligands can elicit opposite types of responses such as proconvulsant and anticonvulsant or proconflict and anticonflict actions. The study of the pharmacological profile of various ligands makes it possible to distinguish three classes of compounds: (1) those that elicit anticonflict responses in the Vogel test, inhibit the convulsions due to an impairment of GABAergic transmission and increase the Bmax of the high affinity recognition site for GABA; (2) those that displace benzodiazepines from specific binding sites, facilitate convulsions due to impairment of GABAergic mechanisms, elicit proconflict responses in Vogel's test and inhibit the facilitation by benzodiazepines of GABA binding and (3) those that displace benzodiazepines and beta-carboline-derivatives from specific binding sites, antagonize the anticonflict, the proconflict, the anticonvulsant and the proconvulsant actions of the two preceding groups of substances and in very large doses elicit a small proconvulsant action. Examples of the latter are an imidazobenzodiazepine (RO 15-1788) and a pyrazolquinolinone derivative (CGS 8216). The nomenclature for these three classes of drugs should be kept flexible until the action of the endogenous ligand that functions as the physiological effector of the benzodiazepine/beta-carboline recognition site is known. A putative ligand for this site (DBI = diazepam binding inhibitor) has been isolated and purified to homogeneity. It includes 104 amino acid residues, the sequence of the last 45 amino acids has been determined. This compound elicits a proconflict action, displaces beta-carboline derivatives more than anxiolytic benzodiazepines, but its high molecular weight and relative low affinity for the binding sites in brain might suggest that it is a precursor, rather than the putative effector for benzodiazepine and/or beta-carboline recognition sites.