Targeting muscarinic receptors to treat schizophrenia.
Article Details
- CitationCopy to clipboard
Foster DJ, Bryant ZK, Conn PJ
Targeting muscarinic receptors to treat schizophrenia.
Behav Brain Res. 2021 May 7;405:113201. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113201. Epub 2021 Feb 26.
- PubMed ID
- 33647377 [ View in PubMed]
- Abstract
Schizophrenia is a severe neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by a diverse range of symptoms that can have profound impacts on the lives of patients. Currently available antipsychotics target dopamine receptors, and while they are useful for ameliorating the positive symptoms of the disorder, this approach often does not significantly improve negative and cognitive symptoms. Excitingly, preclinical and clinical research suggests that targeting specific muscarinic acetylcholine receptor subtypes could provide more comprehensive symptomatic relief with the potential to ameliorate numerous symptom domains. Mechanistic studies reveal that M1, M4, and M5 receptor subtypes can modulate the specific brain circuits and physiology that are disrupted in schizophrenia and are thought to underlie positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms. Novel therapeutic strategies for targeting these receptors are now advancing in clinical and preclinical development and expand upon the promise of these new treatment strategies to potentially provide more comprehensive relief than currently available antipsychotics.
DrugBank Data that Cites this Article
- Drug Targets
Drug Target Kind Organism Pharmacological Action Actions Clozapine Muscarinic acetylcholine receptor M1 Protein Humans UnknownPartial agonistDetails Clozapine Muscarinic acetylcholine receptor M2 Protein Humans UnknownPartial agonistDetails Clozapine Muscarinic acetylcholine receptor M3 Protein Humans UnknownAntagonistDetails Clozapine Muscarinic acetylcholine receptor M4 Protein Humans UnknownPartial agonistDetails Clozapine Muscarinic acetylcholine receptor M5 Protein Humans UnknownAntagonistDetails