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| Formula | C14H11N |
| Molar mass | 193.249 g·mol−1 |
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2-Methyl-6-(phenylethynyl)pyridine (MPEP) is a research drug which was one of the first compounds found to act as a selective antagonist for the metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype mGluR5. After being originally patented as a liquid crystal for LCDs, it was developed by the pharmaceutical company Novartis in the late 1990s. [1] It was found to produce neuroprotective effects following acute brain injury in animal studies, although it was unclear whether these results were purely from mGluR5 blockade as it also acts as a weak NMDA antagonist, [2] [3] and as a positive allosteric modulator of another subtype mGlu4, [4] and there is also evidence for a functional interaction between mGluR5 and NMDA receptors in the same populations of neurons. [5] It was also shown to produce antidepressant [6] [7] [8] and anxiolytic effects in animals, [9] [10] [11] and to reduce the effects of morphine withdrawal, [12] most likely due to direct interaction between mGluR5 and the μ-opioid receptor. [13]
The main significance of MPEP has been as a lead compound to develop more potent and selective mGluR5 antagonists such as MTEP, [14] but research using MPEP itself continues, and recently it was shown to reduce self-administration of nicotine, [15] [16] cocaine, [17] [18] ketamine and heroin in animals, [19] possibly through an MPEP-induced potentiation of the rewarding effect of the self-administered drug, [20] and MPEP was also shown to possess weak reinforcing effects by itself. [21]