Left: (S)-dihydromuscimol Right: (R)-dihydromuscimol | |||
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Other names | DHM; 4,5-Dihydromuscimol | ||
Drug class | GABAA receptor agonist; GABA reuptake inhibitor | ||
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Formula | C4H8N2O2 | ||
Molar mass | 116.120 g·mol−1 | ||
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Dihydromuscimol (DHM), or 4,5-dihydromuscimol, is a synthetic GABAA receptor agonist and GABA reuptake inhibitor which was derived from the Amanita muscaria constituent muscimol. [1] [2] [3] The compound is a dihydroisoxazole derivative. [4]
The compound has two enantiomeric forms. (S)-Dihydromuscimol is a selective and extremely potent GABAA receptor agonist, while (R)-dihydromuscimol is a GABA reuptake inhibitor and a weak GABAA receptor agonist. [5] [6] [7] [8] Dihydromuscimol is equipotent to muscimol as a GABAA receptor agonist but is more potent as a GABA reuptake inhibitor. [7] [8] However, (S)-dihydromuscimol is slightly more potent than muscimol as a GABAA receptor agonist. [6] The enantiomer is the most potent GABAA receptor agonist that has been discovered as of 2004. [1] [8]
Dihydromuscimol was first described in the scientific literature by Povl Krogsgaard-Larsen and colleagues by 1979. [4] [3] The aminomethyl side chain of dihydromuscimol may be just as susceptible to metabolism as that of muscimol, and hence the drug has not been extensively used in animal studies. [9]
Muscimol, a constituent of the mushroom Amanita muscaria, has been extensively used as a lead for the design of different classes of GABA analogues (Fig. 2). The 3-isoxazolol carboxyl group bioisostere of muscimol can be replaced by a 3-isothiazolol or 3-hydroxyisoxazoline group to give thiomuscimol and dihydromuscimol, respectively, without significant loss of GABAA receptor agonism [36]. (S)-Dihydromuscimol is the most potent GABAA agonist so far described [37]. The structurally related muscimol analogues, isomuscimol and azamuscimol, on the other hand are virtually inactive, emphasizing the very strict structural constraints imposed on agonist molecules by the GABAA receptors [36].
The analog dihydromuscimol or 5-aminomethylisoxazolin-3-ol has been one of the derivatives extensively investigated for its physiological properties. It has not so far been found in nature (75).
Dihydromuscimol is a more rigid analogue of GABA, and whilst (S)-dihydromuscimol is a selective and extremely potent GABA A agonist, (R)-dihydromuscimol is a weak GABAA agonist and an inhibitor of GABA uptake (Krogsgaard-Larsen et al., 1986).
Muscimol, which has been widely used in the study of GABAAR, and the analogues (RS)-dihydromuscimol and thiomuscimol all display potencies for the GABAAR in the low nanomolar range (Table 1). The two enantiomers of dihydromuscimol display different pharmacological properties. The (S)-enantiomer shows high affinity for the GABAAR, whereas the inhibition of GABA uptake via GABA transporters displayed by dihydromuscimol proved to reside exclusively in the R-enantiomer [32]. [...] Relative agonist potencies at the GABAAR of the heterocylic muscimol analogues are (S)-dihydromuscimol > muscimol > thiomuscimol > 4-AHP >> azamuscimol as shown in Table 1.
4,5-Dihydromuscimol is equipotent with muscimol at the GABAA receptor, and it is more potent as an inhibitor of neuronal than glial GABA uptake systems [39]. The enantiomers of dihydromuscimol showed different pharmacology. The uptake activity resides with the (R)-enantiomer, unlike the GABAA receptor binding affinity conferred by the (S)- enantiomer. (R)-Dihydromuscimol displays a weak preference for neuronal uptake systems [27].