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1	Investigating the Behavioural and Molecular Mechanisms of Lurasidone Hydrochloride in a Mk-801 Model of Schizophrenia Fera, Brendan Robert January 2019 (has links) Schizophrenia is a debilitating neuropsychiatric disorder that affects approximately one percent of the global population. Aberrant N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors and endoplasmic reticulum stress have been implicated in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Despite a century of extensive research, outcomes from best-practice treatments remain dismal. Lurasidone hydrochloride is a novel atypical antipsychotic drug with a unique receptor binding profile that can potentially treat the heterogeneous symptomology of schizophrenia. However, discrepancies in experimental design (i.e. animal models used, symptoms assessed etc.) have yielded conflicting results surrounding the procognitive and antidepressant properties of lurasidone. Furthermore, the limited aqueous solubility of lurasidone poses a considerable challenge for improving antipsychotic drug delivery to the brain and limiting the prevalence of adverse side effects. These obstacles coupled with the elusive pathophysiology of schizophrenia and its incurable nature, highlight the importance of investigating novel therapeutic targets and their underlying mechanisms to improve treatment and enhance the quality of life of patients with schizophrenia. This thesis sought to accomplish three primary objectives: (1) validate the behavioural efficacy of lurasidone hydrochloride; (2) investigate the role of mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor as a potential therapeutic target of lurasidone; and (3) evaluate the therapeutic potential of intranasal lurasidone administration as a novel method for antipsychotic drug delivery. The data presented within this thesis suggest that repeated lurasidone treatment may be effective at treating the positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia, but not sensorimotor gating deficits. Furthermore, sub-chronic lurasidone treatment in rats significantly increased the relative expression of mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor in the rat prefrontal cortex, a primary site of impairment observed in schizophrenia. Lastly, we conclude that lurasidone administered via the nasal route using a novel poly(oligo ethylene glycol methacrylate)-based nanogel formulation required four times less drug to achieve a therapeutic response comparable to traditional intraperitoneal routes. The findings presented within this thesis suggest that lurasidone might be a favourable atypical antipsychotic drug that exerts its therapeutic effects through the modulation of neurotrophic factor expression in the brain regions affected by schizophrenia. This thesis offers new insight that can help guide future studies toward improving the prognosis of patients suffering from schizophrenia. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) Schizophrenia NMDA Receptor Intranasal Lurasidone Hydrochloride Neurophramacology Antipsychotic Drug Neuroscience
2	Homology modeling and structural analysis of the antipsychotic drugs receptorome López Muñoz, Laura 22 June 2010 (has links) Classically it was assumed that the compounds with therapeutic effect exert their action interacting with a single receptor. Nowadays it is widely recognized that the pharmacological effect of most drugs is more complex and involves a set of receptors, some associated to their positive effects and some others to the side effects and toxicity. Antipsychotic drugs are an example of effective compounds characterized by a complex pharmacological profile binding to several receptors (mainly G protein-coupled-receptors, GPCR). In this work we will present a detailed study of known antipsychotic drugs and the receptors potentially involved in their binding profile, in order to understand the molecular mechanisms of the antipsychotic pharmacologic effects.The study started with obtaining homology models for all the receptors putatively involved in the antipsychotic drugs receptorome, suitable for building consistent drug-receptor complexes. These complexes were structurally analyzed and compared using multivariate statistical methods, which in turn allowed the identification of the relationship between the pharmacological properties of the antipsychotic drugs and the structural differences in the receptor targets. The results can be exploited for the design of safer and more effective antipsychotic drugs with an optimum binding profile. / Tradicionalmente se asumía que los fármacos terapéuticamente efectivos actuaban interaccionando con un único receptor. Actualmente está ampliamente reconocido que el efecto farmacológico de la mayoría de los fármacos es más complejo y abarca a un conjunto de receptores, algunos asociados a los efectos terapéuticos y otros a los secundarios y toxicidad. Los fármacos antipsicóticos son un ejemplo de compuestos eficaces que se caracterizan por unirse a varios receptores simultáneamente (principalmente a receptores unidos a proteína G, GPCR). El trabajo de la presente tesis se ha centrado en el estudio de los mecanismos moleculares que determinan el perfil de afinidad de unión por múltiples receptores de los fármacos antipsicóticos.En primer lugar se construyeron modelos de homología para todos los receptores potencialmente implicados en la actividad farmacológica de dichos fármacos, usando una metodología adecuada para construir complejos fármaco-receptor consistentes. La estructura de estos complejos fue analizada y se llevó a cabo una comparación mediante métodos estadísticos multivariantes, que permitió la identificación de asociaciones entre la actividad farmacológica de los fármacos antipsicóticos y diferencias estructurales de los receptores diana. Los resultados obtenidos tienen interés para ser explotados en el diseño de fármacos antipsicóticos con un perfil farmacológico óptimo, más seguros y eficaces. Receptor 5-HT2A Receptor D3 Receptor D2 Ligando Clozapina Derivados Benzofuranonas Risperidona Olanzapina esquizofrenia métodos de regresión campos de interacción Molecular (MIF) Perfil Multireceptorial modelado por homología Docking sitio de unión interacciones moleculares selectividad afinidad de unión Diana Meta-Diana efectos secundarios fármaco antipsicótico típico fármaco antipsicótico atípico agonista antagonista membrana receptoroma rhodopsina estructura de rayos X descriptores moleculares farmacología análisis multivariante procedimiento integrado Computer-aided drug design Integrated approach Multivariate analysis Pharmacology Molecular descriptors X-ray structure Rhodopsin Receptorome Membrane Antagonist Agonist Atypical antipsychotic drug Typical antipsychotic drug Side effects Off-target Target Selectivity Binding affinity Molecular interactions Binding site Homology modeling Docking Multireceptor profile Molecular interaction Field (MIF) Partial Least Squares (PLS) Principal Component Analysis (PCA) Schizophrenia Benzolactam Derivatives Benzofuranone Derivatives Risperidone Olanzapine Clozapine Ligand Adrenergic receptors Muscarinic receptors Histamine receptors Serotonin receptors Dopamine receptors beta2-Adrenergic receptor D2 receptor D3 receptor 5-HT2A receptor G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) 57

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Investigating the Behavioural and Molecular Mechanisms of Lurasidone Hydrochloride in a Mk-801 Model of Schizophrenia

Homology modeling and structural analysis of the antipsychotic drugs receptorome