Papers of the Week

Chronic pain is a complex condition that remains resistant to current therapeutics. We previously synthesized a series of -acyl amino acids (NAAAs) that inhibit the glycine transporter, GlyT2, some of which are also positive allosteric modulators of glycine receptors (GlyRs). In this study, we have synthesized a library of NAAAs that contain a phenylene ring within the acyl tail with the objective of improving efficacy at both GlyT2 and GlyRs and also identifying compounds that are efficacious as dual-acting modulators to enhance glycine neurotransmission. The most efficacious positive allosteric modulator of GlyRs was 2-[8-(2-octylphenyl)octanoylamino]acetic acid (8-8 OPGly) which potentiates the EC for glycine activation of GlyRα by 1500% with an EC of 664 nM. Phenylene-containing NAAAs with a lysine headgroup were the most potent inhibitors of GlyT2 with (2)-6-amino-2-[8-(3-octylphenyl)octanoylamino]hexanoic acid (8-8 MPLys) inhibiting GlyT2 with an IC of 32 nM. The optimal modulator across both proteins was (2)-6-amino-2-[8-(2-octylphenyl)octanoylamino]hexanoic acid (8-8 OPLys), which inhibits GlyT2 with an IC of 192 nM and potentiates GlyRs by up to 335% at 1 μM. When tested in a dual GlyT2/GlyRα expression system, 8-8 OPLys caused the greatest reductions in the EC for glycine. This suggests that the synergistic effects of a dual-acting modulator cause greater enhancements in glycinergic activity compared to single-target modulators and may provide an alternate approach to the development of new non-opioid analgesics for the treatment of chronic pain.