• DOI:10.1038/sj.bjp.0702995
• Corpus ID: 1656751

(−)1‐(Benzofuran‐2‐yl)‐2‐propylaminopentane, [(−)BPAP], a selective enhancer of the impulse propagation mediated release of catecholamines and serotonin in the brain

@article{Knoll19991Benzofuran2yl2propylaminopentaneA,
  title={(−)1‐(Benzofuran‐2‐yl)‐2‐propylaminopentane, [(−)BPAP], a selective enhancer of the impulse propagation mediated release of catecholamines and serotonin in the brain},
  author={Joseph Knoll and Fumio. Yoneda and Bertha Knoll and Hironori Ohde and Ildikó Miklya},
  journal={British Journal of Pharmacology},
  year={1999},
  volume={128}
}

• J. Knoll, F. Yoneda, +2 authors I. Miklya
• Published 1 December 1999
• Biology, Chemistry
• British Journal of Pharmacology

The brain constituents β‐phenylethylamine (PEA) and tryptamine enhance the impulse propagation mediated transmitter release (exocytosis) from the catecholaminergic and serotoninergic neurons in the brain (‘catecholaminergic/serotoninergic activity enhancer, CAE/SAE, effect’). (−)Deprenyl (Selegiline) and (−)1‐phenyl‐2‐propylaminopentane [(−)PPAP] are amphetamine derived CAE substances devoid of the catecholamine releasing property. By changing the aromatic ring in PPAP we developed highly potent and selective CAE/SAE substances, structurally unrelated to the amphetamines. Out of 65 newly synthetized compounds, a tryptamine derived structure, (−)1‐(benzofuran‐2‐yl)‐2‐propylaminopentane [(−)BPAP] was selected as a potential follower of (−)deprenyl in the clinic and as a reference compound for further analysis of the CAE/SAE mechanism in the mammalian brain. (−)BPAP significantly enhanced in 0.18 μmol 1−1 concentration the impulse propagation mediated release of [3H]‐noradrenaline and [3H]‐dopamine and in 36 nmol 1−1 concentration the release of [3H]‐serotonin from the isolated brain stem of rats. The amount of catecholamines and serotonin released from isolated discrete rat brain regions (dopamine from the striatum, substantia nigra and tuberculum olfactorium, noradrenaline from the locus coeruleus and serotonin from the raphe) enhanced significantly in the presence of 10−12–10−14 M (−)BPAP. BPAP protected cultured hippocampal neurons from the neurotoxic effect of β‐amyloid in 10−14 M concentration. In rats (−)BPAP significantly enhanced the activity of the catecholaminergic and serotoninergic neurons in the brain 30 min after acute injection of 0.1 μg kg−1 s.c. In the shuttle box, (−)BPAP in rats was about 130 times more potent than (−)deprenyl in antagonizing tetrabenazine induced inhibition of performance.