Cholinergic modulation by opioid receptor ligands: potential application to Alzheimer's disease.

ABSTRACT: Morphinans have a storied history in medicinal chemistry as pain management drugs but have received attention as modulators of cholinergic signaling for the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Galantamine is a reversible, competitive acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor and allosteric potentiating ligand of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR-APL) that shares many common structural elements with morphinan-based opioids. The structurally diverse opioids codeine and eseroline, like galantamine, are also nAChR-APL that have greatly diminished affinity for AChE, representing potential lead compounds for selective nAChR-APL development. In accordance with the emerging repurposing trend of evaluating known compounds for novel pharmacological activity, ongoing research on augmentation of

SUBMITTER: Motel WC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3816933 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature