Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Partial Antagonist Polyamides from Tunicates and Their Predatory Sea Slugs.

ABSTRACT: In our efforts to discover new drugs to treat pain, we identified molleamines A-E (1-5) as major neuroactive components of the sea slug, Pleurobranchus forskalii, and their prey, Didemnum molle, tunicates. The chemical structures of molleamines were elucidated by spectroscopy and confirmed by the total synthesis of molleamines A (1) and C (3). Synthetic 3 completely blocked acetylcholine-induced calcium flux in peptidergic nociceptors (PNs) in the somatosensory nervous system. Compound 3 affected neither the α7 nAChR nor the muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in calcium flux assays. In addition to nociceptors, 3 partially blocked the acetylcholine-induced calcium flux in the sympathetic nervous system, including neurons from th

SUBMITTER: Paguigan ND 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8487611 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature