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Perspectives on the mGluR2/3 agonists as a therapeutic target for schizophrenia: Still promising or a dead end?
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Perspectives on the mGluR2/3 agonists as a therapeutic target for schizophrenia: Still promising or a dead end?

Meng-Lin Li, Xi-Quan Hu, Feng Li and Wen-Jun Gao
Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry, v 60, pp 66-76
03 Jul 2015
PMID: 25724760
url
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2015.02.012View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

Brain - drug effects Brain - metabolism Receptors, Glutamate - metabolism Animals Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists - therapeutic use Antipsychotic Agents - therapeutic use Humans Schizophrenia - pathology Schizophrenia - drug therapy
Group II metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR2/3) agonists once showed promise as non-dopaminergic antipsychotic drugs because of their efficacy in alleviating symptoms of schizophrenia (SZ) in both animal models and human patients. However, the recent failure of Phase III clinical trials dealt a huge blow to the scientific community and the aftershock of the setback in mGluR2/3 research can be felt everywhere from grant support and laboratory studies to paper publication. An immediate question raised is whether mGluR2/3 is still a promising therapeutic target for schizophrenia. Answering this question is not easy, but apparently a new strategy is needed. This article provides a focused review of literature on the study of mGluR2/3 agonists, especially on mGluR2/3 agonists' mechanism of action and efficacy in both normal conditions and animal models of SZ, as well as clinical studies in human patients with the disease. We argue that the cellular and molecular actions of mGluR2/3 agonists, the distinct roles between mGluR2 and mGluR3, as well as their effects on different stages of the disease and different subpopulations of patients, remain incompletely studied. Until the mechanisms associated with mGluR2/3 are clearly elucidated and all treatment options are tested, it would be a great mistake to terminate the study of mGluR2/3 as a therapeutic target for schizophrenia. This review will thus shed light on the comprehensive features of the translational potential mGluR2/3 agonists as well as the need for further research into the more selective activation of mGluR2.

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
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Web of Science research areas
Clinical Neurology
Neurosciences
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Psychiatry
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