Halberstadt, AL, Chatha, M, Stratford, A, Grill, M and Brandt, SD (2018) Comparison of the behavioral responses induced by phenylalkylamine hallucinogens and their tetrahydrobenzodifuran (“FLY”) and benzodifuran (“DragonFLY”) analogs. Neuropharmacology. ISSN 0028-3908

Preview

Text NEUROPHARM_2018_147_R1.pdf - Accepted Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract

In recent years, rigid analogues of phenylalkylamine hallucinogens have appeared as recreational drugs. Examples include 2-(8-bromo-2,3,6,7-tetrahydrobenzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]difuran-4-yl)ethan-1-amine (2C-B-FLY) and 1-(8-bromobenzo[1,2-b;4,5-b’]difuran-4-yl)-2-aminopropane (Bromo-DragonFLY, DOB-DFLY). Although some rigid compounds such as DOB-DFLY reportedly have higher potency than their non-rigid counterparts, it is not clear whether the same is true for 2C-B-FLY and other tetrahydrobenzofurans. In the present study, the head twitch response (HTR), a 5-HT2A receptor-mediated behavior induced by serotonergic hallucinogens, was used to assess the effects of 2,5-dimethoxy-4-bromoamphetamine (DOB) and its α-desmethyl homologue 2,5-dimethoxy-4-bromophenethylamine (2C-B), as well as their benzodifuranyl and tetrahydrobenzodifuranyl analogs, in C57BL/6J mice. DOB (ED50 = 0.75 µmol/kg) and 2C-B (ED50 = 2.43 µmol/kg) induced the HTR. The benzodifurans DOB-DFLY (ED50 = 0.20 µmol/kg) and 2C-B-DFLY (ED50 = 1.07 µmol/kg) were also active and had significantly higher potency than DOB and 2C-B, respectively. The tetrahydrobenzodifurans DOB-FLY (ED50 = 0.67 µmol/kg) and 2C-B-FLY (ED50 = 1.79 µmol/kg), by contrast, were approximately equipotent with their non-rigid counterparts. Three novel tetrahydrobenzodifurans, 2C-I-FLY (ED50 = 5.12 µmol/kg), 2C-E-FLY (ED50 = 2.10 µmol/kg) and 2C-EF-FLY (ED50 = 4.37 µmol/kg), were also active in the HTR assay but had relatively low potency. In summary, the in vivo potency of 2,5-dimethoxyphenylalkylamines is enhanced when the 2- and 5-methoxy groups are incorporated into aromatic furan rings, whereas potency is not altered if the methoxy groups are incorporated into dihydrofuran rings. Potency was also increased in compounds containing an α-methyl group. The potency relationships for these compounds in mice closely parallel the human hallucinogenic data. The unusually high potency of DOB-DFLY is probably linked to the presence of two structural features (a benzodifuran nucleus and an α-methyl group) known to enhance the potency of phenylalkylamine hallucinogens.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	1109 Neurosciences, 1115 Pharmacology And Pharmaceutical Sciences, 1701 Psychology
Subjects:	R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0321 Neuroscience. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry R Medicine > RM Therapeutics. Pharmacology
Divisions:	Pharmacy & Biomolecular Sciences
Publisher:	Elsevier
Date Deposited:	01 Nov 2018 10:40
Last Modified:	04 Sep 2021 09:58
DOI or ID number:	10.1016/j.neuropharm.2018.10.037
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/9583

View Item