Jpn. J. Pharmacol. 74 (3), 285-289 (1997)


GTS-21, a Nicotinic Agonist, Protects against Neocortical Neuronal Cell Loss Induced by the Nucleus Basalis Magnocellularis Lesion in Rats

Masato Nanri (1,2,*), Nobuo Kasahara (1), Jyunji Yamamoto (1), Hidekazu Miyake (1) and Hiroshi Watanabe (2)


(1) Department of Pharmacology, Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., 224-2 Ebisuno, Hiraishi, Kawauchi-cho, Tokushima 771-01, Japan
(2) Department of Pharmacology, Research Institute for Wakan-Yaku (Oriental Medicines), Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 2630 Sugitani, Toyama 930-01, Japan
(*) To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Abstract: Effect of subchronically administered GTS-21 [3-(2,4-dimethoxybenzylidene)-anabaseine dihydrochloride], a selective nicotinic agonist, on neuronal cell loss caused by nucleus basalis magnocellularis (nBM) lesion was studied in rats. After 2 weeks of bilateral nBM excitotoxic lesion, GTS-21 was orally administered once daily for 20 weeks. Neuronal cell loss was observed in layers II-III of the parietal cortex in the lesioned control rats. GTS-21 significantly attenuated the neuron loss in these layers. These results suggest that GTS-21 exhibits a protective action against the neuronal cell death in the parietal cortex and may have a beneficial effect on neurodegenerative disorders such as an Alzheimer-type disease.

Keywords: GTS-21, Nicotinic agonist, Neuronal cell loss


Copyright© The Japanese Pharmacological Society 1997

[Back to TOC]