ML417

Biological Activity

ML417 is a highly selective and brain penetrant D3 dopamine receptor (D3R) agonist, with EC50 of 38 nM. ML417 potently promotes D3R-mediated β-arrestin translocation, G protein activation, and ERK1/2 phosphorylation (pERK) while lacking activity at other dopamine receptors. ML417 interacts with the D3R in a unique manner, possibly explaining its remarkable selectivity. ML417 was also found to protect against neurodegeneration of dopaminergic neurons derived from iPSCs.

In vivo pharmacokinetics experiments in mice (using 20 mg/kg; i.p.) reveals that ML417 is brain penetrant and exhibits a plasma half-life of 3.44 hours and a brain half-life of 4.23 hours. ML417 displays a plasma Tmax of 0.5 hours and Cmax of 6500 ng/ml, and a brain Tmax of 0.25 hours and Cmax of 28000 ng/ml.

Conversion of different model animals based on BSA (Value based on data from FDA Draft Guidelines)

Species	Mouse	Rat	Rabbit	Guinea pig	Hamster	Dog
Weight (kg)	0.02	0.15	1.8	0.4	0.08	10
Body Surface Area (m2)	0.007	0.025	0.15	0.05	0.02	0.5
Km factor	3	6	12	8	5	20

Animal A (mg/kg) = Animal B (mg/kg) multiplied by	Animal B Km
	Animal A Km

For example, to modify the dose of Compound A used for a mouse (20 mg/kg) to a dose based on the BSA for a rat, multiply 20 mg/kg by the K_m factor for a mouse and then divide by the K_m factor for a rat. This calculation results in a rat equivalent dose for Compound A of 10 mg/kg.

Chemical Information

References

[1] Amy E Moritz, et al. J Med Chem. Discovery, Optimization, and Characterization of ML417: A Novel and Highly Selective D 3 Dopamine Receptor Agonist