Animal experiment:

Rats[2]Two-hundred-gram male Sprague-Dawley rats are used in the study. The animals (n=15) are randomly assigned to an initial treatment dose or vehicle and subsequently receive all the different doses tested in a counter balanced design. Each test is separated by a 3- to 4-day-long washout period. The rats are given the i.p. injection of JMV 2959 (1, 3, and 6 mg/kg) (or vehicle) 17 min prior to being placed in the startle cages (i.e., 25 min prior to the first pulse)[2].

JMV 2959 hydrochloride is a growth hormone secretagogue receptor type 1a (GHS-R1a) antagonist with an IC50 of 32±3 nM in LLC-PK1 cells.

JMV 2959 is a growth hormone secretagogue receptor type 1a (GHS-R1a) antagonist with an IC50 of 32 nM. JMV 2959 does not induce any intracellular calcium mobilization by itself. The dissociation constant of the receptor/JMV 2959 complex is determined by the Schild method. This experiment reveals a dissociation constant Kb of 19±6 nM[1].

Intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of Ghrelin (0.033, 0.1, and 0.33 mg/kg) does not alter the acoustic startle responses (ASR) or prepulse inhibition (PPI) in rats. Conversely, i.p. injection of JMV 2959 (1, 3, and 6 mg/kg), dose dependently decrease the ASR and increase PPI. Pretreatment with JMV 2959 at a dose with no effect on ASR or PPI per se, completely blocks Phencyclidine (PCP)-induced (2 mg/kg) deficits in PPI while pretreatment with the highest dose of Ghrelin does not potentiate or alter PPI responses of a sub-threshold dose of PCP (0.75 mg/kg)[2].

[1]. Moulin A, et al. The 1,2,4-triazole as a scaffold for the design of ghrelin receptor ligands: development of JMV 2959, a potent antagonist. Amino Acids. 2013 Feb;44(2):301-14. [2]. Engel JA, et al. Blockade of growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1A signaling by JMV 2959 attenuates the NMDAR antagonist, phencyclidine-induced impairments in prepulse inhibition. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2015 Dec;232(23):4285-92.