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N-(6-Chloro-pyridin-3-yl)-3,4-difluoro-benzamide (ICA-27243): A Novel, Selective KCNQ2/Q3 Potassium Channel Activator

Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development, San Diego, California (A.D.W.); Icagen Inc., Durham, North Carolina (J.L.K., B.L., P.K.W., R.R., G.M.S., G.C.G.); Neurology Research Laboratory, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina (W.A.W.); and University of Wyoming School of Pharmacy, Laramie, Wyoming (S.C.)

KCNQ2 (Kv7.2) and KCNQ3 (Kv7.3) are voltage-gated K⁺ channel subunits that underlie the neuronal M current. In humans, mutations in these genes lead to a rare form of neonatal epilepsy (Biervert et al., 1998; Singh et al., 1998), suggesting that KCNQ2/Q3 channels may be attractive targets for novel antiepileptic drugs. In the present study, we have identified the compound N-(6-chloro-pyridin-3-yl)-3,4-difluoro-benzamide (ICA-27243) as a selective activator of the neuronal M current and KCNQ2/Q3 channels. In SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells, ICA-27243 produced membrane potential hyperpolarization that could be prevented by coadministration with the M-current inhibitors 10,10-bis(4-pyridinylmethyl)-9(10H)-anthracenone dihydrochloride (XE-991) and linopirdine. ICA-27243 enhanced both ⁸⁶Rb⁺ efflux (EC₅₀ = 0.2 µM) and whole-cell currents in Chinese hamster ovary cells stably expressing heteromultimeric KCNQ2/Q3 channels (EC₅₀ = 0.4 µM). Activation of KCNQ2/Q3 channels was associated with a hyperpolarizing shift of the voltage dependence of channel activation (V shift of -19 mV at 10 µM). In contrast, ICA-27243 was less effective at activating KCNQ4 and KCNQ3/Q5 and was selective over a wide range of neurotransmitter receptors and ion channels such as voltage-dependent sodium channels and GABA-gated chloride channels. ICA-27243 (1-10 µM) was found to reversibly suppress seizure-like activity in an ex vivo hippocampal slice model of epilepsy and demonstrated in vivo anticonvulsant activity (ED₅₀ = 8.4 mg/kg) in the mouse maximal electroshock epilepsy model. In conclusion, ICA-27243 represents the first member of a novel chemical class of selective KCNQ2/Q3 activators with anticonvulsant-like activity in experimental models of epilepsy.

Address correspondence to: Dr. Jeffrey Krajewski, Icagen, Inc., 4222 Emperor Blvd., Durham, NC 27703. E-mail: jkrajewski{at}icagen.com