Identification of the First Highly Subtype-Selective Inhibitor of Human GABA Transporter GAT3.

Screening a library of small-molecule compounds using a cell line expressing human GABA transporter 3 (hGAT3) in a [3H]GABA uptake assay identified isatin derivatives as a new class of hGAT3 inhibitors. A subsequent structure–activity relationship (SAR) study led to the identification of hGAT3-selective inhibitors (i.e., compounds 20 and 34) that were superior to the reference hGAT3 inhibitor, (S)-SNAP-5114, in terms of potency (low micromolar IC50 values) and selectivity (>30-fold selective for hGAT3 over hGAT1/hGAT2/hBGT1). Further pharmacological characterization of compound 20 (5-(thiophen-2-yl)indoline-2,3-dione) revealed a noncompetitive mode of inhibition at hGAT3. This suggests that this compound class, which has no structural resemblance to GABA, has a binding site different from the substrate, GABA. This was supported by a molecular modeling study that suggested a unique binding site that matched the observed selectivity, inhibition kinetics, and SAR of the compound series. These compounds are t...