Biochem/physiol Actions

AR-R17779 is a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor alpha7 full agonist that targets α7 nAChR with high affinity (Ki = 92 nM/rat α7 against 5 nM α-BTX vs.16 µM/rat α4β2 against 3 nM (-)-nicotine) and selectivity (EC50 = 6.2/10/12.7 µM using human/rat/monkey α7 nAChR-Xenopus oocyte by whole cell voltage clamp, no antagonistic activity against acetylcholine using human α4β2-, α3β4-, α3β2-, α3β2α5-expressing oocytes or antagonistic activity against 5-HT using rat 5HT3a-exxpressing oocytes). AR-R17779 exhibits cognition-improving efficacy in rats (1-20 mg/kg s.c) and mice (1-20 mg/kg i.p.) in vivo and is widely employed for studying other α7 nAChR-dependent physiological functions.