Dopamine receptors are classified as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), a superfamily of proteins that are targeted by approximately 25% of currently approved drugs [
29]. A recent breakthrough in the GPCR pharmacology field is the ability to design drugs with functional selectivity, or signaling bias, whereby the GPCR ligand can selectively activate either G protein- or β-arrestin-mediated downstream signaling pathways (
Figure 2) [
30]. Functional selectivity offers the possibility to create drugs that can maintain the therapeutic benefits of their targets while dramatically decreasing the adverse side effect profiles that often come with targeting certain GPCRs [
31]. One particularly promising application of this principle involves the possibility of treating the motor symptoms of PD without inducing LID.
One of the prevailing hypotheses of LID involves GPCRs on dopaminergic neurons entering a supersensitive state after being deprived of postsynaptic dopamine due to PD. This supersensitive state results in enhanced G protein-mediated signaling [
32], which is believed to contribute to uncontrolled downstream signaling and neuronal hyperactivity [
33]. Several attempts, including attempts to decrease dopamine receptor surface expression on neurons [
34], reduce abnormal signaling [
35], and inhibit A2A [
36], mGluR5 [
27], or NMDA receptors [
37], have been made to limit either uncontrolled signaling or neuronal hyperactivity. While none of these have proven successful, one promising strategy to address this problem involves the selective activation of β-arrestins, which act as signal transducers downstream of GPCRs [
38] in motor-related signaling pathways. It has been hypothesized that selectively activating β-arrestin2 on dopamine receptors reduces LID by desensitizing supersensitive GPCRs while still maintaining the intracellular signaling that allows for improved motor function [
33].
Animal studies have supported the notion that LID is associated with increased G protein signaling and have also validated β-arrestins as novel targets for treating PD without causing LID. For example, knocking out β-arrestin2 in nonhuman primate models of PD resulted in worsened LID following L-DOPA administration, while β-arrestin2 overexpression reduced LID and increased locomotion via β-arrestin-mediated signaling [
33].
Although further preclinical and clinical testing must be done, these results have generated significant interest in this area. Recently, Gray et al. [
39] reported a novel noncatechol-containing agonist scaffold with excellent blood-brain barrier permeability, potency, and selectivity for the D
1 dopamine receptor (D
1R). Although the reported scaffold is highly biased for the stimulatory G protein (G
S) pathway, displaying almost no activation of β-arrestin2 recruitment to D
1R, the scaffold has been shown to have a sustained effect during a 3-day period on eye-blink rate in a nonhuman primate model of PD, which is considered a functional marker of central dopaminergic activity mediated through D
1R [
39]. The sustained response observed in this short-term study was attributed to reduced desensitization and tachyphylaxis associated with diminished β-arrestin2 signaling. Although a fully β-arrestin2-biased D
1R ligand has not yet been reported, recent studies have reported promising findings regarding adapting the novel noncatechol D
1R scaffold to increase its β-arrestin2 bias [
40]. Advancements in GPCR drug discovery and biological validation have ensured that progress towards developing a functionally selective clinical drug candidate for the treatment of PD is underway.