The BigLEN-GPR171 peptide receptor system within the basolateral amygdala regulates anxiety-like behavior and contextual fear conditioning

Studies show that neuropeptide-receptor systems in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) play an important role in the pathology of anxiety and other mood disorders. Since GPR171, a recently deorphanized receptor for the abundant neuropeptide BigLEN, is expressed in the BLA, we investigated its role in fear and anxiety-like behaviors. To carry out these studies we identified small molecule ligands using a homology model of GPR171 to virtually screen a library of compounds. One of the hits, MS0021570-1, was identified as a GPR171 antagonist based on its ability to block (i) BigLEN-mediated activation of GPR171 in heterologous cells, (ii) BigLEN-mediated hyperpolarization of BLA pyramidal neurons, and (iii) feeding induced by DREADD-mediated activation of BigLEN containing AgRP neurons in the arcuate nucleus. The role of GPR171 in anxiety-like behavior or fear conditioning was evaluated following systemic or intra-BLA administration of MS0021570-1, as well as following lentiviral-mediated knockdown of GPR171 in the BLA. We find that systemic administration of MS0021570-1 attenuates anxiety-like behavior while intra-BLA administration or knockdown of GPR171 in the BLA reduces anxiety-like behavior and fear conditioning. These results indicate that the BigLEN-GPR171 system plays an important role in these behaviors and could be a novel target to develop therapeutics to treat psychiatric disorders.