ECS modulator (research)
UnscheduledGAT211
3-(2-nitro-1-phenylethyl)-2-phenyl-1H-indole
Aliases.GAT-211 · (±)-GAT211 · 3-(2-nitro-1-phenylethyl)-2-phenylindole
Positive allosteric modulator of the CB1 receptor, a laboratory tool with no human data whatsoever.
Updated on
Level of detail
Harm-reduction warning
No characterised human dose: animal / in vitro data only. Effect profile, safety margin and acute toxicity are not documented in human clinical practice. Extremely potent compound: severe effects, seizures and deaths reported in the literature.
Identifiers
- Formula
- C₂₂H₁₈N₂O₂
- Molar mass
- 342.40 g·mol⁻¹
- CAS
- -
- PubChem CID
- 4402318
- First described
- La pharmacologie de GAT211 a été publiée en 2017 par l'équipe de Ganesh A. Thakur (Northeastern University, Boston), avec Robert B. Laprairie, Roger G. Pertwee et Eileen M. Denovan-Wright, dans ACS Chemical Neuroscience. Ce travail a résolu puis cristallisé les deux énantiomères, GAT228 et GAT229, et a établi la première modulation allostérique positive du récepteur CB1 dépendante de l'énantiomère. Les évaluations comportementales chez le rongeur ont suivi à partir de 2018.
- Origin
- An entirely synthetic molecule, arising from academic medicinal chemistry. It is present neither in hemp nor in any other known organism, and results from no transformation of a natural cannabinoid. It circulates solely as a research reagent intended for in vitro work and animal experimentation, never as a consumer product.
- InChIKey
- OHZDCJJHWPHZJD-UHFFFAOYSA-N
In plain terms
GAT211 is a laboratory molecule made by chemical synthesis: it exists neither in hemp nor in any plant. It does not bind at the same place as THC on the CB1 receptor, but at a neighbouring zone, where it amplifies the signal of the cannabinoids the body produces itself. It has never been given to humans and enters no consumer product.
Receptors and activity
- CB1EC50 230 nM (inhibition de l'AMPc) et 940 nM (recrutement de la bêta-arrestine 2) ; EC50 619,6 nM pour la potentialisation de la liaison de [3H]CP55,940Modulator
- CB1 (activité agoniste allostérique)Agonist
- Agonist
- Partial agonist
- Antagonist
- Modulator
- Inverse agonist
Hover over a row for the precise value (Ki, EC50…)
Subjective signature
Hover over an axis to read its definition.
- Calm5
- Clarity5
- Sleep5
- Appetite5
- High5
Editorial estimate, not clinical.
Pharmacology
GAT211 is a positive allosteric modulator of the CB1 receptor, described as an ago-PAM: the racemate combines an amplification of the response to orthosteric agonists with an allosteric agonist activity of its own. The two enantiomers carry distinct roles, the allosteric agonist activity belonging to the (R)-(+) form (GAT228) and the pure modulatory activity to the (S)-(-) form (GAT229), which is devoid of intrinsic activity. In vitro, GAT211 increases the binding of [3H]CP55,940 and decreases that of [3H]SR141716A, with reported potencies on the order of 230 nM on cAMP inhibition and 940 nM on beta-arrestin 2 recruitment, that is, a biased signalling profile. In mice, intraperitoneal administration reduces inflammatory and neuropathic allodynia without the cardinal signs of direct CB1 activation, without tolerance over nineteen days of treatment and without withdrawal precipitated by rimonabant; these effects disappear in animals lacking the CB1 receptor, which confirms the mechanism. The limitations are clear: human data are entirely lacking, aqueous solubility is low, metabolic clearance rapid, and no evaluation at CB2 or at the other targets of the endocannabinoid system has been published.
Key sources.
- Laprairie RB et al., Enantiospecific Allosteric Modulation of Cannabinoid 1 Receptor, ACS Chem Neurosci, 2017PMID 28103441
- Slivicki RA et al., Positive Allosteric Modulation of Cannabinoid Receptor Type 1 Suppresses Pathological Pain Without Producing Tolerance or Dependence, Biol Psychiatry, 2018PMID 28823711
- Garai S et al., Application of Fluorine- and Nitrogen-Walk Approaches: 2-Phenylindole Class of CB1 Positive Allosteric Modulators, J Med Chem, 2020
- Green HM et al., Determination of the Cannabinoid CB1 Receptor's Positive Allosteric Modulator Binding Site through Mutagenesis Studies, Pharmaceuticals, 2024DOI 10.3390/ph17020154
- Slivicki RA et al., Positive Allosteric Modulation of CB1 Signaling Enhances Morphine Antinociception and Attenuates Morphine Tolerance, Front Mol Neurosci, 2020DOI 10.3389/fnmol.2020.00054
- Brandt AL et al., Pharmacological evaluation of enantiomerically separated positive allosteric modulators of cannabinoid 1 receptor, GAT591 and GAT593, Front Pharmacol, 2022DOI 10.3389/fphar.2022.919605
- PubChem, Compound Summary CID 4402318 (GAT211)
Origin (research tool)
No known biosynthetic pathway: GAT211 is produced by no living organism. The compound belongs to synthetic chemistry, built around a 2-phenylindole skeleton bearing a 2-nitro-1-phenylethyl chain at position 3. It is obtained in racemic form, the two enantiomers being separable thereafter.
Legal framework
France
GAT211 is named in no French regulatory text. It does not appear in annex IV of the decree of 22 February 1990, whose generic clause covers tetrahydrocannabinols, their esters, ethers and salts as well as the salts of those derivatives: belonging to the 2-phenylindole family and not deriving from THC, GAT211 does not fall within that scope. The molecule is therefore not classified as a narcotic in France. It holds no marketing authorisation and has neither food nor cosmetic status: its only lawful use is laboratory research.
European Union
No European control measure targets GAT211. The substance appears neither in the international United Nations conventions, nor in the notifications to the European Union early warning system, nor in the risk assessments of the European drugs agency. It is sold as a laboratory reagent, outside any consumer channel. National legislation may evolve, and several member states apply generic laws on psychoactive substances whose scope is assessed case by case.
Sources: EUR-Lex, UNODC, CND, ANSM, IUPHAR/BPS, ChEBI, EUDA. Our method.
Structural classification
- Class
- ECS modulator (research)
- Origin
- An entirely synthetic molecule, arising from academic medicinal chemistry. It is present neither in hemp nor in any other known organism, and results from no transformation of a natural cannabinoid. It circulates solely as a research reagent intended for in vitro work and animal experimentation, never as a consumer product.
- Status
- Unscheduled
2-phénylindole substitué en position 3 par un groupe 2-nitro-1-phényléthyle, obtenu et étudié sous forme racémique. Aucune parenté structurale avec les cannabinoïdes végétaux, ni avec les agonistes cannabinoïdes de synthèse de type indole-3-carboxamide.
Pharmacokinetics
Aucune donnée humaine n'est disponible. Les études précliniques recourent à la voie intrapéritonéale chez la souris, dans une fourchette de 1 à 30 mg/kg, avec un effet central attesté par la disparition des réponses chez l'animal dépourvu de récepteur CB1. Les travaux d'optimisation chimique signalent une faible solubilité aqueuse et une clairance métabolique rapide, deux limites qui ont motivé la mise au point d'analogues plus solubles et plus stables.
Metabolism
Les voies métaboliques ne sont pas cartographiées dans la littérature publiée : aucun métabolite n'a été identifié ni quantifié, et les enzymes impliquées ne sont pas caractérisées. Seule est rapportée une clairance métabolique rapide lors des évaluations de stabilité in vitro menées pendant l'optimisation du squelette 2-phénylindole.
Toxicology and risks
Aucun dossier de toxicologie réglementaire n'existe et la molécule n'a jamais été administrée à l'être humain. Chez la souris, les doses actives ne produisent pas les signes cardinaux d'activation directe de CB1, à savoir catalepsie, hypothermie et ataxie motrice, aucun sevrage n'est précipité par le rimonabant après traitement répété, et aucune préférence ni aversion de place conditionnée n'est observée. Ces observations portent sur des expositions courtes chez le rongeur et ne préjugent en rien de la sécurité chez l'être humain, où le risque demeure entièrement inconnu.
Detection and analysis
Aucune méthode de dépistage de routine n'est décrite. GAT211 échappe aux immunoessais cannabinoïdes usuels, qui ciblent les métabolites du THC, et son identification supposerait une analyse ciblée par chromatographie liquide couplée à la spectrométrie de masse en tandem, avec un étalon de référence. La substance n'apparaît pas dans les signalements des systèmes européens de surveillance des nouveaux produits de synthèse.
References
- 1.Laprairie RB et al., Enantiospecific Allosteric Modulation of Cannabinoid 1 Receptor, ACS Chem Neurosci, 2017PMID 28103441
- 2.Slivicki RA et al., Positive Allosteric Modulation of Cannabinoid Receptor Type 1 Suppresses Pathological Pain Without Producing Tolerance or Dependence, Biol Psychiatry, 2018PMID 28823711
- 3.Garai S et al., Application of Fluorine- and Nitrogen-Walk Approaches: 2-Phenylindole Class of CB1 Positive Allosteric Modulators, J Med Chem, 2020
- 4.Green HM et al., Determination of the Cannabinoid CB1 Receptor's Positive Allosteric Modulator Binding Site through Mutagenesis Studies, Pharmaceuticals, 2024DOI 10.3390/ph17020154
- 5.Slivicki RA et al., Positive Allosteric Modulation of CB1 Signaling Enhances Morphine Antinociception and Attenuates Morphine Tolerance, Front Mol Neurosci, 2020DOI 10.3389/fnmol.2020.00054
- 6.Brandt AL et al., Pharmacological evaluation of enantiomerically separated positive allosteric modulators of cannabinoid 1 receptor, GAT591 and GAT593, Front Pharmacol, 2022DOI 10.3389/fphar.2022.919605
- 7.PubChem, Compound Summary CID 4402318 (GAT211)
Structured data
- InChIKey
- OHZDCJJHWPHZJD-UHFFFAOYSA-N
- SMILES
- C1=CC=C(C=C1)C2=C(C3=CC=CC=C3N2)C(C[N+](=O)[O-])C4=CC=CC=C4
- Formula
- C22H18N2O2
- Molar mass
- 342.40 g·mol⁻¹
- PubChem CID
- 4402318
LLM ingestion format: a structured superset of the entry (identifiers, binding, versioned legal status). Full corpus.