Virginia Tech® home
photo of Dr. Blaise Costa

Program Focus

Spontaneous wiring and rewiring of circuits in our brain are largely regulated by the chemical messenger glutamate induced activation of complicated proteins known as NMDA receptors. We identify chemical tools to understand the complexity and to reduce disease burden of anomalies.

Selected Publications

 

Costa, B. M.; Feng, B.; Tsintsadze, T. S.; Morley, R. M.; Irvine, M. W.; Tsintsadze, V.; Lozovaya, N. A.; Jane, D. E.; Monaghan, D. T., N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor NR2 subunit selectivity of a series of novel piperazine-2,3-dicarboxylate derivatives: preferential blockade of extrasynaptic NMDA receptors in the rat hippocampal CA3-CA1 synapse. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2009331 (2), 618-26.  DOI: 10.1124/jpet.109.156752

Costa, B. M.; Irvine, M. W.; Fang, G.; Eaves, R. J.; Mayo-Martin, M. B.; Laube, B.; Jane, D. E.; Monaghan, D. T., Structure-activity relationships for allosteric NMDA receptor inhibitors based on 2-naphthoic acid. Neuropharmacology 2012, 62 (4), 1730-6.  DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2011.11.019

Costa, B. M.; Irvine, M. W.; Fang, G.; Eaves, R. J.; Mayo-Martin, M. B.; Skifter, D. A.; Jane, D. E.; Monaghan, D. T., A novel family of negative and positive allosteric modulators of NMDA receptors. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2010335 (3), 614-21. DOI: 10.1124/jpet.110.174144 

Irvine, M. W.; Costa, B. M.; Dlaboga, D.; Culley, G. R.; Hulse, R.; Scholefield, C. L.; Atlason, P.; Fang, G.; Eaves, R.; Morley, R.; Mayo-Martin, M. B.; Amici, M.; Bortolotto, Z. A.; Donaldson, L.; Collingridge, G. L.; Molnar, E.; Monaghan, D. T.; Jane, D. E., Piperazine-2,3-dicarboxylic acid derivatives as dual antagonists of NMDA and GluK1-containing kainate receptors. J Med Chem 2012, 55 (1), 327-41.  DOI: 10.1021/jm201230z

Irvine, M. W.; Costa, B. M.; Volianskis, A.; Fang, G.; Ceolin, L.; Collingridge, G. L.; Monaghan, D. T.; Jane, D. E., Coumarin-3-carboxylic acid derivatives as potentiators and inhibitors of recombinant and native N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors. Neurochem Int 2012, 61(4), 593-600.  DOI:10.1016/j.neuint.2011.12.020