2-Br-LSD Treatment of Mood and Depressive Disorders (2024)

Undergraduates: Jenny Qiu, Oleh Dehtiarov, Jiarui Mao

Faculty Advisor: Rachel Penton
Department: Neuroscience

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The serotonin 2A (5-HT2A) receptor is a G-protein coupled receptor located widely throughout the central nervous system and plays a role in several physiological, cognitive, and behavioral processes including learning and mood regulation. Prior literature demonstrated a link between 5-HT2A receptor dysfunction and neurological disorders such as schizophrenia. There has been increasing interest in using 5-HT2A agonist LSD to treat schizophrenia, but its hallucinogenic properties lower the therapeutic index of the compound. 2-Br-LSD is a novel LSD analog that has therapeutic potential due to its partial agonism at the same downstream pathways of 5-HT2A without the psychedelic effects. In this study, we 3D printed a model of 5-HT2A and depicted its activation by 2-Br-LSD and LSD through receptor conformational changes. In doing so, we hope to better understand the mechanism of action of 2-Br-LSD and contribute to the growing field of research investigating the treatment of schizophrenia and other mood disorders.