What We Have Gained from Ibogaine: α3 4 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Inhibitors as Treatments for Substance Use Disorders.

For decades, ibogaine the main psychoactive alkaloid found in Tabernanthe iboga has been investigated as a possible treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs) due to its purported ability to interrupt the addictive properties of multiple drugs of abuse. Of the numerous pharmacological actions of ibogaine and its derivatives, the inhibition of α3 4 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), represents a probable mechanism of action for their apparent anti-addictive activity. In this Perspective, we examine several classes of compounds that have been discovered and developed to target α3 4 nAChRs. Specifically, by focusing on compounds that have proven efficacious in pre-clinical models of drug abuse and have been evaluated clinically, we highlight the promising potential of the α3 4 nAChRs as viable targets to treat a wide array of SUDs. Additionally, we discuss the challenges faced by the existing classes of α3 4 nAChR ligands that must be overcome to develop them into therapeutic treatments.