The Dopamine D4 Receptor

Abstract

When it was initially discovered in 1991 by a team of researchers led by Dr. Hubert Van Tol (33), the dopamine D4 receptor was assigned an important place in the fabric of man’s molecular design. Science magazine printed a two-page commentary speculating that the newly identified member of the dopamine receptor family might “hold the key to schizophrenia”. This was a particular compliment since the original D4 receptor paper had been published in Nature, their arch rival in the competition for high-profile science stories. This intense early interest was triggered by the fact that the newly discovered D4 receptor had a high binding affinity for the uniquely effective antipsychotic drug clozapine used in the treatment of schizophrenia. Since it is generally assumed that high affinity marks the molecular site at which a drug works, this suggested that the D4 receptor might be responsible for clozapine’s benefit in schizophrenia. By extension it also followed that the D4 receptor might play a special role in normal human cognition, which is impaired in schizophrenia.