Structure-Activity Relationship Analysis of 3-Phenylcoumarin-Based Monoamine Oxidase B Inhibitors
Monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) catalyzes deamination of monoamines such as neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine. Accordingly, small-molecule MAO-B inhibitors potentially alleviate the symptoms of dopamine-linked neuropathologies such as depression or Parkinson's disease. Coumarin with a functionalized 3-phenyl ring system is a promising scaffold for building potent MAO-B inhibitors. Here, a vast set of 3-phenylcoumarin derivatives was designed using virtual combinatorial chemistry or rationally de novo and synthesized using microwave chemistry. The derivatives inhibited the MAO-B at 100 nM−1 μM. The IC50 value of the most potent derivative 1 was 56 nM. A docking-based structure-activi…
Blocking oestradiol synthesis pathways with potent and selective coumarin derivatives
A comprehensive set of 3-phenylcoumarin analogues with polar substituents was synthesised for blocking oestradiol synthesis by 17-b-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 (HSD1) in the latter part of the sulphatase pathway. Five analogues produced 62% HSD1 inhibition at 5 mM and, furthermore, three of them produced 68% inhibition at 1 mM. A docking-based structure-activity relationship analysis was done to determine the molecular basis of the inhibition and the cross-reactivity of the analogues was tested against oestrogen receptor, aromatase, cytochrome P450 1A2, and monoamine oxidases. Most of the analogues are only modestly active with 17-b-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 2 – a requirement for lowe…
Immune tolerance disruption by human parvovirus B19 viral infection mechanisms
Virusinfektioita pidetään kasvavissa määrin suurimpana ympäristöperäisenä syynä, joka vaikuttaa autoimmuunisairauksien kehitykseen ja autoimmuniteetin muodostukseen. Esimerkiksi parvovirus B19 (B19V) on yhdistetty punahukkaan sekä nivelreumaan. On todettu, että B19V:n ei-rakenteellinen proteiini 1 (NS1) aiheuttaa apoptoosia soluissa, jotka eivät tavallisesti ole B19V infektion kohteena. Lisäksi hiljattain on osoitettu, että apoptoosin seurauksena muodostuvat apoptoottiset kappaleet kykenevät esittelemään antigeenejä niitä esittelemään erikoistuneille soluille, kuten makrofageille tai dendriittisoluille. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on löytää B19V infektioon liittyviä autoantigeenejä sekä…
Identification of estrogen receptor α ligands with virtual screening techniques.
Utilization of computer-aided molecular discovery methods in virtual screening (VS) is a cost-effective approach to identify novel bioactive small molecules. Unfortunately, no universal VS strategy can guarantee high hit rates for all biological targets, but each target requires distinct, fine-tuned solutions. Here, we have studied in retrospective manner the effectiveness and usefulness of common pharmacophore hypothesis, molecular docking and negative image-based screening as potential VS tools for a widely applied drug discovery target, estrogen receptor α (ERα). The comparison of the methods helps to demonstrate the differences in their ability to identify active molecules. For example,…
Molecular docking-based design and development of a highly selective probe substrate for UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1A10
Intestinal and hepatic glucuronidation by the UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) greatly affect the bioavailability of phenolic compounds. UGT1A10 catalyzes glucuronidation reactions in the intestine, but not in the liver. Here, our aim was to develop selective, fluorescent substrates to easily elucidate UGT1A10 function. To this end, homology models were constructed and used to design new substrates, and subsequently, six novel C3-substituted (4-fluorophenyl, 4-hydroxyphenyl, 4-methoxyphenyl, 4-(dimethylamino)phenyl, 4-methylphenyl, or triazole) 7-hydroxycoumarin derivatives were synthesized from inexpensive starting materials. All tested compounds could be glucuronidated to nonfluorescen…
Small molecule modulators of amine oxidation, nuclear receptor signaling and glucuronidation : 3-phenylcoumarin as a scaffold of interest
The costs of the drug development process are moderated as computer-aided drug design methods are able to expedite the steps required for lead identification. In fact, computational tools are nowadays virtually indispensable from target identification and validation to preclinical tests due to exponential growth of available information regarding both potential targets and small molecules. One such small molecule with growing number of variations is coumarin. Coumarin scaffold and its various derivatives continue to interest researchers for their vast application potential. Since naturally occurring coumarins are known for example for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, thos…
Discovery of Retinoic Acid-Related Orphan Receptor γt Inverse Agonists via Docking and Negative Image-Based Screening
Retinoic acid-related orphan receptor γt (RORγt) has a vital role in the differentiation of T-helper 17 (TH17) cells. Potent and specific RORγt inverse agonists are sought for treating TH17-related diseases such as psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and type 1 diabetes. Here, the aim was to discover novel RORγt ligands using both standard molecular docking and negative image-based screening. Interestingly, both of these in silico techniques put forward mostly the same compounds for experimental testing. In total, 11 of the 34 molecules purchased for testing were verified as RORγt inverse agonists, thus making the effective hit rate 32%. The pIC50 values for the compounds varied from 4.9 (11 μ…
Human parvovirus B19 induced apoptotic bodies contain altered self-antigens that are phagocytosed by antigen presenting cells.
Human parvovirus B19 (B19V) from the erythrovirus genus is known to be a pathogenic virus in humans. Prevalence of B19V infection has been reported worldwide in all seasons, with a high incidence in the spring. B19V is responsible for erythema infectiosum (fifth disease) commonly seen in children. Its other clinical presentations include arthralgia, arthritis, transient aplastic crisis, chronic anemia, congenital anemia, and hydrops fetalis. In addition, B19V infection has been reported to trigger autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. However, the mechanisms of B19V participation in autoimmunity are not fully understood. B19V induced chronic dise…