0000000000628189
AUTHOR
Marcin Drąg
Redox reaction between amino-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)methyl phosphonic acid and dopaquinone is responsible for the apparent inhibitory effect on tyrosinase
Amino-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)methyl phosphonic acid, the phosphonic analog of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylglycine, had been previously reported as a potent inhibitor of tyrosinase. The mechanism of the apparent enzyme inhibition by this compound has now been established. Amino-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)methyl phosphonic acid turned out to be a substrate and was oxidized to o-quinone, which evolved to a final product identified as 3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde, the same as for 3,4-dihydroxyphenylglycine. Monohydroxylated compounds (amino-(3-hydroxyphenyl)methyl phosphonic acid and amino-(4-hydroxyphenyl)methyl phosphonic acid) were not oxidized, neither was 4-hydroxy-l-phenylglycine. However, the relatively hig…
Toward very potent, non-covalent organophosphonate inhibitors of cathepsin C and related enzymes by 2-amino-1-hydroxy-alkanephosphonates dipeptides
Cathepsins play an important role in several human disorders and therefore the design and synthesis of their inhibitors attracts considerable interest in current medicinal chemistry approaches. Due to the presence of a strong sulphydryl nucleophile in the active center of the cysteine type cathepsins, most strategies to date have yielded covalent inhibitors. Here we present a series of non-covalent β-amino-α-hydroxyalkanephosphonate dipeptidic inhibitors of cathepsin C, ranking amongst the best low-molecular weight inhibitors of this enzyme. Their binding modes determined by molecular modelling indicate that the hydroxymethyl fragment of the molecule, not the phosphonate moiety, acts as a t…