Spectroscopic and calorimetric methods were employed to assess the stability and the folding aspect of a novel recombinant alkaline-stable lipase KV1 from Acinetobacter haemolyticus under varying pH and temperature. Data on far ultraviolet-circular dichroism of recombinant lipase KV1 under two alkaline conditions (pH 8.0 and 12.0) at 40 °C reveal strong negative ellipticities at 208, 217, 222 nm, implying its secondary structure belonging to a α + β class with 47.3 and 39.0% ellipticity, respectively. Results demonstrate that lipase KV1 adopts its most stable conformation at pH 8.0 and 40 °C. Conversely, the protein assumes a random coil structure at pH 4.0 and 80 °C, evident from a strong negative peak at ∼ 200 nm. This blue shift suggests a general decline in enzyme activity in conjunction with the partially or fully unfolded state that invariably exposed more hydrophobic surfaces of the lipase protein. The maximum emission at ∼335 nm for pH 8.0 and 40 °C indicates the adoption of a favorable protein conformation with a high number of buried tryptophan residues, reducing solvent exposure. Appearance of an intense Amide I absorption band at pH 8.0 corroborates an intact secondary structure. A lower enthalpy value for pH 4.0 over pH 8.0 and 12.0 in the differential scanning calorimetric data corroborates the stability of the lipase at alkaline conditions, while a low Km (0.68 ± 0.03 mM) for tributyrin verifies the high affinity of lipase KV1 for the substrate. The data, herein offer useful insights into future structure-based tunable catalytic activity of lipase KV1.
Laccase belongs to the family of blue multi-copper oxidases and are capable of oxidizing a wide range of aromatic compounds. Laccases have industrial applications in paper pulping or bleaching and hydrocarbon bioremediation as a biocatalyst. We describe the design of a laccase with broader substrate spectrum in bioremediation. The application of evolutionary trace (ET) analysis of laccase at the ligand binding site for optimal design of the enzyme is described. In this attempt, class specific sites from ET analysis were mapped onto known crystal structure of laccase. The analysis revealed 162PHE as a critical residue in structure function relationship studies.
Enzyme inhibitory activities of 14 iridoids previously obtained from two Malaysian medicinal plants, Saprosma scortechinii and Rothmannia macrophylla, were evaluated in vitro using soybean lipoxygenase and bovine testis hyaluronidase. Most of the iridoids, including asperulosidic acid, paederosidic acid, and an epimeric mixture of gardenogenins A and B, did not show any effect on the enzyme activities, except for the bis-iridoids, which inhibited the lipoxygenase activity with their IC(50) values of approximately 1.3 times that of a known inhibitor, fisetin. Structural modification of asperulosidic acid and paederosidic acid through enzymatic hydrolysis by beta-glucosidase resulted in their inhibition towards the enzyme activities, and these activities were enhanced by the presence of some amino acids (lysine, leucine or glutamic acid) or ammonium acetate. Mixtures of gardenogenins A and B; isomers of non-glucosidic iridoids, incubated with amino acid or ammonium acetate did not show any inhibitory effect on the enzyme activities during the 6 h incubation period, except for lysine where spontaneous reaction between the iridoids and amino acid resulted in the inhibition of lipoxygenase activity. The results from these biomimetic reactions suggested that the iridoid aglycons and the intermediates formed by these reactive species could inhibit the enzyme activities, and thus substantiate previous reports that the formation of iridoidal aglycons is a prerequisite for the iridoid glycosides to demonstrate some of the biological activities. In addition, the results also indicated that it is worthwhile to further explore these intermediates as potential anti-inflammatory agents.
Carbon nanoparticles have been widely used in various applications. However, they are commonly known to have low dispersibility and chemical inertness which limit their practical ability in medical or biological area. Some studies have been performed to modify carbon nanoparticles such as carbon nanotubes using ultraviolet (UV)-Ozone system. However, little is known on the effects of such system towards other types of carbon nanoparticles such as mesoporous hollow carbon nanoparticles (MHCNs). Thus, in this study, improvement of MHCNs physiochemical properties have been studied using UV-Ozone treatment for the first time. The treatment was conducted in water as dispersant agent at ozone flowrate of 1.0 L/min and exposure time of 45 min. SEM images observed that MHCNs morphology and surface structure remain intact after the treatment. Observations on the dispersibility of MHCNs in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) solution shows that the dispersibility was improved compared to the untreated ones. This was supported by the low Z-average and PDI values of treated MHCNs obtained at ~400 nm and 0.2, respectively when compared to the untreated MHCNs which was obtained at 970 nm and 0.417, respectively. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed an increased in weight loss of treated MHCNs at the lower temperature compared to untreated MHCNs. Results from Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) showed an increase number of new functional groups that includes carboxylic acid group presence at the surface of treated MHCNs which contributes to the improvement of their dispersibility, thermal properties and chemical functionality. These findings opened a new possibility of using UV-Ozone treatment to improve physicochemical properties of MHCNs for medical area such as in drug delivery application in addition to their excellent storage and carrier system.
An increase in dementia numbers and global trends in population aging across the world prompts the need for new medications to treat the complex biological dysfunctions, such as neurodegeneration associated with dementia. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia. Cholinergic signaling, which is important in cognition, is slowly lost in AD, so the first line therapy is to treat symptoms with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors to increase levels of acetylcholine. Out of five available FDA-approved AD medications, donepezil, galantamine and rivastigmine are cholinesterase inhibitors while memantine, a N-methyl d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, blocks the effects of high glutamate levels. The fifth medication consists of a combination of donepezil and memantine. Although these medications can reduce and temporarily slow down the symptoms of AD, they cannot stop the damage to the brain from progressing. For a superior therapeutic effect, multi-target drugs are required. Thus, a Multi-Target-Directed Ligand (MTDL) strategy has received more attention by scientists who are attempting to develop hybrid molecules that simultaneously modulate multiple biological targets. This review highlights recent examples of the MTDL approach and fragment based strategy in the rational design of new potential AD medications.
Previously, a series of aurones bearing amine and carbamate functionalities was synthesized and evaluated for their cholinesterase inhibitory activity and drug-like attributes. In the present study, these aurones were evaluated for their multi-targeting properties in two Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related activities namely, monoamine oxidase (MAO) and amyloid-beta (Aβ) inhibition. Evaluation of the aurones for MAO inhibitory activity disclosed several potent selective inhibitors of MAO-B, particularly those with 6-methoxyl group attached at ring A. Of the different amine moieties attached as side chains, pyrrolidine-bearing aurones were prominent as represented by 2-2, the most potent inhibitor. Evaluation on the Aβ aggregation inhibition identified 4-3 as the best inhibitor with a percentage inhibition comparable to that of a known Aβ inhibitor curcumin. Examination on the neuroprotective ability of the more drug-like aurone 4-3 in two Caenorhabditis elegans neurodegeneration models showed 4-3 to protect the nematodes against both Aβ- and 6-hydroxydopamine-induced toxicities. These new activities further support 4-3 as a promising lead to develop the aurones as potential multipotent agents for neurodegenerative diseases.
Dihydropyrimidones 1-37 were synthesized via a 'one-pot' three component reaction according to well-known Biginelli reaction by utilizing Cu(NO3)2·3H2O as catalyst, and screened for their in vitro β-glucuronidase inhibitory activity. It is worth mentioning that amongst the active molecules, compounds 8 (IC50=28.16±.056μM), 9 (IC50=18.16±0.41μM), 10 (IC50=22.14±0.43μM), 13 (IC50=34.16±0.65μM), 14 (IC50=17.60±0.35μM), 15 (IC50=15.19±0.30μM), 16 (IC50=27.16±0.48μM), 17 (IC50=48.16±1.06μM), 22 (IC50=40.16±0.85μM), 23 (IC50=44.16±0.86μM), 24 (IC50=47.16±0.92μM), 25 (IC50=18.19±0.34μM), 26 (IC50=33.14±0.68μM), 27 (IC50=44.16±0.94μM), 28 (IC50=24.16±0.50μM), 29 (IC50=34.24±0.47μM), 31 (IC50=14.11±0.21μM) and 32 (IC50=9.38±0.15μM) found to be more potent than the standard d-saccharic acid 1,4-lactone (IC50=48.4±1.25μM). Molecular docking study was conducted to establish the structure-activity relationship (SAR) which demonstrated that a number of structural features of dihydropyrimidone derivatives were involved to exhibit the inhibitory potential. All compounds were characterized by spectroscopic techniques such as (1)H, (13)C NMR, EIMS and HREI-MS.
Three series of sulfonamides incorporating long, bulky tails were obtained by applying synthetic strategies in which substituted anthranilic acids, quinazolines and aromatic sulfonamides have been used as starting materials. They incorporate long, bulky diamide-, 4-oxoquinazoline-3-yl- or quinazoline-4-yl moieties in their molecules, and were investigated for the inhibition of four physiologically relevant carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1) isoforms, the cytosolic human (h) hCA I and II, as well as the transmembrane hCA IX and XII. Most of the new sulfonamides showed excellent inhibitory effects against the four isoforms, with KIs of 7.6-322nM against hCA I, of 0.06-85.4nM against hCA II; of 6.7-152nM against hCA IX and of 0.49-237nM against hCA XII; respectively. However no relevant isoform-selective behavior has been observed for any of them, although hCA II and XII, isoforms involved in glaucoma-genesis were the most inhibited ones. The structure-activity relationship for inhibiting the four CAs with these derivatives is discussed in detail.
Arachidonic acid and its metabolites have generated high level of interest among researchers due to their vital role in inflammation. The inhibition of enzymes involved in arachidonic acid metabolism has been considered as synergistic anti-inflammatory effect. A series of novel α,β-unsaturated carbonyl based compounds were synthesized and evaluated for their inhibitory activity on secretory phospholipase A₂ (sPLA₂), cyclooxygenases (COX), soybean lipoxygenase (LOX) in addition to proinflammatory cytokines comprising IL-6 and TNF-α. Six α,β-unsaturated carbonyl based compounds (2, 3, 4, 12, 13 and 14) exhibited strong inhibition of sPLA₂ activity, with IC₅₀ values in the range of 2.19-8.76 μM. Nine compounds 1-4 and 10-14 displayed inhibition of COX-1 with IC₅₀ values ranging from 0.37 to 1.77 μM (lower than that of reference compound), whereas compounds 2, 10, 13 and 14 strongly inhibited the COX-2. The compounds 10-14 exhibited strong inhibitory activity against LOX enzyme. All compounds were evaluated for the inhibitory activities against LPS-induced TNF-α and IL-6 release in the macrophages. On the basis of screening results, five active compounds 3, 4, 12, 13 and 14 were found strong inhibitors of TNF-α and IL-6 release in a dose-dependent manner. Molecular docking experiments were performed to clarify the molecular aspects of the observed COX and LOX inhibitory activities of the investigated compounds. Present findings increases the possibility that these α,β-unsaturated carbonyl based compounds might serve as beneficial starting point for the design and development of improved anti-inflammatory agents.
A series of thiobarbituric acid derivatives 1-27 were synthesized and evaluated for their urease inhibitory potential. Exciting results were obtained from the screening of these compounds 1-27. Compounds 5, 7, 8, 11, 16, 17, 22, 23 and 24 showed excellent urease inhibition with IC50 values 18.1 ± 0.52, 16.0 ± 0.45, 16.0 ± 0.22, 14.3 ± 0.27, 6.7 ± 0.27, 10.6 ± 0.17, 19.2 ± 0.29, 18.2 ± 0.76 and 1.61 ± 0.18 μM, respectively, much better than the standard urease inhibitor thiourea (IC₅₀=21 ± 0.11 μM). Compound 3, 4, 10, and 26 exhibited comparable activities to the standard with IC₅₀ values 21.4 ± 1.04 and 21.5 ± 0.61 μM, 22.8 ± 0.32, 25.2 ± 0.63, respectively. However the remaining compounds also showed prominent inhibitory potential The structure-activity relationship was established for these compounds. This study identified a novel class of urease inhibitors. The structures of all compounds were confirmed through spectroscopic techniques such as EI-MS and (1)H NMR.
2-Arylquinazolin-4(3H)-ones 1-25 were synthesized by reacting anthranilamide with various benzaldehydes using CuCl2·2H2O as a catalyst in ethanol under reflux. Synthetic 2-arylquinazolin-4(3H)-ones 1-25 were evaluated for their β-glucuronidase inhibitory potential. A trend of inhibition IC50 against the enzyme in the range of 0.6-198.2μM, was observed and compared with the standard d-saccharic acid 1,4-lactone (IC50=45.75±2.16μM). Compounds 13, 19, 4, 12, 14, 22, 23, 25, 15, 8, 17, 11, 21, 1, 3, 18, 9, 2, and 24 with the IC50 values within the range of 0.6-44.0μM, indicated that the compounds have superior activity than the standard. The compounds showed no cytotoxic effects against PC-3 cells. A structure-activity relationship is established.
A total of 15 novel benzimidazole derivatives were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their SIRT1 and SIRT2 inhibitory activity. All compounds showed better inhibition on SIRT2 as compared to SIRT1. Among these, compound 5j displayed the best inhibitory activity for SIRT1 (IC50=58.43μM) as well as for SIRT2 (IC50=45.12μM). Cell cytotoxicity assays also showed that compound 5j possesses good antitumor activity against two different cancer cell lines derived from breast cancer (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468). A simple structure-activity-relationship (SAR) study of the newly synthesized benzimidazole derivatives was also discussed.
Novel thiazolopyrimidine derivatives have been synthesized via microwave assisted, domino cascade methodology in ionic liquid and evaluated in vitro for their acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibitory activities. Among the newly synthesized compounds 6d, 6a, 6e and 6b displayed higher AChE inhibitory activity than standard drug, galanthamine, with IC50 values of 0.53, 1.47, 1.62 and 2.05μM, respectively. Interestingly, all the compounds except for 6m-r and 6x displayed higher BChE inhibitory potentials than galanthamine with IC50 values ranging from 1.09 to 18.56μM. Molecular docking simulations for 6d possessing the most potent AChE and BChE inhibitory activities, disclosed its binding interactions at the active site gorge of AChE and BChE enzymes.
A series of hitherto unreported pyrido-pyrimidine-2-ones/pyrimidine-2-thiones were synthesized under microwave assisted solvent free reaction conditions in excellent yields and evaluated in vitro for their acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) enzymes inhibitory activity. Among the pyridopyrimidine derivatives, 7e and 7l displayed 2.5- and 1.5-fold higher enzyme inhibitory activities against AChE as compared to standard drug, galanthamine, with IC50 of 0.80 and 1.37 μM, respectively. Interestingly, all the compounds except 6k, 7j and 7k displayed higher inhibitory potential against BChE enzyme in comparison to standard with IC50 ranging from 1.18 to 18.90 μM. Molecular modeling simulations of 7e and 7l was performed using three-dimensional structure of Torpedo californica AChE (TcAChE) and human butyrylcholinesterase (hBChE) enzymes to disclose binding interaction and orientation of these molecule into the active site gorge of respective receptors.
We describe here the synthesis of dihydropyrimidines derivatives 3a-p, and evaluation of their α-glucosidase enzyme inhibition activities. Compounds 3b (IC50=62.4±1.5 μM), 3c (IC50=25.3±1.26 μM), 3d (IC50=12.4±0.15 μM), 3e (IC50=22.9±0.25 μM), 3g (IC50=23.8±0.17 μM), 3h (IC50=163.3±5.1 μM), 3i (IC50=30.6±0.6 μM), 3m (IC50=26.4±0.34 μM), and 3o (IC50=136.1±6.63 μM) were found to be potent α-glucosidase inhibitors in comparison to the standard drug acarbose (IC50=840±1.73 μM). The compounds were also evaluated for their in vitro cytotoxic activity against PC-3, HeLa, and MCF-3 cancer cell lines, and 3T3 mouse fibroblast cell line. All compounds were found to be non cytotoxic, except compounds 3f and 3m (IC50=17.79±0.66-20.44±0.30 μM), which showed a weak cytotoxic activity against the HeLa, and 3T3 cell lines. In molecular docking simulation study, all the compounds were docked into the active site of the predicted homology model of α-glucosidase enzyme. From the docking result, it was observed that most of the synthesized compounds showed interaction through carbonyl oxygen atom and polar phenyl ring with active site residues of the enzyme.
Disulfide analogs (1-20) have been synthesized, characterized by HR-MS, (1)H NMR and (13)C NMR and screened for urease inhibitory potential. All compounds were found to have varied degree of urease inhibitory potential ranging in between 0.4 ± 0.01 and 18.60 ± 1.24 μM when compared with standard inhibitor thiourea with IC50 19.46 ± 1.20 μM. Structure activity relationship has been established. The binding interactions of compounds with enzyme were confirmed through molecular docking. All the synthesized compounds 1-20 are new. Our compounds are cheaply synthesizable with high yield and can further be studied to discovery lead compounds. We further, tested for carbonic anhydrase, PDE1 and butyrylcholinesterase but they show no activity. On the other hand we evaluated all compounds for cytotoxicity they showed no toxicity.
Thiadiazole derivatives 1-24 were synthesized via a single step reaction and screened for in vitro β-glucuronidase inhibitory activity. All the synthetic compounds displayed good inhibitory activity in the range of IC50=2.16±0.01-58.06±1.60μM as compare to standard d-saccharic acid 1,4-lactone (IC50=48.4±1.25μM). Molecular docking study was conducted in order to establish the structure-activity relationship (SAR) which demonstrated that thiadiazole as well as both aryl moieties (aryl and N-aryl) involved to exhibit the inhibitory potential. All the synthetic compounds were characterized by spectroscopic techniques (1)H, (13)C NMR, and EIMS.
In the present study, a series of 2-benzoyl-6-benzylidenecyclohexanone analogs have been synthesized and evaluated for their anti-cholinesterase activity. Among the forty-one analogs, four compounds (38, 39, 40 and 41) have been identified as lead compounds due to their highest inhibition on both AChE and BChE activities. Compounds 39 and 40 in particular exhibited highest inhibition on both AChE and BChE with IC50 values of 1.6μM and 0.6μM, respectively. Further structure-activity relationship study suggested that presence of a long-chain heterocyclic in one of the rings played a critical role in the dual enzymes' inhibition. The Lineweaver-Burk plots and docking results suggest that both compounds could simultaneously bind to the PAS and CAS regions of the enzyme. ADMET analysis further confirmed the therapeutic potential of both compounds based upon their high BBB-penetrating. Thus, 2-benzoyl-6-benzylidenecyclohexanone containing long-chain heterocyclic amine analogs represent a new class of cholinesterase inhibitor, which deserve further investigation for their development into therapeutic agents for cognitive diseases such as Alzheimer.
Thirty N-arylidenequinoline-3-carbohydrazides (1-30) have been synthesized and evaluated against β-glucuronidase inhibitory potential. Twenty four analogs showed outstanding β-glucuronidase activity having IC50 values ranging between 2.11±0.05 and 46.14±0.95 than standard d-saccharic acid 1,4 lactone (IC50=48.4±1.25μM). Six analogs showed good β-glucuronidase activity having IC50 values ranging between 49.38±0.90 and 80.10±1.80. Structure activity relationship and the interaction of the active compounds and enzyme active site with the help of docking studies were established. Our study identifies novel series of potent β-glucuronidase inhibitors for further investigation.
A library of novel 2,5-disubtituted-1,3,4-oxadiazoles with benzimidazole backbone (3a-3r) was synthesized and evaluated for their potential as β-glucuronidase inhibitors. Several compounds such as 3a-3d, 3e-3j, 3l-3o, 3q and 3r showed excellent inhibitory potentials much better than the standard (IC50=48.4±1.25μM: d-saccharic acid 1,4-lactone). All the synthesized compounds were characterized satisfactorily by using different spectroscopic methods. We further evaluated the interaction of the active compounds and the enzyme active site with the help of docking studies.