Synthesis and in vitro antiproliferative and antibacterial activity of new thiazolidine-2,4-dione derivatives

In our present research, we synthesised new thiazolidine-2,4-diones (12–28). All the newly synthesised compounds were evaluated for antiproliferative and antibacterial activity. Antiproliferative evaluation was carried out using normal human skin fibroblasts and tumour cell lines: A549, HepG2, and MCF-7. The IC₅₀ values were determined for tested compounds revealing antiproliferative activity. Moreover, safety index (SI) was calculated. Among all tested derivatives, the compound 18 revealed the highest antiproliferative activity against human lung, breast, and liver cancer cells. More importantly, the derivative 18 showed meaningfully lower IC₅₀ values when compared to the reference substance, irinotecan, and relatively high SI values. Moreover, newly synthesised compounds were screened for the bacteria growth inhibition in vitro. According to our screening results, most active compound was the derivative 18 against Gram-positive bacteria. Therefore, it may be implied that the novel compound 18 appears to be a very promising agent for anticancer treatment.     

Synthesis of bisubstrate inhibitors of porphobilinogen synthase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Porphobilinogen synthase (PBGS) synthesizes porphobilinogen 2 (PBG), the common precursor of all natural tetrapyrroles, through an asymmetric condensation of two molecules of 5-aminolevulinic acid 1 (ALA). Symmetrically linked dimers 7-11 derived from levulinic acid 3 (gamma-oxovaleric acid) have been synthesized to mimic the assumed bisubstrate bound to the active site of the enzyme. Their inhibition potential was characterized by determination of the IC(50) and K(i) values using PBGS from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The polarity and the size of the functional group linking the two levulinic acid 3 units have a strong influence on the inhibition behavior.     

Probing the active site of rat porphobilinogen synthase using newly developed inhibitors

The structurally related tetrapyrrolic pigments are a group of natural products that participate in many of the fundamental biosynthetic and catabolic processes of living organisms. Porphobilinogen synthase catalyzes a rate-limiting step for the biosyntheses of tetrapyrrolic natural products. In the present study, a variety of new substrate analogs and reaction intermediate analogs were synthesized, which were used as probes for studying the active site of rat porphobilinogen synthase. The compounds 1, 3, 6, 9, 14, 16, and 28 were found to be competitive inhibitors of rat porphobilinogen synthase with inhibition constants ranging from 0.96 to 73.04 mM. Compounds 7, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, and 26 were found to be irreversible enzyme inhibitors. For irreversible inhibitors, loose-binding inhibitors were found to give stronger inactivation. The amino group and carboxyl group of the analogs were found to be important for their binding to the enzyme. This study increased our understanding of the active site of porphobilinogen synthase.     

Interaction of pyrophosphate with catalytic and noncatalytic sites of chloroplast ATP synthase

The effect of pyrophosphate (PP_i) on labeled nucleotide incorporation into noncatalytic sites of chloroplast ATP synthase was studied. In illuminated thylakoid membranes, PP_i competed with nucleotides for binding to noncatalytic sites. In the dark, PP_i was capable of tight binding to noncatalytic sites previously vacated by endogenous nucleotides, thereby preventing their subsequent interaction with ADP and ATP. The effect of PP_i on ATP hydrolysis kinetics was also elucidated. In the dark at micromolar ATP concentrations, PP_i inhibited ATPase activity of ATP synthase. Addition of PP_i to the reaction mixture at the step of preliminary illumination inhibited high initial activity of the enzyme, but stimulated its activity during prolonged incubation. These results indicate that the stimulating effect of PP_i light preincubation with thylakoid membranes on ATPase activity is caused by its binding to ATP synthase noncatalytic sites. The inhibition of ATP synthase results from competition between PP_i and ATP for binding to catalytic sites. Published in Russian in Biokhimiya, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 7, pp. 956–962.     

Inhibition of alpha-glucosidase by oleanolic acid and its synthetic derivatives

Oleanolic acid (1) and five synthetic derivatives (2-6) were tested spectrophotometrically for inhibition of urease, beta-lactamase, acetyl cholinesterase and alpha-glucosidase. All products showed a positive response only against alpha-glucosidase but not against the other enzymes; IC(50) calculations showed that the dihydroxy-olide derivative (4) was the most potent among all tested samples.     

Effects of bacillamide and newly synthesized derivatives on the growth of cyanobacteria and microalgae cultures

The antialgal activity of newly synthesized bacillamides against several cyanobacteria and microalgae isolates was screened using a rapid 96-well microplate bioassay. Cultures were exposed to serial dilutions of each bacillamide derivative (0–160 μg mL⁻¹) in the microplate wells and daily optical measurements were used to estimate growth over a 216 h period. Inhibition values (%) were calculated from the estimated growth curves and inhibitory concentrations (IC₅₀-216 h) were obtained from the sigmoidal inhibition curves fitted by regression analysis. The effects of bacillamides on cell morphology and ultrastructure were also analysed by light and transmission electron microscopy. In general, the toxic cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa, Aphanizomenon gracile, Anabaena circinalis and Anabaenopsis circularis were much more sensitive to bacillamides then the chlorophytes Ankistrodesmus falcatus and Scenedesmus obliquus. However, clear signs of morphological and ultrastructural changes induced by bacillamide were observed on both cyanobacteria and chlorophytes. Other cyanobacteria, namely the nostocalean Nodularia spumigena and the oscillatorialeans Leptolyngbya sp. and Planktothrix rubescens, exhibit higher tolerances to bacillamides, similar to that shown by different eukaryotic microalgae. Diatoms, on the other hand, proved to be quite as sensitive to most bacillamides as the most affected cyanobacteria. The properties of 5-iodo-Bacillamide (algicide or algistatic) were further investigated. This compound acted as an algistactic agent against eukaryotic algae and, depending on its concentration, acted as either an algicide or algistactic agent against most of the cyanobacteria tested. Although bacillamides cannot be considered as broad spectrum cyanobacterial algicides, different bacillamides might be of use in selectively controlling the growth of particular species of cyanobacteria.     

Crystallographic structure of the turbine C-ring from spinach chloroplast F-ATP synthase

In eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, F-ATP synthases provide energy through the synthesis of ATP. The chloroplast F-ATP synthase (CF₁F_O-ATP synthase) of plants is integrated into the thylakoid membrane via its F_O-domain subunits a, b, b’ and c. Subunit c with a stoichiometry of 14 and subunit a form the gate for H⁺-pumping, enabling the coupling of electrochemical energy with ATP synthesis in the F₁ sector.Here we report the crystallization and structure determination of the c14-ring of subunit c of the CF₁F_O-ATP synthase from spinach chloroplasts. The crystals belonged to space group C2, with unit-cell parameters a=144.420, b=99.295, c=123.51 Å, and β=104.34° and diffracted to 4.5 Å resolution. Each c-ring contains 14 monomers in the asymmetric unit. The length of the c-ring is 60.32 Å, with an outer ring diameter 52.30 Å and an inner ring width of 40 Å.     

Regulation of Proton Flow and ATP Synthesis in Chloroplasts

The chloroplast ATP synthase is strictly regulated so that it is very active in the light (rates of ATP synthesis can be higher than 5 mol/min/mg protein), but virtually inactive in the dark. The subunits of the catalytic portion of the ATP synthase involved in activation, as well as the effects of nucleotides are discussed. The relation of activation to proton flux through the ATP synthase and to changes in the structure of enzyme induced by the proton electrochemical gradient are also presented. It is concluded that the and subunits of CF₁ play key roles in both regulation of activity and proton translocation.     

Inhibitory activity of xanthine oxidase and superoxide-scavenging activity in some taxa of the lichen family Graphidaceae

Results on the screening of species of the lichen family Graphidaceae for superoxide-scavenging activity (SSA) and xanthine-oxidase inhibitory (IXO) activity have been presented. The potential of the extracts for scavenging of superoxide and inhibition of xanthine-oxidase under various physiological conditions has been evaluated. The methanolic extracts of the species of family Graphidaceae showed inhibitory properties of xanthine oxidase (IC50 = 2.0 to 5.26 microg/ml) with an additional superoxide scavenging capacity (IC50 = 3.63 to 13.88 microg/ml). The potential of the methanolic extracts for scavenging of superoxide and inhibition of xanthine oxidase remained stable at 4 degrees C. Thus the extracts can be maintained for longer periods for their therapeutic uses.     

Proton channel of the chloroplast ATP synthase,CF0: Its time-averaged single-channel conductance as function of pH,temperature, isotopic and ionic medium composition

Summary The proton-driven ATP synthase of chloroplasts is composed of two elements, CF₀ and CF₁. The membrane bound CF₀ conducts protons and the peripheral CF₁ interacts with nucleotides. By flash spectrophotometric techniques applied to thylakoid membranes from which about 50% of total CF₁ was removed, we have previously determined the protonic (timeaveraged) single-channel conductance of CF₀. Being in the order of 1 pS, it was sufficiently large to support the proposed role of CF₀ as a low-impedance access for protons to the coupling site in CF₀CF₁. On the other hand, it was too large to be readily reconciled with current concepts of proton supply to and proton conduction through the channel.We studied the time-averaged single-channel conductance of CF₀ under variation of pH, pD, ionic composition, temperature, and water/membrane structure with the following results: (i) CF₀ was proton-specific even against a background of 300mm monovalent or 30mm divalent catins. (ii) While the conductance of CF₀ was pH/pD-independent in the range from 5.6–8.0, in D₂O it was lower by a constant factor of 1.7 than in H₂O (iii) Addition of glycerol diminished the conductance and abolished the isotope effect. (iv) The Arrhenius activation energy was 42 kJ/mol and thus intermediate between the ones found for the water-filled pore, gramicidin (30 kJ/mol), and the mobile carrier, valinomycin (65 kJ/mol).The results implied that CF₀ is endowed with an extremely proton-specific (10⁷-fold) selectivity filter. Its conductance is very high, and its conduction cycle is not necessarily rate limited by a protolytic reaction. The mechanisms of rapid proton supply to the channel mouth and of proton conduction remained enigmatic.     

Interaction of ADP and ATP with noncatalytic sites of isolated and membrane-bound chloroplast coupling factor CF<Subscript>1</Subscript>

This study of ATP and ADP binding to noncatalytic sites of membrane-bound CF1 (ATP synthase) revealed two noncatalytic sites with different specificities and affinities for nucleotides. One of these is characterized by a high affinity and specificity to ADP (Kd=2.6+/-0.3 microM). However, a certain increase in ADP apparent dissociation constant at high ATP/ADP ratio in the medium allows a possibility that ATP binds to this site as well. The other site displays high specificity to ATP. When the ADP-binding site is vacant, it shows a comparatively low affinity for ATP, which greatly increases with increasing ADP concentration accompanied by filling of the ADP-binding site. The reported specificities of these two sites are independent of thylakoid membrane energization, since both in the dark and in the light the ratios of ATP/ADP tightly bound to the noncatalytic sites were very close. The difference in noncatalytic site affinity for ATP and ADP is shown to depend on the amount of delta subunit in a particular sample. Thylakoid membrane ATP synthase, with stoichiometric content of delta-subunit (one delta-subunit per CF1 molecule), showed the maximal difference in ADP and ATP affinities for the noncatalytic sites. For CF1, with substoichiometric delta subunit values, this difference was less, and after delta subunit removal it decreased still more.     

Tracking the evolution of porphobilinogen synthase metal dependence in vitro

Metal ions are indispensable cofactors for chemical catalysis by a plethora of enzymes. Porphobilinogen synthases (PBGSs), which catalyse the second step of tetrapyrrole biosynthesis, are grouped according to their dependence on Zn(2+). Using site-directed mutagenesis, we embarked on transforming Zn(2+)-independent Pseudomonas aeruginosa PBGS into a Zn(2+)-dependent enzyme. Nine PBGS variants were generated by permutationally introducing three cysteine residues and a further two residues into the active site of the enzyme to match the homologous Zn(2+)-containing PBGS from Escherichia coli. Crystal structures of seven enzyme variants were solved to elucidate the nature of Zn(2+) coordination at high resolution. The three single-cysteine variants were invariably found to be enzymatically inactive and only one (D139C) was found to bind detectable amounts of Zn(2+). The double mutant A129C/D139C is enzymatically active and binds Zn(2+) in a tetrahedral coordination. Structurally and functionally it mimics mycobacterial PBGS, which bears an equivalent Zn(2+)-coordination site. The remaining two double mutants, without known natural equivalents, reveal strongly distorted tetrahedral Zn(2+)-binding sites. Variant A129C/D131C possesses weak PBGS activity while D131C/D139C is inactive. The triple mutant A129C/D131C/D139C, finally, displays an almost ideal tetrahedral Zn(2+)-binding geometry and a significant Zn(2+)-dependent enzymatic activity. Two additional amino acid exchanges further optimize the active site architecture towards the E.coli enzyme with an additional increase in activity. Our study delineates the potential evolutionary path between Zn(2+)-free and Zn(2+)-dependent PBGS enyzmes showing that the rigid backbone of PBGS enzymes is an ideal framework to create or eliminate metal dependence through a limited number of amino acid exchanges.     

ADP and ATP binding to noncatalytic sites of thiol-modulated chloroplast ATP synthase

A modified ‘cold chase’ technique was used to study tight [¹⁴C]ADP and [¹⁴C]ATP binding to noncatalytic sites of chloroplast ATP synthase (CF₀F₁). The binding was very low in the dark and sharply increased with light intensity. Dissociation of labeled nucleotides incorporated into noncatalytic sites of CF₀F₁ or CF₁ reconstituted with EDTA-treated thylakoid membranes was also found to be light-dependent. Time dependence of nucleotide dissociation is described by the first order equation with a k _d of about 5 min⁻¹. The exposure of thylakoid membranes to 0.7–24.8 μM nucleotides leads to filling of up to two noncatalytic sites of CF₀F₁. The sites differ in their specificity: one preferentially binds ADP, whereas the other – ATP. A much higher ATP/ADP ratio of nucleotides bound at noncatalytic sites of isolated CF₁ dramatically decreases upon its reconstitution with EDTA-treated thylakoid membranes. It is suggested that the decrease is caused by conformational changes in one of the α subunits induced by its interaction with the δ subunit and/or subunit I–II when CF₁ becomes bound to a thylakoid membrane.     

Analysis of ionic channels by a flash spectrophotometric technique applicable to thylakoid membranes: CF0, the proton channel of the chloroplast ATP synthase,and, for comparison,gramicidin

Summary We previously introduced a flash spectrophotometric method to analyze proton conduction by CF₀ in vesicles derived from thylakoid membranes (H. Lill, S. Engelbrecht, G. Schönknecht & W. Junge, 1986,Eur. J. Biochem. 160:627–634). The unit conductance of CF₀, as revealed by this technique, was orders of magnitude higher than that theoretically expected for a hydrogen-bonded chain. We scrutinized the validity of this method. Small vesicles were derived from thylakoids by EDTA treatment. The intrinsic electric generators in the membrane were stimulated by short flashes of light and the relaxation of the voltage via ionic channels was measured through electrochromic absorption changes of intrinsic pigments. The voltage decay was stimulated by a statistical model. As the vesicle-size distribution had only a minor influence, the simulation required only two fit parameters, the first proportional to the unit conductance of an active channelG, and the second denoting the average number of active channels per vesiclen. This technique was applied to CF₀, the proton channel of the chloroplast ATP synthase, and to gramicidin, serving as a standard. For both channels we found the above two fit parameters physically meaningful. They could be independently varied in predictable wasy, i.e.n by addition of known inhibitors of F₀-type proton channels andG via the temperature. for gramicidin, the unit conductance (2.7 pS) was within the range described in the literature. This established the competence of this method for studies on the mechanism of proton conduction by CF₀, whose conductance so far has not been accessible to other, more conventional approaches. The time-averaged unit conductance of CF₀ was about 1 pS, equivalent to the turnover of 6×10⁵ H⁺/(CF₀·sec) at 100 mV driving force.     

Synthesis and antibacterial activity of mechanism-based inhibitors of KDO8P synthase and DAH7P synthase

KDO8PS (3-deoxy-D-manno-2-octulosonate-8-phosphate synthase) and DAH7PS (3-deoxy-D-arabino-2-heptulosonate-7-phosphate synthase) are attractive targets for the development of new anti-infectious agents. Both enzymes appear to proceed via a common mechanism involving the reaction of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) with arabinose 5-phosphate or erythrose-4-phosphate, to produce the corresponding ulosonic acids, KDO8P and DAH7P, respectively. The synthesis of new inhibitors closely related to the supposed tetrahedral intermediate substrates for the enzymes is described. The examination of the antibacterial activity of these derivatives is reported.     

Synthesis and antibacterial activity of 5-methylphenanthridium derivatives as FtsZ inhibitors

5-Methylphenanthridium derivatives were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro antibacterial activity and cell division inhibitory activity against various Gram-positive and -negative bacteria. Among them, compounds 5A2, 5B1, 5B2, 5B3, 5C1 and 5C2 displayed the best on-target antibacterial activity with an MIC value of 4 µg/mL against B. subtilis ATCC9372 and S. pyogenes PS, showing over 2-fold better activity than sanguinarine. The SARs showed that the 5-methylphenanthridium derivatives with the alkyl side chains at the 2-postion, especially the straight alkyl side chains exerted better on-target antibacterial activity.     

Synthesis and biological activity of tachykinin analogs containing the adamantane moiety

Summary The adamantane moiety was introduced in the tachykinin NK₂ receptor-selective agonist [-Ala⁸]-NKA(4–10) (H-Asp-Ser-Phe-Val--Ala-Leu-Met-NH₂, MEN 10210) and in different positions of the NK₂ receptor antagonist MEN 10376 (H-Asp-Tyr-d-Trp-Val-d-Trp-d-Trp-Lys-NH₂) in order to investigate how this substitution affects their biological activity at tachykinin NK₁, NK₂ and NK₃ receptors. 1-Adamantaneacetic acid (1-Ada-CH₂COOH) was directly conjugated in the solid phase as the preformed OBt active ester to the N-terminal position of MEN 10210, obtaining MEN 10586 (1-Ada-CH₂CO-Asp-Ser-Phe-Val--Ala-Leu-Met-NH₂). The Pfp ester of adamantaneacetic acid (1) was prepared and used for the acylation of the N-terminal position of MEN 10376, yielding MEN 10606 (1-Ada-CH₂CO-Asp-Tyr-d-Trp-Val-d-Trp-d-Trp-Lys-NH₂). Compound 1 was then used to obtain the building block Fmoc-Lys(1-Ada-CH₂CO)-OH as a modified amino acid for the synthesis of MEN 10818 [H-Asp-Tyr-d-Trp-Val-d-Trp-d-Trp-Lys(1-Ada-CH₂CO)-NH₂]. In order to investigate the biological activity of the peptide bearing the adamantane group together with the free N-terminal amino function, we synthesised MEN 10676 [H-Asp(O-2-Ada)-Tyr-d-Trp-Val-d-Trp-d-Trp-Lys-NH₂] using Fmoc-Asp(O-2-Ada)-OH, in which 2-adamantanole was the protecting group of the aspartate -COOH moiety during the peptide synthesis and survived the final peptide cleavage and deprotection carried out under controlled conditions. MEN 10586 showed an agonist activity comparable to that of the parent compound MEN 10210 at NK₁ and NK₂ receptors of guinea pig ileum, rabbit isolated pulmonary artery and hamster isolated trachea preparations, while it showed a 25-fold higher agonist activity at NK₃ receptors of rat isolated portal vein. The three modified antagonist analogs displayed similar or reduced affinity at NK₁, NK₂ and NK₃ receptors as compared to MEN 10376. The drop was particularly evident (>2 log units) at the NK₂ receptors of the rabbit isolated pulmonay artery.     

Synthesis and evaluation of pyridazinone-phenethylamine derivatives as selective and orally bioavailable histamine H3 receptor antagonists with robust wake-promoting activity

A series of pyridazinone-phenethylamine derivatives with moderate to low nanomolar affinity for rat and human H(3)R are described. These analogs exhibited excellent selectivity and metabolic stability, with acceptable rat pharmacokinetic properties. In vivo, 7 and 11 demonstrated potent H(3)R functional antagonism in the rat dipsogenia model and robust wake-promoting activity in the rat electroencephalogram/electromyography (EEG/EMG) model.