Nesrin Gökhan-Kelekçi

New pyrazoline bearing 4(3H)-quinazolinone inhibitors of monoamine oxidase : Synthesis, biological evaluation, and structural determinants of MAO-A and MAO-B selectivity

A new series of pyrazoline derivatives were prepared starting from a quinazolinone ring and evaluated for antidepressant, anxiogenic and MAO-A and -B inhibitory activities by in vivo and in vitro tests, respectively. Most of the synthesized compounds showed high activity against both the MAO-A (compounds 4a-4h, 4j-4n, and 5g-5l) and the MAO-B (compounds 4i and 5a-5f) isoforms. However, none of the novel compounds showed antidepressant activity except for 4b. The reason for such biological properties was investigated by computational methods using recently published crystallographic models of MAO-A and MAO-B. The differences in the intermolecular hydrophobic and H-bonding of ligands to the active site of each MAO isoform were correlated to their biological data. Compounds 4i, 4k, 5e, 5i, and 5l were chosen for their ability to reversibly inhibit MAO-B and MAO-A and the availability of experimental inhibition data. Observation of the docked positions of these ligands revealed interactions with many residues previously reported to have an effect on the inhibition of the enzyme. Among the pyrazoline derivatives, it appears that the binding interactions for this class of compounds are mostly hydrophobic. All have potential edge-to-face hydrophobic interactions with F343, as well as pi-pi stacking with Y398 and other hydrophobic interactions with L171. Strong hydrophobic and H-bonding interactions in the MAO recognition of 4i could be the reason why this compound shows selectivity toward the MAO-B isoform. The very high MAO-B selectivity for 4i can be also explained in terms of the distance between the FAD and the compound, which was greater in the complex of MAO-A-4i as compared to the corresponding MAO-B complex.

Synthesis and molecular modeling of some novel hexahydroindazole derivatives as potent monoamine oxidase inhibitors.

A novel series of 2-thiocarbamoyl-2,3,4,5,6,7-hexahydro-1H-indazole and 2-substituted thiocarbamoyl-3,3a,4,5,6,7-hexahydro-2H-indazoles derivatives were synthesized and investigated for the ability to inhibit the activity of the A and B isoforms of monoamine oxidase (MAO). The target molecules were identified on the basis of satisfactory analytical and spectra data (IR, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, (2)D NMR, DEPT, EI-MASS techniques and elemental analysis). Synthesized compounds showed high activity against both the MAO-A (compounds 1d, 1e, 2c, 2d, 2e) and the MAO-B (compounds 1a, 1b, 1c, 2a, 2b) isoforms. In the discussion of the results, the influence of the structure on the biological activity of the prepared compounds was delineated. It was suggested that non-substituted and N-methyl/ethyl bearing compounds (except 2c) increased the inhibitory effect and selectivity toward MAO-B. The rest of the compounds, carrying N-allyl and N-phenyl, appeared to select the MAO-A isoform. The inhibition profile was found to be competitive and reversible for all compounds. A series of experimentally tested (1a-2e) compounds was docked computationally to the active site of the MAO-A and MAO-B isoenzyme. The autodock 4.01 program was employed to perform automated molecular docking. In order to see the detailed interactions of the docked poses of the model inhibitors compounds 1a, 1d, 1e and 2e were chosen because of their ability to reversibly inhibit the MAO-B and MAO-A and the availability of experimental inhibition data. The differences in the intermolecular hydrophobic and H-bonding of ligands to the active site of each MAO isoform were correlated to their biological data. Observation of the docked positions of these ligands revealed interactions with many residues previously reported to have an effect on the inhibition of the enzyme. Excellent to good correlations between the calculated and experimental K(i) values were obtained. In the docking of the MAO-A complex, the trans configuration of compound 1e made various very close interactions with the residues lining the active site cavity these interactions were much better than those of the other compounds tested in this study. This tight binding observation may be responsible for the nanomolar inhibition of form of MAOA. However, it binds slightly weaker (experimental K(i)=1.23 microM) to MAO-B than to MAO-A (experimental K(i)=4.22 nM).

Evaluation of selective human MAO inhibitory activities of some novel pyrazoline derivatives.

A series of 1-[2-((5-methyl/chloro)-2-benzoxazolinone-3-yl)acetyl]-3,5-diaryl-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazole derivatives were prepared by reacting 2-((5-methyl/chloro)-2-benzoxazolinone-3-yl)acetylhydrazine with appropriate chalcones. The chemical structures of all compounds were confirmed by elemental analyses, IR, 1H NMR and ESI–MS. All the compounds were investigated for their ability to selectively inhibit monoamine oxidase (MAO) by in vitro tests. MAO activities of the compounds were compared with moclobemide and selegiline and all the compounds were found to inhibit human MAO-A selectively. The inhibition profile was found to be competitive and reversible for all compounds by in vitro tests. Among the compounds examined, compounds 5ae, 5af and 5ag were more selective than moclobemide, with respect to the Ki values experimentally found. In addition, the compound 5bg showed MAO-A inhibitor activity as well as moclobemide. A series of experimentally tested compounds (5ae–5ch) were docked computationally to the active site of the MAO-A and MAO-B isoenzyme. The AUTODOCK 4.01 program was employed to perform automated molecular docking.

Insights into the binding mode of new N-substituted pyrazoline derivatives to MAO-A: docking and quantum chemical calculations.

The binding modes of four N-substituted pyrazoline derivatives as novel MAO-A inhibitory agents were investigated using docking and quantum chemical molecular modelling tools.

Synthesis, molecular modeling, and in vitro screening of monoamine oxidase inhibitory activities of some novel hydrazone derivatives

Thirteen 2-[2-(5-methyl-2-benzoxazolinone-3-yl)acetyl]-3/4/5-substituted benzylidenehydrazine derivatives were synthesized by reacting 2-(5-methyl-2-benzoxazolinone-3-yl)acetylhydrazine and substituted benzaldehydes in neutral and acid/base catalyzed conditions, and a comparison was made in terms of their yields and reaction times. The structures of all compounds were confirmed by IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, mass spectral data, and elemental analyses. All the compounds were investigated for their ability to selectively inhibit MAO isoforms by in vitro tests and were found to inhibit recombinant human MAO-B selectively and reversibly in a competitive manner. Among the compounds examined, compound 16 was found to be more selective than selegiline, a known MAO-B inhibitor, in respect to the Ki values experimentally found. Additionally, compounds 9 and 15 showed moderate MAO-B inhibitor activity. The interaction of compounds with MAO isoforms was investigated by molecular docking studies using recently published crystallographic models of MAO-A and MAO-B. The results obtained from the docking studies were found to be in good agreement with the experimental values.

Synthesis and characterization of some new 2(3H)-benzoxazolones with analgesic and antiinflammatory activities

The synthesis, characterization and pharmacological activities of a new series of (6-difluorobenzoyl)-5-methyl-3-benzoylmethyl-2(3H)-benzoxazolone and 5-methyl-3-(2-hydroxyl-2-phenylethyl)-2(3H)-benzoxazolone are described. Antiinflammatory activity was investigated by the carrageenin-induced paw oedema test and analgesic activity by acetic acid writhing and hot plate tests in mice. Among the synthesized compounds, compound 3e 6-(2,5-difluorobenzoyl)-3-(4-bromobenzoylmethyl-2(3H)-benzoxazolone was found to be the most promising compound for analgesic activity. Reduced compounds (4a–4d) displayed considerable anti-inflammatory activity compared to the other derivatives.